Mitch Smith – Health Management

In a world where protein is king and sugar is the small little goblin on the outside trying to break through the front gates, it’s just easier to conform to the masses and accept the fact that sugar is evil, right?

Everywhere we look there are new products coming out with higher amounts of protein and fat and no sugar, but when we actually stop and think about the bigger picture (that being total calories), it’s not as it seems.

Of course we want to consume as minimal amounts of sugar as possible, but blaming one nutrient (sugar) is not the answer. Sugar can be found in yoghurt, milk, bread, fruit, vegetables, muesli, oats; the list goes on. If we were to cut out all sugar, we would be eating meat for breakfast lunch and dinner. We would also be putting our bodies at risk of being deficient in vitamins B, D, K, folate, fibre and calcium for a start.

Sugar can be a big source of unnecessary calories and the goal should be to focus on reducing ‘excess’ sugar, not all sugar, along with total calories. Choosing wholemeal and wholegrain breads and cereals in small quantities is a great way to ensure you are consuming enough vitamin and minerals and not leaving yourself feeling flat and fatigued.

Hannah Gentile – Eat Well Australia

What is sugar exactly? It is carbohydrate – fruit, vegetables, grains, pasta, and rice – one of the most essential food groups in our diet. Sugar gives us the energy to complete our daily activities and fuels our muscles when we exercise.

For decades the advice from professionals was to lower fat consumption. This drove food companies to find alternative flavour enhancers for their products. Thus ‘low fat’ higher sugar products were born, such as ‘diet’ yoghurts and fat-free desserts. Chronic disease diets, such as Atkins, started to pick up popularity due to publication in the mainstream media. They rode off the back of our increasing waistlines, citing the ‘obesity epidemic’ and sugar consumption as being linked. In reality, research suggests that the 50/50 combo of fat and sugar is most appealing – after all, you wouldn’t eat a block of butter on its own or a bowl of sugar; however mix them and you have the base for most baked goods – much easier to be eaten in excess.

My advice? Look at the types of sugars you are eating. Instead of refined simple sugar you tend to find in processed foods, opt for complex ones that are made up of more than one type of sugar; such as wholegrains and vegetables. Complex carbohydrates take longer to breakdown and digest, leaving you feeling fuller and less likely to snack. They also tend to contain vitamins, minerals and fibre, making them an excellent source of nutrients for a healthy body.

Brie Salagaras – Compleat Nutrition

Sugar is not poison, nor is it the sole cause of ill health in today’s society. Excess caloric intake is the largest contributor with 60% of Australians overweight or obese.

Obesity is closely associated with the majority of chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental health disorders and eating disorders. Theoretically an individual could eat sugar all day long and consume less than their energy needs and would still lose weight. It wouldn’t be at all healthy, or sustainable, but they would lose weight.

Firstly, it is important to acknowledge that there is sugar in the form of carbohydrates in nearly everything we eat: breads, cereals, rice, pasta, dairy, vegetables, fruit; the list goes on. We require a wide variety of nutritious foods from all the food groups to live a happy healthy life. Without carbohydrate-containing foods we wouldn’t have a source of glucose to fuel our muscles and brain (carbohydrates break down into glucose), and without glucose we would die.

Given that we need a form of sugar to survive; I feel it’s fair to say that sugar plays the complete opposite role to poison in the body. But in excessive amounts it can result in increased caloric consumption and, therefore, an increased risk of obesity and disease. In summary, sugar isn’t the problem it’s the dose found in today’s current diet that’s the problem.