The word "healthy" on a food label doesn't mean much. There's no real standard for it. Anyone can put it on a packet.
Two things we hope you take away from this post:
- You're probably eating more sugar than you think and it's not always your fault. Even when you're trying to eat well, the options that look good often aren't. Labels are misleading.
- We're not saying never have sugar. It's your life. You should be able to enjoy it. But we'd rather you eat real food for real health. And when you want to indulge, have at it.
Sugar is bad. You already know that.
Sugary things also taste really good. We love a good tiramisu as much as anyone. And look, we've definitely raided the Ben & Jerry's more than once. It's in the freezer right now.
Sugar is great as a treat. Nothing wrong with that. But it's worth understanding what it actually does to your body, your energy, and your mood.
Our bodies didn't evolve to handle the amount of sugar we eat today. For about 2 million years, humans ate meat, fat, and whatever they could find. Sugar was rare. A piece of fruit here and there, maybe some honey if you were lucky. Now it's in everything.
Most of us are pretty good at keeping the obvious stuff in check. Chocolate, cake, biscuits, the occasional Ben & Jerry's raid. We know what those are and we eat them when we choose to. No problem.
But even if you're actively trying to eat better, maybe looking for keto snacks or high protein alternatives, you can still end up eating sugar in places you didn't expect. And sometimes in surprising amounts.
Where sugar is hiding
Take a look at some common "healthy" snacks and how they compare to something we all know is full of sugar. The Tesco sugar ring doughnut.
- Granola. Some store-bought granolas have 15-25g of sugar per serving. That's supposed to be your healthy breakfast.
- Store-bought sandwiches. A chicken and bacon sandwich from the shop can have 5-10g of sugar. In a sandwich.
- Protein bars. You're buying them because they're "healthy." Some have 17g of sugar per bar.
- Beef jerky. Sounds like a clean, high protein snack. Many brands pack in nearly 18g of sugar per 100g.
Even when you spend a bit more on what looks like a better option, you can still end up eating a load of sugar without realising it.
| Carbs (per 100g) | of which sugars (per 100g) | Protein (per 100g) | Fat (per 100g) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Store-bought granola | 61.8g | 18.1g | 15.0g | 12.0g |
| Store-bought sandwich | 26.2g | 4.7g | 13.6g | 5.9g |
| Beef jerky | 19.5g | 17.8g | 40.3g | 2.1g |
| "Healthy" protein bar #1 | 22.1g | 3.3g (14.7g polyols) | 22.7g | 25.1g |
| "Healthy" protein bar #2 | 31g | 17g | 23g | 34g |
| Tesco Sugar Ring Doughnut | 42.2g | 8.4g | 6.8g | 20.3g |
| Our Carnivore Chicken Crisps | 0g | 0g | — | — |
| Our Pemmican Bars | 0g | 0g | — | — |
One thing to watch in that table: "polyols" on protein bar #1. You'll see these listed as maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol. They're marketed as a free pass, but your body still processes them, they can still affect your blood sugar, and in larger amounts they cause bloating and stomach problems. There's a reason those products carry a warning that says "excessive consumption may produce laxative effects." If the ingredient list needs a chemistry degree to read, it's not real food.
Yeah, we put our own products in there too. Our pemmican bars and carnivore chicken crisps have zero sugar, zero carbs. Nothing that shouldn't be there.
What sugar actually feels like
You eat something sugary. You feel great for about 30 minutes. Energy is up, mood is up, everything is good.
Then your body overshoots trying to bring your blood sugar back down. You crash. Tired, foggy, irritable, hungry. Your brain panics, triggers hunger hormones, and now you're craving the exact thing that caused the problem. Sugar, bread, anything fast.
So you eat more. And the cycle starts again. Spike, crash, crave, spike, crash, crave.
Do this often enough and it causes inflammation. The kind that messes with your sleep, your skin, your gut, your mood. Feeling tired after lunch? Craving something sweet by 3pm? There's your answer.
So what can you do about it?
The best way to kick sugar is to kick it out all across the board. You can have your fruit, you don't have to kick out all carbs at once. But kick the processed sugar out.
Having the right things ready makes most of the difference. Don't get caught hungry with nothing good to reach for. The vending machine wins every time if you've got no alternative.
- Flip the packet over on the next "healthy" snack you buy. Check the sugar. You'll be surprised how often it's higher than you'd expect.
- Swap the snack. Instead of the granola bar or the protein bar with 17g of sugar, have something that's actually food. Boiled eggs, cold meat, cheese, a pemmican bar. You eat what you need and you stop. No spike, no crash.
- Pay attention to how you feel after eating. Tired after lunch? Craving something sweet by 3pm? Just notice it. Once you see the pattern, you can't unsee it.
The 30-Day Reset
Best way to find out what sugar was doing to you? Go 30 days without it.
We've put together The 30-Day Reset to help you see what life feels like when you're not on the rollercoaster. Want to bring sugar back after? Go for it. But now you'll know what it does and you can choose when it's worth it.
Join The 30-Day Reset for free.
This is part of the True North series, where the core concept is to point the direction of what real human health looks like. Getting there doesn't have to suck. Do what works for your life. Everyone goes through seasons.
But if you're not getting the results you want, come back to this.