Sugars in fruit
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sbushby68
Posts: 3 Member
Confused about sugars in fruit, my daily total is reached quickly but I am eating fruit. One pear is more than hslf my daily total. Surely fruit sugar should be better than say, a doughnut.
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Replies
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The sugar is the same. A pear has a different nutritional profile than a donut. Don't track sugar unless you have to or want to.8
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Sugar is sugar, no matter what the source is. Unless you have a medical reason to track it, going over isn't a big deal (provided you aren't eating so much that you're crowding out other nutrients or going over your calories). I don't even track my sugar intake.8
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Over my sugar every-single-day and losing weight. I agree with Malibu on this
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I have start a battle, war actually against diabetes. I really miss fruit as I am doing a keto diet with success. There is speculation that keto lifestyle can repair (alter maybe a better word) the insulin issues. So I have hopes that I can eat a more fruitful meal someday. I suspect that although it is correct that all sugars are glucose, fruit based sugar is better for you than refined sugar. No expertise but I did see a google ad for a Holiday Inn Express a while ago.. Good luck 11
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I hate this sugar demonizing. The fact that it has people afraid to eat fruit is just ridiculous.
OP, I'm not calling you ridiculous. Nor am I referring to your post here. It's the misinformation and fear mongering of the diet industry.
I don't worry about my sugar intake. I'm not diabetic, my body works the way it should. I am focusing on eating mostly whole foods, this includes a lot of fruits and vegetables. When I review my sugar intake it ranges from 40-100 g per day. Those fruit and veg help with getting more balanced nutrition. That's what I'm more concerned about.18 -
The sugars in fruit are usually balanced out by the dietary fibers which help keep the sugars in your blood under control.
Donuts don't have that.13 -
Confused about sugars in fruit, my daily total is reached quickly but I am eating fruit. One pear is more than hslf my daily total. Surely fruit sugar should be better than say, a doughnut.
Sugar is sugar....the difference between a donut and fruit isn't the sugar, it is the other nutritional content. That said fruit doesn't have all that much nutritional value relative to a lot of other foods anyway...it is mostly a treat.
Why are you concerned about sugar?12 -
glad you asked. the fruit and veggies i eat get me close to my sugar limit (based only on mfp stats) and then my sweet snacks put me over. but it isn't causing any issues per say so I've more r less igored that. My fruit also help me top over the carb limit.0
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »Confused about sugars in fruit, my daily total is reached quickly but I am eating fruit. One pear is more than hslf my daily total. Surely fruit sugar should be better than say, a doughnut.
Sugar is sugar....the difference between a donut and fruit isn't the sugar, it is the other nutritional content. That said fruit doesn't have all that much nutritional value relative to a lot of other foods anyway...it is mostly a treat.
Why are you concerned about sugar?
Concerned because I am type 2 diabetic, I am losing weight by limited calories but sugar still goes above my recommended 56g per day. I tend to have one piece of fruit a day and diabetic website says fructose (fruit sugar) breaks down slower than Sucrose, found in sweets etc. Still trying to get a standard view. Too many differences.2 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Confused about sugars in fruit, my daily total is reached quickly but I am eating fruit. One pear is more than hslf my daily total. Surely fruit sugar should be better than say, a doughnut.
Sugar is sugar....the difference between a donut and fruit isn't the sugar, it is the other nutritional content. That said fruit doesn't have all that much nutritional value relative to a lot of other foods anyway...it is mostly a treat.
Why are you concerned about sugar?
Concerned because I am type 2 diabetic, I am losing weight by limited calories but sugar still goes above my recommended 56g per day. I tend to have one piece of fruit a day and diabetic website says fructose (fruit sugar) breaks down slower than Sucrose, found in sweets etc. Still trying to get a standard view. Too many differences.
Well being diabetic certainly is a legitimate reason to track and be concerned by sugar. That said sucrose is just a disaccharide of fructose and glucose....sucrose is literally 50% fructose. There might be one bond more that needs to be broken in its metabolism but I dont see that really making that much of a difference. Consult with your doctor not with websites. If youd rather not just make sure you are checking a reliable source like the ADA.
Given you are diabetic though it does make sense for you to be tracking sugar and fruit definately has sugar...it is mostly sugar. I'd think eating lots of fruit would not be the best idea.
Keep in mind that the fructose in fruit is exactly the same as the fructose in high fructose corn syrup commonly used to sweeten things like soda. Same thing. The difference between eating an apple and drinking a coke is the other nutritional value of the apple...in terms of the sugar contents they are probably pretty similar. So what does this website say about drinking soda as a diabetic...is it okay because it is sweetened with fructose?8 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Confused about sugars in fruit, my daily total is reached quickly but I am eating fruit. One pear is more than hslf my daily total. Surely fruit sugar should be better than say, a doughnut.
Sugar is sugar....the difference between a donut and fruit isn't the sugar, it is the other nutritional content. That said fruit doesn't have all that much nutritional value relative to a lot of other foods anyway...it is mostly a treat.
Why are you concerned about sugar?
Concerned because I am type 2 diabetic, I am losing weight by limited calories but sugar still goes above my recommended 56g per day. I tend to have one piece of fruit a day and diabetic website says fructose (fruit sugar) breaks down slower than Sucrose, found in sweets etc. Still trying to get a standard view. Too many differences.
The highlighted was a really important detail that would have been helpful in your OP. Healthy people eating a balanced diet don't need to be too concerned about generic sugar limits, but your situation is different. Did your doctor give you your sugar limit? Have you been to see an RD or a diabetes counselor and discussed your diet? Do you monitor your blood sugar levels after you eat?
I don't have personal experience with diabetes, but from folks I know, it seems that balance is more important than specific gram limits. Perhaps more people dealing with type 2 will wander in here with their own experiences.6 -
Bottom line though if you have a medical condition affected by your diet you should be addressing your questions to your doctor not to an internet forum otherwise you risk getting bad advice.4
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »Confused about sugars in fruit, my daily total is reached quickly but I am eating fruit. One pear is more than hslf my daily total. Surely fruit sugar should be better than say, a doughnut.
Sugar is sugar....the difference between a donut and fruit isn't the sugar, it is the other nutritional content. That said fruit doesn't have all that much nutritional value relative to a lot of other foods anyway...it is mostly a treat.
Why are you concerned about sugar?
Concerned because I am type 2 diabetic, I am losing weight by limited calories but sugar still goes above my recommended 56g per day. I tend to have one piece of fruit a day and diabetic website says fructose (fruit sugar) breaks down slower than Sucrose, found in sweets etc. Still trying to get a standard view. Too many differences.
I'm also a type 2 diabetic. My A1c right now is 4.7 without medication other than metformin, and I eat fruit every day. The ADA recommends diabetics eat fruit. Fruit also does not spike my blood glucose (not a guess, this is according to my meter) when eaten in moderation, due to the fiber content.
It's untrue or at least misleading to say sugar is sugar. For one thing, the RDA given on MFP is supposed to be for ADDED sugars, not natural ones, so counting fruit against it is wrong according to the people who made up the number in the first place. For another thing, how quickly sugar is metabolized and how it affects blood glucose is absolutely dependent on the food that is eaten with it. Not to mention that different diabetics have different tolerances for the same food. Some can eat fruit and some can't.
As a type 2 diabetic you should not be guessing whether you are eating too much fruit. Get a meter with cheap strips and test an hour and two hours after eating each new food until you KNOW your own tolerances.9 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Bottom line though if you have a medical condition affected by your diet you should be addressing your questions to your doctor not to an internet forum otherwise you risk getting bad advice.
I have done, but I also look at so called healthstyle websites which have varying views. Just interested in other people's views. I do monitor my blood, just curious. Thanks.1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Bottom line though if you have a medical condition affected by your diet you should be addressing your questions to your doctor not to an internet forum otherwise you risk getting bad advice.
I have done, but I also look at so called healthstyle websites which have varying views. Just interested in other people's views. I do monitor my blood, just curious. Thanks.
Any Joe Schmoe can put up a "health" website, lots of folks pretend to be experts so they can sell you something. Choose your sources carefully :drinker:4 -
Before you answer this question you should ask why is sugar seen as bad? When you think sugar, what comes to mind? Cake, candy, soda, donuts, and many other things that some people who aren't controlling their diet tend to overeat, which leads to weight gain. Fruits don't come to mind because people don't associate them with weight gain. That's your context, the problem with sugar isn't the sugar, but the overeating. If you take that out of the equation it's no longer a problem. That's the context for people in general, for diabetics it's slightly different.
For diabetics, sugar is a problem. It doesn't matter where it comes from, if it raises blood glucose it's a problem. You may be able to tolerate some sugar containing foods but not others, so that's for you to experiment. In my case, bananas were the devil for my blood glucose but ice cream was not. Instead of looking at sugar as a daily number, look at it in terms of single foods or food combinations. Only your glucose meter can tell you what and how much to eat of any certain thing.7 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »Only your glucose meter can tell you what and how much to eat of any certain thing.
There is much wisdom here. People react to different things in different ways. You might find an apple causes the BG to spike and stay high or it might barely create a blip with very quick recovery. I say start watching the meter and let it tell you.
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rheddmobile wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Confused about sugars in fruit, my daily total is reached quickly but I am eating fruit. One pear is more than hslf my daily total. Surely fruit sugar should be better than say, a doughnut.
Sugar is sugar....the difference between a donut and fruit isn't the sugar, it is the other nutritional content. That said fruit doesn't have all that much nutritional value relative to a lot of other foods anyway...it is mostly a treat.
Why are you concerned about sugar?
Concerned because I am type 2 diabetic, I am losing weight by limited calories but sugar still goes above my recommended 56g per day. I tend to have one piece of fruit a day and diabetic website says fructose (fruit sugar) breaks down slower than Sucrose, found in sweets etc. Still trying to get a standard view. Too many differences.
I'm also a type 2 diabetic. My A1c right now is 4.7 without medication other than metformin, and I eat fruit every day. The ADA recommends diabetics eat fruit. Fruit also does not spike my blood glucose (not a guess, this is according to my meter) when eaten in moderation, due to the fiber content.
It's untrue or at least misleading to say sugar is sugar. For one thing, the RDA given on MFP is supposed to be for ADDED sugars, not natural ones, so counting fruit against it is wrong according to the people who made up the number in the first place. For another thing, how quickly sugar is metabolized and how it affects blood glucose is absolutely dependent on the food that is eaten with it. Not to mention that different diabetics have different tolerances for the same food. Some can eat fruit and some can't.
As a type 2 diabetic you should not be guessing whether you are eating too much fruit. Get a meter with cheap strips and test an hour and two hours after eating each new food until you KNOW your own tolerances.
This seems like particularly good advice. Apologies if I overstated that sugar is sugar. Clearly fructose and glucose are not identical and although they may be the same in terms of calorie counts going off the recommendations of experts in the field for diabetics seems advisable. I didn't mean to suggest that fruit was something to avoid entirely...just that it wasn't free in terms of sugar.3 -
I tend to subtract the fruit sugar I eat from my total sugar intake and go by that #.0
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I am not diabetic and don’t have a medical reason to track sugar. But I often try to pair fruit with some sort of protein (often dairy) because I find it curbs my hunger better that way.
I have a diabetic friend who often is looking at the fiber content to determine “net carbs”, but I don't have first hand experience there. I am hopeful someone with diabetes will chime in to explain “net carbs” in layperson terms. I am very curious and would like to learn more about how to plan snacks and be supportive when with diabetic friends at potlucks etc.0
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