There are different types of sugar
Sugars are simple carbohydrates that quickly get absorbed into your bloodstream. They occur naturally in honey, milk, fruits, and vegetables, but they are also produced from sugar cane, sugar beet or corn by industrial processing. Natural sugars usually come with other healthy compounds such as vitamins, minerals and fibre. Processed sugars are the quickest to absorb, so they are used in sports foods and drinks. All of these types of sugar are made up of several different types of simple sugar molecules such as glucose, fructose, sucrose or lactose.
What impacts how big your sugar spikes are?
Now, let’s take a look at sugar intake and blood glucose spikes. Firstly, it’s good to know that some sugars such as glucose do elevate blood sugar. On the other hand, others like fructose do not. On top of that, there are several factors that impact how large the elevation of sugar levels is. One of the biggest factors is exercise. When you eat or drink sugar during exercise, your blood sugar and insulin levels change only very slightly. During intense exercise, glucose in the blood stays the same, and insulin may even drop.
Short-term glucose spikes are a sign of health
One more thing needs to be cleared up. Blood sugar spikes that are transient, meaning that they only last a short time, are normal. That’s how a healthy body reacts to sugar intake at rest. As sugar comes into the bloodstream, insulin starts to release and relatively quickly lowers blood sugar levels back to normal.
This is often confused with chronically elevated blood sugar which is very dangerous to health and is something that people with diabetes and metabolic syndrome deal with. Chronic elevation of blood sugar is typically a result of regular overeating. This results in concurrent elevated lipids and insulin, which reduces insulin sensitivity. With lower sensitivity to insulin, the body has a harder time lowering sugar in the blood back to normal levels.
Cyclists are typically more insulin sensitive
It may seem like a paradox but cyclists who often consume a high amount of sugar on the bike, are typically very insulin sensitive. That means that they are very good at bringing blood sugar back to normal levels after consuming a lot of sugar. This is because exercise improves insulin sensitivity.
Research shows that excess sugar can promote weight gain which can result in type II diabetes. But it also shows that sugar alone, without excess calories and without weight gain doesn’t appear to have the ability to cause diabetes.
To conclude, if you’re a regular cyclist and overall healthy, chances are your body is really good at handling the sugar you throw at it. Consuming sugar during exercise is very unlikely to create any blood sugar spikes at all. And even the blood sugar spikes you experience outside of exercise are a normal way for your body to handle sugar. As long as your overall energy intake matches your expenditure, sugar is not a big threat to the health of your metabolism. Unfortunately, you’re not exempt from getting more dental cavities. You can read more about that in our previous article.
