Processed vs Natural Sugars

edfreels

How important is it to separate natural from processed sugars? I saw a suggestion to create a new meal (named "Fruits and Vegetables" in the diary to help with the distinction. Seems I blow my sugar limit almost every day, but by doing this perhaps it won't bother me as much. The total is still the total, but the meal break out should help with perspective. Thoughts? Example attached:

macgurlnet

Unless you've got medical reasons to limit sugar, it's OK to be over.

Many people find that limiting added sugar is a good way to also limit calories and/or make better food choices to keep them satisfied.

If you want to make a goal of eating more fruits & veggies and/or limiting added sugar, I think you've got a great idea to log them separately

~Lyssa

malibu927

Your body can't tell the difference between either one. Plus there are other things that have natural sugars, such as dairy products.

I don't even track it anymore.

SezxyStef

Your body has no idea if it is "natural" or "added" sugar....

BlueSkyShoal

I don't think there's much of a difference, other than the fact that fruits and veggies come with a lot of nutrients that, for example, an Oreo does not.

The problem with the Oreo isn't that it has "bad sugar", though. It's more of a correlation than a causation. The sugar itself isn't the bad guy.

I will say that as a result of eating more veggies/fruit and less processed stuff, both natural sugar and processed sugar tastes sweeter and better to me. So instead of eating a whole bag of jellybeans as my mouth goes "sugar-numb" and I taste the sugar less and less, I eat just a couple jellybeans and the flavor is INTENSE. Oranges and apples didn't used to taste very sweet to me, and now they taste very sweet. I am not one to demonize sugar, but eating less of it has made me appreciate it more.

NorthCascades

macgurlnet wrote: »

Unless you've got medical reasons to limit sugar, it's OK to be over.

Many people find that limiting added sugar is a good way to also limit calories and/or make better food choices to keep them satisfied.

If you want to make a goal of eating more fruits & veggies and/or limiting added sugar, I think you've got a great idea to log them separately

~Lyssa

This reply says everything you need to know, and in a really simple and easy to understand way.

crazyycatladyy1

Your body doesn't differentiate between the two and I don't track sugar intake at all. But, if you feel that you want to track sugar/seperate it, then how you've set up your food diary is a great idea. Also, the new nutrition labels coming out will differentiate between the two categories (if you're in the U.S.), so down the road MFP's database may start reflecting this as well.
What the new labeling will look like-
https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm385663.htm#images

dmkoenig

If we are having a calorie-only discussion, sugar is sugar. But if you care at all about health, including weight loss there is a significant difference between refined sugar verses naturally occurring sugar.

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/if-fructose-is-bad-what-about-fruit/

ndj1979

100% zero difference...

ndj1979

dmkoenig wrote: »

If we are having a calorie-only discussion, sugar is sugar. But if you care at all about health, including weight loss there is a significant difference between refined sugar verses naturally occurring sugar.

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/if-fructose-is-bad-what-about-fruit/

Nope

What matters is overall dietary context

kshama2001

I swapped out Sugar and Sodium for Fiber and Iron, as I find the latter to be more useful nutrients for me to track.

When I was in Costa Rica I ate tons of fruit and lost weight without even trying.