Added sugar vs. natural sugars in daily total?
Replies
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Sugar is a health issue for everyone. It's just not well known.
Sugar from unrefined sources like fruit is processed very differently in real life than added sugar. That's because nobody eats 20 apples. But it's easy to eat the equivalent in baked goods or candy.
A medium apple from the USDA databank has 19 grams of sugar. Is it easy to eat 380 grams of sugar in candy and baked goods? Really?3 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »
The problem though is that a lot of people aren't eating a healthy diet to begin with, and in a lot of those cases their sugar consumption is excessive. I believe that's what she's referring to.stevencloser wrote: »Come on you guys, 10 chocolate bars and 20 apples were obviously extreme examples just meant to show that too much sugar both in "natural" and "unnatural" forms can be harmful.
And the guys told you that it's pretty much impossible to get excess sugar if you're restricting caloriesand even have the slightest idea of what a healthy diet looks like.
Yes, because it's so likely they are eating 20 apples.0 -
Christine_72 wrote: »What would be classed as excessive sugar consumption? I'm thinking anything over 80g a day..
Depends on the rest of your diet.
I think excess sugar would mean over calorie limit or short on anything else you need, like vegetables, protein, healthy fats, fiber, etc. This effectively prevents anyone from eating significant amounts of added sugar or even tons and tons of fruit. I've seen 0 evidence that if someone wants to eat more fruit and veg and less starches (thereby getting the same amount of carbs and fiber, more sugar) that's that's likely to be a problem. (It's what I did when cutting calories at first, although how much fruit I eat has never been especially high.)1 -
While I am not by any means suggesting that the OP is actually consuming too much sugar, I thought it was fair to speak in general terms.ForecasterJason wrote: »
The problem though is that a lot of people aren't eating a healthy diet to begin with, and in a lot of those cases their sugar consumption is excessive. I believe that's what she's referring to.stevencloser wrote: »Come on you guys, 10 chocolate bars and 20 apples were obviously extreme examples just meant to show that too much sugar both in "natural" and "unnatural" forms can be harmful.
And the guys told you that it's pretty much impossible to get excess sugar if you're restricting caloriesand even have the slightest idea of what a healthy diet looks like.
You keep referring to "a lot of people" in your posts. I don't imagine the majority of people on MFP do that. Further, people who do that have other issues regarding food. The point is, it is not the food but the manner in which it is consumed.
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A reasonable sized piece of cake can easily have close to 70g of sugar. Add in flavored low fat yogurt (with sugar added), 3 servings of fruit and a couple servings of vegetables, one could easily be pushing 150g+ of sugar a day. I don't think that's an unrealistic extreme diet, but if one has a calorie goal (for example) of 1500 calories, that becomes quite a bit of sugar.lemurcat12 wrote: »ForecasterJason wrote: »
The problem though is that a lot of people aren't eating a healthy diet to begin with, and in a lot of those cases their sugar consumption is excessive. I believe that's what she's referring to.stevencloser wrote: »Come on you guys, 10 chocolate bars and 20 apples were obviously extreme examples just meant to show that too much sugar both in "natural" and "unnatural" forms can be harmful.
And the guys told you that it's pretty much impossible to get excess sugar if you're restricting caloriesand even have the slightest idea of what a healthy diet looks like.
Yes, because it's so likely they are eating 20 apples.
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ForecasterJason wrote: »
While I am not by any means suggesting that the OP is actually consuming too much sugar, I thought it was fair to speak in general terms.ForecasterJason wrote: »
The problem though is that a lot of people aren't eating a healthy diet to begin with, and in a lot of those cases their sugar consumption is excessive. I believe that's what she's referring to.stevencloser wrote: »Come on you guys, 10 chocolate bars and 20 apples were obviously extreme examples just meant to show that too much sugar both in "natural" and "unnatural" forms can be harmful.
And the guys told you that it's pretty much impossible to get excess sugar if you're restricting caloriesand even have the slightest idea of what a healthy diet looks like.
You keep referring to "a lot of people" in your posts. I don't imagine the majority of people on MFP do that. Further, people who do that have other issues regarding food. The point is, it is not the food but the manner in which it is consumed.
It's not relevant...4 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »
A reasonable sized piece of cake can easily have close to 70g of sugar. Add in flavored low fat yogurt (with sugar added), 3 servings of fruit and a couple servings of vegetables, one could easily be pushing 150g+ of sugar a day. I don't think that's an unrealistic extreme diet, but if one has a calorie goal (for example) of 1500 calories, that becomes quite a bit of sugar.lemurcat12 wrote: »ForecasterJason wrote: »
The problem though is that a lot of people aren't eating a healthy diet to begin with, and in a lot of those cases their sugar consumption is excessive. I believe that's what she's referring to.stevencloser wrote: »Come on you guys, 10 chocolate bars and 20 apples were obviously extreme examples just meant to show that too much sugar both in "natural" and "unnatural" forms can be harmful.
And the guys told you that it's pretty much impossible to get excess sugar if you're restricting caloriesand even have the slightest idea of what a healthy diet looks like.
Yes, because it's so likely they are eating 20 apples.
If one has a 1500 calorie goal I doubt they would eat that way as that would probably use up most of their calories...4 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »
A reasonable sized piece of cake can easily have close to 70g of sugar. Add in flavored low fat yogurt (with sugar added), 3 servings of fruit and a couple servings of vegetables, one could easily be pushing 150g+ of sugar a day. I don't think that's an unrealistic extreme diet, but if one has a calorie goal (for example) of 1500 calories, that becomes quite a bit of sugar.lemurcat12 wrote: »ForecasterJason wrote: »
The problem though is that a lot of people aren't eating a healthy diet to begin with, and in a lot of those cases their sugar consumption is excessive. I believe that's what she's referring to.stevencloser wrote: »Come on you guys, 10 chocolate bars and 20 apples were obviously extreme examples just meant to show that too much sugar both in "natural" and "unnatural" forms can be harmful.
And the guys told you that it's pretty much impossible to get excess sugar if you're restricting caloriesand even have the slightest idea of what a healthy diet looks like.
Yes, because it's so likely they are eating 20 apples.
I don't see how this is relevant. Look back at the posts about the amount of sugar that is too much being determined by the rest of the diet, not some set number.0 -
Christine_72 wrote: »What would be classed as excessive sugar consumption? I'm thinking anything over 80g a day..
90 and 100 g/day are used as daily intake guidelines for labelling, so 80g of total sugars is a bit below that (which is for a 2000 calorie diet IIRC).
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There's nothing behind the UK 90 g suggesting that eating more than that is bad for you if the sugar is from nutrient dense foods and, especially, if it's merely subbing veg, dairy, and fruit for starches in a macro-balanced diet.
Instead, they get the number based on the limit for added sugar, the overall carb goal, and an assumption about how much other sugar people will be eating (at max) of 5 servings of veg and fruit and 3 servings of milk. See here: http://www.fdf.org.uk/publicgeneral/gdas_science_Jul09.pdf
I think 5 servings of veg and fruit (while probably more than the average person in the US/UK gets, and the minimum recommendation) is low, and personally try to exceed 5 servings of veg by a comfortable amount. I also think 1-3 servings of fruit is reasonable and within dietary recommendations. For me that rarely comes to over 90 anyway, even at more than 2000 calories (my normal TDEE is around 2200), since I do tend to eat a lot more veg than fruit and not that much higher sugar dairy. But if eating that way kicked me over 90 g, I wouldn't see any reason to see it as an issue when looking at the reasons for the limit (and especially most of the NHS discussions of sugar, which are all about added sugar and quite similar to what I've seen from the WHO and US guidelines, which focus on added sugar and the calorie/low nutrient/tooth decay reasoning. Some of the NHS stuff even says basically "we don't mean limit fruit, don't."
This is why I think it makes more sense to judge excess by overall diet and whether one is getting in what else one should.0 -
From what I remember from school, sugar is sugar regardless of where it comes from.2
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There are associations between high levels of consumption of some fruits or fruits in general and some specific diseases. The public health message about not limiting fruit is trying to drag consumption up to 1 or 2 servings not promoting 20 a day.
The key is to look for fruit in the research rather than "fruitsandvegetables"
3 servings of fruit need not exceed 50g of sugar.1 -
I think the question here is what happens if you eat the 10 apples and the 10 chocolate bars.
Anyway, track sugar (or anything) if you want data points on how much sugar you are consuming, if you don't want those data points don't track them, it's not really worth fretting over.
I personally don't, because I know my overall diet falls well within the accepted limits for sugars.0 -
chonji4ever wrote: »From what I remember from school, sugar is sugar regardless of where it comes from.
It is. The reason for the various sugar limits ISN'T that sugar itself is an issue, which is why they usually don't bother with intrinsic sugar. It's the association with high cal/low nutrient foods when people eat lots of added sugar.
That's why focusing on the number seems much less important than understanding your overall diet.1 -
I always bought into the "it doesn't matter how much sugar you eat" because I love MFP and a lot of veterans who I really respect say that. But in the end, how much sugar I eat DOES matter. I feel like complete and utter crap if I go over a certain carb/sugar limit. I literally have a physical reaction. So I track mine now. Though I do understand that for weight loss, it doesn't matter. I still don't believe one should be consuming tons and tons of sugar on a daily basis from a health stand point.7
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stevencloser wrote: »And the guys told you that it's pretty much impossible to get excess sugar if you're restricting calories and even have the slightest idea of what a healthy diet looks like.
Not true, actually. There is a huge amount of added sugar in even so-called "healthy" foods. I recommend everyone watch a documentary called "That Sugar Film" to see how you can eat a supposedly healthy, calorie-restricted diet that is still amazingly high in sugar and has negative health effects.
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stevencloser wrote: »And the guys told you that it's pretty much impossible to get excess sugar if you're restricting calories and even have the slightest idea of what a healthy diet looks like.
Not true, actually. There is a huge amount of added sugar in even so-called "healthy" foods. I recommend everyone watch a documentary called "That Sugar Film" to see how you can eat a supposedly healthy, calorie-restricted diet that is still amazingly high in sugar and has negative health effects.
That's a piece of propaganda, not a documentary. There's no huge amounts in so-called "healthy" foods. Kinda hard to get added sugar into a whole food which is probably the only things everyone can agree on are "healthy" in normal amounts.4 -
stevencloser wrote: »And the guys told you that it's pretty much impossible to get excess sugar if you're restricting calories and even have the slightest idea of what a healthy diet looks like.
Not true, actually. There is a huge amount of added sugar in even so-called "healthy" foods. I recommend everyone watch a documentary called "That Sugar Film" to see how you can eat a supposedly healthy, calorie-restricted diet that is still amazingly high in sugar and has negative health effects.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2015/08/that_sugar_film_science_debunking_links_to_mood_health_fatty_liver_disease.html0 -
I don't worry about my sugar intake. Unless you have medical reason don't worry about it.
No offense, but this isn't very good advice. Most people consume way too much sugar. If the sugar comes from 10 chocolate bars or 20 apples it is still excessive. You may not have a medical reason to worry about it now but if you continue to eat it in excess you will develop one.
What medical reasons are caused* by over consumption of sugar?
You're free to look at my diary and tell me how soon I'm going to die because I eat "too much" sugar. My limit is 74 grams.
*Caused meaning sugar is the sole contributor to that disease.3 -
I don't worry about my sugar intake. Unless you have medical reason don't worry about it.
No offense, but this isn't very good advice. Most people consume way too much sugar. If the sugar comes from 10 chocolate bars or 20 apples it is still excessive. You may not have a medical reason to worry about it now but if you continue to eat it in excess you will develop one.
What medical reasons are caused* by over consumption of sugar?
You're free to look at my diary and tell me how soon I'm going to die because I eat "too much" sugar. My limit is 74 grams.
*Caused meaning sugar is the sole contributor to that disease.
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Sugar is a health issue for everyone. It's just not well known.
Sugar from unrefined sources like fruit is processed very differently in real life than added sugar. That's because nobody eats 20 apples. But it's easy to eat the equivalent in baked goods or candy.
Sugar is processed in the same manor regardless of sugar. Fructose is fructose regardless if its from hfcs or fruit. The difference is the vitamins, minerals and fiber. Other variables that must be taken into consideration is what else is it being eaten with (fats, proteins).
Sugar isnt the issue, the issue is the diet as a whole.5 -
Sugar is a health issue for everyone. It's just not well known.
Sugar from unrefined sources like fruit is processed very differently in real life than added sugar. That's because nobody eats 20 apples. But it's easy to eat the equivalent in baked goods or candy.
Sugar is processed in the same manor regardless of sugar. Fructose is fructose regardless if its from hfcs or fruit. The difference is the vitamins, minerals and fiber. Other variables that must be taken into consideration is what else is it being eaten with (fats, proteins).
Sugar isnt the issue, the issue is the diet as a whole.
And also the dieter. If a person has a problem with sugar, it's not the sugar that's the issue, it's the dieter. There are probably underlying issues that need to be addressed, IMO...0 -
Sugar is a health issue for everyone. It's just not well known.
Sugar from unrefined sources like fruit is processed very differently in real life than added sugar. That's because nobody eats 20 apples. But it's easy to eat the equivalent in baked goods or candy.
Sugar is processed in the same manor regardless of sugar. Fructose is fructose regardless if its from hfcs or fruit. The difference is the vitamins, minerals and fiber. Other variables that must be taken into consideration is what else is it being eaten with (fats, proteins).
Well that and it's a lot harder to overdue the sugar eating fruit and vegetables. A bottle of soda has 52g of sugar or 35g in a chocolate bar versus 19g of sugar in an extra large banana.0 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »Sugar is a health issue for everyone. It's just not well known.
Sugar from unrefined sources like fruit is processed very differently in real life than added sugar. That's because nobody eats 20 apples. But it's easy to eat the equivalent in baked goods or candy.
Sugar is processed in the same manor regardless of sugar. Fructose is fructose regardless if its from hfcs or fruit. The difference is the vitamins, minerals and fiber. Other variables that must be taken into consideration is what else is it being eaten with (fats, proteins).
Well that and it's a lot harder to overdue the sugar eating fruit and vegetables. A bottle of soda has 52g of sugar or 35g in a chocolate bar versus 19g of sugar in an extra large banana.
Swap out the word sugar for calories.
Which is exactly why a diet of mostly whole foods is a great tool for fat loss, it has nothing to do with sugar and everything to do with total calories...1 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »Sugar is a health issue for everyone. It's just not well known.
Sugar from unrefined sources like fruit is processed very differently in real life than added sugar. That's because nobody eats 20 apples. But it's easy to eat the equivalent in baked goods or candy.
Sugar is processed in the same manor regardless of sugar. Fructose is fructose regardless if its from hfcs or fruit. The difference is the vitamins, minerals and fiber. Other variables that must be taken into consideration is what else is it being eaten with (fats, proteins).
Well that and it's a lot harder to overdue the sugar eating fruit and vegetables. A bottle of soda has 52g of sugar or 35g in a chocolate bar versus 19g of sugar in an extra large banana.
Its a lot easier to over indulge on fat that anything else. More than 2x the calories. But it doesnt make fat bad.
Again, dietary context matters... not one or two pieces of it. If you over indulge on sugar or fat or whatever, you are taking away from having an overall good diet.
I eat over 100g of sugar daily... 95% of it is from fruit. So do i have a bad diet? No. I still have a variety of foods. I get 150g of protein and 80g of fats. Most of my fats are unsaturated and i get 20g+ of fiber.2 -
Swap out the word sugar for calories.
I'm not sure the science is settled on that point yet.Its a lot easier to over indulge on fat that anything else. More than 2x the calories.
Yes, that's what they say but that isn't my experience -- there's only so much fat I want to eat.
Regardless, I think that most agree context matters and a calorie appropriate diet of primarily whole foods is healthful.
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stevencloser wrote: »And the guys told you that it's pretty much impossible to get excess sugar if you're restricting calories and even have the slightest idea of what a healthy diet looks like.
Not true, actually. There is a huge amount of added sugar in even so-called "healthy" foods. I recommend everyone watch a documentary called "That Sugar Film" to see how you can eat a supposedly healthy, calorie-restricted diet that is still amazingly high in sugar and has negative health effects.
The foods he identified as "healthy" often weren't or, more accurately, the manner in which he consumed them was not consistent with any sensible idea of a healthy diet.0 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »Swap out the word sugar for calories.
I'm not sure the science is settled on that point yet.Its a lot easier to over indulge on fat that anything else. More than 2x the calories.
Yes, that's what they say but that isn't my experience -- there's only so much fat I want to eat. Regardless, I think that most agree context matters and a calorie appropriate diet of primarily whole foods is healthful.
Our experiences are significantly different. I can eat fat in huge quantities and never fill full. I need to eat 2x as much for fatty cuts of meat. So when i cut weight, fat is the first to go.0 -
Someone said the body needs sugar, and stated it as a fact - that's wrong, and potentially dangerous.
What are the causes of obesity diseases? A high resistance to insulin. You continue to abuse sugar and you will succumb to diabetes and other metabolic issues. I have a mate, he's a relatively slim lad. At 22 he was diagnosed with diabetes. He was eating a 'healthy diet'.
I don't track sugar, but I don't eat much in the way of fruit and I definitely don't eat low fat products.
By the way, there are plenty of publications on sugar in the diet and what it does.
Have a search for Aseem Malhotra.1 -
Your assertion that continued "abuse" of sugar will lead to diabetes and the example of your friend getting diabetes while eating a "healthy" diet are incongruent.
If sugar is what causes diabetes then why did he get it?
Hint: sugar is not what causes diabetes.
Top culprits from what we understand are genetics and obesity.
Your friend had bad genes.1
This discussion has been closed.
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