The Fear of Sugars - A Worthy Phobia

It's important that bariatric patients monitor grams of sugar in their diet!

About 97% of all bariatric surgery patients learn to be very familiar with what is known as "dumping syndrome", which is a way your body tells you that you eat something you don't need to eat. "Dumping" appears in many forms from sudden fatigue, to nausea, vomiting, and even diarrhea. When the "dump" arrives, pay attention to what you have just eaten, and do your best to avoid it again.

Many things can cause a dump. Foods that contain too much fat, fat, carbohydrates, and sugar CAN make you "wasted." But the biggest culprit in this short list (so much food has elements in it), is ALCOHOLS and Sugar.

What exactly is "Sugar Alcohol"?

Basically, Alcohol Sugar is an artificial sweetener or "anything that acts as a sweetener in foods but cannot be labeled as sugar because it is not pure sugar."

Alcohol can not add calories (like real sugar) to your body, but they DO act like sugar in the sense that they will make DUMP bariatric patients as if they were taking real sugar. On average, bariatric patients cannot tolerate more than 12 grams of sugar PER MEAL. More than 12 grams of sugar will almost always cause some type of dumping, whether mild or severe. That is why it is important to add the sugars and sugary alcohols you consume in each meal.

Let's say the food label says the product has 2 grams of sugar and 14 grams of alcohol sugar. Does that mean safe? It's not safe because when sugar alcohol acts like sugar, you basically eat 16 grams of "sugar-action" because you have to ADD it together because they react in the same way. Some "diet" foods claim to be low in sugar - TRUE - but then contain 22 grams of sugar alcohol. This is good for non-bariatric patients, but definitely a "dump in the making" for us!

What exactly is "Sugar"?

Chemically, sugar is a carbohydrate. When the body digests food, carbohydrates (except fiber) break down into sugars. We can find sugar in many forms. Sugar is not only used to speed food: they are also used as a natural preservative and adjuvant. Sugar is added to food during processing and preparation. The body cannot tell the difference between "natural" sugars and artificial sugars because they are similar in chemical breakdown.

"Incognito" sugar

Watch out for these candies in disguise! Some are obvious while others are complicated:
o brown sugar

o Corn sweetener

o Corn syrup

or fructose

o concentrated fruit juice

o Glucose (dextrose)

o High fructose corn syrup

or Honey

o Transfer sugar

of Lactose

of Maltose

of Molasses

o Raw sugar

o Sucrose table (Sucrose)

o Syrup

If you find the items listed on the food label, keep in mind: this product may be high in sugar if one of the above shows the first or the second ingredient list. If these are listed, then the product will most likely be too high in "sugar" for bariatric patients and will result in dumping.

Also, the fruit contains "natural sugar". And fruits, unlike packaged foods, do not have easy packaging on those who disclose any amount of sugar in them. This is where we need to "know" how much sugar is in the fruits we eat. Pineapple is one of the highest natural sugars out there, and the wine is quite high too. Fruits are good for our system, if taken lightly. But too much "natural" sugar can also have a bad effect.

If you do not develop FEAR OF SUGARS right now, then you may be doing wrong. It's important to know how sugar affects you personally so you can learn how to eat it with confidence. As you begin to understand how sugar affects your system, you can attend any social event and know what to eat and how much "party" food you can eat safely without causing embarrassing and frustrating episodes. When you throw in the trash, it's natural for you to be interested because other people really care and ask you why you are not feeling well. If you don't want to pay attention, get your Sugar Conservation Zone to personal science so you can always relax and enjoy your meal.

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