True or False: You are what you eat?

I’ll get to my answer to this question shortly. First, I want to explain where the question came from. I have a lot of students, ages junior high through college who email and/or call me about various questions related to nutrition. I love, love, love working with students, so it’s always a pleasure to help them out! Also, I truly enjoy getting to know what is on their mind – especially about food, eating and weight.

This brings me to a recent email from a student who was working on a nutrition project for her school and needed me to answer a few questions, starting with the question “Is it true that you are what you eat?” and finishing with “Are we addicted to sugar?”  Since I found her questions relevant to subject matter I get from other students (and clients), I thought I’d pass my thoughts along. Would love your comments!

How would you describe the saying, “You are what you eat?”

Food contains a variety of nutrients that our bodies need to be healthy. Food is also important as a fuel source for the body. No single food (i.e. “superfood”) can provide the balance of nutrients needed for overall health while providing enough fuel for activity. Therefore, when an individual eats a balance of nutrients (wholesome carbohydrates, lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats), they are likely to feel better, have more energy, sleep better, think better, be stronger, maintain their weight, etc….so in this respect “you are what you eat.” 

Do you think that the saying, “You are what you eat” is true?

Not really. This saying is very short-sighted in terms of the fact that people are a lot more than their diet or how they look. I know plenty of people who eat “perfect” and are depressed and unhappy. I also know individuals who are very successful but don’t eat well at all including some elite athletes…so are they “what they eat”?

Another problem with this saying is that if you think of a food as a “good” vs “bad” food, does that make you a good or bad person because you ate a food categorized this way? Unfortunately, some people believe this to be true! I personally don’t believe someone is a “bad” person because they ate a food deemed “forbidden” (or vice versa).

From a technical (or scientific) perspective, this statement is not true. For example, everything we eat, i.e. an egg, is made up of DNA. DNA is really the code for “who we are.” If you eat an egg, your body (or your DNA) does not become that of the egg.  This concept becomes very important in some controversial issues, such as genetically modified foods (a topic beyond the scope of this question).

How much sugar is too much? 

It depends. The Dietary Recommendation for Americans is to limit “added sugars” to 10% of total calories. However, an important distinction needs to be made between “naturally occurring sugars” and “added sugar”.  Sugars that are naturally occurring include lactose (found in dairy products) and fructose/glucose (found in different combinations in fruit). Some claim that “sugar is toxic” and lump food such as fruit into this claim contributing to a great deal of confusion about how much sugar is too much. The recommendation also does not take into account the difference between someone who is sedentary and a very active individual, such as an elite or competitive athlete. Athletes use sugar (glucose) to fuel their muscles and thus their intake of sugar-containing foods may need to be higher to adequately fuel the level or intensity of their activity.

What can we do to prevent excessive amounts of sugar intake?

The most important behavior people can do is decrease the amount of added sugar (or discretionary calories) in their diet. Added sugars include the sugar on many cereals, high fructose corn syrup in soda (and many other foods), candy, syrups and sweeteners (including those found in coffee shop-type smoothies).

Another behavior is to consume wholesome, natural, unprocessed food the majority of the time.  Foods such as fruit, milk, yogurt, or whole grains, have a lot of other nutrients that are beneficial to the body. These include vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other important chemicals such as antioxidants. Milk and yogurt, for example, also provide protein and some fat that can help a person feel more satisfied and decrease overeating or cravings for more of the sweet food.

Often if an individual will decrease mindless (or emotional eating), sugar intake will decrease. People often “use” sugar-containing foods to comfort their feelings. Whether they feel sad, tired, bored, or even happy can trigger an individual eating (or overeating) sweetened food. Some of this is biological (based on brain chemistry) and some is learned.  For example, think about the toddler who is given cookies, ice cream, or a treat whenever they feel bad. This type of behavior can become a problem later in life when the individual hasn’t learned how to “self-soothe” or comfort themselves with non-food things like a hug, talking to a friend, soothing music or going outside and being in nature.

Do you think that we are addicted to sugar?

Yes and no. Many people “feel” like they are addicted to sugar (similar to a drug). And, this can be related to the way the reward system works in our brain. Things that make us feel good, like drugs; “light up” a neurotransmitter in the brain, called dopamine. Food (especially sugar, fat, salt) does the same thing (but to a lesser extent then a chemical like cocaine). These types of food have rewarding properties that make us “feel good”, and to a greater extent than substances found in foods such as vegetables. In general, if food didn’t promote a positive feeling, we wouldn’t seek it out and we would likely perish. Unfortunately, we live in a toxic environment that makes it all too easy to get food whenever we want it. The important thing to remember is that there are a lot of other behaviors that “light up” this chemical too, such as exercise, music, friends, nature, going on vacation, etc.

So, there’s a bit of controversy about whether food is truly an addiction like a drug such as cocaine, caffeine or nicotine.  When an individual is addicted to substances like these, there are certain characteristics in common with what we call a “substance addiction”. First, their body “needs” it right when they wake up. Second, they need more and more of it to get the same desired “effect”. And third, they will go through withdrawal symptoms when they don’t have it.  For some people, their experience with sugar may seem similar to this. But, typically the person who thinks they are addicted to food actually isn’t craving sugar in the morning. Usually they are reaching for it later in the day (when they are tired, stressed, etc). Or, women, for example, have increased cravings certain times of the month (during hormone fluctuations) which is also uncharacteristic of a true substance addiction.

Long story short, more research is needed regarding this. It’s probably more like a “behavior addiction” similar to the toddler example above. The individual learns that when they have a certain feeling, sugar makes them feel better, but it’s likely they won’t go through withdrawal when they stop eating the sugar (usually will feel better!).

No matter what we “call it”, the important thing is to get appropriate intervention to have a healthy and peaceful relationship with food and eating.