A Question About Sugar
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It'll be easier to address the bolded comments2yorkiemama wrote: »Hello!
Here is what I have learned....
A carb is a carb. Sugar is sugar whether it comes from fruit or ice cream. The only difference is that there are actually nutrients you get with eating fruit. (Duh) So fruit is good for you. Of course, not all fruit is created equal. Berries are your best bet. The darker the fruit the more antioxidants and lower on the glycemic index (less sugar). Conversely, bananas, mangoes, pineapple and the like have more sugar content.
Point: Overload ofsugar/carbs regardless of the source (s), means weight gain. Too much will store as fat. Our bodies use both carbs and fat for fuel. The key is not to "tandem fuel " HUGE (no pun intended) mistake. Rule: NEVER eat fat with carbs. Eat carbs and protein OR fat and protein.
Any sugar in our blood results in insulin release. If the cells in our muscles are full because of too much sugar, the "insulin truck" must take it somewhere else. Guess where that would be??? Fat cells!! Yikes!
There are no redeeming qualities in refined, processed sugar. Nor is there anything good to say about processed starches like white/wheat flours and most grains. These also turn into sugar in our bodies. Fact: Fat does not make you fat, sugar makes you fat. It is our number one enemy. Next in line is processed food. If it's in a box, bag, or package of any kind it is most likely processed in some way and also probably has lots of carbs which equate to sugar in our bodies. Fat is your friend....good, healthy God given fat from real whole foods...avocados, nuts, heavy cream in your coffee (my personal favorite), eggs WITH THE YOLKS!, and a good old juicy ribeye.
This is all very simplified and mostly paraphrased so I recommend the following reading for more expert and technical info... FUN AND EXTREMELY HELPFUL reads: Trim, Healthy Mama; Primal Blueprint; Eat the Yolks.
Hope this helps. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The glycemic index is not based on sugar content. It is a comparison of how rapidly a person's blood sugar will peak with table sugar as the item all items are compared to (table sugar has a GI of 100). A GI greater than 100 means that the carbs are digested faster, a blood sugar spike is higher and occurs sooner, and a sudden drop or "crash" occurs. A GI lower than 100 means that the carbs are digested slower, the blood sugar peak is not as high compared to high-GI foods, and a more gradual drop occurs over a longer period of time. For comparison, one large apple has 25g of sugar and two cups of watermelon has 20g of sugar. The watermelon has less sugar, though it is higher on the GI scale compared to the apple.
And why should you never eat fat with carbs? I personally noticed that my blood sugar does not spike as much if I have a source of fat with my carbs (such as cheese and grapes) compared to if I eat the carbs alone. Both protein and fat delay glucose absorption into my bloodstream and gives my insulin more time to activate (rapid-acting insulin only begins working 15-20 minutes after injecting). Carbs are stored as fat if there is an excess in energy. Fat is stored as fat if there is an excess in energy. Protein is stored as fat if there is an excess in energy (though protein can convert to acetyl CoA and then to glucose if someone is eating very low carb -this is why people on ketosis diets cannot eat very high protein). An excess in energy is what makes a person fat, not where the energy is coming from.
Not all processed food contains a boatload of carbs. Butter is a "processed food" and it is not a carb (now I need to wait for someone to put in a Mean Girls gif).
For the "sugar in our blood stimulates the release of insulin", you are partially true, but there is a bit more than that. When blood glucose concentrations rise above a certain level, insulin is released. Insulin promotes the uptake of glucose into cells, storage of glucose into muscle as glycogen, and excess glucose into adipose tissue as fat. BUT, when blood glucose concentrations fall below a set point, glucagon is released. Glucagon is the opposite of insulin. It stimulates cells to release glucose and for the muscles to break down and release glycogen, which ultimately causes the body to burn some adipose fat.
Fantastic post!!!!
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Well, looks like a lot of my points were either "misundersood" (seriously, you know what I mean when I say "processed".. you're brighter than you're letting on...c'mon now) or unfortunately some of you have just have bought into the lies unscientifically founded (or manipulated), profit/politic driven so-called "conventional wisdom" ...And frankly, some of you folks are just down right a little mean and rude.
I have been maintaining my weight for 3 yrs eating this way. Prior to having learned and practiced this I have struggled with my weight and had an eating disorder since I was a teen. I have been on every diet known to man. I have no metabolism to speak of. I am 50, 5 ' 1" and 116 now in menopause and maintaining as previously stated. This is my lifestyle with some exercise 4 times a week. And.... I no longer have a diabetic condition, no longer have a cholesterol problem, nor a heart condition.....just sayin'....I wanted to offer some personal experience. It works fabulously for me and many others. ....and now...Off to have a big juicy steak and crab legs dipped in butter for hubbys 50th birthday dinner!
MerryChristmas! -1 -
herrspoons wrote: »tennisdude2004 wrote: »herrspoons wrote: »I had a chocolate cake last night because it was within my calorie allowance.
Not a single **** was given.
At some point one would have been - that's just biology!
Wrong four letter word, brah.
I'm sorry - a good looking guy like you, I just assumed you were going to get lucky!
Still nothing wrong with you being your own FB, brah!
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neanderthin wrote: »You learned this from either a low carb or ketosis blog, paleo website etc.......you listened, you read, you believed and your wrong.
it's you're wrong :-)
I wonder why people repost an entire thing just to say it's wrong, wouldn't you want to minimise the exposure of the alleged wrongness.
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The glycemic index is not based on sugar content. It is a comparison of how rapidly a person's blood sugar will peak with table sugar as the item all items are compared to (table sugar has a GI of 100).
For the "sugar in our blood stimulates the release of insulin", you are partially true, but there is a bit more than that. When blood glucose concentrations rise above a certain level, insulin is released. Insulin promotes the uptake of glucose into cells, storage of glucose into muscle as glycogen, and excess glucose into adipose tissue as fat. BUT, when blood glucose concentrations fall below a set point, glucagon is released. Glucagon is the opposite of insulin. It stimulates cells to release glucose and for the muscles to break down and release glycogen, which ultimately causes the body to burn some adipose fat.
Firstly the GI scale uses either white bread or glucose as its reference substance, never table sugar.
Secondly it is primarily the liver that releases glucose into the bloodstream to correct low blood sugar. Initially this is previously stored glucose from the liver's glycogen reserves. Muscle glycogen can only be used by the muscle that contains it, not released into the bloodstream.
Elevated insulin also inhibits fat release from fat tissue.
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2yorkiemama wrote: »Well, looks like a lot of my points were either "misundersood" (seriously, you know what I mean when I say "processed".. you're brighter than you're letting on...c'mon now) or unfortunately some of you have just have bought into the lies unscientifically founded (or manipulated), profit/politic driven so-called "conventional wisdom" ...And frankly, some of you folks are just down right a little mean and rude.
I have been maintaining my weight for 3 yrs eating this way. Prior to having learned and practiced this I have struggled with my weight and had an eating disorder since I was a teen. I have been on every diet known to man. I have no metabolism to speak of. I am 50, 5 ' 1" and 116 now in menopause and maintaining as previously stated. This is my lifestyle with some exercise 4 times a week. And.... I no longer have a diabetic condition, no longer have a cholesterol problem, nor a heart condition.....just sayin'....I wanted to offer some personal experience. It works fabulously for me and many others. ....and now...Off to have a big juicy steak and crab legs dipped in butter for hubbys 50th birthday dinner! MerryChristmas!
How is eating more than you burn=weight gain not scientifically founded? I go over on my sugar almost every day, stay within my calories, and I've lost almost 55 pounds this year.
Congratulations on your weight loss and reversing your conditions. Those came from reducing your calories overall, not just your sugar. Also, you do have a metabolism or else you would not have been able to post this.0 -
Fact: Fat does not make you fat, sugar makes you fat
Fact: neither fat nor sugar make you fat, excess calories make you fat
Technically you may have a point. Before I found out Carbs were optional and got off of them for the most part the carb/sugar cravings encourage me to over eat carbs. I seldom set down and eat 5000 calories of fat unless it is salted macadamia nuts. Even if I do I do not see the long term weight gain like I do when over eating carbs for some reason.
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When people find a solution to their unhealthy relationship with food, they feel enlightened and low carb works for a lot of people that really can't control their eating when it comes to sugary foods. Vegetarians have similar stories of recovery, which is high carb, as do paleo, med, south beach etc.....when your not munching down uncontrollably you've found the answer for yourself......it boils down to not eating in excess and while that is meaningless for many people, it can mean euphoria to some people, like yourself for example......and the euphoria for you calls for low carb.GaleHawkins wrote: »Fact: Fat does not make you fat, sugar makes you fat
Fact: neither fat nor sugar make you fat, excess calories make you fat
Technically you may have a point. Before I found out Carbs were optional and got off of them for the most part the carb/sugar cravings encourage me to over eat carbs. I seldom set down and eat 5000 calories of fat unless it is salted macadamia nuts. Even if I do I do not see the long term weight gain like I do when over eating carbs for some reason.
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....lower on the glycemic index (less sugar)....
I see others have effectively demolished the post that contained this tidbit of misinformation. A low GI food and a high GI food may have the same amount of sugar, but the low GI food will be absorbed more slowly because of the addition of fiber.
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Glycemic load rules.....lower on the glycemic index (less sugar)....
I see others have effectively demolished the post that contained this tidbit of misinformation. A low GI food and a high GI food may have the same amount of sugar, but the low GI food will be absorbed more slowly because of the addition of fiber.
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....lower on the glycemic index (less sugar)....
I see others have effectively demolished the post that contained this tidbit of misinformation. A low GI food and a high GI food may have the same amount of sugar, but the low GI food will be absorbed more slowly because of the addition of fiber.
For the most part GI is foolish because its index is done in isolation and no one eats that way. And even if someone has diabetes, their overall carb intake is more important that the GI rating.
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....lower on the glycemic index (less sugar)....
I see others have effectively demolished the post that contained this tidbit of misinformation. A low GI food and a high GI food may have the same amount of sugar, but the low GI food will be absorbed more slowly because of the addition of fiber.
But what if you eat a separate food with fiber at the same time as a higher gi food?0 -
Why is it when I have a low carb day I'm totally ravenous the next day?? And I undo all my hard work!0
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How people react to different macro mixes seems to vary. I think it is probably quite common to find protein and fat more satiating than carbs and higher fiber carbs more satiating than refined or lower fiber carbs, even when the refined carbs have far more calories, but it's hardly universal. I personally tend to find volume and protein/fat more satiating but even for me there are exceptions not explained by these rules or the GI/GL stuff--for example, I find potatoes quite satiating, even when compared with higher fiber green veggies.
That's the problem when people insist upon rules (like sugar will make you crave or be starving later or won't be satiating) that simply don't apply for everyone. Along the same lines I probably would find sugar or refined carbs to be likely to lead to a blood sugar spike and crash if I ate them in isolation, but so long as I eat them with plenty of fat and protein too there's no issue (same as if I eat fruit that also has fiber). I wish people wouldn't insist that everyone must have the same experiences they do.0 -
4bettermenow wrote: »Its all personal preference. For me personally, I watch my sugar because if I eat a lot of it, I get horrible aches and pains in my joints. This is from trial and errors on my part. After three months of really limiting it, I don't crave candy or desserts that much. But if I do,I have a small amount and I just watch my sugar intake more closely the next couple of days and drink more water than normal. Seems to help me flush the system faster. Again, its all personal.
I found that I no longer get nighttime leg cramps since I reduced my carbs (per doctor's orders). I am eating reduced carb, not low carb (35% of my total), and the couple of times I really loaded up on carbs I have had the cramps in the middle of the night. This is me and how they affect my body. I would never try to tell someone that they need to reduce carbs. I leave that to their doctor if the MD feels it is necessary.
My husband works long hard days and suffers badly from leg cramps and I used to get them back in the days when I was working long hours.
A friend told us about salt tablets and in desperation we tried them. Why they work for both of us is a mystery to me. My husband loves salt and uses it often but I am low salt. They work within minutes for both of us. So we keep them handy and gobble them down as soon as possible. Works every time no matter how severe the cramp is
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christinev297 wrote: »Why is it when I have a low carb day I'm totally ravenous the next day?? And I undo all my hard work!
Because it takes about a month to break a sugar addiction perhaps?
Well that was in my case. The funny part if one can go 30 days without sugar/carbs and not have cravings then they did not have a sugar addiction to begin with I expect.
Seriously christinev297 you should be very hungry the next day after a low carb day. It really took me a month (at least two weeks were really bad) to break my sugar addiction.
I filled the missing carbs with Fats.
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4bettermenow wrote: »Its all personal preference. For me personally, I watch my sugar because if I eat a lot of it, I get horrible aches and pains in my joints. This is from trial and errors on my part. After three months of really limiting it, I don't crave candy or desserts that much. But if I do,I have a small amount and I just watch my sugar intake more closely the next couple of days and drink more water than normal. Seems to help me flush the system faster. Again, its all personal.
I found that I no longer get nighttime leg cramps since I reduced my carbs (per doctor's orders). I am eating reduced carb, not low carb (35% of my total), and the couple of times I really loaded up on carbs I have had the cramps in the middle of the night. This is me and how they affect my body. I would never try to tell someone that they need to reduce carbs. I leave that to their doctor if the MD feels it is necessary.
My husband works long hard days and suffers badly from leg cramps and I used to get them back in the days when I was working long hours.
A friend told us about salt tablets and in desperation we tried them. Why they work for both of us is a mystery to me. My husband loves salt and uses it often but I am low salt. They work within minutes for both of us. So we keep them handy and gobble them down as soon as possible. Works every time no matter how severe the cramp is
I had to add salt because of leg cramps when I went very low carb. All the junk food in our break room is loaded with salt for example. Now I eat my boiled egg each morning coated with salt and my legs are fine.
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tigersword wrote: »Patttience wrote: »this is a very good question. First off, my advice is don't bother using the sugar counter at all unless you are a diagnosed diabetic. Nobody else needs to know their sugar count.
What we all need to do is know our carb count. You should aim to keep your carb count low.
The reason why i say the sugar counter is a waste of your interest is a) because there are more important factors and b), unless diabetic the body manages blood sugar levels naturally. If you just eat with your macros in an appropriate balance, you do not need to be concered about the sugar counter.
the sugar counter makes no distinction between refined sugars and natural sugars and it is hte refined sugars only that you need to reduce. You can do this without any sort of counter at all. You need to put significant effort into reducing processed foods because these are the foods that have high levels of added/refined sugar.
Why is refined sugar a problem? Because it intensifies the flavours of foods so that you ar enot happy with normal healthy food and prefer processed foods. Because it causes some people to over eat. And when you over eat refined sugar, it start the ball rolling and keep it rolling endlessly towards weight gain and ill health. Overeating causes imbalances in the hormones signalling systems in teh body. For instance leptin. People who eat a lot tend to develop leptin resistance which means your body can't help you restrict your eating at all because you are always hungry.
Just reducing yoru calories will result in correcting of this problem however, so long as you eat a lot of refined sugar, you will struggle to reduce your calorie intake and maitain it long enough to lose the weight and reprogram yourself into better eating habits.
The other things that you need to be eating more and don't when you eat too much refined/added sguars are vegetables and fruit and high fibre foods. Because meat is a strong flavoured food, people tend not to have any difficult eating eating enough meat and protein when they are also eating a lot of very unhealthy foods but fruit and vegetables tend to be less exciting to the palate becuase they have plainer flavours. To enjoy them, they would need to be eaten with other highly flavoursome foods.
So when you cut out all the procesed foods, you can start to enjoy less intensely flavoured foods, though they still do need ot be prepared in such a way as to be tasty. Hence to be honest, steamed vegies and skinless chicken breast was never going to satisfy anyone in the long term.
There are ways you can cook vegetables and other foods that are tasty adn interesting. Its important the food you eat to replace all the processed foods you may have eaten in teh past is tasty. So that suggests that people need to apply themselves to their cooking. Thsi is probalby one of hte hardest things for most dieters to do in this day and age when a) many can't cook b) most people are very busy and too tired too cook.
But i promise you if you make the effort to prepare your own meals, avoid processed fodos as much as possible and increase your vegetables and fruit you will find losing weight easier. You will also find keeping hte weigh off long term more sustainable.
People need to make a life long commitment to eating better. Its not enough just to do it for long enough to get hte weight off. If you don't commit to ongoing change, you will get fat again.
No. Just...no.
this gets a hell no..
and to the bolded part - overeating calories results in weight gain, "refined sugar" (whatever that means) has nothing to do with it...
That. And I'm pretty sure it's possible to enjoy intensely flavored food at home. Processed or not.
Might be a follower of Reverand Sylvester Graham, inventor of the Graham cracker, who believed bland food was the way to health and salvation.
I though grahm crackers were a way to prevent sex drives? they were part of the abstinence plan or something?
Yup, because no one has gotten wily after a stellar slice of the cheesecake.0 -
herrspoons wrote: »4bettermenow wrote: »Its all personal preference. For me personally, I watch my sugar because if I eat a lot of it, I get horrible aches and pains in my joints. This is from trial and errors on my part. After three months of really limiting it, I don't crave candy or desserts that much. But if I do,I have a small amount and I just watch my sugar intake more closely the next couple of days and drink more water than normal. Seems to help me flush the system faster. Again, its all personal.
I found that I no longer get nighttime leg cramps since I reduced my carbs (per doctor's orders). I am eating reduced carb, not low carb (35% of my total), and the couple of times I really loaded up on carbs I have had the cramps in the middle of the night. This is me and how they affect my body. I would never try to tell someone that they need to reduce carbs. I leave that to their doctor if the MD feels it is necessary.
My husband works long hard days and suffers badly from leg cramps and I used to get them back in the days when I was working long hours.
A friend told us about salt tablets and in desperation we tried them. Why they work for both of us is a mystery to me. My husband loves salt and uses it often but I am low salt. They work within minutes for both of us. So we keep them handy and gobble them down as soon as possible. Works every time no matter how severe the cramp is
It's because you don't get enough sodium, plus you're probably dehydrated.
^ This.
If you don't have the ol salt tabs... quinine does well. What is quinine in? Gin and Tonic. Granted, it's just in the tonic, but the gin is a synergist, and blocks the standard quinine receptors, so the quinine is free to bind to our potassium receptors resulting in immediate cessation of cramping.
Only in instances of legitimate cramping though.0 -
To be fair, the modern graham cracker only shares the name with Graham's original recipe. I believe it was originally just Graham flour and water. No honey or sugar or any kind of sweetener or seasoning.tigersword wrote: »
Might be a follower of Reverand Sylvester Graham, inventor of the Graham cracker, who believed bland food was the way to health and salvation.
That sounds so horrible.
At least some good things came out of it . . . graham cracker crust for pies and S'mores!
Graham crackers are delicious, indeed.tigersword wrote: »Patttience wrote: »this is a very good question. First off, my advice is don't bother using the sugar counter at all unless you are a diagnosed diabetic. Nobody else needs to know their sugar count.
What we all need to do is know our carb count. You should aim to keep your carb count low.
The reason why i say the sugar counter is a waste of your interest is a) because there are more important factors and b), unless diabetic the body manages blood sugar levels naturally. If you just eat with your macros in an appropriate balance, you do not need to be concered about the sugar counter.
the sugar counter makes no distinction between refined sugars and natural sugars and it is hte refined sugars only that you need to reduce. You can do this without any sort of counter at all. You need to put significant effort into reducing processed foods because these are the foods that have high levels of added/refined sugar.
Why is refined sugar a problem? Because it intensifies the flavours of foods so that you ar enot happy with normal healthy food and prefer processed foods. Because it causes some people to over eat. And when you over eat refined sugar, it start the ball rolling and keep it rolling endlessly towards weight gain and ill health. Overeating causes imbalances in the hormones signalling systems in teh body. For instance leptin. People who eat a lot tend to develop leptin resistance which means your body can't help you restrict your eating at all because you are always hungry.
Just reducing yoru calories will result in correcting of this problem however, so long as you eat a lot of refined sugar, you will struggle to reduce your calorie intake and maitain it long enough to lose the weight and reprogram yourself into better eating habits.
The other things that you need to be eating more and don't when you eat too much refined/added sguars are vegetables and fruit and high fibre foods. Because meat is a strong flavoured food, people tend not to have any difficult eating eating enough meat and protein when they are also eating a lot of very unhealthy foods but fruit and vegetables tend to be less exciting to the palate becuase they have plainer flavours. To enjoy them, they would need to be eaten with other highly flavoursome foods.
So when you cut out all the procesed foods, you can start to enjoy less intensely flavoured foods, though they still do need ot be prepared in such a way as to be tasty. Hence to be honest, steamed vegies and skinless chicken breast was never going to satisfy anyone in the long term.
There are ways you can cook vegetables and other foods that are tasty adn interesting. Its important the food you eat to replace all the processed foods you may have eaten in teh past is tasty. So that suggests that people need to apply themselves to their cooking. Thsi is probalby one of hte hardest things for most dieters to do in this day and age when a) many can't cook b) most people are very busy and too tired too cook.
But i promise you if you make the effort to prepare your own meals, avoid processed fodos as much as possible and increase your vegetables and fruit you will find losing weight easier. You will also find keeping hte weigh off long term more sustainable.
People need to make a life long commitment to eating better. Its not enough just to do it for long enough to get hte weight off. If you don't commit to ongoing change, you will get fat again.
No. Just...no.
this gets a hell no..
and to the bolded part - overeating calories results in weight gain, "refined sugar" (whatever that means) has nothing to do with it...
That. And I'm pretty sure it's possible to enjoy intensely flavored food at home. Processed or not.
Might be a follower of Reverand Sylvester Graham, inventor of the Graham cracker, who believed bland food was the way to health and salvation.
I though grahm crackers were a way to prevent sex drives? they were part of the abstinence plan or something?
Graham crackers were just one part of Graham's diet. It was a diet of bland food (no seasoning, spices, or condiments) intended to "calm" people down, to prevent lust, sin, and disease.0
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