Is sugar your friend?

By saying the word sugar everyone immediately thinks 'NO!'. Logical, because with the advent of fast food, high calorie meals and all kinds of sweets, our consumption of fast sugars has increased considerably, and with it our health has deteriorated.

However, there are different types of sugar, and in addition to the important difference between these sugars, you can even eat the 'bad' variant in a smart way if you really don't want to skip eating it.

It is of course a good thing to make sure that you do not consume too much sugar, but remember that a completely sugar-free diet is not possible and not even desirable. While sugar is the correct all-encompassing term, it can be broken down into a lot of specific types; this term includes fructose, glucose, lactose and maltose, and you actually need some of these sugars to survive. Your body doesn't recognise the difference between a lump of sugar in your coffee and the sugars in a raspberry. You will gain weight by consuming too much sugar.

All carbohydrates are eventually converted into simple sugars, the difference lies in how long it takes your body to do this.

This is where the term slow carbohydrates comes from; the sugars in, for example, sweet potato, whole grain wheat products, vegetables and fruit are absorbed by your body much more slowly than a sugar cube. The slow sugars (or carbs) do not cause a huge peak in your blood sugar level. So slow sugars (carbohydrates) are definitely better, but, what if you want to treat yourself once in a while or don't want to leave fast sugars behind and still want to eat that delicious cookie every now and then?

Immediately after a solid workout, your body screams for sugars to replenish your reserves. In theory, it's best to throw that tasty cookie full of fast sugars in your sports bag to eat it right after your workout. Whether you're hungry for it is of course the question, but the body won't say no to it!

So, in short: Fast, high concentrated sugars are bad. They are mostly found in mass produced food and will give you a huge peak in your blood sugar, followed with an energy drop once your body has finished processing it. Slow sugars which can be found in vegetables, fruits and whole wheat products for example are good for your body as it needs the energy and will give you a stable, desirable flow of energy.