New recommendations on sugar

In this month of sugar and sweets, AKA Halloween, why not take a closer look at the subject and gain a better understanding of this all-too-frequently criticized nutrient?

Indeed, we often see nutritional claims such as “sugar-free”, “reduced sugar”, “natural sugars” or “no added sugars” on food products. Recently, we can even see the percentage of daily value in sugar on the nutritional values of our favorite products. This can be useful in reducing unnecessary avoidance of certain products thought to be too sweet, but can also increase the “fear” of certain products by seeing their higher sugar content.

But what is a percentage of daily value (%DV)?

Daily Value percentages quickly indicate whether a product contains a little or a lot of a certain nutrient. These percentages are based on a scale from 0% to 100%, with the statement that 5% DV or less is a little, and 15% DV or more is a lot. In other words, we take into consideration that 5% of a day is not much to meet a nutritional need, but that if we add up the 15% multiple times, it can add up faster towards 100%. The %VQ are based on the average nutritional needs of a healthy adult with a daily diet of 2000 calories. So, for some nutrients you may need more if your needs are higher than average, or less if your needs are lower, but %VQs still give a general idea of a food’s nutrient composition.

This percentage is now also available for sugar. This new value is based on the Canadian recommendation to limit our total sugars (natural and added) to 20% of the calories we consume, or 100 g for a 2000-calorie diet. So a soft bar containing 20 g of sugars would have a %VQ of 20%. For its part, the WHO (World Health Organization) suggests limiting our added sugars to less than 10% of the calories we consume, or 50 g per day for a 2000-calorie diet. Since Canadian nutritional values do not differentiate between natural sugars (e.g., naturally present in fruit) and added sugars (e.g., added to desserts, soft drinks, certain juices, etc.), the latter recommendation is difficult to apply, unlike the Canadian recommendation. But is 100g of sugar really a lot? Like many questions in nutrition, the answer is “it depends”. It depends on the type of sugar taken, the foods consumed at the same time, the person’s level of activity, etc.

But what is sugar?

Sugar is a type of carbohydrate that provides energy for the body. Other carbohydrates include starch, which is more often found in cereal products, and fiber, which is found in multigrain products, nuts, legumes and so on. Sugar and starch provide the energy, while fiber slows down their absorption to provide more constant energy. On average, 50% of our diet should be made up of these carbohydrates, and our brain needs a minimum of carbohydrates to function at its full potential (130g/day). Of course, the body is super intelligent and is capable of adapting in survival mode by involving ketone bodies, but that’s a subject for another article. Anyways, back to sugar.

To begin, let’s visualize 100 g of sugar. One teaspoon of sugar, or 5 ml, is roughly equivalent to 4 g of sugar. So, 100 g of sugar is equivalent to about 25 teaspoons of sugar. Of course, I wouldn’t advise you to start a teaspoon diet. On the other hand, sugar is found naturally in certain nutritious products (e.g. fruit, compotes, fruit-based products, milk, etc.), which provide other useful nutrients for the body. What’s more, when sugar is consumed (natural or added), its absorption will be influenced by the other products consumed at the same time. For example, if I eat a homemade muffin to which I’ve added sugar, flour, TVP (textured vegetable protein), milk, eggs, nuts, oil, etc., my sugar will be absorbed less quickly and give me much more stable energy since it’s consumed at the same time as protein, fiber and fat. This logic also works for two different foods eaten at the same time (e.g. cookies + glass of milk OR crackers + cheese + juice).

As mentioned, a person’s level of physical activity is also important in deciding on the 100 g of sugar per day. In fact, during sport, especially when the intensity is increased, 30 to 60 g of carbohydrates per hour of effort are recommended. These recommendations may even be higher for some athletes, especially in endurance sports. Since fiber doesn’t provide energy, reduces absorption speed and is more difficult to digest, we don’t want to have a lot of it before or during sport, especially when we increase intensity. We therefore end up prioritizing sugar during exercise, since it’s easier to digest, followed by starch. It can therefore be common for many athletes who train long hours a week to exceed Canadian recommendations for total sugars in order to properly fuel their performance, prioritize their energy levels and reduce their risk of injury. It’s understandable, then, that the recommendations may be relevant for less active people who consume a lot of foods low in nutrients but high in sugar. However, sugar is not the devil. Rather, it should be seen as a source of energy that we need to consume in proportion to our level of physical activity (more sport = more carbohydrates, less sport = less carbohydrates… less doesn’t mean cutting them out either 😉 ).

On that note, I’ll leave you with my favorite carb sources when I’m training:

Dried pineapple (38 g carb/¼ cup)
Homemade energy ball (15 g carbs/ball; recipe here: https://centremultisports.org/en/article/recette-boule-denergie/)
Maple syrup (14 g carbs/tablespoon)
Fruit compote (10-12 g carbs/ready-to-drink or double that with baby versions)
Fruit and oat bar (approx. 20-22 g carbs/bar; I like the “go pure” ones)
Granola bar (approx. 15-20 g carbs/bar)
Fig bar (35-40 g carbs/bag)
Homemade gel (30 g carbs/gel; I love these: https://erableduquebec.ca/recettes/gel-energetique-aux-abricots-et-a-lerable/)
Homemade sports drink (25-30 g carbs/serving; simple recipe: 250 ml water + 250 ml juice + 1 pinch salt)