Sugar: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

1 3612

There’s tons of conflicting information in the media about nutrition. What’s good for you and what’s not? I’m here to set the record straight. I studied nutrition because as a competitive athlete I learned the hard way trying to make sense of my up and down performance. So is sugar really bad for you? As an athlete, sugar is fuel. In fact, all food and drink that have calories are fuel. If you are active, your body will use the energy that comes from calories. If you are sedentary then sugar is bad. It can be really bad along with an unhealthy lifestyle leading to overweight, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, etc.

1342968_12234562

For Spread Stoke peeps sugar is your friend. You need to fuel your body so you’re energized to do lots more awesome shiz! Sugars are the building blocks of carbohydrates. Carbs are the body’s preferred fuel source because it is easiest to break down and use. Carbs are also the brain’s exclusive fuel source. Ever notice that when you get tired it’s in your head first before you feel tired in your body? Carbs are vegetables, fruits, and starches. Veggies and fruits are lower in carbs and loaded with fiber. Starches include potatoes, rice, quinoa, pasta, breads, cereals and almost all baked goods and packaged snack products. Athletes need starch along with protein and fat. More on that in other posts.

Best sources of carbs are in their most natural form. When you’re on the go being active, sport nutrition products are great. Bars, gels, chews, and drinks are designed for athletes. They have the energy, carbs, and electrolytes you need to maintain performance. The more active you are, the more carbs aka sugar you need. Check the labels on what you’re eating or drinking. Dextrose, glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltodextrin are all examples of sugars. Sport nutrition products are designed with simple sugars so your body can digest them quickly and have energy available for your working muscles to spread more stoke.

One thought on “Sugar: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

  1. Tori Sowul says:

    Thanks for sharing, I can’t definitely see where ‘sugar’ is misleading. I look forward to reading more!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>