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nebule's avatar

Pretend I've just eaten 100grams of sugar... what's that going to do to me biologically?

Asked by nebule (16452points) March 9th, 2010

I mean this whole sugar issue…. insulin levels and what not…

I’ve just realised that I’ve spent all day craving cakes and in the end have massively pigged out (and yes in effect have probably consumed about 100 g of sugar!!). I got to thinking about how all of this seemed incredibly out of my control… a real bodily craving and then I realised that I had cereal this morning that was 50% sugar whereas I normally have ham on toast and low fat cheese. This probably sent my body in sugar ups and downs all day right?

I don’t normally feel like this so wondered whether it’s really all down to the sugar?

Furthermore…if this is the case… how much sugar is safe for you to consume, without it sending you into this roller-coaster ride of craving? In what levels? Is it a percentage of the food we eat at one specific time? (i.e. the percentage of sugar in an apple and a bowl of salad would be ok)

Please feel free to correct me if I’m totally wrong about any of this… I really would like a biological explanation to try and make me more aware of what I’m doing to my body…. (I know hormones fit in there somewhere too don’t they… god this is complicated)

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20 Answers

phoebusg's avatar

I don’t know about the safe intake. But about your craving. Do you eat lots of times per day, or eat bigger meals and concentrated? Also, do you eat fruit? Try eating more fruit with your cereal/foods.

My diet is nearly devoid of white sugar, I don’t even have any in the house. It is an addictive substance – mainly because we’re wired toward fruit.

judochop's avatar

You pancreas is gonna hate you.

nebule's avatar

@phoebusg I’m dieting (lol) so I’m eating small meals breakfast, lunch and dinner with snacks of fruit in between… (that’s the intention anyway!!) but like I say I’ve found that when I eat this stuff it sends me nutty!!!

@judochop where is your pancreas? wait…I’ll google it!! will I start feeling pain??...because I’ve already noticed that my heart rate has like…SHOT UP!! is that normal?? and I’ve gone a little dizzy and obviously sick… actually it’s pretty cool…. in a masochistic kinda way

stratman37's avatar

You might make yourself diabetic if you keep doing that. Normally if you eat more than 40 grams of anything (protein, carb, let alone fat) if the body can’t utilize it quickly, the excess gets convert to, and stored as, fat. You are probably feeling a real plummet in your energy right now, I’m guessing.

lucillelucillelucille's avatar

In my case,it would raise my blood sugar 500 points.I would then take around 10extra units of insulin to cover it depending on what my blood sugar levels are to start with.That cake had better be good.

nebule's avatar

@stratman37 yes pretty much :-( Oh dear… I didn’t know that about 40g of anything… wow… interesting stuff!! Do you mean you can eat up to 40g of combined food groups (cause that aint a lot of food is it) in any one sitting or up to 40g of each?

@lucillelucillelucille can you tell me a bit more about this ‘covering it’ what does that do exactly… please forgive my ignorance…

marinelife's avatar

What sugar does to the body:

“One of sugar’s major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. This is not something you want to take place if you want to avoid disease.

An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body’s blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar, you’re making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease. Complex carbohydrates tend to be absorbed more slowly, lessening the impact on blood-sugar levels.” Source

If you are in the habit of eating sugar, you could literally be craving it if you have a yeast overgrowth (candidiasis), because the yeast eat sugar.

nebule's avatar

Thanks @marinelife that makes perfect sense to me! very interesting… now….what to do about it… stop eating sugar altogether…I’m told that’s a toughy!

philosopher's avatar

Excess sugar all the time can lead to a Metabolic disorder and diabetics. It can cause the Metabolism to slow down. It gets stored as fat and causes weight gain. Simple sugars are the worse. Sweet cravings can be cut down by eating sweet fruit and a small piece of dark chocolate daily. Visit ultrametabolism.com. Read the book by Dr. Mark Hyman.

thriftymaid's avatar

Make you want some more.

marinelife's avatar

@lynneblundell It takes about a week for the cravings to go away, but the yeast die off and they do go away.

philosopher's avatar

@marinelife
The more fruit I eat the less sweets I crave.

davidbetterman's avatar

“Pretend I’ve just eaten 100grams of sugar… what’s that going to do to me biologically?”

It’s going to raise your blood sugar levels drastically. This will give you a temporary sugar high. But this only lasts about 45 minutes or so. Then you will take a nose-dive and your blood sugar levels will drop dramatically, causing anxiety, low-sugar problems, piss-poor attitude and shitty behavior.
Sugar is a behavior modifier.
This doesn’t count the possible diabetes you may force on yourself, the liver/pancreas harm you may cause. The fat you will gain when you don’t burn off the sugar. And the need you will feel for more..more…ever more sugar.
Not to mention other diseases associated with high sugar levels…like Bell’s Palsy (where half your face becomes paralyzed indefinitely); and circulation problems which can lead to the loss of extremities like feet and hands, not to mention the poor eyesight to blindness you may incur from your ingesting too much sugar.

Enjoy your cake and ice cream.

lucillelucillelucille's avatar

@lynneblundell -By covering,I just mean taking care of the rise in blood sugar(with insulin injections) that will happen with any meal.Some carbs will raise blood sugars faster than others.I have regulated my insulin for a long time now based on the amount of carbs I injest for a particular meal.:)

nebule's avatar

@davidbetterman that’s a bit harsh… I’m quite a healthy person…surely you’re not suggesting that one overdose of sugar is going to do all that! Or was it intended as shock tactics :-)

@marinelife is this cutting it out altogether? is that even possible… even meat has some sugar in it doesn’t it?

@lucillelucillelucille Ah I see… presumably if you didn’t have the insulin you would have a diabetic seizure or something because of too much sugar in your blood yes?

davidbetterman's avatar

LOL…@lynneblundell Somewhat of a shock tactic. Of course what I said requires that you overdose on sugar daily for a few months. Sorry I neglected that caveat!

mattbrowne's avatar

Many processed carbohydrates will cause insulin spikes after eating large quantities. Your body requires an enzyme to split the sucrose molecule into glucose and fructose and the latter will actually delay insulin production. Unless you exercise before or after 100g is way too much.

stratman37's avatar

@lynneblundell 40 grams of each. Except for fat. You really don’t need to eat more than 30 grams A DAY.

Sophief's avatar

Probably put you a few lbs on!

nebule's avatar

@davidbetterman lol…pheeeeww!!! :-) <3 thank the lord!

@stratman37 thanks for the clarification x

Well feeling much much better today anyway..have stayed away from sugar as much as possible and am feeling the benefits… hopefully the exercise (one hour of high intensity) would have helped burn off a few lingering granules of sugar… :-/ and if not…well try harder next week to lose the pounds..forever onward and upward!

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