We've heard it all growing up- sugar is bad, sugar will rot your teeth, sugar can lead to diseases like diabetes and heart disease- but how does sugar affect our mental health?
Most people are eating substantial amounts of sugar throughout the day without realizing it. All sweet and starchy foods, whether they are whole foods or refined junk foods, turn into the same two simple sugar molecules in our bodies: glucose and fructose. Glucose is a type of sugar that our bodies use for fuel and energy. Our bodies can make glucose (the liver actually turns fructose into glucose), but a majority of it comes from the foods we eat. Dozens of foods are sugar in disguise, including some that aren’t sweet at all: flour, cereal, fruit juice, beets, potatoes, pasta, and dried fruit are quite high in natural sugars, even though they have “no sugar added.”
Why should we worry about which kinds of carbohydrates we eat?
Glucose molecules from a peach and glucose molecules from cotton candy are identical.
The reason why “refined” carbohydrates (carbs that are altered in some way and are not whole grains) such as sugar and flour are less healthy than whole carbohydrate sources like peaches and carrots is that refined sources typically contain more glucose per serving AND tend to break down into glucose faster. When we eat too many concentrated sources of fast-digestible carbohydrates, blood sugar levels spike sharply. When our blood sugar spikes, our bodies naturally release the hormone insulin to bring blood sugar levels back down.
What does insulin really do for us?
All of your body’s cells need energy. Think of insulin as the key that opens the doors of the cells in your body. Once insulin opens your cell doors, glucose can leave your bloodstream and move into your cells where you can USE IT for energy. Without enough insulin, glucose can’t get into your cells and instead builds up in your blood. This leads to high blood sugar and diabetes.
BUT, that's not all insulin does.
Insulin is actually a master growth hormone meaning when it peaks, it puts the body into growth and storage mode. One of the ways it does this is to turn fat-burning enzymes OFF and fat-storage enzymes ON, which is why high-sugar diets lead to weight gain. Insulin controls the activity of other hormones too, including the blood pressure regulating hormone aldosterone, reproductive hormones like estrogen and testosterone, and stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. So, every time your insulin goes up and down, ALL of these other hormones go up and down too leading to some big effects on your mood, metabolism, appetite, blood pressure, energy, concentration, and hormonal balance- alllllll the things!
Let's say you start off your morning with a food rich in "fast" carbohydrates (like orange juice, a bagel, or home fries):
Within a half hour, your blood sugar spikes, which may give you an energy boost.
Your pancreas immediately releases insulin into your bloodstream to pull the extra sugar (glucose) out of your blood and squirrel it away into your cells.
About 90 minutes later, as your blood glucose drops, you may experience a “sugar crash” and feel tired, unfocused, and hungry.
In response to plummeting glucose, your body produces stress hormones that increase blood glucose and keep it from bottoming out.
It's not that your blood sugar levels are below normal, but because they got spiked SO high from the "fast carbs", it triggers an exaggerated stress hormone release. Most of us eat refined carbohydrates at every meal, and usually between meals which equates to ~3 to 6 major insulin spikes PER DAY putting you on an internal hormonal roller coaster. If we continue to eat too many of the wrong carbohydrates too often you are constantly on that roller coaster leading to fatigue, difficulty concentrating, mood swings, binge eating, weight gain, irritability, anxiety, panic attacks, hormonal irregularities and/or insomnia.
Most people don’t realize how much better you can feel—physically and emotionally—if you eat right. If you are someone who consumes too much sugar (from sweets or starches) you are fighting against your metabolism, hormones, and mood. Here's a challenge:
eliminate all refined carbohydrates for two weeks—just to see how you feel. Report back
