The Truth About Sugar: What Is It?

It’s safe to say that all of us at Tiny Docs are obsessed with sugar. It’s everywhere and the more we learn about it, the more we realize how dangerous and scary it is. Our mission is to help all of you be healthier and happier, so to do that, we have to go to battle against sugar. Through a series of blogs and videos, we’ll be pulling you behind the curtain and teaching you everything we know about the harmful effects of sugar and how to avoid it. Today’s lesson - what actually is sugar?

If you think ‘sweet’ whenever you hear the word sugar, you’re exactly right. Sugar is a sweet substance that comes from plants, but instead of just focusing on what sugar is, it’s just as helpful to focus on what sugar isn’t. Sugar is one of the few foods that has absolutely zero nutritional value: no proteins, no vitamins, no minerals, no fibers.

When you eat sugar, it goes straight to your bloodstream since there are no minerals or fibers to slow it down, so your body has to jump into action to protect itself. This is why you might feel a rush of energy after eating sugar - your body has to move quickly to balance out the sugar that went to your blood. That short rush of energy will quickly disappear, leading you to feel tired, grumpy, anxious, and achy. You can fix this feeling by eating more sugar, but that becomes a dangerous cycle, which is why many doctors compare sugar to addictive drugs.

The more sugar you eat, the more sugar you will want, and before you know it, you can feel like you don’t just want sugar, you need it. And remember, since sugar has zero nutritional value, this will only lead to health problems down the line.

So what do you do? Stay tuned for the next installment of The Truth About Sugar.