Is sugar really that bad?

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,898 Member
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    Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
    As I understand it, the deal on supplements and fortified food is this:

    Supplements get peed out, if they are in excess of what the body needs and is getting from other parts of the diet.

    Supplements are absorbed and used by the body, if the body needs them and hasn't gotten them elsewhere.

    My doctor calls supplements "insurance." They're a relatively cheap way of insuring that the body is getting all it needs, just in case one's diet lacks a bit here and there. He's a pretty decent doctor. :)

    Fst soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) behave differently from the others; they can be stored, so are a higher risk for toxicity.
  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
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    kami3006 wrote: »
    wmd1979 wrote: »
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    OP, it's not conscientious parents like you that this awareness drive is aimed towards, it's parents like my neighbors whose grade school kids all weigh over 200 lbs and seem to have Big Gulp cups grafted to their hands. They eat mac & cheese as a complete meal. If your child isn't obese and doesn't throw away fruit because it's not candy, you can afford a few indulgences.

    On a related topic, I think cereal - even no-sugar added cereal - isn't such a great breakfast for anyone. Since most people don't drink the milk the cereal sits in, it has almost no protein, and will create a quick burst of carby energy which will be gone long before lunchtime. Usually it's fortified, which confers the same benefits the kid would get from eating a vitamin pill, aka, very limited benefits, vitamins outside the context of the foods they come in mostly go straight through and get peed away. Remember the 70's when cereal commercials said, "Part of a complete breakfast!" And showed the cereal sitting next to bacon, eggs, and a glass of OJ?

    This is an odd claim to me. Do most people really not drink the milk they put in their cereal? I would love to see any sort of evidence backing this up. Do people just eat their cereal and then dump the milk? I don't, nor do my daughters, but I guess thats just my own personal experience.

    This has been my experience as well. Including any roommates I've had and my family. Drinking the flavored milk is sometimes the best part.
    Oh, no. I can't stand the milk. It's all cereal-ey and icky.

    The dread dilemma of what to do with the leftover milk, and of trying to balance the milk/cereal ratio to minimize any such problematic leftover milk, is why I seldom eat cold cereal.

  • rsj7799
    rsj7799 Posts: 74 Member
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    wmd1979 wrote: »
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    OP, it's not conscientious parents like you that this awareness drive is aimed towards, it's parents like my neighbors whose grade school kids all weigh over 200 lbs and seem to have Big Gulp cups grafted to their hands. They eat mac & cheese as a complete meal. If your child isn't obese and doesn't throw away fruit because it's not candy, you can afford a few indulgences.

    On a related topic, I think cereal - even no-sugar added cereal - isn't such a great breakfast for anyone. Since most people don't drink the milk the cereal sits in, it has almost no protein, and will create a quick burst of carby energy which will be gone long before lunchtime. Usually it's fortified, which confers the same benefits the kid would get from eating a vitamin pill, aka, very limited benefits, vitamins outside the context of the foods they come in mostly go straight through and get peed away. Remember the 70's when cereal commercials said, "Part of a complete breakfast!" And showed the cereal sitting next to bacon, eggs, and a glass of OJ?

    This is an odd claim to me. Do most people really not drink the milk they put in their cereal? I would love to see any sort of evidence backing this up. Do people just eat their cereal and then dump the milk? I don't, nor do my daughters, but I guess thats just my own personal experience.

    They may have overly aggressive cats.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
    edited October 2018
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    Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
    kami3006 wrote: »
    wmd1979 wrote: »
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    OP, it's not conscientious parents like you that this awareness drive is aimed towards, it's parents like my neighbors whose grade school kids all weigh over 200 lbs and seem to have Big Gulp cups grafted to their hands. They eat mac & cheese as a complete meal. If your child isn't obese and doesn't throw away fruit because it's not candy, you can afford a few indulgences.

    On a related topic, I think cereal - even no-sugar added cereal - isn't such a great breakfast for anyone. Since most people don't drink the milk the cereal sits in, it has almost no protein, and will create a quick burst of carby energy which will be gone long before lunchtime. Usually it's fortified, which confers the same benefits the kid would get from eating a vitamin pill, aka, very limited benefits, vitamins outside the context of the foods they come in mostly go straight through and get peed away. Remember the 70's when cereal commercials said, "Part of a complete breakfast!" And showed the cereal sitting next to bacon, eggs, and a glass of OJ?

    This is an odd claim to me. Do most people really not drink the milk they put in their cereal? I would love to see any sort of evidence backing this up. Do people just eat their cereal and then dump the milk? I don't, nor do my daughters, but I guess thats just my own personal experience.

    This has been my experience as well. Including any roommates I've had and my family. Drinking the flavored milk is sometimes the best part.
    Oh, no. I can't stand the milk. It's all cereal-ey and icky.

    The dread dilemma of what to do with the leftover milk, and of trying to balance the milk/cereal ratio to minimize any such problematic leftover milk, is why I seldom eat cold cereal.

    I'm sure that plenty of people feel the same and make finding the right ratio an art.

    I do find the claim that most people don't drink it to be dubious though. They may very well not but I'd wonder what the reality is.
  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
    As I understand it, the deal on supplements and fortified food is this:

    Supplements get peed out, if they are in excess of what the body needs and is getting from other parts of the diet.

    Supplements are absorbed and used by the body, if the body needs them and hasn't gotten them elsewhere.

    My doctor calls supplements "insurance." They're a relatively cheap way of insuring that the body is getting all it needs, just in case one's diet lacks a bit here and there. He's a pretty decent doctor. :)

    Fst soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) behave differently from the others; they can be stored, so are a higher risk for toxicity.
    Good point. Fat soluble vitamins don't get peed out (doh!).

    But my pretty decent doctor tells me that, unless you're doing serious mega-doses, the likelihood of getting fat-soluble vitamin toxicity from OTC multi-vitamins is vanishingly small.

  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
    edited October 2018
    Options
    kami3006 wrote: »
    Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
    kami3006 wrote: »
    wmd1979 wrote: »
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    OP, it's not conscientious parents like you that this awareness drive is aimed towards, it's parents like my neighbors whose grade school kids all weigh over 200 lbs and seem to have Big Gulp cups grafted to their hands. They eat mac & cheese as a complete meal. If your child isn't obese and doesn't throw away fruit because it's not candy, you can afford a few indulgences.

    On a related topic, I think cereal - even no-sugar added cereal - isn't such a great breakfast for anyone. Since most people don't drink the milk the cereal sits in, it has almost no protein, and will create a quick burst of carby energy which will be gone long before lunchtime. Usually it's fortified, which confers the same benefits the kid would get from eating a vitamin pill, aka, very limited benefits, vitamins outside the context of the foods they come in mostly go straight through and get peed away. Remember the 70's when cereal commercials said, "Part of a complete breakfast!" And showed the cereal sitting next to bacon, eggs, and a glass of OJ?

    This is an odd claim to me. Do most people really not drink the milk they put in their cereal? I would love to see any sort of evidence backing this up. Do people just eat their cereal and then dump the milk? I don't, nor do my daughters, but I guess thats just my own personal experience.

    This has been my experience as well. Including any roommates I've had and my family. Drinking the flavored milk is sometimes the best part.
    Oh, no. I can't stand the milk. It's all cereal-ey and icky.

    The dread dilemma of what to do with the leftover milk, and of trying to balance the milk/cereal ratio to minimize any such problematic leftover milk, is why I seldom eat cold cereal.

    I'm sure that plenty of people feel the same and make finding the right ratio an art.

    I do find the claim that most people don't drink it to be dubious though. They may very well not but I'd wonder what the reality is.
    I like @rsj7799 's theory of aggressive breakfast-table-terrorizing housecats. ;)
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
    Options
    Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
    kami3006 wrote: »
    Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
    kami3006 wrote: »
    wmd1979 wrote: »
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    OP, it's not conscientious parents like you that this awareness drive is aimed towards, it's parents like my neighbors whose grade school kids all weigh over 200 lbs and seem to have Big Gulp cups grafted to their hands. They eat mac & cheese as a complete meal. If your child isn't obese and doesn't throw away fruit because it's not candy, you can afford a few indulgences.

    On a related topic, I think cereal - even no-sugar added cereal - isn't such a great breakfast for anyone. Since most people don't drink the milk the cereal sits in, it has almost no protein, and will create a quick burst of carby energy which will be gone long before lunchtime. Usually it's fortified, which confers the same benefits the kid would get from eating a vitamin pill, aka, very limited benefits, vitamins outside the context of the foods they come in mostly go straight through and get peed away. Remember the 70's when cereal commercials said, "Part of a complete breakfast!" And showed the cereal sitting next to bacon, eggs, and a glass of OJ?

    This is an odd claim to me. Do most people really not drink the milk they put in their cereal? I would love to see any sort of evidence backing this up. Do people just eat their cereal and then dump the milk? I don't, nor do my daughters, but I guess thats just my own personal experience.

    This has been my experience as well. Including any roommates I've had and my family. Drinking the flavored milk is sometimes the best part.
    Oh, no. I can't stand the milk. It's all cereal-ey and icky.

    The dread dilemma of what to do with the leftover milk, and of trying to balance the milk/cereal ratio to minimize any such problematic leftover milk, is why I seldom eat cold cereal.

    I'm sure that plenty of people feel the same and make finding the right ratio an art.

    I do find the claim that most people don't drink it to be dubious though. They may very well not but I'd wonder what the reality is.
    I like @rsj7799 's theory of aggressive breakfast-table-terrorizing housecats. ;)

    agreed
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited October 2018
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    BTW, to the OP, I didn't in any way mean to insinuate you're in any way a bad parent by allowing sugar in your kids cereal. Quite the opposite, actually. The fact that you're even concerned is wonderful. I think teaching kids what food labels mean is terrific education. Never too young to start that. And it certainly doesn't sound like your kids eat too much sugar.

    My kids got treats on occasion. And many times they overindulged because they never got them. But I do think that natural tastes for vegetables aren't acquired if kids aren't exposed to them. I have a granddaughter that won't eat veggies unless dipped in huge amounts of ranch or even fruit without cream cheese dips (my stepson's kids who were exposed outside our house to terrible eating habits of his father). I'm terribly concerned for them all.

    The earlier kids get lots of processed, sugary foods in life (I'm not saying to eliminate them), the worse off their eating habits will end up. That's all I meant and it sounds like the OP understands that very well. No, you shouldn't say never have sugar. My daughter would go nuts at Halloween (heck, I would too!). My son, on the other hand (probably because he didn't eat much sweets growing up) never craved candy. He would actually sell his candy to my daughter. He would have auctions for candy with one buyer! Both my youngest are extremely health conscious now and in great shape (and my son is an entrepreneurial type, go figure). Most of that I attribute to the "ground rules" my wife set, even for me. Set the example and I wasn't allowed many sweets either if it wasn't a special occasion.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,898 Member
    Options
    Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
    As I understand it, the deal on supplements and fortified food is this:

    Supplements get peed out, if they are in excess of what the body needs and is getting from other parts of the diet.

    Supplements are absorbed and used by the body, if the body needs them and hasn't gotten them elsewhere.

    My doctor calls supplements "insurance." They're a relatively cheap way of insuring that the body is getting all it needs, just in case one's diet lacks a bit here and there. He's a pretty decent doctor. :)

    Fst soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) behave differently from the others; they can be stored, so are a higher risk for toxicity.
    Good point. Fat soluble vitamins don't get peed out (doh!).

    But my pretty decent doctor tells me that, unless you're doing serious mega-doses, the likelihood of getting fat-soluble vitamin toxicity from OTC multi-vitamins is vanishingly small.

    Multis, maybe, although some of the health-food-store multis (vs. mainstream commercial) are a little whacky. Excess vitamin A from supplements isn't that difficult to achieve.

    https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/#h8

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