The Fear Of Sugars A Worthy Phobia

It’s vital that the bariatric patient keep an eye on sugar grams in food!

About 97% of all bariatric surgery patients learn to become very familiar with what is known as the “dumping syndrome”, which is a way the body tells you that you ate something that you really shouldn’t have eaten. “Dumping” shows up in many forms from sudden fatigue, to nausea, to vomiting, and even diarrhea. When the “dumping” comes, take note of what you most recently ate, and do your best to avoid it again.



Many things can cause dumping. Foods containing too much grease, fats, carbs, and sugars CAN make you “dump.” But the biggest culprit in this short list (yet so many foods have these elements in them), is SUGAR and SUGAR ALCOHOLS.

What exactly are “Sugar Alcohols”?

Basically, Sugar Alcohols are artificial sweeteners or “anything that serves as a sweetener in food but cannot be labeled as a sugar since it isn’t pure sugar.”

Sugar Alcohols may not add calories (as real sugar does) to your body, BUT they DO ACT like sugar in the sense they will make the bariatric patient DUMP as if they partook of real sugar. On average, the bariatric patient cannot tolerate more than 12 grams of sugar PER MEAL. Beyond 12 grams of sugar will almost always cause some type of dumping, be it mild or severe. This is why it is essential to add up both the sugar AND the sugar alcohols that are being consumed per meal.

Let’s say the food label says the product has 2 grams of sugar and 14 grams of sugar alcohols. Does that mean it’s safe? It is NOT safe because when the sugar alcohols act just like sugars, in essence, you are consuming 16 grams of “sugar-action” because you have to ADD the two together since they react in the body the same way. Some “diet” foods claim to be low in sugar – TRUE – but then they contain 22 grams of sugar alcohols. This is okay for non-bariatric patients, but a sure “dumping in the making” for us!

What exactly is “Sugar”?

Chemically, sugars are carbohydrates. As the body digests food, carbohydrates (except fiber) break down into sugars. We can find sugars in a variety of forms. Sugars just aren’t used to sweeten food: they are also used as natural preservatives and thickeners. Sugars are added to foods during processing and preparation. The body cannot tell the difference between “natural” sugars and artificial sugars because they are the same in regards to chemical breakdowns.

“Incognito” Sugars