Sugar vs caffeine can be broken down in various ways when it comes to giving you energy. While our research suggests that sugar is extremely addictive (Lenoir et al., 2007), caffeine comes out on top when it comes to giving you a reliable source of energy. The World Health Organization suggests adults and children consume sugar below 5% of their total energy intake.
Although sugar is the most abundant source of energy in human food, the sweet receptors in our brain are over-stimulated by sugars, because most mammals (human included) evolved in environments with limited sugars, thus are not adapted to high concentrations of sweet tastants (Lenoir et al., 2007).
Caffeine on the other hand when metabolized quickly offers benefits such as increased athletic performance, decreased stress and depression, and even stimulates the autonomic nervous system.
When faced with the question of sugar vs caffeine, taking caffeine regularly is less risky than dosing sugar too frequently. As always, if you have blood sugar levels that are very high, we at findithealth.com recommend you consult your physician.