The truth about sugar addiction from a former sugar addict
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MotelHoney wrote: »I have a question. I eat a lot of fruit, it's like 60% of what I eat everyday (I love the stuff). Does the sugar in it feed into a sugar addiction like a candy bar would?
Neither, in my opinion.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »That's a pretty healthy diary you have! Your carb numbers are roughly where mine are.
Not high, not low, and pretty "slow".
Thanks! That's what seems to work best
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The amount of people seeing the title and then coming here and going all 'sugar is the devil' without having actually read the post makes me sad. Her point is that she was never really an 'addict' and that you CAN have sugar in moderation. OP, congrats on all that you have achieved!0
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girlviernes- Thank you for your thoughtful post. I think all of us might have some type of food that we need to be more moderate about consuming and it is good to remember that it is possible to do so without totally eliminating things.0
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girlviernes wrote: »happyhenglers wrote: »Suggested read: Salt, Sugar, Fat. Great book to highlight the fact that sugar has been proven to be as addictive as drugs. Some people can do moderation, and some people need stiffer boundaries. The key is to find what works for you.
Well we all need to find the right path for us, but part of the reason I posted this thread was that if you asked me even a year ago I would have been convinced moderation could not work for me. Now I've come to believe that while I am vulnerable to sugar/starch cravings if my diet is unbalanced, these can be managed through moderation. Previously, my beliefs that I could not control sugar made it even more difficult to manage.
I think it's great that you're able to walk the moderate path. It gives you far more choices. And if it ever gives you trouble again, because you have cut out foods in the past to gain control, you know you can again if need be without dying, so that's great, too. It seems very flexible and freeing to me. I'm currently in, 'can't handle moderation at all' mode, but perhaps in the future I'll be able to as well. Nothing wrong with it, we all should stay on top of our eating habits to give ourselves the best quality of life possible, not make a religion of our diets and squabble constantly over who has the best one! I applaud your post. You're like the Unitarian of diets.
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Excellent job!!!0
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girlviernes wrote: »Yes! I can totally relate to this. I have always had a "sweet tooth" and felt out of control when it came to ice cream, chocolate and other sweets. It took a diagnosis of gestational diabetes for me to start learning about my triggers and how to maintain a healthy diet. Now that my blood sugar is under better control, I don't crave sugar nearly as much. Some of it could be mental, but I really believe that my high blood sugar (then the crash that followed) had a lot to do with my "need" to binge.
Congrats on your progress and good luck!
I agree, I think that there is something more than just the mental aspect. It may be just in those of us who have a condition that means our body doesn't regulate blood sugar effectively, but I think getting educated on how the balance in diet affects you can make everything work so much better.
I agree with this. I never binged, and never thought I was addicted, and know that my biggest issues are emotional eating and simply a difficulty in judging appropriate amounts without doing it by some kind of measurement (which need not be calorie counting), but all that aside, I know that everything was more difficult when I was eating more high carb foods on their own (without fiber, it doesn't happen with veggies or fruit). It wasn't so much that I was hungry, as some say (I'm rarely super hungry or not hungry, which relates to the regulation problem), but I could definitely perceive my blood sugar going up and down and would eat mostly to combat feeling tired or low energy (which did not mesh well with the emotional eating tendencies). Stopping that and eating in a more balanced way (which did not require cutting anything out) helped a lot. IMO, it was mostly just eating more sensibly. Not saying it would work for everyone, but I think it would be a reasonable thing to try for many with similar issues.0 -
girlviernes wrote: »This made me so happy, haha. If Littlefinger approves, I must be doing something right.
Heh!
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MotelHoney wrote: »I have a question. I eat a lot of fruit, it's like 60% of what I eat everyday (I love the stuff). Does the sugar in it feed into a sugar addiction like a candy bar would?
Neither, in my opinion.
Neither what? It was a yes or no question lol0 -
MotelHoney wrote: »MotelHoney wrote: »I have a question. I eat a lot of fruit, it's like 60% of what I eat everyday (I love the stuff). Does the sugar in it feed into a sugar addiction like a candy bar would?
Neither, in my opinion.
Neither what? It was a yes or no question lol
Read what you wrote. You asked if the sugar in fruit feeds into sugar addiction like a candy bar does. In context, it's not a yes or no question. It reads like a trick question because of the assumption that a sugar addiction is real. It's not.
I'm saying neither the candy bar nor the fruit feeds into a sugar addictions. There is no such thing as a sugar addiction, which is what the original posting is really about. 0 -
MotelHoney wrote: »MotelHoney wrote: »I have a question. I eat a lot of fruit, it's like 60% of what I eat everyday (I love the stuff). Does the sugar in it feed into a sugar addiction like a candy bar would?
Neither, in my opinion.
Neither what? It was a yes or no question lol
Whole fruits contain a lot of water and fiber, and some protein, and, for some at least, most of the sugar is fructose. Water, fiber, protein, and fructose are all satisfying - they prevent binges, and cause people to eat less at later meals. The amount of sugar in a serving of fruit is much less than that in a can of pop, or other sugar-added treats. The fiber slows down digestion, so the sugar-sensitive will have less of a glucose spike and crash. Probably none of the fructose will end up stored as visceral fat in one serving of fruit as it might with one serving of pop, as it is released at the rate that the glucose is needed by the body. As visceral fat is increased, insulin resistance can develop, making any issues with sugar worse.
Keep in mind, being active mitigates a lot of the potential problems with higher (added) sugar consumption. It burns off visceral fat, promotes insulin sensitivity, and an appropriate amount of sugar consumed right after a workout will go to immediate metabolic and glycogen storage needs.
60% is high for fruit consumption, however. How you eat it makes a difference. Nutritionists recommend avoiding fruit juice, as it affects blood sugar more like how pop does in similar servings. Eating a lot of fiber, water, and adequate amounts of high-quality protein with fruit will slow glucose spikes, and promote satiation (ie. prevent binges). If you can eat 60% of your diet as fruit, meet all your macros and micros, and aren't experiencing binges, cravings, waist larger than 35", or any signs of insulin resistance, you may be fine, but 1-2 servings of fruit a day (about a cup/serving) is what is recommended for most people.0 -
Sugar is sugar no matter what source it comes from. Your body does not differentiate. If you're going to moderate sugar, which is perfectly fine, moderate all sources, not just one.MotelHoney wrote: »MotelHoney wrote: »I have a question. I eat a lot of fruit, it's like 60% of what I eat everyday (I love the stuff). Does the sugar in it feed into a sugar addiction like a candy bar would?
Neither, in my opinion.
Neither what? It was a yes or no question lol
Whole fruits contain a lot of water and fiber, and some protein, and, for some at least, most of the sugar is fructose. Water, fiber, protein, and fructose are all satisfying - they prevent binges, and cause people to eat less at later meals. The amount of sugar in a serving of fruit is much less than that in a can of pop, or other sugar-added treats. The fiber slows down digestion, so the sugar-sensitive will have less of a glucose spike and crash. Probably none of the fructose will end up stored as visceral fat in one serving of fruit as it might with one serving of pop, as it is released at the rate that the glucose is needed by the body. As visceral fat is increased, insulin resistance can develop, making any issues with sugar worse.
Keep in mind, being active mitigates a lot of the potential problems with higher (added) sugar consumption. It burns off visceral fat, promotes insulin sensitivity, and an appropriate amount of sugar consumed right after a workout will go to immediate metabolic and glycogen storage needs.
60% is high for fruit consumption, however. How you eat it makes a difference. Nutritionists recommend avoiding fruit juice, as it affects blood sugar more like how pop does in similar servings. Eating a lot of fiber, water, and adequate amounts of high-quality protein with fruit will slow glucose spikes, and promote satiation (ie. prevent binges). If you can eat 60% of your diet as fruit, meet all your macros and micros, and aren't experiencing binges, cravings, waist larger than 35", or any signs of insulin resistance, you may be fine, but 1-2 servings of fruit a day (about a cup/serving) is what is recommended for most people.
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girlviernes wrote: »Yes! I can totally relate to this. I have always had a "sweet tooth" and felt out of control when it came to ice cream, chocolate and other sweets. It took a diagnosis of gestational diabetes for me to start learning about my triggers and how to maintain a healthy diet. Now that my blood sugar is under better control, I don't crave sugar nearly as much. Some of it could be mental, but I really believe that my high blood sugar (then the crash that followed) had a lot to do with my "need" to binge.
Congrats on your progress and good luck!
I agree, I think that there is something more than just the mental aspect. It may be just in those of us who have a condition that means our body doesn't regulate blood sugar effectively, but I think getting educated on how the balance in diet affects you can make everything work so much better.
I agree. And I want to thank you for your delightfully friendly way of discussing the topic.
To touch on the word "addiction" for a moment. As an ex-stock trader (glorified gambler), I think the term addiction applies more easily to sugar than it does to gambling. The cravings and my responses to sugar FEEL like they have a biological component. I, and others (including some scientists) have speculated why, but unfortunately we can't debate or speculate our way to an answer. Someone has to do proper peer reviewed research to move the conversation forward.
The definition doesn't matter to me that much anyway. If it is inappropriate to group sugar cravings in with alcoholism and drug abuse, fine, I can stick with "craver" instead of "addict".
The real question is, how do we sugar cravers take control? OP I think you have exactly the right approach.
I have three issues with abstaining:
First, I have a sweet tooth! I enjoy sugar more than a lot of people. It seems cruel that the people who are ambivalent about sweets (like my husband) are the ones that get to continue to have it and those of us who LOVE the stuff get none.
Second, sugar and sugary treats are culturally a celebratory thing. If I have a choice, I don't want to have to say "no thank you" at each and every celebration. I've stopped drinking recently, so I'm already declining alcohol at celebrations. I don't want to have to give up cake forever too.
Third, there ARE ways to reduce cravings. More protein in my diet overall, protein/fibre accompanying the sweet treat, interrupt the cravings with exercise. Those all work for me.
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Sugar is sugar no matter what source it comes from. Your body does not differentiate. If you're going to moderate sugar, which is perfectly fine, moderate all sources, not just one.MotelHoney wrote: »MotelHoney wrote: »I have a question. I eat a lot of fruit, it's like 60% of what I eat everyday (I love the stuff). Does the sugar in it feed into a sugar addiction like a candy bar would?
Neither, in my opinion.
Neither what? It was a yes or no question lol
Whole fruits contain a lot of water and fiber, and some protein, and, for some at least, most of the sugar is fructose. Water, fiber, protein, and fructose are all satisfying - they prevent binges, and cause people to eat less at later meals. The amount of sugar in a serving of fruit is much less than that in a can of pop, or other sugar-added treats. The fiber slows down digestion, so the sugar-sensitive will have less of a glucose spike and crash. Probably none of the fructose will end up stored as visceral fat in one serving of fruit as it might with one serving of pop, as it is released at the rate that the glucose is needed by the body. As visceral fat is increased, insulin resistance can develop, making any issues with sugar worse.
Keep in mind, being active mitigates a lot of the potential problems with higher (added) sugar consumption. It burns off visceral fat, promotes insulin sensitivity, and an appropriate amount of sugar consumed right after a workout will go to immediate metabolic and glycogen storage needs.
60% is high for fruit consumption, however. How you eat it makes a difference. Nutritionists recommend avoiding fruit juice, as it affects blood sugar more like how pop does in similar servings. Eating a lot of fiber, water, and adequate amounts of high-quality protein with fruit will slow glucose spikes, and promote satiation (ie. prevent binges). If you can eat 60% of your diet as fruit, meet all your macros and micros, and aren't experiencing binges, cravings, waist larger than 35", or any signs of insulin resistance, you may be fine, but 1-2 servings of fruit a day (about a cup/serving) is what is recommended for most people.
Chosing to get sugar from fruit/vegetables and dairy instead of added sugars is moderation, as one serving of fruit/vegetables or dairy has less sugar than one serving of most sweet foods with added sugar (I get that sugar is added to most processed foods, but there are more significant amounts of it in sweet foods). Source of sugar definitely affects how it is processed (rate and glucose spike) by the body - that is what glycemic index and load is about.
Limiting dairy and fruit/vegetables has health consequences, as they contain essential nutrition for the body (micros), and help prevent various diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. Limiting added sugars does not have health consequences, except for those who need them for workout recovery.
Edited just 'cause0 -
Sugar is sugar no matter what source it comes from. Your body does not differentiate. If you're going to moderate sugar, which is perfectly fine, moderate all sources, not just one.MotelHoney wrote: »MotelHoney wrote: »I have a question. I eat a lot of fruit, it's like 60% of what I eat everyday (I love the stuff). Does the sugar in it feed into a sugar addiction like a candy bar would?
Neither, in my opinion.
Neither what? It was a yes or no question lol
Whole fruits contain a lot of water and fiber, and some protein, and, for some at least, most of the sugar is fructose. Water, fiber, protein, and fructose are all satisfying - they prevent binges, and cause people to eat less at later meals. The amount of sugar in a serving of fruit is much less than that in a can of pop, or other sugar-added treats. The fiber slows down digestion, so the sugar-sensitive will have less of a glucose spike and crash. Probably none of the fructose will end up stored as visceral fat in one serving of fruit as it might with one serving of pop, as it is released at the rate that the glucose is needed by the body. As visceral fat is increased, insulin resistance can develop, making any issues with sugar worse.
Keep in mind, being active mitigates a lot of the potential problems with higher (added) sugar consumption. It burns off visceral fat, promotes insulin sensitivity, and an appropriate amount of sugar consumed right after a workout will go to immediate metabolic and glycogen storage needs.
60% is high for fruit consumption, however. How you eat it makes a difference. Nutritionists recommend avoiding fruit juice, as it affects blood sugar more like how pop does in similar servings. Eating a lot of fiber, water, and adequate amounts of high-quality protein with fruit will slow glucose spikes, and promote satiation (ie. prevent binges). If you can eat 60% of your diet as fruit, meet all your macros and micros, and aren't experiencing binges, cravings, waist larger than 35", or any signs of insulin resistance, you may be fine, but 1-2 servings of fruit a day (about a cup/serving) is what is recommended for most people.
Sugar is sugar, but some people can moderate easier if their sugar comes with a lot of fiber. Sadly I am not one of those people!
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Sugar is sugar no matter what source it comes from. Your body does not differentiate. If you're going to moderate sugar, which is perfectly fine, moderate all sources, not just one.MotelHoney wrote: »MotelHoney wrote: »I have a question. I eat a lot of fruit, it's like 60% of what I eat everyday (I love the stuff). Does the sugar in it feed into a sugar addiction like a candy bar would?
Neither, in my opinion.
Neither what? It was a yes or no question lol
Whole fruits contain a lot of water and fiber, and some protein, and, for some at least, most of the sugar is fructose. Water, fiber, protein, and fructose are all satisfying - they prevent binges, and cause people to eat less at later meals. The amount of sugar in a serving of fruit is much less than that in a can of pop, or other sugar-added treats. The fiber slows down digestion, so the sugar-sensitive will have less of a glucose spike and crash. Probably none of the fructose will end up stored as visceral fat in one serving of fruit as it might with one serving of pop, as it is released at the rate that the glucose is needed by the body. As visceral fat is increased, insulin resistance can develop, making any issues with sugar worse.
Keep in mind, being active mitigates a lot of the potential problems with higher (added) sugar consumption. It burns off visceral fat, promotes insulin sensitivity, and an appropriate amount of sugar consumed right after a workout will go to immediate metabolic and glycogen storage needs.
60% is high for fruit consumption, however. How you eat it makes a difference. Nutritionists recommend avoiding fruit juice, as it affects blood sugar more like how pop does in similar servings. Eating a lot of fiber, water, and adequate amounts of high-quality protein with fruit will slow glucose spikes, and promote satiation (ie. prevent binges). If you can eat 60% of your diet as fruit, meet all your macros and micros, and aren't experiencing binges, cravings, waist larger than 35", or any signs of insulin resistance, you may be fine, but 1-2 servings of fruit a day (about a cup/serving) is what is recommended for most people.
Sugar is sugar, but some people can moderate easier if their sugar comes with a lot of fiber. Sadly I am not one of those people!
Jolinia, you are a 42 year old woman with only 20 pounds to lose! You MUST have found ways to moderate or you would be much more overweight.
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goldthistime wrote: »
Sugar is sugar no matter what source it comes from. Your body does not differentiate. If you're going to moderate sugar, which is perfectly fine, moderate all sources, not just one.MotelHoney wrote: »MotelHoney wrote: »I have a question. I eat a lot of fruit, it's like 60% of what I eat everyday (I love the stuff). Does the sugar in it feed into a sugar addiction like a candy bar would?
Neither, in my opinion.
Neither what? It was a yes or no question lol
Whole fruits contain a lot of water and fiber, and some protein, and, for some at least, most of the sugar is fructose. Water, fiber, protein, and fructose are all satisfying - they prevent binges, and cause people to eat less at later meals. The amount of sugar in a serving of fruit is much less than that in a can of pop, or other sugar-added treats. The fiber slows down digestion, so the sugar-sensitive will have less of a glucose spike and crash. Probably none of the fructose will end up stored as visceral fat in one serving of fruit as it might with one serving of pop, as it is released at the rate that the glucose is needed by the body. As visceral fat is increased, insulin resistance can develop, making any issues with sugar worse.
Keep in mind, being active mitigates a lot of the potential problems with higher (added) sugar consumption. It burns off visceral fat, promotes insulin sensitivity, and an appropriate amount of sugar consumed right after a workout will go to immediate metabolic and glycogen storage needs.
60% is high for fruit consumption, however. How you eat it makes a difference. Nutritionists recommend avoiding fruit juice, as it affects blood sugar more like how pop does in similar servings. Eating a lot of fiber, water, and adequate amounts of high-quality protein with fruit will slow glucose spikes, and promote satiation (ie. prevent binges). If you can eat 60% of your diet as fruit, meet all your macros and micros, and aren't experiencing binges, cravings, waist larger than 35", or any signs of insulin resistance, you may be fine, but 1-2 servings of fruit a day (about a cup/serving) is what is recommended for most people.
Sugar is sugar, but some people can moderate easier if their sugar comes with a lot of fiber. Sadly I am not one of those people!
Jolinia, you are a 42 year old woman with only 20 pounds to lose! You MUST have found ways to moderate or you would be much more overweight.
I take that as a great compliment, especially since I am also half the woman I used to be. But no, I don't moderate well. I just duct tape up my diet with every method and combination of methods of food, meal timing, exercise, and everything else you can imagine. It's a daily fight and my goal is to stop backsliding even a few pounds and find a way of eating that doesn't require quite so much of my energy and focus. Because I really want to use my energy and focus for other things in life.
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goldthistime wrote: »
Sugar is sugar no matter what source it comes from. Your body does not differentiate. If you're going to moderate sugar, which is perfectly fine, moderate all sources, not just one.MotelHoney wrote: »MotelHoney wrote: »I have a question. I eat a lot of fruit, it's like 60% of what I eat everyday (I love the stuff). Does the sugar in it feed into a sugar addiction like a candy bar would?
Neither, in my opinion.
Neither what? It was a yes or no question lol
Whole fruits contain a lot of water and fiber, and some protein, and, for some at least, most of the sugar is fructose. Water, fiber, protein, and fructose are all satisfying - they prevent binges, and cause people to eat less at later meals. The amount of sugar in a serving of fruit is much less than that in a can of pop, or other sugar-added treats. The fiber slows down digestion, so the sugar-sensitive will have less of a glucose spike and crash. Probably none of the fructose will end up stored as visceral fat in one serving of fruit as it might with one serving of pop, as it is released at the rate that the glucose is needed by the body. As visceral fat is increased, insulin resistance can develop, making any issues with sugar worse.
Keep in mind, being active mitigates a lot of the potential problems with higher (added) sugar consumption. It burns off visceral fat, promotes insulin sensitivity, and an appropriate amount of sugar consumed right after a workout will go to immediate metabolic and glycogen storage needs.
60% is high for fruit consumption, however. How you eat it makes a difference. Nutritionists recommend avoiding fruit juice, as it affects blood sugar more like how pop does in similar servings. Eating a lot of fiber, water, and adequate amounts of high-quality protein with fruit will slow glucose spikes, and promote satiation (ie. prevent binges). If you can eat 60% of your diet as fruit, meet all your macros and micros, and aren't experiencing binges, cravings, waist larger than 35", or any signs of insulin resistance, you may be fine, but 1-2 servings of fruit a day (about a cup/serving) is what is recommended for most people.
Sugar is sugar, but some people can moderate easier if their sugar comes with a lot of fiber. Sadly I am not one of those people!
Jolinia, you are a 42 year old woman with only 20 pounds to lose! You MUST have found ways to moderate or you would be much more overweight.
I take that as a great compliment, especially since I am also half the woman I used to be. But no, I don't moderate well. I just duct tape up my diet with every method and combination of methods of food, meal timing, exercise, and everything else you can imagine. It's a daily fight and my goal is to stop backsliding even a few pounds and find a way of eating that doesn't require quite so much of my energy and focus. Because I really want to use my energy and focus for other things in life.
Congratulations on the weight loss. I feel like I should be asking YOU for advice. How have you handled sugar thus far?
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Sugar is sugar no matter what source it comes from. Your body does not differentiate. If you're going to moderate sugar, which is perfectly fine, moderate all sources, not just one.MotelHoney wrote: »MotelHoney wrote: »I have a question. I eat a lot of fruit, it's like 60% of what I eat everyday (I love the stuff). Does the sugar in it feed into a sugar addiction like a candy bar would?
Neither, in my opinion.
Neither what? It was a yes or no question lol
Whole fruits contain a lot of water and fiber, and some protein, and, for some at least, most of the sugar is fructose. Water, fiber, protein, and fructose are all satisfying - they prevent binges, and cause people to eat less at later meals. The amount of sugar in a serving of fruit is much less than that in a can of pop, or other sugar-added treats. The fiber slows down digestion, so the sugar-sensitive will have less of a glucose spike and crash. Probably none of the fructose will end up stored as visceral fat in one serving of fruit as it might with one serving of pop, as it is released at the rate that the glucose is needed by the body. As visceral fat is increased, insulin resistance can develop, making any issues with sugar worse.
Keep in mind, being active mitigates a lot of the potential problems with higher (added) sugar consumption. It burns off visceral fat, promotes insulin sensitivity, and an appropriate amount of sugar consumed right after a workout will go to immediate metabolic and glycogen storage needs.
60% is high for fruit consumption, however. How you eat it makes a difference. Nutritionists recommend avoiding fruit juice, as it affects blood sugar more like how pop does in similar servings. Eating a lot of fiber, water, and adequate amounts of high-quality protein with fruit will slow glucose spikes, and promote satiation (ie. prevent binges). If you can eat 60% of your diet as fruit, meet all your macros and micros, and aren't experiencing binges, cravings, waist larger than 35", or any signs of insulin resistance, you may be fine, but 1-2 servings of fruit a day (about a cup/serving) is what is recommended for most people.
Chosing to get sugar from fruit/vegetables and dairy instead of added sugars is moderation, as one serving of fruit/vegetables or dairy has less sugar than one serving of most sweet foods with added sugar (I get that sugar is added to most processed foods, but there are more significant amounts of it in sweet foods). Source of sugar definitely affects how it is processed (rate and glucose spike) by the body - that is what glycemic index and load is about.
Limiting dairy and fruit/vegetables has health consequences, as they contain essential nutrition for the body (micros), and help prevent various diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. Limiting added sugars does not have health consequences, except for those who need them for workout recovery.
Edited just 'cause
Peer reviewed study, please, as to the prevention of disease.
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