Maybe Sugar IS the Devil - US Goverment Diet Recommendations
Packerjohn
Posts: 4,855 Member
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/07/federal-dietary-guidelines/77151060/
From the article:
"The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting the amount of added sugars in our diet to no more than 10% of daily calories. That's about 12 teaspoons of sugar a day. To put that in perspective, a can of Coke contains nearly 10 teaspoons.
Most of us would have to make big changes in our diets to follow the new guidelines.
Americans on average get about 13% of daily calories from added sugars; teens get closer to 17% of calories from added sugars, according to the new report. The natural sugar in foods such as raisins, apples or milk are not considered added sugars.
Nearly half of the added sugars in American diets come from sweetened beverages, such as sodas and sports drinks, according to the guidelines, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services."
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Replies
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This is really nothing new. Sugar isn't the debil....TOO much sugar is.0
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Not shocking.
Nothing inherently evil about sugar, but getting too many of your calories from added sugars means you're not getting enough of them from foods that also have other vital nutrients.
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I don't trust USA Today or the government.
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Good! Way overdo!!!!0
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Packerjohn wrote: »http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/07/federal-dietary-guidelines/77151060/
From the article:
"The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting the amount of added sugars in our diet to no more than 10% of daily calories. That's about 12 teaspoons of sugar a day. To put that in perspective, a can of Coke contains nearly 10 teaspoons.
Most of us would have to make big changes in our diets to follow the new guidelines.
Americans on average get about 13% of daily calories from added sugars; teens get closer to 17% of calories from added sugars, according to the new report. The natural sugar in foods such as raisins, apples or milk are not considered added sugars.
Nearly half of the added sugars in American diets come from sweetened beverages, such as sodas and sports drinks, according to the guidelines, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services."
So I crunched some numbers...
A tsp of sugar has ~15 calories. According to the article, 12 tsp of added sugar a day is the recommendation (ie - 180 calories). That's supposed to represent 10% of the diet; ergo the assumption is a diet of 1800 calories.
I wonder what percent of people eating SAD limit themselves to 1800 calories? My guess is not many.0 -
And here we go...0
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Most of us would have to make big changes in our diets to follow the new guidelines.
Surely just cutting or substituting one can of Coke a day would put people well under the guideline?
Wouldn't call that a big change in diet.
As usual a journalist has to put a spin on things to make a headline.0 -
If sugar was "the devil", shouldn't the recommendation be for 0% sugar in any form?0
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I like the devil. Ergo I like sugar.0
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Most of us would have to make big changes in our diets to follow the new guidelines.
Surely just cutting or substituting one can of Coke a day would put people well under the guideline?
Wouldn't call that a big change in diet.
As usual a journalist has to put a spin on things to make a headline.
Not even that...
The article indicates that currently 13% of an average person's diet comes from added sugar.
Assuming that to be true, and using the article's assumption I calculated above of a 1800 calorie diet, that means going from 234 calories from added sugar to the recommended 180 - a reduction of 54 calories or about 3-4 tsp.0 -
Pretty sure sugar is still NOT the devil.0
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PeachyPlum wrote: »Not shocking.
Nothing inherently evil about sugar, but getting too many of your calories from added sugars means you're not getting enough of them from foods that also have other vital nutrients.
^This.
The recommendations don't mean sugar is the devil. It means sugar contains many calories. It means foods with many calories often contain sugar. Many in the US are overweight, this is because of too many calories. Ergo, by trying to make people limit sugar, they think they'll help people limit calories.
What they don't seem to understand is that many obese/overweight people simply won't care for new recommendations.0 -
Does that make God a cauliflower?0
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MarziPanda95 wrote: »PeachyPlum wrote: »Not shocking.
Nothing inherently evil about sugar, but getting too many of your calories from added sugars means you're not getting enough of them from foods that also have other vital nutrients.
^This.
The recommendations don't mean sugar is the devil. It means sugar contains many calories. It means foods with many calories often contain sugar. Many in the US are overweight, this is because of too many calories. Ergo, by trying to make people limit sugar, they think they'll help people limit calories.
What they don't seem to understand is that many obese/overweight people simply won't care for new recommendations.
You mean the general populace doesn't base their daily diet on the recommendations of a government bureaucracy?!?!?!0 -
nope, nope, nope, over consuming calories is what is the devil. YOu can eat limited sugar and be obese; conversely, you can eat added sugar as part of an overall healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight.
sugar has nothing to do with it, and should only be avoided in instances where one has a medical condition.0 -
NO, just NO.
You need sugar.
Moderation in all things.
Overindulging in any food can be bad for you.
In all fairness, cutting out, or at the very least cutting back, on sugary drinks, and that includes juice, is probably not a bad idea, but trying to cut out all sugar, is a bad idea, and not possible or even healthy.0 -
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Not new. Also, I don't know any religion that buys into the devil and yet says just follow him, oh, about 10% of the time, no more. And I don't see anything in the new guidelines that says I need to confess and repent my sugar eating (not a euphemism).
Also:Packerjohn wrote: »http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/07/federal-dietary-guidelines/77151060/
From the article:
"The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting the amount of added sugars in our diet to no more than 10% of daily calories. That's about 12 teaspoons of sugar a day. To put that in perspective, a can of Coke contains nearly 10 teaspoons.
Most of us would have to make big changes in our diets to follow the new guidelines.
Not me. I normally aim for about 5% added sugar, although it might be over a week (more on some days, less on others). That's as part of a "no bad foods, moderation" kind of diet. If you actually focus on eating an overall healthful diet with plenty of protein and vegetables, it seems to me to come naturally.Nearly half of the added sugars in American diets come from sweetened beverages, such as sodas and sports drinks, according to the guidelines, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services."
Lots of Americans don't consume any of this, so it's likely somewhat misleading, with the big consumers contributing a hugely disproportationate amount.0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/07/federal-dietary-guidelines/77151060/
From the article:
"The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting the amount of added sugars in our diet to no more than 10% of daily calories. That's about 12 teaspoons of sugar a day. To put that in perspective, a can of Coke contains nearly 10 teaspoons.
Most of us would have to make big changes in our diets to follow the new guidelines.
Americans on average get about 13% of daily calories from added sugars; teens get closer to 17% of calories from added sugars, according to the new report. The natural sugar in foods such as raisins, apples or milk are not considered added sugars.
Nearly half of the added sugars in American diets come from sweetened beverages, such as sodas and sports drinks, according to the guidelines, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services."
So I crunched some numbers...
A tsp of sugar has ~15 calories. According to the article, 12 tsp of added sugar a day is the recommendation (ie - 180 calories). That's supposed to represent 10% of the diet; ergo the assumption is a diet of 1800 calories.
I wonder what percent of people eating SAD limit themselves to 1800 calories? My guess is not many.
Excellent point.
When I was fat I did not.
I also would not be surprised if my sugar was no more than 10% of my daily calories on average, especially since I never drank soda or sports drinks, etc.
And most important, I still ate too darn much.0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/07/federal-dietary-guidelines/77151060/
From the article:
"The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting the amount of added sugars in our diet to no more than 10% of daily calories. That's about 12 teaspoons of sugar a day. To put that in perspective, a can of Coke contains nearly 10 teaspoons.
Most of us would have to make big changes in our diets to follow the new guidelines.
Americans on average get about 13% of daily calories from added sugars; teens get closer to 17% of calories from added sugars, according to the new report. The natural sugar in foods such as raisins, apples or milk are not considered added sugars.
Nearly half of the added sugars in American diets come from sweetened beverages, such as sodas and sports drinks, according to the guidelines, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services."
So I crunched some numbers...
A tsp of sugar has ~15 calories. According to the article, 12 tsp of added sugar a day is the recommendation (ie - 180 calories). That's supposed to represent 10% of the diet; ergo the assumption is a diet of 1800 calories.
I wonder what percent of people eating SAD limit themselves to 1800 calories? My guess is not many.
I wonder what percentage of Americans eat SAD? What is the definition of SAD?0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
That's my point, though. I'm OK with people restricting added sugar if they wish, but if it were the embodiment of pure evil I don't think it would be recommended at all.
It's not like the government recommends smoking no more than 1 pack of cigarettes a day, fr'instance. The recommendation is "do not smoke".0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/07/federal-dietary-guidelines/77151060/
From the article:
"The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting the amount of added sugars in our diet to no more than 10% of daily calories. That's about 12 teaspoons of sugar a day. To put that in perspective, a can of Coke contains nearly 10 teaspoons.
Most of us would have to make big changes in our diets to follow the new guidelines.
Americans on average get about 13% of daily calories from added sugars; teens get closer to 17% of calories from added sugars, according to the new report. The natural sugar in foods such as raisins, apples or milk are not considered added sugars.
Nearly half of the added sugars in American diets come from sweetened beverages, such as sodas and sports drinks, according to the guidelines, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services."
So by this logic, I've probably been within these guidelines all of my life except the summers I spent in Kentucky - sweet tea probably has twice the added sugar as Coke. Other than that, I've never been into sugar-sweetened drinks. My food-based vices tend to be dessert-oriented.
Good for me, I guess?0 -
I like the devil. Ergo I like sugar.
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine.
The Federal Dietary Guidelines are absolute trash, though. Completely inactionable:
1. Many guidelines are too vague. "Reduce" - to what level? How do I know when I've reduced enough?
2. Way too many guidelines. A typical person is not capable of planning a diet that meets three dozen different criteria. It's a recipe for decision paralysis.
3. No information about the relative importance of different recommendations.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
That's my point, though. I'm OK with people restricting added sugar if they wish, but if it were the embodiment of pure evil I don't think it would be recommended at all.
It's not like the government recommends smoking no more than 1 pack of cigarettes a day, fr'instance. The recommendation is "do not smoke".
I doubt anyone saying sugar is the devil believes it is 'the embodiment of pure evil'. It's just a saying.
I mean if they truly believed it was evil, who would eat it at all??0 -
If Americans on average get 13% of calories from added calories, and about half of those come from sodas and the like (which are items that some drink enormous amounts of and many do not consume at all -- see Sugar, Salt, Fat for some support for that statement), then we are really talking about two significant and separate groups, one WAY over 13% and another probably under the 10%.
I suspect that an alarming percentage of those under the 10% are still overweight or obese given the average number of calories consumed by Americans plus the general stats on being overweight and obese in the US.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »juggernaut1974 wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/07/federal-dietary-guidelines/77151060/
From the article:
"The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting the amount of added sugars in our diet to no more than 10% of daily calories. That's about 12 teaspoons of sugar a day. To put that in perspective, a can of Coke contains nearly 10 teaspoons.
Most of us would have to make big changes in our diets to follow the new guidelines.
Americans on average get about 13% of daily calories from added sugars; teens get closer to 17% of calories from added sugars, according to the new report. The natural sugar in foods such as raisins, apples or milk are not considered added sugars.
Nearly half of the added sugars in American diets come from sweetened beverages, such as sodas and sports drinks, according to the guidelines, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services."
So I crunched some numbers...
A tsp of sugar has ~15 calories. According to the article, 12 tsp of added sugar a day is the recommendation (ie - 180 calories). That's supposed to represent 10% of the diet; ergo the assumption is a diet of 1800 calories.
I wonder what percent of people eating SAD limit themselves to 1800 calories? My guess is not many.
I wonder what percentage of Americans eat SAD? What is the definition of SAD?
SAD = standard American diet0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
That's my point, though. I'm OK with people restricting added sugar if they wish, but if it were the embodiment of pure evil I don't think it would be recommended at all.
It's not like the government recommends smoking no more than 1 pack of cigarettes a day, fr'instance. The recommendation is "do not smoke".
I doubt anyone saying sugar is the devil believes it is 'the embodiment of pure evil'. It's just a saying.
I mean if they truly believed it was evil, who would eat it at all??
People smoke.0
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