How to keep sugar down?
Options
Replies
-
xWintersKnightx wrote: »Glucose, fructose, and sucrose are different.
That is correct they are different molecules. Do you know how your body processes them? The same exact way. Sucrose, which is what most people think of when talking about added sugar, is a polysaccharide and is broken down into two monosaccharides, glucose and fructose by your body and is processed via the same biochemical pathways as if it was “natural” sugar to begin with...4 -
xWintersKnightx wrote: »Sugars taste the same but the body processes them differently.
Nope. See my post directly above.2 -
OP can you please clarify why you’re trying to limit sugars to 30g per day? I missed the part of your post where you said you were pregnant, is gestational diabetes a concern?1
-
Everyone saying the body processes all sugar the same is misinformed. For example, fructose, unlike glucose, does not cause insulin to be released or stimulate leptin production.15
-
If there isn't a medical reason for you to avoid sugars I wouldn't worry about it. You could talk to your doctor about proper nutrition while pregnant though they could give you some guidance of what your needs are. I would say to just make sure you are eating enough protein and calories and let the rest fall into place. I'm sure baby won't be harmed and might actually benefit from a little extra fat and sugar. But again, Doc might offer some better advice.
If there is a medical reason you should watch your sugar inkate, then yes check food lables to make sure it doesn's contain too much sugar. It can be in wierd places. My example that happened to me today: My MFP app yelled at me this morning for my sugar content when all I had planned was a granola bar, salad, spaghetti and an apple. While yes the granola bar and apple will contain a good amount of sugar, it surely wouldn't be that high! Then I remembered they add sugar to jarred pasta sauce. For your fruits & even veggies there is a lot of info online about low glycemic foods you could look up to give you an idea of what to eat more of, and what to limit.3 -
Crafty_camper123 wrote: »If there isn't a medical reason for you to avoid sugars I wouldn't worry about it. You could talk to your doctor about proper nutrition while pregnant though they could give you some guidance of what your needs are. I would say to just make sure you are eating enough protein and calories and let the rest fall into place. I'm sure baby won't be harmed and might actually benefit from a little extra fat and sugar. But again, Doc might offer some better advice.
If there is a medical reason you should watch your sugar inkate, then yes check food lables to make sure it doesn's contain too much sugar. It can be in wierd places. My example that happened to me today: My MFP app yelled at me this morning for my sugar content when all I had planned was a granola bar, salad, spaghetti and an apple. While yes the granola bar and apple will contain a good amount of sugar, it surely wouldn't be that high! Then I remembered they add sugar to jarred pasta sauce. For your fruits & even veggies there is a lot of info online about low glycemic foods you could look up to give you an idea of what to eat more of, and what to limit.
Not just the added sugar but the natural sugar in the tomatoes. But you can turn those warnings off.2 -
WinoGelato wrote: »nickssweetheart wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »sugarnspice0613 wrote: »Sugar is definitely hidden in many things that are processed which would be the first thing I would cut and try to eat as many whole foods as possible. Sugar is a carb so it makes sense you are going over in both. Berries have the lowest carb counts with strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries giving about 3-4 carbs for a half cup each. To offer more suggestions, it would be helpful if you had an open food diary for me to view your macros/goals and what you are eating as well as knowing why you are restricting sugar to 30.
Can you give some examples of where you feel sugar is hidden in processed foods, and how exactly it’s hidden? I eat a mix of processed foods and Whole Foods and I often see this claim, but I’m rarely over my sugar count. I’m just curious what people are eating that they are surprised to learn have sugar in them? It’s listed on both the ingredients and the nutrition label so I’m not sure how it’s really hidden?
If you don't know all the different names for sugar it can be classed as hidden. Unless you google every ingredient while in the supermarket before you buy it of course, but who wants to do that. Basically the less processed foods the less added sugar you're going to get.
But the sugar quantity is listed right there on the label, as mentioned above it is currently not differentiated as to natural or added sugar, so again, not really hidden or something that needs to be googled, if someone is tracking their sugar.
As I mentioned - I eat quite a bit of processed foods - yesterday in particular I ate almost all processed foods as it was a crazy day. Frozen breakfast bowl, frozen meal for lunch. A chobani flip for a snack, a sandwich with store lunch meat and processed cheese and a can of soup for dinner. With all that I was under both calories and under my sugar goal for the day, it was a rare day I happened to check sugar as I don’t track it specifically, so I had a half serving of talenti after dinner. Still right at goal for sugar. Way over on sodium but that’s not surprising, nor particularly concerning to me.
So again, what are the processed foods where sugar is lurking that people should be watching out for?
Well, here's an example that happened to me recently. I bought a can of kidney beans without reading the ingredient list. Not chili beans, not baked beans, just labeled kidney beans. My expectation when I buy something sold as canned beans is that it will consist of beans and salt and maybe a preservative.
I was pretty surprised when I went to open the can and saw "sugar" listed as an ingredient.
Thank you for giving an example. You’re right, I wouldn’t expect there to be sugar in planned canned beans not in some sort of sauce. I went down to my pantry just now to see if any of mine do but alas I’m out of my staples of canned black and great northern beans (just added to grocery list thanks!). I did have a can of refried beans and I wouldn’t have been totally surprised to see it in those but it wasn’t listed and sugar at 0g on the label. Checked a box of rice and black beans I have that I make when I grill jerk chicken and it also had sugar at less than 1g.
So yeah the canned beans is an interesting example. Do you remember how much sugar was on the label by chance?
I think it was Bush's kidney beans, and I just googled the ingredients and there it is: prepared kidney beans, water, salt, sugar, dextrose , so technically sugar is actually listed twice. Looks like 11 g of sugar per can.
I mean, I just ate it, as sugar is not a big concern of mine. But it's interesting.0 -
Crafty_camper123 wrote: »If there isn't a medical reason for you to avoid sugars I wouldn't worry about it. You could talk to your doctor about proper nutrition while pregnant though they could give you some guidance of what your needs are. I would say to just make sure you are eating enough protein and calories and let the rest fall into place. I'm sure baby won't be harmed and might actually benefit from a little extra fat and sugar. But again, Doc might offer some better advice.
If there is a medical reason you should watch your sugar inkate, then yes check food lables to make sure it doesn's contain too much sugar. It can be in wierd places. My example that happened to me today: My MFP app yelled at me this morning for my sugar content when all I had planned was a granola bar, salad, spaghetti and an apple. While yes the granola bar and apple will contain a good amount of sugar, it surely wouldn't be that high! Then I remembered they add sugar to jarred pasta sauce. For your fruits & even veggies there is a lot of info online about low glycemic foods you could look up to give you an idea of what to eat more of, and what to limit.
Not just the added sugar but the natural sugar in the tomatoes. But you can turn those warnings off.
I've thought about turning those off, but I like the ones that tell me this food is high in vitamins, or you hit your protein, or what have you. I don't worry too much about it usually. And yes, there is natural sugar in tomatoes too. But a lot of time they add sugar to jarred sauce. Probably for flavor and to cut acidity of the tomatoes. But still, if someone is watching sugar it's something to look out for. I looked at my dairy again for kicks and giggles too. Every meal is around 15 grams of sugar today. The most surprising for me is dinner. No one food is high, but the veggies I plan to add like tomatoes, sugar snap peas, and bell peppers all add up. I thought it was kind of interesting. That's the main reason I suggested looking into low glycemic foods. Sugar can be in places the one wouldn't think to look. Like vegetables. To reiterate though, if you don't have a health issue there is no reason to keep sugar low. Subbing out high sugar options for lower sugar options can be a good way of keeping calories lower though. But overall I feel it's not something to worry about too much.0 -
Btw, one banana is TWO servings of fruit.0
-
therequiiem wrote: »I seem to struggle with going over in fat and sugar. It was carbs as well, but I recently upped those because I am 25 weeks pregnant. I kept my fat intake at about 56g and sugar at 30.
My question is, how are you suppose to keep your sugar below 30 when you are encouraged to eat fruits? And sugar is hidden in so many things!
Nothing is hidden...read labels. You could also reduce the amount of processed food you're eating if it's that much of a concern.
I personally don't concern myself with naturally occurring sugars in fruit and veg, but I also put a premium on veg and typically eat 1 to 2 servings of fruit per day.1 -
Well, I am only almost 26 weeks pregnant and at my last weigh in I have gained 31 lbs!
my midwife just suggested to watch both my carb and sugar intake. I don’t know if I have gestational diabetes, since I get my glucose checked in the next week or so. But up until recently I have eaten nothing but junk. Including all the bad stuff... donuts, cookies, yep, you name it. Probably in excess. I suppose I don’t really know what is a good amount of sugar per day. When I lost a lot of weight in college I tried to keep it around 25-30. I spoke with my friend and she said that I could up my carbs to about 43% (rounded to 45 on MFP) while pregnant. Which still leaves me at protein well over 100g and fat at about 53g. I know I’ll be gaining more weight throughout these next months. I’d just like to not gain anything unnecessary.
WinoGelato wrote: »OP can you please clarify why you’re trying to limit sugars to 30g per day? I missed the part of your post where you said you were pregnant, is gestational diabetes a concern?Crafty_camper123 wrote: »If there isn't a medical reason for you to avoid sugars I wouldn't worry about it. You could talk to your doctor about proper nutrition while pregnant though they could give you some guidance of what your needs are. I would say to just make sure you are eating enough protein and calories and let the rest fall into place. I'm sure baby won't be harmed and might actually benefit from a little extra fat and sugar. But again, Doc might offer some better advice.
If there is a medical reason you should watch your sugar inkate, then yes check food lables to make sure it doesn's contain too much sugar. It can be in wierd places. My example that happened to me today: My MFP app yelled at me this morning for my sugar content when all I had planned was a granola bar, salad, spaghetti and an apple. While yes the granola bar and apple will contain a good amount of sugar, it surely wouldn't be that high! Then I remembered they add sugar to jarred pasta sauce. For your fruits & even veggies there is a lot of info online about low glycemic foods you could look up to give you an idea of what to eat more of, and what to limit.
1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »sugarnspice0613 wrote: »Sugar is definitely hidden in many things that are processed which would be the first thing I would cut and try to eat as many whole foods as possible. Sugar is a carb so it makes sense you are going over in both. Berries have the lowest carb counts with strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries giving about 3-4 carbs for a half cup each. To offer more suggestions, it would be helpful if you had an open food diary for me to view your macros/goals and what you are eating as well as knowing why you are restricting sugar to 30.
Can you give some examples of where you feel sugar is hidden in processed foods, and how exactly it’s hidden? I eat a mix of processed foods and Whole Foods and I often see this claim, but I’m rarely over my sugar count. I’m just curious what people are eating that they are surprised to learn have sugar in them? It’s listed on both the ingredients and the nutrition label so I’m not sure how it’s really hidden?
A good example would be canned tomato soup. It's not "hidden" in the sense that it's right there on the label, but it's hidden in the sense that many people would not think to read the label because there's no logical reason for anyone to put corn syrup in tomato soup to begin with.
OP, the official USDA sugar recommendation (which is MFP's default setting) is for added sugars, not natural sugars. While many people here will tell you there's no difference in the way the body handles these, as a diabetic who tests my own blood glucose frequently, I can tell you there is indeed a difference in the way the body responds to them, which is due mostly to the naturally occurring fiber and so on which is found in fruits, dairy, vegetables, and so on, which slows absorption and helps prevent blood glucose spikes. You do not need to avoid fruits and unless you have been told to by a doctor, you probably shouldn't avoid them while pregnant.5 -
nickssweetheart wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »sugarnspice0613 wrote: »Sugar is definitely hidden in many things that are processed which would be the first thing I would cut and try to eat as many whole foods as possible. Sugar is a carb so it makes sense you are going over in both. Berries have the lowest carb counts with strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries giving about 3-4 carbs for a half cup each. To offer more suggestions, it would be helpful if you had an open food diary for me to view your macros/goals and what you are eating as well as knowing why you are restricting sugar to 30.
Can you give some examples of where you feel sugar is hidden in processed foods, and how exactly it’s hidden? I eat a mix of processed foods and Whole Foods and I often see this claim, but I’m rarely over my sugar count. I’m just curious what people are eating that they are surprised to learn have sugar in them? It’s listed on both the ingredients and the nutrition label so I’m not sure how it’s really hidden?
If you don't know all the different names for sugar it can be classed as hidden. Unless you google every ingredient while in the supermarket before you buy it of course, but who wants to do that. Basically the less processed foods the less added sugar you're going to get.
But the sugar quantity is listed right there on the label, as mentioned above it is currently not differentiated as to natural or added sugar, so again, not really hidden or something that needs to be googled, if someone is tracking their sugar.
As I mentioned - I eat quite a bit of processed foods - yesterday in particular I ate almost all processed foods as it was a crazy day. Frozen breakfast bowl, frozen meal for lunch. A chobani flip for a snack, a sandwich with store lunch meat and processed cheese and a can of soup for dinner. With all that I was under both calories and under my sugar goal for the day, it was a rare day I happened to check sugar as I don’t track it specifically, so I had a half serving of talenti after dinner. Still right at goal for sugar. Way over on sodium but that’s not surprising, nor particularly concerning to me.
So again, what are the processed foods where sugar is lurking that people should be watching out for?
Well, here's an example that happened to me recently. I bought a can of kidney beans without reading the ingredient list. Not chili beans, not baked beans, just labeled kidney beans. My expectation when I buy something sold as canned beans is that it will consist of beans and salt and maybe a preservative.
I was pretty surprised when I went to open the can and saw "sugar" listed as an ingredient.
That seems quite odd. I buy canned beans a lot and they never have sugar, so I wouldn't consider beans a common source of "hidden sugar" or an example of sugar being in EVERYTHING these days as some (incorrectly) claim. None of the processed foods I commonly buy have sugar except for those where of course they do (i.e., chocolate, ice cream).
I would be annoyed if I found unexpected sugar in my canned beans. I'd probably check the label but for sodium, and would have seen the sugar, but absent something like baked beans I'd be surprised, true.0 -
@therequiiem Then in your case just limit the highly processed carby stuff. Your sugar and calories will probably drop naturally. Like have an apple and peanut butter as opposed to a donut for example. Or if you're hardcore craving a donut for breakfast, have it and then eat lower calorie options for your other meals like a salad at lunch and grilled meat and veggies at dinner. Just try to stay within your calorie limit so you don't gain too fast, and you should be fine. I have seen it suggested in other posts for pregnant women to set your goal to gain to .5lb a week and eat to those calories. That way you will get enough for both you and baby, but not gain too much too fast.0
-
therequiiem wrote: »I seem to struggle with going over in fat and sugar. It was carbs as well, but I recently upped those because I am 25 weeks pregnant. I kept my fat intake at about 56g and sugar at 30.
My question is, how are you suppose to keep your sugar below 30 when you are encouraged to eat fruits? And sugar is hidden in so many things!
Since you are pregnant I'd talk to your doctor if you were given a goal from him or her.
Where is the 30 g goal from? It is not from MFP unless your calories are disturbingly low. It is a recommendation you sometimes see elsewhere, but it means ADDED sugar, and would not include the sugar from fruit.
I don't find that sugar is HIDDEN in anything, but I suspect if you stop worrying about intrinsic sugar (as from fruit), you won't find it hard to meet your goal.1 -
xWintersKnightx wrote: »Everyone saying the body processes all sugar the same is misinformed. For example, fructose, unlike glucose, does not cause insulin to be released or stimulate leptin production.
But in other ways fructose can be more of a problem -- high doses of fructose aren't great for the liver.
Bigger point is that essentially ALL sugar you consume will be a mix, so it's a false distinction.
HFCS = 55% fructose/45% glucose
sucrose (table sugar) = 50% fructose/50% glucose
fruits contain a mix of fructose, glucose, and sucrose (and a few others) that varies depending on the fruit.3 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »therequiiem wrote: »I seem to struggle with going over in fat and sugar. It was carbs as well, but I recently upped those because I am 25 weeks pregnant. I kept my fat intake at about 56g and sugar at 30.
My question is, how are you suppose to keep your sugar below 30 when you are encouraged to eat fruits? And sugar is hidden in so many things!
Since you are pregnant I'd talk to your doctor if you were given a goal from him or her.
Where is the 30 g goal from? It is not from MFP unless your calories are disturbingly low. It is a recommendation you sometimes see elsewhere, but it means ADDED sugar, and would not include the sugar from fruit.
I don't find that sugar is HIDDEN in anything, but I suspect if you stop worrying about intrinsic sugar (as from fruit), you won't find it hard to meet your goal.
Really I didn't realize the sugar goal was limited to only added sugar. I always thought that too much sugar whether it comes from apples or candy bars is too much sugar. So my goal says 79g so you are saying I should ignore the sugar I get from bananas, blueberries and black berries when counting against that goal? I find that really confusing. I mean what is the definition, is lactose counted? or sugar in tomato juice? or is really just only table sugar?
2 -
xWintersKnightx wrote: »Everyone saying the body processes all sugar the same is misinformed. For example, fructose, unlike glucose, does not cause insulin to be released or stimulate leptin production.
You'd be very misinformed. Insulin is released with both glucose and fructose. The difference is that rate at which both insulin and leptin are stimulated. Fructose is going to be metabolism more slowly as it's processed in the liver instead of the intestines.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/core/lw/2.0/html/tileshop_pmc/tileshop_pmc_inline.html?title=Click on image to zoom&p=PMC3&id=2684484_zeg0050964540002.jpg
Source
But it's still broken down and either used for energy or stored as glycogen.
It is wrong to suggest that our bodies metabolize all sugars the same (intestines vs liver) in terms of semantics, but the overall end product (glycogen vs immediate/slow energy) is the same. Ultimately, it doesn't matter too much because eating sugar in isolation is a rare occurrence and ultimately the other foods would cause a different response (i.e., metabolized more slowly)
3
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 388 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.2K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 918 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions