Bert Weiss of Atlanta’s morning radio show The Bert Show tweeted me this morning and asked “does the body know the difference between ‘natural’ sugar and processed sugar”?
Well, Swim Bike Mom thinks all shooga is delicious! 


But I decided to look into it a little more….  and I could make heads or tails of any of it.  All I could recognize was sucrose, fructose and glucose.  
Sucrose being essentially sugar derived from sugar cane or sugar beets (such as white sugar, or a close cousin by-product such as raw sugar/turbinado, molasses or brown sugar).  Nutrition Diva (Monica Reinagel, M.S.,L.D./N.) says that from a nutritional standpoint, there is no difference between these types of sugars. Although some are definitely less processed, they all provide the same number of calories, and when it comes to digestion and metabolism, your body cannot tell the difference.”   (http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/is-natural-sugar-better-for-you.aspx).

Next comes fructose, or the fruit based sugars. Oh, but we can’t forget about glucose – a simple sugar that is one of the main components to photosynthesis and cellular respiration.  What? I think about glucose and I have flashbacks to my glucose test from pregnancy.  Nice. But then I see that sugar cane is also a fructose.  What? I thought that was sucrose?  Now what.  High fructose corn syrup is a mixture of fructose and glucose.  

Then there’s the evil artificial sweeteners.  But what about stevia, the natural but non-sugar (?) sweeteners?

Oh, I can’t keep it straight. How does our metabolism treat all these different kinds of sugars?  How?  What is the BEST sugar for us?  (Don’t say no sugar. That’s the wrong answer). 

Anyway, sorry, Bert… I have no idea as to the answer.  But some of you guys might?  What’s the deal? Do any of you have some good articles to point us in the right direction?  “Does the body know the difference between ‘natural’ sugar and processed sugar”?
In other news, a couple Vlogs to show you my ridiculousness of today.  It started out harmless enough.  Some nice chatter to my iPhone in the driveway. Then some hideous fat-faced goggle eyes after my swim.  Followed by a sports bra fail (thank you Old Navy).  Ho hum.

[Yes, I’m happy with the workouts from today though.  1.2+ mile swim plus 5 miles on the dreadmill.]

See? My hat’s off!


Scary face. Check out my pool mate. I love the pool walkers. 

Post 5 miles.  Sweat + me = sports bra fail. 
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7 Responses

  1. Welcome to Science Bike Mom. LOL. My head hurts… Seriously, I think the sugar thing has to do with the glycemic index. Kind of the same way a sweet potato is better for you than a white potato. They are both potatoes but the sweet one has a lower glycemic index so has less of an impact on your blood sugar. Sugars that are more natural like fruits or honey have less complex carbs and do less to spike your blood sugar. No expert here but I think that has some truth to it.

    What is with that sports bra? Let them stare – haters! 🙂

  2. I am certainly no expert. I have been told by someone who has spent his life buying sugar and sweeteners that it pretty much is all the same. I won't quote him b/c I don't remember exactly, but he said something about it all breaks down in your body the same way. Some sugars/sweeteners are already partly broken down when you eat them and then some break down while you're digesting, but they all break down the same!

  3. 2700 meters in 41 minutes?!?! How can I get to be that fast? I did 1200 yards in 40 minutes on Friday. I knew I was slow, but MAN, I didn't think I was THAT slow. Guessing I gotta figure out how to swim faster if I ever think I'm going to complete 70.3!

  4. I aspire to swim that well! As for the sugars, I am also trying to figure that out. I have cut the amount of sugar I consume in half and omg, I lost 5 lbs in the 1st week. I was using Stevia/Truvia though. I'll be checking back to see if anyone has any answers!

  5. Not 100% sure, but my dad could possibly shed some light on your sugar mystery. If you want his email, holla!

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