Give up sugar? We talk about it with Camille Pic
We hear more and more about the harmful effects of sugar, yet we've never consumed so much. In France, average consumption is around 35 kg per person per year, compared with just 5 kg in 1830. This increase is reflected in our daily lives: many people systematically end meals with a dessert, feel a sweet craving at the slightest sign of fatigue, and struggle to apply moderation when it comes to sugar. These habits often reflect an addiction to sugar that has become commonplace.
Light" products: a false good idea
With this in mind, it's tempting to replace regular foods with low-fat products. But it's not necessarily a good idea. The "light" segment is very profitable for the industry, but these products generally contain more sugar than their non-light equivalents. The logic is simple: remove the fat, and you lose taste, so you add sugar to make the food more palatable. The result: despite the boom in low-fat products, the trend is towards weight gain.
Sugar and long-distance sport: a real enemy
If sugar is problematic in everyday life, it becomes even more so in long-distance sport. It often leads to hypoglycemia and forces you to eat constantly to compensate for the drop in energy. For endurance athletes, this vicious circle tires the body as much as the mind, and complicates effort management over the long haul.
The mechanism: less sugar, more energy
Sweet foods have a high glycemic index (GI). In concrete terms, sugar is released rapidly into the bloodstream, causing a sharp rise in blood sugar levels. This causes a sensation of energy, as glucose fuels the cells. But when blood sugar levels fall (once the sugar has been absorbed), the body runs out of energy and has only one goal: to eat more sugar to boost itself. This is the classic glycemic roller-coaster mechanism.
"Stop sugar": which sugar are we talking about?
When we talk aboutgiving up sugar, we're really talking about targeting (added) fructose. It's fructose that :
pushes you to eat more,
is stored directly in the form of fat,
inhibits the immune response,
affects the body's mineral balance and can lead to deficiencies,
affects fertility,
causes reflux and digestive problems,
can lead to adrenalin surges,hyperactivity and poor concentration.
Men and women: same logic, needs to be respected
The mechanism is the same for everyone. And it's worth remembering that women need fat and protein, especially if they're athletic. This nutritional base helps to better manage energy in everyday life as well as during training.
Resources recommended by Camille Pic
For further information and practical tools:
ROAR, by Dr Stacy Sims.
J'arrĂȘte le sucre, by Sarah Wilson, a guide full of tips and recipes for cutting down on sugar and saying goodbye to those little cravings.
