What role does sugar play in the body?

This unit explains how sugar affects your metabolism. You’ll understand the significance of sugar and learn how to burn fat faster and how to curb sweet cravings.

Sugar is our main source of energy. The simple sugar glucose supplies the body with immediate energy. Glucose goes into the blood immediately, the blood sugar level rises, insulin is secreted and helps to channel the sugar into the cells (e.g. muscle cells). This is where sugar is converted into energy.

The more sport you do, the more sugar you’re able to burn. If too much sugar gets into the blood too quickly, the body has to work very hard to distribute it. This is because your body’s first priority is to keep your blood sugar level constant. The body has developed a complex control system for this purpose, but this system should not be overtaxed.

What happens to the excess sugar?

If the sugar is not needed immediately, it goes into storage. The body is in the anabolic state, i.e. building-up mode. Sugar gets converted into glycogen in the liver. This is our first energy store. If there’s more sugar that needs to be distributed, it gets converted into fat and stored in the adipose (fatty) tissue.

This anabolic condition is aided by the high insulin level. As long as there is insulin in your blood, it is impossible to burn fat. If you want to burn fat, it’s important to have breaks between meals.

Tip: That makes the body go for its fat reserves!

Many people who tend towards being overweight find it helpful to eat till they’re full three times a day and not snack in between. If you can’t manage that, you may snack on vegetable sticks, cottage cheese or nuts. Fruit is not suitable as snacks, as it raises the blood sugar level.

Another popular trick is not to eat late in the evening or to delay breakfast a little. The thinking behind it is always to lower the insulin level in the blood in order to tap into the body’s own energy reserves.

Where does your energy come from if you don’t eat?

If the blood sugar level drops, insulin is no longer secreted. Now glycogen is released from the liver and muscles as energy reserve. This reserve lasts about 30 to 90 minutes during intense exertion. The longer the exertion lasts, the more fat reserves are burnt proportionally.

You can, in theory, run a marathon with this energy reserve. The intensity of the exertion, your level of fitness and genetic factors determine how well you’re able to mobilise your fat reserves.

Where do sweet cravings come from?

Sugar has a big impact, not only on your fat deposits, but also on appetite. Because a rapid rise in blood sugar is followed by a rapid drop. As a result, a hunger signal is sent out, with the consequence that you eat a small snack that causes the blood sugar level to rise again. And so it goes on the whole day long.

Foods rich and fibre and protein, like curd cheese, cheddar, cottage cheese, nuts, mushrooms and vegetable sticks are a great solution here. These foods make you feel fuller and slow down the rise in the blood sugar level.

Tip: Snack with savvy!

If you want to be smart about sugar consumption, combine it with foods that are rich in fibre or protein, or eat it immediately after a main meal. When it’s mixed with other nutrients, sugar takes much longer to get to the blood.

When do you get hungry?

It’s different for every individual. While it’s good to know about balanced diets, it’s also important to listen to your stomach!

Are you one of those people that are always hungry? Then, over the next few days observe how long it takes you to get hungry after which meals, and which foods make you feel full longer. You should also plan to have your meals at regular intervals, as your stomach likes habit and adjusts to them.