Hi Byte Wellness Fam!

How was your April Fool’s Day? Not too wild, I hope. I’m still coming down from an amazing Women’s History Month.

All March, right here in this community, we helped shape our personal and family health history by drilling down into our perceptions around sugar and wellbeing.

Meanwhile, if daily wellness texts and weekly workshops and 24/7 access to wellness learning is the type of hands-on wellness support you need, come join our BRAND NEW private community called the Phyte Well Healing Circle. Here’s where you can access the full library of our #WellnessWednesday recordings and other wellness lessons (including the one from this past week).

Click here to get a sneak peek at the Private community!

Okay, back to sugar…

Well-controlled blood sugar can lower our risk of a bunch of problems. I’m not just talking about type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes. Keeping our blood sugar stable and at a normal level can lower the risk of chronic inflammation and the whole spectrum conditions that it causes (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, stroke, and more).

So, wrapping up the month, in this week’s Daily Wellness Text thread and the #ByteWellnessWednesday Workshop, we compared two fast-food smoothie options to see which one has better sugar quality. Basically, we asked which one will have a better effect on our blood sugar…and, therefore a better effect on health.

We put the 20-ounce Greek Yogurt Strawberry Blueberry Smoothie from Smoothie King up against the 24-ounce Blue Raspberry Coolatta from Dunkin. Read below to see which one won and how we sugar-sleuthed the answer.

Dunkin Coolatta vs. Smoothie King

1) Check the ingredients list for whole food sugars

Whole sugars are generally higher-quality than free sugars (like juice) and added sugars (like table sugar or syrup). Why? As less-processed sweets, whole sugars are less likely to spike our blood sugar compared to their more-processed counterparts.

2) Think about glycemic index (GI)

Remember that low-GI foods and drinks cause slower blood sugar spikes than higher-GI foods. Slower and lower is better where blood sugar is concerned.

We can check the GI of foods and drinks in this database from the University of Sydney. Don’t have time to look up the GI?

As a work-around, check the ingredients list for ingredients that add fiber or protein because these help lower a food’s GI. See any fiber or protein-filled ingredients in the Dunkin or Smoothie King lists above? (Think yogurt, milk, nuts, nut butters, seeds, etc).

3) Check the nutrition facts

Find the “Added Sugars” line under “Total Sugar”. The American Heart Association recommends that adults get NO MORE than about 25 grams of added sugars for women and about 36 grams for men.

Compare the grams of added sugars. How do the Dunkin Coolatta’s added sugar numbers compare to the Smoothie King’s Strawberry Blueberry Greek Yogurt smoothie?

Check the pic below to work through the example yourself.

By the way, we checked the ingredients list for sugar’s buffer nutrients (protein, fiber and fat) earlier. But, you can also find them in the nutrition facts. Remember these buffer nutrients slow the time it takes to digest sugar, making the blood sugar spike less steep. We’re aiming for slow and low blood sugar responses for the best health outcomes.

Okay, you must’ve figured it out by now. The Smoothie King smoothie has a much better sugar profile than the Dunkin Coolatta. It wasn’t even close; Smoothie King beat out Dunkin in each of the 3 sugar sleuth questions.

Don’t forget the discussion question for the week. AND…make sure you grab your spot in our private community to get more science-backed insight into your habits, health and wellness.

Discussion Question:

• When did you notice the link between the things you eat and drink and how you feel? How would you describe the link?

  We’re not just talking about the bad effects that food/drink have on our bodies and minds…positive effects are up for discussion, too!

Happy Healthy Living,

Dr. Wuse