It tastes so good, so can sugar really be that bad? We asked the experts.

Click here to learn how to identify hidden sugars.

By Dana Sullivan
Photo by Rainer Behrens

Sugar is to our food supply what piercing screams are to Maria Sharapova matches: ubiquitous. The average American consumes a whopping 152 pounds of “added” sugar—caloric sweeteners not found naturally in foods—a year. That’s way beyond the 32 pounds a year (10 teaspoons a day) of added sugar the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends. Since you’re an athlete, you probably watch what you eat, but it’s hard to avoid sugar since it’s in everything from ketchup to yogurt. We asked some sports dieticians to give us the lowdown on the sweet stuff.

Can eating too much sugar affect my tennis?
Of course. “When you consume simple sugars [or simple carbohydrates], which include any of the caloric sweeteners found in foods like cookies, candy, white grains, or regular soda, you get a quick burst of energy, but you crash fast,” says Amy Jamieson-Petonic, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Sugar provides a dramatic spike in blood sugar, which makes you feel energized, but your energy level will plummet within an hour (it could take just 15 minutes) and you’ll feel sluggish. “The spike happens when you consume carbs of any kind,” Jamieson-Petonic says, “but the drops happen more quickly with simple carbs.”

So I’m better off with “complex” sugars?
Yes. For sports, you need energy sources that will sustain you for more than an hour. “Complex carbs give you longer-lasting energy,” Jamieson-Petonic says. She recommends whole-grain cereals, breads, and pasta instead of foods like cookies and white grains. You also need some natural simple sugars, like those found in fruits, vegetables, and dairy, says Page Love, M.S., R.D., L.D., a consultant for the USTA and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. “It’s impossible to have a balanced diet without some natural sugars,” Love says. “It’s the straight table sugar we can do without.”

How can I reduce my added-sugar intake?
Identify your biggest sugar-related weakness and do your best to avoid it, especially on playing days. A soda won’t ruin your game, but make it a treat you reserve for rest days. “One sweet per day,” Love says. The USDA recommends you consume about 40 grams or less of added sugar a day. So your one sweet could be a 12-ounce Pepsi with 10 1/4 tea-spoons of added sugars or a 3-ounce piece of Entenmann’s Fudge Cake (about 1/6 of a cake), which contains 8 1/2 teaspoons. “That amount can help you meet your high-energy needs,” Love says. “It becomes a problem when you choose these foods over nutrient-dense foods.”

Food labels can be confusing. How can tell how much sugar is in a product?
First, find where sugar is on the ingredients list. “If it’s the fi rst ingredient, then it’s the predominant calorie source in that food,” Love says. “But if it’s listed further down, say after the fourth ingredient, then sugar will most likely be less than 1/4 of the product content.” Second, under the carbohydrate section, compare sugar grams to total carbohydrate grams. In processed foods, you should eat foods with 1/3 or fewer carbs that come from sugar.

Is it OK to eat artificial sweeteners to cut calories?
According to Love, “There isn’t adequate research on how artificial sweeteners affect athletes.” So though five kinds of artificial sweeteners have been deemed “safe” by the Food and Drug Administration, she advises that you avoid consuming them on a regular basis.

What is high fructose corn syrup? It seems to be in everything.
“High fructose corn syrup is a mainstay in processed foods,” Jamieson-Petonic says. The problem is that your body doesn’t metabolize HFCS in the same way it does sugars found naturally in foods, and as a result it doesn’t make you feel full. “If you consume a soda or cookies made with HFCS, your body doesn’t recognize it as food, even though it has lots and lots of calories,” she says. That explains why it’s hard to stop at just one Oreo.