How many teaspoons is 50 grams of sugar?
About 12 and a half. A teaspoon of sugar weighs about 4 grams, and 50 divided by 4 is 12.5. Dr. Martin did that math out loud at the start of episode 569, right after reading the FDA's figure.
Dr. Martin on the FDA's number:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 569They say that the daily dose for sugar should be about 50 grams, okay? So one teaspoon, about four grams. So I mean, that's a lot of sugar.
Here it is, spoon by spoon.
The dark spoon at the bottom is the part most people never hear about.
How much sugar is in your blood at one time?
About one teaspoon. An adult has roughly five liters of blood, and Dr. Martin says your body keeps the sugar in all of it to about 4 grams.
Right after the FDA line, he said:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 569If you got five liters of blood, you're going to get about four grams of sugar in five liters of blood, because it's tightly regulated. Sugar left in your bloodstream is extremely toxic.
Even a binge barely moves it, he says:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 575But if you had 20 donuts within about a half an hour, empty all of your blood and measure how much sugar is in there. You know how much sugar will be in there? Less than a teaspoon, less than a half a teaspoon really.
So the FDA's 50 grams is about 12 and a half times what your whole bloodstream holds at once. For what blood test numbers mean, see what a normal blood sugar is for a woman over 60.
Where does the rest of the sugar go?
Insulin takes it out. Dr. Martin describes your pancreas meeting a load of sugar with a flood of insulin.
Dr. Martin on insulin:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 709You secrete an enormous, a boatload full of insulin. Insulin's job primarily is to take sugar out of your bloodstream.
Then the sugar has to be stored. He calls insulin a traffic cop:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 729The traffic cop who parks sugar, gets sugar, packs sugar into your muscles, into your liver, or, when the liver's gummed up full of sugar, that's turned into fat.
That last step worries him most. Years of big insulin surges are how he explains insulin resistance in women over 60.
Is 50 grams of sugar a day too much?
In Dr. Martin's view, yes, by a long way. He called the FDA's number crazy as soon as he read it.
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 569When you think, okay, so 50 grams, it's crazy that they would even recommend that.
His own line sits far lower. When he set a sugar limit for patients with gout, he says, it was 15 grams of total sugars, every piece of fruit counted. That is under 4 teaspoons.
"So when people say, oh, moderation, that's craziness. Sugar is toxic."
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 709So cutting back a little doesn't satisfy him. If sugar cravings after 60 keep pulling you back, he points to the fuel on your plate: more protein and fat.
How much sugar is in a glass of orange juice?
About 50 grams, by Dr. Martin's count, the FDA's whole day in one glass. He told parents juice at breakfast was no better than a soda, and when a mother named her well-known brand, he answered:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 674Who cares? It's got about 50 grams of sugar in it in a glass. Your body doesn't know the difference.
Soda is in the same range:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 728In one soda, you have 12-13 teaspoons. You're only supposed to have less than a teaspoon on the best of times in your bloodstream.
"Never drink orange juice. Eat an orange."
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 728Eat the fruit, leave the juice. One exception: if your doctor has you keep juice nearby for a low blood sugar, follow that plan.
What foods seem healthy but aren't?
Dr. Martin once read out a survey of the foods people rate healthiest. Juice, whole grain bread, fruit smoothies, brown rice, cereals, granola bars and dried fruit all made the top 10.
His verdict on the list:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 746And then they listed them and there's not one thing on it, the top 10 foods, not one of them is good for you. Not one of them.
He found this on a coffee shop menu:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 739Eight teaspoons of sugar in one muffin. Eight. You see a few carrots in there and people think that's good for you, eating a carrot muffin. No, it's not.
Oatmeal fools people too. To anyone who says breakfast had no sugar because it was oatmeal:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 740Yes you did. You had about 10 teaspoons of sugar, because oatmeal's going to be sugar in nanoseconds.
Bread adds up too. From a whole wheat label, he counted a two-slice sandwich at 24 grams of carbs plus 4 grams of added sugar:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 733Four grams of sugar is a teaspoon. You got 28. So, what do you have? Unless I'm crazy in my math, you got seven teaspoons of sugar, sugar detectives.
| Food | Teaspoons | Grams |
|---|---|---|
| A glass of orange juice | About 12½ | About 50 |
| One soda | 12 to 13 | About 48 to 52 |
| An oatmeal breakfast | About 10 | About 40 |
| One carrot muffin | 8 | About 32 |
| A two-slice whole wheat sandwich | 7 | 28 |
Teaspoon counts are Dr. Martin's. Grams are worked out at about 4 grams a teaspoon.
Why he counts bread carbs as sugar is laid out in where bread goes in your body after you eat it.
Is there a low sugar, high protein granola?
Dr. Martin doesn't rank granola brands. He puts granola in another aisle altogether.
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1109No, you know what granola bars are? It's candy. It's just glorified candy. That's what it is.
A high protein claim doesn't change his test. Protein is fine, but it isn't the number to check:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 733Don't look at calories. Don't look at protein. Don't look at anything. If it's got protein, good for that. Look for sugars, added sugars.
Turn the box over, find added sugars and then the carbs, and divide by 4 for teaspoons. For breakfast he would rather see bacon and eggs or sausages than cereal, as in the best breakfast for energy after 60.
Where can I hear Dr. Martin explain the 50 grams?
Episode 569 opens with the FDA's 50 grams and the teaspoon in your blood, then turns to gout and to eating after sunset.
Common questions
Does the sugar in fruit count toward the 50 grams?
He calls fruit God's candies: fine to eat, just don't live on them, and don't drink them as juice. When he set a sugar limit for gout patients, he counted every piece of fruit. Episodes 733, 746 and 569.
Is one teaspoon of sugar in my coffee okay?
He took his coffee that way for years, then dropped it because he knew it wasn't good for him. Cream is fine, he says, milk is too sweet, and he likes it black. Episode 977.
Are low sugar keto snacks a good swap?
Not always. He has said some keto foods are low in sugar and carbs but have no nutrition in them. Episode 733.
Read next: It only takes a month of eating sugar to get fatty liver and Why Can't I Lose Weight After 60?
Cutting back on the teaspoons?
The teaspoons come off at the table first: less juice, fewer muffins, more eggs and meat. Alongside that, Martin Clinic's Blood Sugar Support Formula puts seven botanicals and nutrients in one capsule, made for everyday blood sugar support.
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