Diet: refined sugar consumption

Self-tutoring about eating and health: the tutor mentions something he read.

When I open a new tab in Edge, the page is a checkerboard of news articles. Occasionally, one interests me, so I click and read it. Such happened today: the article was “4 Eating Habits Secretly Increasing Your Blood Sugar” by Melissa Rifkin.

Rifkin mentions in the article that an American adult might typically consume around 77 grams of refined sugar per day. I found this number surprising: it’s about 18 teaspoons. (See conversion at canr.msu.edu.)

One reason blood sugar is such a concern is that, to my understanding, when blood sugar goes up, the body releases insulin, which leads to the “extra” blood sugar entering fat cells and being turned to fat. Moreover, especially in later life, when blood sugar spikes suddenly, it can make you feel lousy – take it from me.

Until age 40, I could eat anything, and as much of it, as I wanted, with seemingly no penalty. I’m not diabetic, but my body is now very sensitive to blood sugar spikes. I’ve no idea how an adult can eat 77g of refined sugar in a day and feel all right. I’d be sick – and probably gain 10 pounds per month – if I did.