Sugars

maffc911

I regularly go over my sugar allowance, usually by around 50%. Looking at my statistics most of this comes from eating large amounts of fruit, apples, pears, grapes bananas etc. I eat the fruit as a substitute for my old fridge raiding habit involving large amounts of cheese. Should I reduce the fruit intake?

goldthistime

IMO it comes down to satiety. If you can meet your calorie goals while eating a lot of fruit, (and I wouldn't be surprised if you can), then I wouldn't worry about the sugar allowance.

NEOHgirl

On the other hand, repeatedly ingesting large quantities of sugar - even if from a natural source - might make your body more susceptible to problems later, like insulin resistance or diabetes. One serving of fruit is about 1/2 a cup. This means most apples, bananas, etc are more like 1.5-2 serving if you eat an entire piece. How many servings total do you think you eat a day? If you are concerned, it probably wouldn't hurt to cut back on a single serving a fruit a day to start, and then see how you feel after a week. I have to watch my sugar intake due to insulin resistance, so I've cut back to only 1-2 servings of fruit a day.

itsmemaringle

Swap in some veggies instead of fruit? I like crunchy snacks like carrot, red peppers and recently started on mini cucumbers

goldthistime

NEOHgirl wrote: »

On the other hand, repeatedly ingesting large quantities of sugar - even if from a natural source - might make your body more susceptible to problems later, like insulin resistance or diabetes. One serving of fruit is about 1/2 a cup. This means most apples, bananas, etc are more like 1.5-2 serving if you eat an entire piece. How many servings total do you think you eat a day? If you are concerned, it probably wouldn't hurt to cut back on a single serving a fruit a day to start, and then see how you feel after a week. I have to watch my sugar intake due to insulin resistance, so I've cut back to only 1-2 servings of fruit a day.

I used to believe this, that insulin resistance or diabetes was caused specifically by excess sugar consumption, but the science, at the moment at least, suggests that it is not about sugar consumption but about weight gain. If I had a family history of insulin resistance, I would absolutely err on the side of caution though and watch my sugar intake (in addition to my weight). Ditto for a family history of hypertension.

goldthistime

I also want to add that current advisories (like WHO's) limiting sugar consumption only address so called "added sugar", in other words, fruit is exempt. And in Canada at least, there is no distinction between fruit and vegetables in our food guide. You are advised to eat 7-8 servings of fruits or vegetables a day.

MikeAV8s

I fixed that by not tracking sugar. Solved the problem.

Afura

There's nothing wrong with eating sugar unless you have a medical issue. Is there a particular issue as to why? If there are other foods you can find that you equally enjoy then swap it for those, otherwise enjoy your fruit!

lemurcat12

goldthistime wrote: »

IMO it comes down to satiety. If you can meet your calorie goals while eating a lot of fruit, (and I wouldn't be surprised if you can), then I wouldn't worry about the sugar allowance.

This plus (for nutrition, not weight loss) balance. If you are sacrificing something else beneficial for the fruit (like not getting enough protein or healthy fats or vegetables) that would be a concern. If you are within your carb numbers and just eating more fruit and fewer starches to make up those carbs, I'd say totally fine, just a matter of personal preference.

Also, the sugar number can be low (it's 15% of total calories) when you are aiming for a low calorie goal. It's then, ironically enough, that many people tend to focus on foods like dairy (due to the protein), vegetables, and fruits as a bigger source of their carbs, which will increase sugars. That's another reason why I care more about source of sugar and eating an overall healthful diet than specific numbers (which are based on the rec for added sugars and a guess at how much other sugar you may be eating, not any credible "total sugars" limit).

leaj1984

fruit also contains a lot of fiber... so it's not the same on our metabolism as having the equivalent in sugar from fake sweets.

yarwell

Diary is closed. Typically in these threads/cases there's a whole pile of non-fruit sugar intake going on too.

helenrosec1

I asked my doctor about sugar intake, telling him most of the sugar I eat is from fruit. He told me sugar is sugar no matter from what source and should still be careful on how much you eat. Obviously natural sugars are better for you, but you can still have too much sugar even from natural sources. I try to keep my sugar at 50g from any kind of source (natural or not)

yarwell

All sugars are natural. Sucrose comes from cane or beet as well as being in oranges etc

helenrosec1

yarwell wrote: »

All sugars are natural. Sucrose comes from cane or beet as well as being in oranges etc

I think it's know what I mean by "natural sugar" sugars in fruit etc not processed sugar in cakes or candy. But also confirms what the doctor said. Too much sugar is too much sugar no matter what the source.

RoxieDawn

Stop tracking sugar, or mix up the fruit with raw veggies as well. Fruit is def better for you than reaching for the twinkies, little debbies and what not.

Weigh the fruit.. and just stop eating LARGE amounts of this. I think raiding the fridge is a behavior problem that needs dealing with not what you are eating per se.