Sugar

Living consciously · Nutrition

Hidden in almost everything

By now, sugar can be found in almost all processed foods – by some estimates in around 80 % of all industrial products. And far from only in sweet things: it's also in bread, sauces, cooked ham or ready-made pizza – there often disguised as dextrose and barely recognisable on the ingredient list. That's because sugar isn't just flavour, it's also the “preservative number one.” It helps me to look consciously and to decide for myself how much of it belongs in my everyday life.

What sugar does in the body

The science paints a clear picture – sugar works far beyond the teeth:

• Blood sugar & insulin: Insulin channels glucose out of the blood and into the cells. With a consistently high sugar intake, the cells respond less sensitively – an insulin resistance develops, a precursor of type 2 diabetes.
• Liver: Once the stores are full, the liver converts surplus glucose and above all fructose into fat – which can contribute to a fatty liver.
• Inflammation: As little as around 40 g of sugar – the contents of a single can of soda – can raise inflammatory markers, insulin resistance and LDL cholesterol. Chronic, silent inflammation is considered a contributing factor in many illnesses.
• Immune system: A research team at the University of Würzburg showed in 2022 that a lot of sugar fuels inflammatory processes and disrupts the immune system – right up to an increased risk of autoimmune diseases.
• Long term: Consistently too much sugar encourages overweight and type 2 diabetes – with consequences ranging from joint problems to heart attack and stroke.

Sugar in numbers

A heute-show special showed just how big this topic is, with some striking figures:

• 57 % of adults in Germany are considered overweight.
• On average we eat around 32 sugar cubes per day – about twice as much as the WHO recommends.
• More than 8 million people in Germany live with type 2 diabetes.
• The wider societal cost of overweight is estimated at around 63 billion euros per year.

With children in particular, how much is in there is massively underestimated: many people guess eight cubes in a pack of children's chocolate – there are eighteen. A 1 kg bag of gummy bears works out to around 153 sugar cubes.

Other countries are leading the way

Elsewhere there is stronger pushback: since 2018, the United Kingdom has levied a sugar tax on soft drinks – with a measurable effect. The very same Fanta there contains noticeably less sugar than it does here (around 4.6 g instead of 9 g per 100 ml). In Chile, heavily sugared products carry black warning labels, and countries such as Sweden, Norway and Canada have significantly restricted advertising for unhealthy children's products.

My alternative: xylitol

For me, that doesn't mean going without joylessly – but sweetening more consciously. Instead of industrial sugar, I happily reach for Xylit (xylitol, birch sugar): it tastes sweet, is tooth-friendly and lets blood sugar rise considerably more slowly. Just as lovely is the natural sweetness of whole fruit, which brings its fibre along with it.

If you want to dive deeper, you'll find plenty of worthwhile literature on the subject – for example “Sweetness and Power” by Sidney W. Mintz.

For me it's not about dogmas or bans, but about awareness. When I understand what sugar does inside me, the decision becomes easier – not out of fear, but out of mindfulness towards myself.

This text reflects my personal experiences and is not a substitute for medical or nutritional advice. Some figures come from the heute-show special „Lutz und Fabian auf Zuckerjagd“ (ZDF).