Have you Quit Sugar?
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It seems to me the WHO has advised the reduction of "free sugars" to the broader population as a potential easy fix to the obesity problem. People can spot the free sugar and reduce their consumption. Manufacturers obliged to list their "free sugars" will no doubt reduce them.
I think this is right. Tracking calories carefully and subbing some extra gummi bears instead of white rice probably doesn't matter for the selected population who tracks everything, but for people wanting to generally improve their diets/lower calories without doing that, reducing the cookie consumption (and maybe adding more fruits and veggies, despite the sugar) is probably not a bad approach. Some will end up compensating by also eating more of other things with lots of calories, but others won't.
For me what works better, though, is just reducing snacking. In theory I could make up the calories, but because I snack for reasons other than hunger (if I eat well I am not hungry between meals), I don't. (And since I'm far more likely to snack on something sugary than include it as a significant part of a meal, it also serves to reduce sugar.)
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Also in the summary from that same report:
"... in relation to intakes of sugar sweetened beverages after one year follow-up in prospective studies, the odds ratio for being overweight or obese increased was 1.55 (1.32 to 1.82) among groups with the highest intake compared with those with the lowest intake."
"...sensitivity analyses showed that the trends were consistent and associations remained ..."
"intake of free sugars or sugar sweetened beverages is a determinant of body weight."
This must be part of the "solid evidence" that the WHO used to make these recommendations.
Now for the connoisseurs of calories, we don't have to worry, because, "isoenergetic exchange of sugars with other carbohydrates was not associated with weight change." In other words, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Go ahead and pack that gummy bear for a long run.
It seems to me the WHO has advised the reduction of "free sugars" to the broader population as a potential easy fix to the obesity problem. People can spot the free sugar and reduce their consumption. Manufacturers obliged to list their "free sugars" will no doubt reduce them.
Which is the reason people said this is pretty much useless as an argument against sugar and doesn't look past it. The ones who drink the most sugar sweetened beverages would also most likely be in the group that eats the most, end of sentence.
Just saying "Stop eating so much sugar" and expecting obesity to disappear is silly when the average calorie intake in the US (and it never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many times I say that) is almost 4000 calories. (Seriously, I hope that number is exaggerated.) 10% of that would still be 100g of sugar.
And eating that many calories would still leave them obese regardless of if they are within those guidelines or not because they're not adhering to a more important guideline for weight management already.0 -
I understand you mean added sugars, and I did cut it off when I was at my healthiest point. Not completely, I mean sometimes I would even forget I ate a bit. And for ME...in my own personal experience, that's when I had the highest weight loss rate of all and I think I even gained a little bit of muscle. And ultimately, I felt really, really happy inside. I felt so in control. I had never had the discipline to say "no" prior to that, but the more I said, "Hm, nah, no thanks", the easier it became and I became really happy being able to have control of food instead of vice-versa.
That was a few years ago, currently, I'm consuming so much more sugar than my happier days, and I really am not as energetic and I feel disappointed, sad often. I notice the weeks that I just happen to consume less sugars, the lighter I end up feeling. Why don't you give it a go for 3 months and see how you feel? If you don't like it, then drop it and adopt a moderate-regulated sugar approach.
For me, drastically cutting out sugar was really pivotal. I became happier with myself, craved to move around more and focused on my studies. Placebo affect or not, it made me feel happier.0 -
I suspect this is right, and would add: they probably feel it would improve overall health and reduce mortality as well.Also in the summary from that same report:
It seems to me the WHO has advised the reduction of "free sugars" to the broader population as a potential easy fix to the obesity problem. People can spot the free sugar and reduce their consumption. Manufacturers obliged to list their "free sugars" will no doubt reduce them.
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Can someone please explain to me the difference between natural sugar and processed or refined sugar? To my understanding sugar is sugar regardless the source.0
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No, I have not.0
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After watching a documentary about sugar I am really considering quitting altogether.
Has anyone else done this and what was your experience??
No. I have not quit anything.
Have I cut down on sugar? Yes but not because of the sugar. I am eating fewer carbs in general because of a medical condition. I have never been a big sweets eater. Put a doughnut and a bagel in front of me and I will choose the bagel every time because doughnuts are just to sweet for me. Same thing with fruit, I would much rather eat a grapefruit than an orange because oranges are too sweet.
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MrCoolGrim wrote: »Can someone please explain to me the difference between natural sugar and processed or refined sugar? To my understanding sugar is sugar regardless the source.
The actual sugar, whether it is sucrose, glucose, maltose, lactose, fructose, etc. is used by the body in the exact same way.
Some will come up with the argument that "fruit is packed with fiber and nutrients along with the sugar". That is true, but does not affect the actual sugar your body is using and what it does with it once it enters the bloodstream. It may affect how long it takes to get there, but not what it does.
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MrCoolGrim wrote: »Can someone please explain to me the difference between natural sugar and processed or refined sugar? To my understanding sugar is sugar regardless the source.
The actual sugar, whether it is sucrose, glucose, maltose, lactose, fructose, etc. is used by the body in the exact same way.
Some will come up with the argument that "fruit is packed with fiber and nutrients along with the sugar". That is true, but does not affect the actual sugar your body is using and what it does with it once it enters the bloodstream. It may affect how long it takes to get there, but not what it does.
So chemically, it is the same thing any which way you look at it?0 -
This thread is still going... Got to love a good sugar thread...
This is still not going to end well, when it finally decides to end...LOL0 -
Nope, not at all. I track it as part of carbs and the rest of my macros.0
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When looking at a nutrient label where it states hypothetically 5 grams of sugar, does that include all the other chemicals that are listed that are basically sugar e.g. Corn Syrup & Dextrose?0
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TheBeachgod wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »Avoid the wrong kind of sugar-the unnatural/processed kind. Sugar through sourced like fruits and vegetables is perfectly okay. And it's not just the sugar that's the problem it's the processed foods that are, processed foods lose nutrition and are usually packed with additives of all sort. Sugar is the least of your problems compared to all the other sh** they put in "food".
Just balance your diet with natural foods from their original sources and you will do yourself a lot of good than just by cutting out sugar.
Especially when that is Pink Floyd
Yeah, I didn't think it was the Beatles, but it still made me laugh.
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MrCoolGrim wrote: »MrCoolGrim wrote: »Can someone please explain to me the difference between natural sugar and processed or refined sugar? To my understanding sugar is sugar regardless the source.
The actual sugar, whether it is sucrose, glucose, maltose, lactose, fructose, etc. is used by the body in the exact same way.
Some will come up with the argument that "fruit is packed with fiber and nutrients along with the sugar". That is true, but does not affect the actual sugar your body is using and what it does with it once it enters the bloodstream. It may affect how long it takes to get there, but not what it does.
So chemically, it is the same thing any which way you look at it?
If you want to get technical, they are physiologically the same (rather than chemically) because your body turns all sugars into glucose before it uses them.
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MrCoolGrim wrote: »When looking at a nutrient label where it states hypothetically 5 grams of sugar, does that include all the other chemicals that are listed that are basically sugar e.g. Corn Syrup & Dextrose?
The number of grams of sugar on the label includes both those that occur naturally in the ingredients and those that are added, and it includes all types of sugar (fructose, sucrose, etc.) If you want to see if a food has any added sugar, you need to look at the ingredients listing since the nutrition label does not separate them. There you will see things like sugar, honey, HFCS, dextrose, etc. listed.
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I can't get enough of the sugar professors that keep this going that know more about sugar and education... it keeps this thread alive..
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The WHO makes no such claim. They recommend reduced free sugar to prevent obesity (which in turn is a health issue) and improve dental health. That's it.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »I suspect this is right, and would add: they probably feel it would improve overall health and reduce mortality as well.0 -
Not entirely. I'm LCHF but I do get some sugar from low carb veggies, berries, and Greek yogurt. I cut out a lot of sugar, but it would be very difficult to cut it out completely. I'm guessing you mean sugary "junk" food, though, not fruits and veggies. I think that's what is usually meant when someone says they are cutting out sugar. And, yes, *I* consider it junk food. For me. Not necessarily for anyone else.0
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MrCoolGrim wrote: »Can someone please explain to me the difference between natural sugar and processed or refined sugar? To my understanding sugar is sugar regardless the source.
This community inspired me to dig deeper in to sweeteners. There are a few compounds that we clump together as "sugar", mostly combinations of [edited to add: sucrose] fructose and glucose. Once absorbed, the body doesn't distinguish between naturally sourced and "processed" sugar. Our body runs on glucose, so it's kind of really, really important.
All About Sweeteners
The site below is a little biased, but it also has a wealth of information:
http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/0
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