Cheree Sheldon, Nutritionist for the Sugar Detox 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge provides information about what sugars actually provide our body and whether we should just avoid it all together:

What Does Sugar Provide The Body?

Sugar provides the body with energy. All carbohydrates breakdown as glucose to supply every cell in the body with energy. Glucose is the body’s main source of energy.
After we eat, our blood glucose levels rise and our liver sends out little messengers to gather the excess glucose and store it for later as glycogen. When our blood glucose levels are low, then the stored glucose is released for our energy source. However, this is a very short term solution for the body, and it can only store the glucose this way for a few hours. Any extra glucose in the body after our body fills its glycogen supply is stored as fat.

To maintain steady levels of glucose in the body, the body releases insulin after we eat and this helps move the glucose into the body cells where they need to be. The amount of insulin released corresponds with the amount of glucose in the blood stream. After a while, the body can stop responding to insulin’s directive to absorb glucose into the cells, and we develop insulin resistance, and ultimately type 2 diabetes.
What we want to achieve is a slow rise in blood glucose after we eat, not a big spike and crash. So, although we need glucose for a fuel, we need it in the complex form. The glycaemic response is how we determine this, and selecting sugars that are on the low to medium end of the Glycaemic Index, like coconut sugar, honey and maple syrup will help us achieve this.

Should Sugar Be Completely Avoided?

As a nutritionist who believes in a balanced approach to eating, I do not believe that all sugar needs to be abstained from. I do believe that the types of sugars and the amounts need a major overhaul!
It is the sugars that are termed “free sugars” that do the most damage to our health and should be limited. These are sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, and maltose.
When a food is in its WHOLE and NATURAL form, like a piece of fruit, or full fat milk, then the other elements in the food balance out the sugar and our bodies can cope with it. The fat in milk helps to slow down the processing of the lactose, and the fibre in fruit does the same with the fructose. It is when these sugars have been isolated and then added into foods as single ingredients that the mega problems arise.
The easiest way to avoid these “free sugars” is to stop buying the products that have them in it!!
The next “worst” sugar culprit are the simple carbohydrates. All carbohydrates break down as sugars but the ones that do it the fastest, and thus affecting your blood sugars the most, are the white processed ones; white flour, white rice, potatoes, white bread.
The best options are the sugars that take a long time for the body to process, they will be lower on the GI rating, and include complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains. Discover some healthy sugar options like coconut blossom nectar and stevia, and experiment in the kitchen with them!
See the recipes from the Sugar Detox 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge that use the lower GI sugars to create healthier, low sugar options to some delicious treats and meals.
Cheree Sheldon, Nutritionist