Healthy Eating Pyramid
Harvard School of Public Health
How Refined Sugars
Behave in the Body
• Eat refined sugar
(ex: candy or pop)
Increase blood sugar
Breaks down to glucose
Rapid decrease in blood
Glucose almost immediately sugar triggers liver to
absorbed in bloodstream- release sugar
fast increase blood sugar
Glucose leaves blood and
enters cells- used for fuel
What happens when we drink or eat
too much sugar?
• The sugar in soda pop not only provides a massive dose of
calories, but triggers a vicious appetite cycle, said Ludwig,
who wrote "Ending the Food Fight," about healthy eating for
children.
• "It's rapidly absorbed, which raises blood sugar and in effect
causes the body to panic." The body releases insulin to break
down the sugar, "but the body overcompensates, and blood
sugar drops below the fasting level," lower than it was in the
first place.
• Recognizing low blood sugar, the body releases ghrelin and
other hormones, inducing hunger, inducing us to eat even
more, Ludwig said.
Nutritionists: Soda making Americans drink themselves fat September 18, 2007|By Caleb Hellerman CNN
Animation
• Carbohydrate digestion
Insulin Resistance
• Eventually our pancreas wears out from frequent
release of insulin in part due to high processed
sugar diets
• Insulin is not produced enough or body does not
respond to it properly
• Body cells do not respond to insulin properly,
causes pancreas to release more, eventually
pancreas cannot keep up and sugar builds up in
blood
• Increases risk of type 2 diabetes
& heart disease
Glycogen and Fat Storage
• Extra sugar not needed is first converted to
glycogen- stored in liver and muscle (limited
amount)
• Once glycogen stores are full- remaining
glucose is stored as fat
*Dr.
Sugar Facts
• Amount of sugar in two pops decreases
immunity- 40% reduction in killing germs
– Lasts from less than 30 minutes after sugar eaten
up to 5 hours
• Promotes cravings, obesity, diabetes, heart
disease (inflammation)
Artificial Sweeteners- No Sugar Added/ Sugar-free
(diet sodas, ice cream, cereal, fruit juice, sports and energy drinks)
• Some studies show:
– Makes you hungrier and crave sweets
– Statistically- more diet soda in diet, more likely to become overweight
– Eating unnatural substances may cause brain to perform in unnatural
ways
– Some report headaches and chronic fatigue
• Examples:
– Aspartame (Equal and Nutrasweet)
– Sucralose (Splenda)
– Saccharin
– Acesulfame K (Sweet One)
• Stevia- herb in South America (leaves), a step in right direction
– Some forms are highly processed with sugar alcohols, Truvia/ PureVia
How to Spot Added Sugar
• Dextrose
• Sucrose
• Fructose
• Maltose
• Corn syrup
• High fructose corn syrup
• Molasses
• Brown sugar
• Raw sugar
• Lactose
• Honey
Fruit and Vegetables (Whole Food)
• Natural sugar + fiber + vitamins + minerals +
complex carbohydrates= steady absorption of
sugar
Processed Carbohydrates (sugar)
• Creates unstable blood sugar, mood instability,
irritability, anxiety, and jitteriness
** Dr. Sears askdrsears.com
Nutrient Density
• High nutrient density-
– Nutrient-dense foods have a high nutrient/calorie
ratio. Meaning they are rich in nutrients when
compared to their calorie content.
• Low nutrient density-
– Low in nutrition when compared to their calorie
content.
• Which is more nutrient dense?
– Fried chicken nuggets or baked chicken?
– Fruit salad or doughnut?
THINK YOUR DRINK ACTIVITY
Guess the added tsp of sugar in each
drink!
4 grams sugar
=
“1 tsp” or “1 cube”
of sugar
0 3 10 6 0
Answers
0 3 10 6 0
How did we get from grams of
sugar to cubes of sugar?
0 3 10 6 0
White Milk has 12
grams of natural lactose
sugars.
“0” grams of
added sugars
0 3 10 6 0
Chocolate Milk has
25 grams of “total” sugar
-12 grams lactose sugars
= 13 grams of added sugars
13 grams / 4 grams = 3 tsp
added
sugar
0 3 10 6 0
Soda has
39 grams sugar /4gm
= 10 cubes or
10 tsp of sugar
THINK YOUR DRINK ACTIVITY
39 grams sugar
/ 4gm
= 10 tsp of sugar
4 grams
sugar
=
1 tsp
or 1 cube
of sugar
Sugar Cubes in Coke
New York Public
Service Announcement
• Added sugar in days worth of drinks
Added Sugar Recommendations
• American Heart
Association:
– Limit added sugars to
no more than 6-9
teaspoons/cubes per
day
– 25-36 grams
Other Effects of Soda
• Increase urinary excretion of calcium=
weaker bones= leads to osteoporosis and
kidney stones
• Phosphoric acid robs body of calcium &
magnesium- excreted in urine
Food Label
• Food label link
Genetically Modified Crops
Source: USDA Economic Research Service Data, 2010
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/BiotechCrops/
Genetically Modified Organisms
Ht= herbicide resistant (weed killers won’t kill plant)
Bt= insect resistant (plant kills insects)
• Example
– Ht Soybeans- 90-95% GMO to withstand
herbicides
– Ht/Bt Corn- 63-70% GMO to withstand herbicides
and produce pesticides in plant
– PLU code starts with 8
– Avoid GMO through organic (PLU code starts with
9)- FDA does not require labeling GMO foods at
this time.