A doctor has shared three simple questions to ask yourself to determine if you’re consuming too much sugar. With over 540,000 followers on Instagram, Dr Megan Rossi – also known as the Gut Health doctor – used the platform to explain the difference between added sugars and naturally occurring sugars.
She highlighted that added sugars are often hidden in ultra-processed foods (UPF), including pasta sauces and ‘healthy’ snacks with so-called “natural” sweeteners like coconut sugar. Dr Rossi warned that while some is fine, ‘we generally have too much’.
Naturally occurring sugars, she explained, are found in whole fruit, veg and even fermented dairy. The NHS warns that excessive sugar intake can lead to weight gain due to increased calorie consumption, which in turn increases the risk of health problems such as heart disease, certain cancers and type 2 diabetes.
Sugar is also a leading cause of tooth decay. Dr Rossi said: “Sugar gets a bad rep on social media, but it’s not as simple as saying sugar is bad.
“In fact, cutting out all sugar from your diet is actually much worse for both your gut and overall health,” reports GloucestershireLive.
“If you were to go “sugar-free”, as many influencers and recipes promote (including many blood sugar apps), then you would actually be doing more harm than good. This is because you would be cutting out both sources of sugar and depriving your microbiome of many anti-inflammatory and antioxidant chemicals found in whole fruit, veg and fermented dairy. From poor skin and mental health to a slower metabolism, these are all potential consequences of going “sugar-free”.
“If you’re worried about your overall sugar intake, ask yourself these three questions: Are your sugar cravings intense and happening often? Have you noticed your sweet tooth creeping up (e.g., more sugar in your tea)? Are sugary snacks replacing nutrient-rich meals? If you answered yes to the above, switch your sugar sources to the second category instead of attempting to cut out all sugar.”
The difference between added sugars and natural sugars has been well-established by various research papers. In a study published in 2014 in JAMA Internal Medicine, Dr Hu and his colleagues found an association between a high-sugar diet and a greater risk of dying from heart disease.
Over a 15-year study, it was found that individuals who consumed 17 per cent to 21 per cent of their calories from added sugar had a 38 per cent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who only consumed 8% of their calories as added sugar. “Basically, the higher the intake of added sugar, the higher the risk for heart disease,” warns Dr Hu.
A separate study from 2023 also revealed ‘significant harmful associations (from) dietary sugar consumption’, stating: “10 cardiovascular outcomes, seven cancer outcomes, and 10 other outcomes (neuropsychiatric, dental, hepatic, osteal, and allergic) were detected.”
The report continued: “Moderate quality evidence suggested that the highest versus lowest dietary sugar consumption was associated with increased body weight (sugar-sweetened beverages) (class IV evidence) and ectopic fatty accumulation (added sugars) (class IV evidence). Low-quality evidence indicated that each serving/week increment of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption was associated with a 4 per cent higher risk of gout (class III evidence) and each 250 mL/day increment of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption was associated with a 17 per cent and 4 per cent higher risk of coronary heart disease (class II evidence) and all cause mortality (class III evidence), respectively. In addition, low-quality evidence suggested that every 25 g/day increment of fructose consumption was associated with a 22 per cent higher risk of pancreatic cancer (class III evidence).
“High dietary sugar consumption is generally more harmful than beneficial for health, especially in cardiometabolic disease. Reducing the consumption of free sugars or added sugars to below 25 g/day (approximately 6 teaspoons/day) and limiting the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages to less than one serving/week (approximately 200-355 mL/week) are recommended to reduce the adverse effect of sugars on health.”