5 Min Facts - Sugar

This is episode 133 of the Empowered Team podcast. Welcome to the Empowered Team podcast where we explore how to optimize your performance in career, sport and life. And now, your host, Vitaldi and peak performance coach, Kari Schneider. Okay, everyone. Hello, Hello, Hello. We will watch for more popping in. Welcome to performance Power. Hi. Hello.

Hello.

This one already sweet enough? That's right. We're already sweet enough.

Perfect.

So that's the topic today. The topic is sugar. So here are five minute facts. Let's see if we can keep it into five minutes. Number one is weight gain. So sugar. And when I say sugar, I do not want to demonize sugar. Sugar is not the devil. Sugar is not an awful, awful thing. But too much sugar causes major problems. Just like anything else. Too much sugar causes a lot of things. So when we have excessive amounts of sugar, we've got weight gain. Why? When we have excessive fructose in our bodies, what happens is it causes leptin resistance. Leptin is a hormone in our body that tells us we're full. So if we don't have that fullness cue, you can probably remember a time where you've had a lot of sugar, and maybe at that time when you've had a lot of sugar, you crave more, but you know you've eaten a whole bunch, you know you've gotten a lot of calories in. Well, that's one of the reasons is that this hormone leptin is muted or has resistance, and it's not doing its job to tell us to signal our brain that we're actually full. We've had enough calories. So that's one of the things that contributes to weight gain. Number two is acne. Who likes acne? Awesome. So this one, there's lots of research that looks at a high glycemic diet that's one that has more absorbable sugar, so less fiber. A high glycemic diet usually has more sugar, less fiber, and that's associated with increased acne because the blood sugar goes up and so do the insulin levels and so does something called androgen levels, and that increases oil secretion and increases inflammation. So when the oil goes up and the inflammation goes up, that brings out the acne. So that is number two. Yay for sugar. Right. Number three, deadly disease. There's so much on this one that I had to put a whole bunch of things together on this. So deadly disease is that it may increase with excess sugar, it may increase the risk of heart disease, may increase the risk of depression, and will with excess sugar increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer and fatty liver disease. And that's non alcohol fatty liver disease. It's the same kind of thing with your liver that happens when there's excess alcohol consumption can happen to your liver with excess sugar consumption. Wowzers, right? Okay, number four, aging. So you can have acne and aging all at the same time. It's so awesome. So the aging looks like this. There's something called advanced glycation end products. And what happens with lots of sugar is that increases, but it increases the aging of our skin because it damages the collagen and elastin of our skin, that nice stretchiness to our skin. So that's one of the things with aging. The second thing, and this doesn't have to do with the skin, but actually our cells all through our body, it shortens the telomere at the end of the DNA complex. So this is within our cells, it shortens our telomere and that's our aging for our cells. And we don't really want that. So aging, increased sugar, it shortens our telometer mirrors and decreases our likelihood for healthy, healthy long term cells. Number five is energy. This is our energy fluctuations. We have a lot of sugar come in, our sugar spikes. So the energy goes way up but then crashes way down when we get that insulin happening coming in. So that is what happens with excess sugar. That way sharp increase, sharp crash, these big energy fluctuations. And that is not what we want. We want this long term energy that is like a high good energy that we can sustain with, which is an amazing thing. Ok we've got a bonus here. And this is thanks to the project maker in the house energy drinks. So this is our bonus category, sugary drinks. And this is a visual. So you can see this size. This is a 500 milliliter bottle of coke has if you can see 55 grams of sugar, all of this right here in one bottle of coke. So to give you some more, so that's 14 teaspoons of sugar in one bottle of Coke. So you just keep dumping those teaspoons of sugar in. So to give you perspective, I wanted to compare an apple to this. So One apple has 11 grams of sugar, not 55. One apple is going to have two and a half grams of fiber and it's going to have about 55 calories. Whereas this is going to have somewhere in the 220 to 250 calories. And this one bottle alone for someone who's consuming about 2,000 calories a day, this would be over 10% of your daily dietary intake of calories, not sugar, calories. So big kind of comparison there that is Our five minute facts for sugar just to like blitz you with it because it's such a powerful thing. And again, not to demonize sugar. There's nothing wrong with sugar. It's that our bodies are not adapted to so much so fast and right into our bloodstream. It doesn't do great things for us. We're meant to have some fiber and small amounts of sugar with lots of fiber and combining with other things like a protein and a fat. So your body sustains that energy best when you combine a protein and a fat along with whatever the carbohydrate, even if it's a simple sugar. Ok, so you may have some questions on sugar. Let's open that up first and then we'll dive into the other questions that have come on in. Hold on here. Any questions regarding sugar before we go into the other questions that have come up? Sugar questions, anyone? Yeah, go ahead. So is there an allowable amount? Is that, you know, like I don't think I ingest a lot but. Or is it a case of stay away and just ingest natural sugars? Well, this is where that one recommendation of having fiber, having fat and having protein along with it goes a long way. And there's another factor in there too. If you look at little kids and how much they crave sugar, part of the reason for that is because they are so active like they are. Go, go, go, go, go. They metabolize sugar pretty quickly if they're active kids. But if they're not, then we don't metabolize sugar as well. And that goes the same for us. It's just that we may not be as active. So if you've been really active right post exercise, right post workout, you, your body is like absorbing that sugar like that. So a post workout meal can tolerate, your body can tolerate a whole lot more sugar right after a workout than if it's at a different time in the day from your body's activity level. So that makes a difference too, along with just bringing in the other things like the fiber, the water, the fat and the protein as well. Those things make a huge difference. Evan, you've got a question. Go for it.

Yeah, so I guess two questions. So I know you, I've told you that I use tailwind for my running, which is a simple sugar and I use that, it's, you know, 100 calories, 200 calories per hour type thing. That covers me for that aspect. And then the rebuild afterwards has sugar in it as well. Now obviously I don't have any other sugar typically very much at all, but would there be a difference between, you know, like your cane sugar, your organic sugar, your agave syrup, all those other things that everybody says is better for you? Is it actually indeed better?

Yes and no. Your body still treats it like sugar, but things like high fructose corn syrup have extra detrimental effects. And sugar is actually the combination. Like chemically it's the combination of glucose and fructose. You put those two together and it makes simple sugar or just sugar. So there's glucose, there's fructose, there's. And then any of the, like any of the natural sugars, cane sugar, maple syrup, honey, all of the things. Your body still receives it as though it's sugar, but it's not going to be quite as detrimental as say a high fructose corn sirup that's even more refined and has some extra effects on us. However, I want to point to you specifically because I know the amount of volume of exercise you're doing. You're doing massive amounts of running compared to the average person. You're in a, you're training for ultra racing. So in that situation you've got a scenario that you're uptaking that and you actually need way more than the average person. Plus the simple, the sugars that you're uptaking, Maltodextrin, even though it's a sugar, it's a slower absorbing sugar. So it tends to try and span it out a little bit longer. So you're the case where you absolutely like, you cannot get away with, with not having that replenishing glycogen, that replenishing sugar and protein right after training. It's a must for you. It's really important and it's the kind of thing that if you miss one of your, during training or post training windows of replenishing, you will have problems for your next workout and your next workout after that. So your timing of it and your intake of it is, that is very necessary. Unlike those, unlike people who are training say once a day and They've got a 24 hour span of recovery time and it was, you know, maybe a moderate workout and then they've got plenty of recovery. They don't even really need to be worrying about replenishing glycogen and things like that. You do because of the volume of training, the frequency of training and just the overall wear and tear that's going On. Okay. Any other sugar questions before I move on to another question? Yeah, science fair. There's a question about. There's a couple of questions I think I'll have time to address here. There's a question about doing a juice cleanse and where that would fit optimally in a monthly cycle. Now, personally, I'll be doing a juice cleanse in another couple weeks, so at the spring solstice. And I've been doing this for a couple of years. So I've had experience doing the juice cleanse on a monthly cycle. And this is. It can be challenging if you're timing the juice cleanse right in that PMS stage, that premenstrual stage in that week prior to your cycle starting, that's when our bodies are looking for more sugars, looking for more fats, looking for more calories overall. And if you're timing a juice cleanse in that PMS week, that could be a hot mess. Because, you know, doing a juice cleanse is hard enough when you're not eating your normal foods, let alone when you've got this added craving for a bunch of extra things that you may not normally have. So I would time the juice cleanse in any of the other three weeks of the month than that one week, because as Cassie probably knows, and I know that when it has happened to time on that particular week, it is an extra challenge because you're already dealing with a few other hormonal things, craving factors, and a number of things. If Cassie has anything to add on that, by all means, because I'm sure you've experienced something along those lines.

Yeah, I'll just add that the fact is it's different for everyone. So if you've never done it, like, just. And you're interested, you can always test it and find out. I've had all kinds of different, like female friends say even for working out during their cycle. Like, some people like myself, I usually feel like super energetic and like, can do more, but I know some women, it's the exact opposite. So in terms of changing your diet in a significant way. That way. Yeah, just. Just test it out and just make notes. Like sometimes you just. I think we make a lot of excuses for ourselves as females. Like, oh, well, you know, we forget how much is actually, like physiologically changing in our bodies and we.

That.

That is not, you know, uniquely just to young women. I think we do it throughout our entire lives. And I've been noticing that more even just in my late thirt. Just pay attention. See what's There and whatever you're adjusting, see, maybe it's, maybe it has more to do with something else than just your mind.

Absolutely. And I love that you're pointing to the individuality of people and also the difference with what's going on in their lives. So this applies as well for menopause or perimenopause as well because every single week or month is a little different. And for women, our stress levels drastically affect our hormone levels and how they fluctuate with each other. Whether you're having a monthly cycle or not having a monthly cycle, our stress levels can challenge that scenario. The other factor to mention as well is that some people will do a type of juice cleanse that will last for extended periods of time. The thing that the person who asked the question, it's a two day, it's a 48 hour juice cleanse and that's what I was referring to as well. A 48 hour juice cleanse without other food in there at the same time. So those are factors to consider as well. Another question that came in was about who makes the best vitamin C on the market. So the market is always, the market is always changing. But that said, there's a few brands that I really rely on and when you're just going for a supplement that's a single supplement, like you know, say you want vitamin D or vitamin C or vitamin E. The brand I would go for is Thorne and that's T H O R, N E. And that's because they are so high quality and just the standards are there, the, the testing is there. And so when you're using that supplement you've got a lot more confidence, I would say, in how and what you're getting versus what you're not getting anything you're looking at like I'm talking Costco brands, Jameson, the pharmacy, most of that is utter crap and has a whole bunch extra of just yuck in there that you just don't want to be taking. And that's where the supplement industry is so variable. And the qualities that you get in terms of the Maltese, the cellular complex, the fish oils, the things like that. I use Doterra vitamins, those are the ones I use. If I want something individual that's extra, I need more of something. Maybe it's vitamin D or magnesium or C or E. Then I would do Thorne as a brand there. I think that helps there. I have another question here and then I'll open it up. Another question is for people who have a lot of restriction in the hips and Shoulders. There's a lot of mobility restriction in the hips and shoulders. Now this doesn't surprise me because when we have so much more sitting going on, then the hip flexors shortening and so is the pec and your hip flexors and your quads are such massive muscles that when they shorten, it affects other joints as well. So when we shorten our pecs, we're pulling the whole shoulder girdle in. It's not just right here, it's going to affect our scapula, our neck, all these other areas. So the key to this, and this is something that I've had to say for years, because people will come in wanting one exercise for the hips or one exercise for the shoulders or for the posture for the neck or whatever it is in order to fix the thing without realizing that the hours of whatever the position is that has contributed to it has to be undone. So it can't just be the one exercise that takes two or three minutes to try and address the problem. It has to be a postural thing or a regular undoing, meaning several times throughout the day opening back up and all the time throughout the day checking on the posture and seeing what that's looking like and fixing it or just doing a few things that are small adjustments in the pelvis position, in the stomach engagement. And when I say stomach, I mean some of those underneath stabilizers, those transverse abdominis, not the big abdominal wall, but these little stabilizers underneath. So just this little subtle shifts in posture and these little wee additions activity throughout the day will make massive differences when added with the more say aggressive or purposeful exercises that directly address the issue. Thorne. So Cassie's taken the thorn vitamin D K stack. Yeah. And that has gone with and gone with 8,000 international units daily for a couple weeks now. And noticing it in mood and consistent, so constant mood, even easier return to happy. And that is huge. And that was based on our last vitamin D conversation, I imagine. And it is something that is so powerful in terms of the depth and breadth of research around it that every weekend I pop that bottle out and I'm holding it over me, Maeve, Paul and other kids if they're here and just like down those drops of vitamin D, we make sure we have that it's too valuable of a supplement to miss on that sense. Ok, So I think that's all the questions that came in otherwise. So let's open it up to other questions that you have or that have come up since we've talked about sugar or since we've talked about joints or since we talked about cleanse, juice cleanse, and that kind of thing. So what else is there for you?

There's one in the chat there from Evan Gray says how to quiet the mind. When you have more to give, but you decide to stop.

Okay. Sometimes trying to quiet the mind with the mind is counterproductive because it's like you're fighting us losing battle, like so. Especially if we've been in this sympathetic nervous system, meaning this go, go, go all the time. If it's work, if it's training, if it's kids, which Evan has all of these things, then it's just go, go, go. And there's so many things that always have to be done that the brain is keeping track of this, even if you don't want it to. So we're often, as we coach in our coaching sessions, we're often coaching on the mind. However, sometimes what we can go to directly is the body. The body ends up almost being like the mechanical brake. It's almost like having the E brake on a car or even almost like having the ability to shift down instead of pressing the actual brake. You've got the ability to downshift and go into a lower gear. And the reason I say this, because, you know, I love the science side of things. So here's what happens. We've got these. We've got this thing called this big nerve, called this phrenic nerve, and it ends up coming up through our diaphragm, ends up going to our brain. But what happens with that is our diaphragm ends up being a signaler not only to our heart. So when we go and breathe in and breathe deeply, so our diaphragm literally opens up. When we take a deep breath in, it does this kind of thing, and it expands and opens up. That sends a signal to the heart that when we're breathing in, it sends a signal to the heart. Because when the diaphragm does this, the heart actually has more volume. When those vessels are expanded, the signal to the brain says, holy crap. The vessels are expanded, pump faster. If we breathe in, like, the brain gets a signal to pump faster as we exhale, and the diaphragm comes back up. The brain, literally from the heart getting more pressure and the vessels constricting, gets the signal to say, hey, heart, you can slow down. Now, when we choose mechanically to breathe in ways that say in, but emphasizing the exhale, we can mechanically slow our heart and redirect our brain to what's happening with Our body. When I say about the brain and the thoughts, we can, number one, use the body as a mechanical way to start to slow the mind and the heart. And number two, it's very challenging to suppress thoughts. So instead of suppressing the thoughts that are going to keep popping from our limbic brain naturally, that's what it's supposed to do. Pop, pop, pop. Instead of suppressing that thought, instead we can introduce a thought that we would like to be thinking in the moment. And that can be anything from breathe in and long exhale. That can be anything from inhale, relaxation, exhale, long and tension. It can be anything. Also even into redirecting to number patterns that you have to think about so you're not thinking about some things that might bring the heart rate up or the agitation. Like, I count backwards by three sometimes if I really am having challenges with where my brain is going. So there are a number of mechanical ways that you can use your body to redirect your brain or introduce thought instead of trying to suppress thought. And those can be very helpful that way. Yeah, yeah. So Evan's pointing to is that back to the feeling versus the thought more for the body. Like a check in it can be and you can start to check in. But what I'm describing is different than a feeling, emotion. What I'm describing is a physical sensation. There's the distinction between physical sensation, which is what I was just describing, versus the feeling of emotion that is the signal from the brain to the body of an emotion. So I hope that helps that way. Any last questions? I think I can take one last question before we hop off. Anything anyone wants to sneak in? Awesome. Okay, let's end it there today. Is everybody still anyone on here sugar free right now? A little bit. So it kind of sort of. Okay, we're on day eight now and we're still plowing through sugar free and even little 10 year old Maeve is doing it with us. So we have some sugar free muffins that are just banana, coconut oil, oats, water, and then I've added almonds, a little bit of dried cranberries and cacao nibs. And those are our saving grace right now if we crave something. So have a beautiful rest of your day. Here's to performance power. Keep it going out there for your best health, your best vitality, your best energy, and I cannot wait to see you soon next week. Amazing. Amazing. Have a great day. If you enjoy listening to the Empowered Team podcast, you'll love being on the team. The Empowered Team runs year round. It is our group coaching and accountability program where we take mindset and physical performance concepts and break them down to usable action steps that optimize results. To join, email us@info powerconditioning.com with subject line team. That's info power powerconditioning.com we can't wait for you to be on the team.