I'll be quick because I know your time is limited - but sugar does not make you anxious, restless or anything else the fearmongers try to tell you.
It's the same old story. Researchers do a study on rats with sugar, and report results.
Then, people take the results to think it applies to human beings, which it does not. Rat studies are good for generating a hypothesis, which generally (and again this case in regards to sugar) are proven wrong.
For example, this study found that sugar effected behaviour in rats, altering "cognitive dysfunction" (1).
Great, so what about when we set up a randomised, single-blind controlled trial into human beings? What happens then?
Let me tell you...
In this research, 41 women consumed 4 servings of an orange flavoured soft drink everyday for a month (2).
Half the women got the sugar version, the other half got the artificially sweetened version.
Now as a single-blind study, they DID NOT know which version they were getting, removing any potential bias here getting in the way of our results. The subjects kept a diary and wrote in it four times a day, reporting feeling of sadness, anger, anxiousness or restlessness.
And what did they find? The extra sugar had no effect on their moods.
In other research by the same authors, the same thing has been found (3).
Does Sugar Make Kids Hyperactive?
If you believe it does, it isn't your fault. It's the power of nutrition myths!
Ask yourself this: where did I hear this from?
Did you hear it from an "expert" parent at a birthday party commenting on the soft drinks present, from a poor headline whereby the study was done in rats, or did you actually read a proper controlled trial into human beings about it? I'll give you a moment...
Now that you know your answer, let's see what the research says.
In this paper, sugar was NOT found to change children's behaviour, nor their cognitive skills (4). It was a double-blind study (double blind means neither the researchers or participants know what the subjects are getting, example, sugar drink or water), and the authors concluded:
"We conclude from this carefully controlled nine-week study that neither sucrose nor aspartame produces discernible cognitive or behavioral effects in normal preschool children or in school-age children believed to be sensitive to sugar."
Such was printed in the New England Journal of Medicine - one of the top journals in the world, and one you don't get a start in with any hocus pocus non-sense.
Parents, listen to this!
Interestingly though, another study found that upon hearing that their child had consumed a lot of sugar, they were more likely to say their child was hyperactive......wait for it.....even when the "sugar" their kids had received was a placebo! (5).
So kids are hyperactive at a birthday party? Of course they are, they're having fun!
The same reason if we go to the pub or go out, our energy levels via speech and behaviour are heightened, whether there's sugar or alcohol or not. We're going to be more energetic in that environment compared to sitting at home on the lounge.
So you can add this "sugar changes behaviour" to the pile of sugar myths that are seemingly mounting by the day. Thank goodness for the proper science though, that always puts the record straight.
Share the truth!
"Stay Fit, Stay Flexed!"
Wanna lose weight and still have sugar daily?
I know you're busy, so I won't keep you for long...
My readers regularly message me as losing weight can be extremely difficult.
Even worse is when stopping an extreme diet brings all the weight back!
I have a solution that'll allow you to continue eating the foods you love (in moderation, of course!) but without an extremity such as paleo, no sugar or no carb.
That's me (Dayne Hudson) above. The photo on the left is me at the end of a bulk, and the photo on the right is after dropping off the weight...in just 12 weeks!
I don't believe in short term diets either! I believe in creating a healthy lifestyle, eating the foods you love, and not needing to worry about your diet around the clock!
As a Sports Nutrition Specialist, scientific researcher and valued member of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, I use proven studies to generate results that last for you.
References
(1) Kendig MD. Cognitive and behavioural effects of sugar consumption in rodents. A review. Appetite. 2014 Sep;80:41-54. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2014.04.028. Epub 2014 May 6.
(2) Reid M, Hammersley R, Duffy M, Ballantyne C. Effects on obese women of the sugar sucrose added to the diet over 28 d: a quasi-randomised, single-blind, controlled trial. Br J Nutr. 2014 Feb;111(3):563-70. doi: 10.1017/S0007114513002687. Epub 2013 Oct 29.
(3) Reid M, Hammersley R, Skidmore P. Long-term dietary compensation for added sugar: effects of supplementary sucrose drinks over a 4-week period. Br J Nutr. 2007 Jan;97(1):193-203.
(4) Wolraich ML, Lindgren SD, Stumbo PJ, Stegink LD, Appelbaum MI, Kiritsy MC. Effects of diets high in sucrose or aspartame on the behavior and cognitive performance of children. N Engl J Med. 1994 Feb 3;330(5):301-7.
(5) Hoover DW, Milich R. Effects of sugar ingestion expectancies on mother-child interactions. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1994 Aug;22(4):501-15.
Author
Dayne Hudson