Sugar. How much to eat?

vbvamsi

Hi Guys, I was on an 1800 calories a day diet to lose weight and I have met my goal about 6 months back. Lost around 32Kgs. From then I have been increasing my calorie intake gradually to gain weight and now at 2800 calories a day. I am happy with what I am eating and I consider myself eating healthy with not too much oily foods and eating whole foods as much as possible, use stevia for sweetener.

I still have craving for sugar and if someone offers me some cakes, chocolates etc, I just eat them and still try to be within my 2800 calories. Even without eating any sweets, I usually eat a few fruits which puts me at least over 100g of total sugar every day. So my daily sugar intake is about 100 to 150g.

I am not diabetic, but have diabetes in the family. Do I need to consider reducing my sugar intake? What is the magic number I need to track towards?

abatonfan

I assume you have a family history of type 2 diabetes (there's three types, and they're all treated differently).

Sugar isn't the devil. All carbohydrates (excluding insoluble fiber) will break down into sugar (starches are nothing but 300+ glucose molecules linked together in a long chain. When we eat, we produce enzymes that break down the bonds between glucose molecules). I can eat 100g of dextrose (two glucose molecules linked together) or 100g of starch and experience a very similar spike in my blood sugar. Instead of paying super close attention to my sugar intake, I instead focus on counting carbohydrates and making sure that I combine my carbs with fats and proteins (so that I slow down the digestion of my food to more closely match my injected insulin's action curve).

MFP's sugar recommendation is super low and does not account for naturally-occurring sugars. The World Health Organization recommends reducing added sugars to under 10% of your total calorie intake (if you eat 2800 calories, you will then have a goal of no more than 70g of added sugars, which is about 2 12fl oz cans of regular soda).

yarwell

abatonfan wrote: »

MFP's sugar recommendation is super low and does not account for naturally-occurring sugars. The World Health Organization recommends reducing added sugars to under 10% of your total calorie intake (if you eat 2800 calories, you will then have a goal of no more than 70g of added sugars, which is about 2 12fl oz cans of regular soda).

MFP's goal does account for inherent sugars, it is set at 15% of calories to cover all sugars from all sources.

oocdc2

Your doctor is really the only person who can answer your question. I'm diagnosed prediabetic, so I need to be mindful. Maybe you process sugar just fine, in spite of your family history, so you can have fruits and cakes. But without the regular fasting bloodwork, everything, frankly, is guessing.

lemurcat12

At 2800 calories the MFP rec would be 105 grams and under, which seems reasonable unless you think you are getting lots and lots from fruits, veg, and dairy. I'd maybe talk to a dietitian if you are seeking specific health recommendations, but beyond that just focus on eating a generally balanced diet.

_Waffle_

Excessive calories is a larger factor in developing diabetes than excessive sugar. Just try to hit your macros for each day. I have mine at:

Carbs - 40%
Fat - 25%
Protein - 35%

Try to hit your macro goals and at least stay within your calorie goals. Other than that you have little to worry about so eat cake if you like it and can afford the calories.

jgnatca

There's lots of type 2 in my family and I find I can incorporate a modest amount of sugar in my diet as long as I don't eat the sugar alone. So I eat some nuts with my fruit. Your sugar intake seems very reasonable. Are you having any symptoms of diabetes such as sleepiness within a couple hours of eating a high sugar item? If so, you might want to watch it more carefully.

Besides that, you're a roaring success! Good job!

_Waffle_

jgnatca wrote: »

There's lots of type 2 in my family and I find I can incorporate a modest amount of sugar in my diet as long as I don't eat the sugar alone. So I eat some nuts with my fruit. Your sugar intake seems very reasonable. Are you having any symptoms of diabetes such as sleepiness within a couple hours of eating a high sugar item? If so, you might want to watch it more carefully.

Besides that, you're a roaring success! Good job!

I feel sleepy after a few beers some days. Does that count?

auddii

I am not diabetic, and my a1c levels are all normal, but my mom is type 2 (and has been since she was 20). I choose not to track sugar because I have no issues personally. I choose to track fiber instead because I feel that has more of a direct effect on my health (I do have a carb goal, but I don't specifically look at sugar). My doctors have no concern about what I'm doing, and they keep telling me the #1 thing I can do to reduce my risk for diabetes is to lose the weight, so I am.

Yi5hedr3

Yep! Magic number is: 0

vbvamsi

abatonfan wrote: »

I assume you have a family history of type 2 diabetes (there's three types, and they're all treated differently).

Sugar isn't the devil. All carbohydrates (excluding insoluble fiber) will break down into sugar (starches are nothing but 300+ glucose molecules linked together in a long chain. When we eat, we produce enzymes that break down the bonds between glucose molecules). I can eat 100g of dextrose (two glucose molecules linked together) or 100g of starch and experience a very similar spike in my blood sugar. Instead of paying super close attention to my sugar intake, I instead focus on counting carbohydrates and making sure that I combine my carbs with fats and proteins (so that I slow down the digestion of my food to more closely match my injected insulin's action curve).

MFP's sugar recommendation is super low and does not account for naturally-occurring sugars. The World Health Organization recommends reducing added sugars to under 10% of your total calorie intake (if you eat 2800 calories, you will then have a goal of no more than 70g of added sugars, which is about 2 12fl oz cans of regular soda).

Thanks very much. That's very informative. My added sugars would definitely be under 10%. Most of my sugar comes from fruits and Raisins.

I recently was tested for diabetes and was told everything is normal and nothing to worry about.

vbvamsi

jgnatca wrote: »

There's lots of type 2 in my family and I find I can incorporate a modest amount of sugar in my diet as long as I don't eat the sugar alone. So I eat some nuts with my fruit. Your sugar intake seems very reasonable. Are you having any symptoms of diabetes such as sleepiness within a couple hours of eating a high sugar item? If so, you might want to watch it more carefully.

Besides that, you're a roaring success! Good job!

Thanks for the information. I have no symptoms of diabetes. I usually eat dry fruits with nuts and fruits alone. Cakes... They anyways have a lot of fat . My added sugar intake is quite low usually.

goldthistime

_Waffle_ wrote: »

Excessive calories is a larger factor in developing diabetes than excessive sugar. Just try to hit your macros for each day. I have mine at:

Carbs - 40%
Fat - 25%
Protein - 35%

Try to hit your macro goals and at least stay within your calorie goals. Other than that you have little to worry about so eat cake if you like it and can afford the calories.

I thought for years that eating too much sugar was an established cause of Type 2 diabetes, only to find out recently that it's not on the list of contributing causes at all. Excess weight is of course. As is age, but not much you can do about that .

jgnatca

_Waffle_ wrote: »

jgnatca wrote: »

There's lots of type 2 in my family and I find I can incorporate a modest amount of sugar in my diet as long as I don't eat the sugar alone. So I eat some nuts with my fruit. Your sugar intake seems very reasonable. Are you having any symptoms of diabetes such as sleepiness within a couple hours of eating a high sugar item? If so, you might want to watch it more carefully.

Besides that, you're a roaring success! Good job!

I feel sleepy after a few beers some days. Does that count?

Only way to know for sure is a blood test. You could entertain a pharmacist by asking for a free demonstration of a glucometer.