Snacking on sugar cubes

February 25, 2008 5:36 PM

So I've started eating sugar cubes at my desk. Is this bad?

It all began late one evening when I was starving and had no money and no food... except the box of sugar cubes I keep for coffee in my desk drawer. I mixed a few in with some water and it was quite good and seemed to give me the energy boost I needed. Now a month later I find myself popping a couple in my mouth during the long breaks between meals to take the edge off the hunger.

By my calculation these are 3.5g each, so even to equal the amount of sugar in one can of coke I would need like 11 of them. In that sense it seems like it must be harmless. But I instinctively feel that I'm doing something wrong because when I was a kid and used to eat raw sugar instead of putting it on my cereal at breakfast I always caught hell for it. So, um... can I do this guilt-free, or am I damaging my teeth, or what? Should I always mix them with water instead of popping them in raw?

I suppose I could always find something else to snack on, but whenever I keep nuts or fruit at my desk I wind up eating way too much of it. And it will inevitably run out and I'll be caught with no food except for sugar again.

posted by PercussivePaul to food & drink (31 comments total)

Eating sugar cubes won't kill you, but they're bad for your teeth, and empty calories, and can cause your blood sugar to spike and crash - making you feel even more tired and energy-depleted than you were before.

Yes, I know the urge to nosh and nosh till the snacks are gone will be there - but really, healthy snacks are SO much better for you, and are also a better source of energy. Dried fruit is a great healthy snack that can satisfy a sweet tooth. Lean protein - string cheese, low-fat yogurt, chicken or turkey - is especially good for long-term energy. Nuts are great, too - full of "good" fat and nutrients - think of how perky, energetic and bushy-tailed squirrels are eating lots of nuts.

You won't die from eating sugar cubes - unless you are diabetic - but they really, really are not a good snack.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 5:41 PM on February 25

Each are one teaspoon and if you just brush all the time you'll be fine. I agree that straight sugar is pretty much a taboo, but whatever, some people have a sweet tooth. Don't listen to the squares! ;)
posted by rhizome at 5:44 PM on February 25

IANAD but I think you're really messing with your blood sugar levels by doing this. In the long run, that could screw up your insulin and you could develop Type II diabetes.

Bring a bunch of little baggies of nuts to work, and in the morning only put how many you want to eat that day within arms reach and put the main cache in an inconvenient location (on a high shelf, locked filing cabinet, etc.). Nuts or other protein snacks won't give you the same rush that sugar does but they will sustain you for much longer and your blood sugar levels will be much more even.
posted by Jacqueline at 5:46 PM on February 25

Pumpkin seeds are where its at.
posted by Max Power at 6:04 PM on February 25

IANAD but I think you're really messing with your blood sugar levels by doing this. In the long run, that could screw up your insulin and you could develop Type II diabetes.

IANAD either, but the OP is consuming less sugar than a can of coke, so I really can't see him developing diabetes from this habit.
posted by rancidchickn at 6:11 PM on February 25

Mmm. Try dipping them in tea quickly before eating -- one of my favorite forbidden snacks as a kid.
posted by desuetude at 6:13 PM on February 25 [1 favorite]

This is essentially a component of the Shangri-la diet (although he prefers flavorless vegetable oil to sugar water). I can't imagine it would hurt you. But it might damage your teeth.
posted by crush-onastick at 6:34 PM on February 25

IANAD, but I am a Type II diabetic. And as a child, I snacked on sugar cubes *all the time*. Coincidence? Maybe.
posted by chez shoes at 6:38 PM on February 25

they are bad for you, but being made from cane or beet sugar, are less bad than a soda.

eating 11 of them would equal a soda calorie-wise, but high fructose corn syrup is a health disaster waiting to happen.

still better than aspartame, but nuts or dried fruit is way way better a snack.

cashews don't have a chance near my desk!
posted by KenManiac at 6:46 PM on February 25

they are bad for you, but being made from cane or beet sugar, are less bad than a soda.

Credible citation?

high fructose corn syrup is a health disaster waiting to happen.

Credible citation?

still better than aspartame

Aspartame has zero calories, so it is probably the best alternative of all.
posted by blenderfish at 6:53 PM on February 25 [1 favorite]

Eating sugar cubes won't kill you, but they're bad for your teeth, and empty calories, and can cause your blood sugar to spike and crash . . .

Listen, listen, listen. I used to have a fierce hard candy habit while I worked; I would always be sucking on a cheap jawbreaker, a Lemonhead, or a Werther's. Then I finally managed to make the connection between this and my total exhausted misery two hours afterwards. Now I eat peanuts instead, or at most a few Altoids.
posted by Countess Elena at 6:55 PM on February 25

Sorry, meant to italicize the quote.

I might add: don't try munching on sugar-free candy substitutes unless you have a lot of bathroom break liberty.
posted by Countess Elena at 6:56 PM on February 25 [1 favorite]

I understand how snacking can get to you, but sugar cubes are a bad choice. If keeping a bottle of nuts makes you eat too much, then bring a ziploc bag with the appropriate amount instead. Or try a kashi go-lean granola bar, like almond flax or peanut peanut butter. You could have a bag of baby carrots AND nuts, or a cup of yogurt--there's lots of choices. You just have to decide to make the change for your health, and after a while you will come to prefer the healthy snacks.
posted by misha at 7:03 PM on February 25

I say eat the sugar cubes. They are sure not great for you, but you have them to put in your coffee, right? I mean, you were eating them already, just mixed with caffeine.

Aspartame has zero calories, so it is probably the best alternative of all.
That is so daft.
posted by dirtdirt at 7:23 PM on February 25

I can't see why pure sugar would be any worse than a hard candy of equal size, and drinking it with water wouldn't make a difference, really. Either way, it's not an Awesome idea to eat them, and even if it's not enough for it to much affect your blood sugar levels. I'm also doubtful about the diabetes thing--there's a lot more to it than just your sugar intake. Brush your teeth, drink water, and they'll probably do no worse than they would otherwise.

Maybe find something semi-unappetizing to munch on, so that you don't eat too much of it? Shredded mini-wheats do that for me. I'll eat a few, and then get tired of them, so I don't eat too much of it, and I don't feel bad about it.
posted by that girl at 7:26 PM on February 25

From what I understand, some people can develop stomach problems from eating small pieces of candy, or chewing gum, while hungry. Your stomach might think it's getting food when the bits of sugar start going down the hatch, and then it will produce acid in anticipation...and then no food comes, so you have a stomach full of acid. IANAD, might not be an issue for you...

...getting in the habit of eating healthier snacks is better in the long run, for your teeth, your body, etc...
posted by veronitron at 7:43 PM on February 25

Naw. Rinse your mouth/brush your teeth.

Better alternative - do you have a fridge/freezer available?

Frozen berries/grapes/mandarin slices.

I normally don't like citrus fruits, but I recently discovered these mini honey mandarins. Awesomeness. All the sugar of a full sized mandarin packed into something the size of a medium strawberry.
posted by porpoise at 7:55 PM on February 25

Aspartame has zero calories, so it is probably the best alternative of all.

That is so daft.

Just thinking that maybe the guy who posts to the Internet worried about tooth decay and/or caloric consumption from eating raw sugar could do worse than considering a sugar-free alternative. The aspartame won't really curb hunger, of course.
posted by blenderfish at 7:57 PM on February 25

Yeah yeah I know, healthy snacks... honestly, I try to, and I do prefer them. It's just during the crunch times (like now) when I'm at my desk for 12 hours a day I barely have time to get to the grocery store and I find myself getting caught with nothing. Nuts never last very long unless I buy a ginourmous bag and then it seems like I spend all day eating nuts. I have a pretty high metabolism.

I appreciate the various suggestions for rationing the snacks. I think one of the reasons I've taken to the sugar cubes is that I have a strong compulsion not to eat too many of them, so they actually last a long time and I don't have to worry about constantly replenishing the supply. To that end I quite like the idea of shredded mini wheats.
posted by PercussivePaul at 7:58 PM on February 25

blenderfish wrote:

high fructose corn syrup is a health disaster waiting to happen.

Credible citation?

high fructose corn syrup makes mice fat
and creates insulin resistance
posted by any major dude at 8:08 PM on February 25

I remember hearing how Russians drink their tea. They insert a lump of sugar between their teeth and sip strong hot black tea (flavored with a slice of lemon, apple or strawberry) through the sugar. In regards to what's bad about sugar/high fructose corn syrup, here's an article from the San Francisco Chronicle "Sugar coated
We're drowning in high fructose corn syrup. Do the risks go beyond our waistline?" You should also read William Dufty's Sugar Blues.
posted by plokent at 8:13 PM on February 25

In the long run, that could screw up your insulin and you could develop Type II diabetes.

Eating sugar does not give you Type II diabetes. Period. Now, if you were to eat enough extra calories (from sugar or any other food) to become obese, this could increase your risk of developing type 2. There are many things that can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes (ethnicity, age, weight) but eating sugar is not going to do it.
posted by GlowWyrm at 8:20 PM on February 25

I want to take my answer back. It's true, everything I said, but it sounded like I am the Perfect Person Who Would Never Even Consider Consuming a Sugar Cube, and that is simply not true. Maybe you could have the odd sugar cube along with some *shudder* rice cakes or sun chips. I hate to think of anyone leading a dull, sugar-free existence when they could be Living instead.
posted by misha at 8:49 PM on February 25

Eating a sugar cube once in a while is fine, no different than other candy. It is a good idea to brush your teeth or, failing that, at least rinse with water or drink some water afterwards, because the sugar sticks to your teeth and provides an ideal environment for decay-causing bacteria.
posted by ikkyu2 at 9:28 PM on February 25

Sigh.

You know, if HFCS was the be-all and end-all of evilness, where I live, there would be no obese people and no diabetes, because HFCS is a specialty sweets ingredient for home use, not included in food, and really hard to get, even if you want it. Unless they've been to america, most people around here have never ever consumed the stuff. Incidentally, I fell over laughing when I saw cane sugar marketed as a health product when I was over there.

I live in Austraila. We have an obesity problem. I should know, I've been obese. Yes, I have had HFCS - precisely twice. Over the course of around 15 years.

HFCS may not help, no, and it may contribute more to the problem than plain old cane sugar ... but that does not make cane sugar good for you, or Australians any less obese.

Anyway.

OP: I know if I ate a cube of sugar a day, my dentist would kill me, but that's because I got the wrong roll on the genetic dice. That said - it won't harm you that much, although there are definitely healthier alternatives, as noted above. It can also make you feel pretty crap unless you pop them at approximately 15minute intervals (sugar high then crash) depending on your metabolism and degree of reaction to the sugar. Mixing it with water probaly isn't much of an improvement, unless you drink it slowly - that'll even out the high/crash cycle a teensy bit.
posted by ysabet at 10:33 PM on February 25

If your worried about your teeth, dissolve the sugar cubes in your water, and drink it with a straw. That way your bypassing the sugar-bath on your pearly whites.
posted by Acacia at 10:34 PM on February 25

IANAD, but neither is anyone else answering this question, so my two cents: Be guilt free. No, it's probably not the healthiest thing in the world, but its definitely not the worst. Eating pats of butter as snacks, that's something I'd tell you to reconsider.

If you start to notice that your energy is crashing a few hours later, then yeah, you should stop that. And if your teeth are bad, that's another reason to stop. But in the meantime, if/until you start noticing a problem, I highly doubt you will do any permanent damage. Not everyone eats tofu and rice cakes for every meal. A couple sugar cubes sure won't kill you. Dude, most people have that much sugar in coffee. I bet if you were asking people if you could have a coffee with a couple sugar cubes every day, you'd get a different answer.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 11:58 PM on February 25

You'll be fine. 20 years ago back in poor student days working graveyard shifts, I lived on ramen and sugar-cubes from work. Try not to make it a long time habit, I'm sure it's not the most healthy thing, but it won't hurt you for a while. I actually took sugar-cubes home to pad out the couple of days until the paycheck came... Brush your teeth and don't worry about it.
posted by zengargoyle at 1:43 AM on February 26

The recommended daily allowance for sugar in all forms is 40 grams. So, as long as you cut out the soda (most contain more than 40 grams of sugar) and keep the rest of your consumption below the daily level you will be fine. If you're in the States you'll find the sugar amount listed on all food labels just above the list of vitamins. Just be careful about blood sugar crashes and enjoy.
posted by Alison at 6:40 AM on February 26

any major dude: high fructose corn syrup makes mice fat
and creates insulin resistance

Did you even read the second study?:
"Our study design involved administration of an extra amount of fructose while leaving the other dietary intakes unchanged. It therefore resulted in both energy and fructose overfeeding. As such, it is representative of a condition where increased dietary fructose intake would not be compensated by a reduction of calories from other sources. It cannot, however, truly differentiate the effects of high-fructose intake per se and of energy total carbohydrate overfeeding. Only comparative studies involving subjects overfed with fructose versus starch or glucose will be able to address this issue."

From the first study:
A glucose tolerance test performed at the end of the 2-month treatment period did not reveal significant changes in insulin sensitivity, (which contradicts the conclusion you drew from the second study you mentioned) and To our knowledge, this study shows for the first time prospectively that a causal relationship between exposure to fructose-sweetened beverages and an increase in fat mass exists. So, if the first result, on mice was in 2005, I think the jury may still be out, to say the least.
posted by blenderfish at 9:33 AM on February 26

My initial thought was, gross. But my next thought was, hm, it IS gross, preventing you from eating a lot of them. Two sugar cubes a day is no big deal calorically, as long as you do eat a couple hours later. I certainly have, in the past, bought "gross" snacks in order to curtail my eating.
posted by herbaliser at 10:05 AM on February 26