Welcome to Debate Club! Please be aware that this is a space for respectful debate, and that your ideas will be challenged here. Please remember to critique the argument, not the author.

Why do people keep defending sugar?

13468911

Replies

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    well I think I do too - but then I am not in US so maybe I dont count ;)
  • GreenValli
    GreenValli Posts: 1,054 Member
    Why do people defend sugar? I think many of us like it and don't want to give it up entirely. That is me. Two teaspoonfuls in my coffee in the morning.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    psychod787 wrote: »
    I don't know... because it's a socially accepted drug? 🤔

    <---- is currently mainlining his apple right now..... ahhh...., sweet, pun intended, bliss!
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Maybe they never had half their family die from it


    Is this a serious comment?? :*

    People are not dying from sugar

    well, I guess a type 1 diabetic could go into diabetic coma and die if they ate massive amount and did not take their insulin. I knew somebody once who almost did that - was in ICU with BSL of 48 - but did recover.

    But, most people can eat sugar in sensible amounts. Even diabetics can eat it in small amounts.

    The issue is not sugar per se but over consumption leadng to obesity related diseases or, in case of diabetics, to diabetic complications.

    Context. Dosage.

    You conflated an instantaneous consequence with an average over time consequence, in order to call someone else dumb. People aren't talking about eating a lot of sugar once, they're talking about eating a lot of it over time, which would why diabetes is called a CHRONIC illness.

    Um, no. The debate in this thread seems definitely to be between those who think sugar (or added sugar) in any amount is terrible and those of us saying it's fine in moderate amounts in the context of a healthful overall diet.
    Lol no one eats sugar in "sensible" amounts in the US.

    No one? I think many of us here do.

    It usually comes in a small package, with loads of fat, that is easy to over eat on. I have seen the research, a high sugar diet can actually lower overall fasting blood sugars in HEALTHY adults. It is because they lose weight and insulin sensitivity goes up usually when people lower adiposity.

    @Pogostickers , I am with you ma'am, personally added sugars are just not worth the added calories or lack of satiety for me. I prefer my sugars to come from fruits and veggies. I noticed when I gave up added sugar, fruit became super sweet. Taste can change.

    I handle this a bit differently. I eat food. I don't eat "sugar" or "fat" or whatever. I don't get my sugar from sources because getting my sugar is not important, I don't even look at it, I just eat food and sometimes it has sugar and sometimes it doesn't, sometimes the sugar is of the added sort, sometimes it's not. I focus on 2 things: eating foods I enjoy, and overall meeting my nutrient needs within calories.

    What I do eat is more important to me than what I don't eat, and sometimes something that has added sugar is worth it and sometimes it isn't, just like any other food that has any other ingredient. I make my decisions on a food to food basis, I don't need to waste my effort on setting up rules for trivial things that don't affect my health or weight management. For example, yesterday I had ice cream planned but I was a bit hungrier than usual so I decided to eat a hearty snack instead because it felt more worth it. Sometimes ice cream is exactly what I need and it's worth it.

    I agree with your statement, but we have to look at added sugar intake in the context of overall diet. When Cuba went into a massive recession in the past, added sugar intake went up and fat intake went down. Overall caloric intake went down. They could not afford gas, so many people started walking everywhere. Many folks lost weight. So, added sugar in the context of a deficit or energy equilibrium has no effect on weight. When people on MFP, such as yourself, count calories and have added sugar with energy equilibrium, it has little effect. Unfortunately, most western/ affluent individuals do not track their intake. We have seen that added sugar does not have the same effect on satiety as food in its whole form. This is probably why we see a correlation between Sugary Beverage consumption and weight gain, no correlation between weight gain and fresh fruit consumption. There is actually a net slimming effect in replacing sugary beverages with fresh fruit for the same "sugar" intake.
  • BuddhaBunnyFTW
    BuddhaBunnyFTW Posts: 157 Member
    edited July 2020
    One day I just stopped eating refined sugar as much as I used too. In fact certain foods like candy and sweeter baked goods that I used to crave outright repulsed me. Even now I get queasy thinking about eating certain desserts. I find all of this taste preference stuff fascinating.

    However, I do sense like with most things people come to the table with emotions that while tied to the issue, cloud the discussion. Anyhoo, one thing that is interesting now is that I crave fruits and vegitables where I used to crave donuts, soda, and candy. Fruit for instance and nuts have such amazing depths of flavor that I was never able to find among the foods made with refined sugars. By eating less refined sugar, my eyes have been opened to a bounty of natural flavors that are super amazing! :)
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited July 2020
    psychod787 wrote: »
    psychod787 wrote: »
    I don't know... because it's a socially accepted drug? 🤔

    <---- is currently mainlining his apple right now..... ahhh...., sweet, pun intended, bliss!
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Maybe they never had half their family die from it


    Is this a serious comment?? :*

    People are not dying from sugar

    well, I guess a type 1 diabetic could go into diabetic coma and die if they ate massive amount and did not take their insulin. I knew somebody once who almost did that - was in ICU with BSL of 48 - but did recover.

    But, most people can eat sugar in sensible amounts. Even diabetics can eat it in small amounts.

    The issue is not sugar per se but over consumption leadng to obesity related diseases or, in case of diabetics, to diabetic complications.

    Context. Dosage.

    You conflated an instantaneous consequence with an average over time consequence, in order to call someone else dumb. People aren't talking about eating a lot of sugar once, they're talking about eating a lot of it over time, which would why diabetes is called a CHRONIC illness.

    Um, no. The debate in this thread seems definitely to be between those who think sugar (or added sugar) in any amount is terrible and those of us saying it's fine in moderate amounts in the context of a healthful overall diet.
    Lol no one eats sugar in "sensible" amounts in the US.

    No one? I think many of us here do.

    It usually comes in a small package, with loads of fat, that is easy to over eat on. I have seen the research, a high sugar diet can actually lower overall fasting blood sugars in HEALTHY adults. It is because they lose weight and insulin sensitivity goes up usually when people lower adiposity.

    @Pogostickers , I am with you ma'am, personally added sugars are just not worth the added calories or lack of satiety for me. I prefer my sugars to come from fruits and veggies. I noticed when I gave up added sugar, fruit became super sweet. Taste can change.

    I handle this a bit differently. I eat food. I don't eat "sugar" or "fat" or whatever. I don't get my sugar from sources because getting my sugar is not important, I don't even look at it, I just eat food and sometimes it has sugar and sometimes it doesn't, sometimes the sugar is of the added sort, sometimes it's not. I focus on 2 things: eating foods I enjoy, and overall meeting my nutrient needs within calories.

    What I do eat is more important to me than what I don't eat, and sometimes something that has added sugar is worth it and sometimes it isn't, just like any other food that has any other ingredient. I make my decisions on a food to food basis, I don't need to waste my effort on setting up rules for trivial things that don't affect my health or weight management. For example, yesterday I had ice cream planned but I was a bit hungrier than usual so I decided to eat a hearty snack instead because it felt more worth it. Sometimes ice cream is exactly what I need and it's worth it.

    I agree with your statement, but we have to look at added sugar intake in the context of overall diet. When Cuba went into a massive recession in the past, added sugar intake went up and fat intake went down. Overall caloric intake went down. They could not afford gas, so many people started walking everywhere. Many folks lost weight. So, added sugar in the context of a deficit or energy equilibrium has no effect on weight. When people on MFP, such as yourself, count calories and have added sugar with energy equilibrium, it has little effect. Unfortunately, most western/ affluent individuals do not track their intake. We have seen that added sugar does not have the same effect on satiety as food in its whole form. This is probably why we see a correlation between Sugary Beverage consumption and weight gain, no correlation between weight gain and fresh fruit consumption. There is actually a net slimming effect in replacing sugary beverages with fresh fruit for the same "sugar" intake.

    While I agree with all of this, I think the last part might apply specifically to sweetened drinks. Most of the added sugar I eat comes along with fat and even some protein, and I don't find much difference in satiety between high sugar days and low sugar days. My added sugar often comes in icecream, brownies, sauces or condiments added to whole foods meals, protein bars.

    Having said that, if I didn't log food I'd eat too much of those foods, but I'd also eat too much cheese and nuts and not be satiated by those either. I also don't find fruit even remotely filling by itself.

    Sugary drinks are I think typically problematic to anyone not successfully moderating and not tracking their intake. Cutting way down on the sweet calories in my drinks was instrumental in getting my calories in line :smiley: I still enjoy a glass of juice or a sweet coffee drink occasionally but it's rare.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    psychod787 wrote: »
    I don't know... because it's a socially accepted drug? 🤔

    <---- is currently mainlining his apple right now..... ahhh...., sweet, pun intended, bliss!
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Maybe they never had half their family die from it


    Is this a serious comment?? :*

    People are not dying from sugar

    well, I guess a type 1 diabetic could go into diabetic coma and die if they ate massive amount and did not take their insulin. I knew somebody once who almost did that - was in ICU with BSL of 48 - but did recover.

    But, most people can eat sugar in sensible amounts. Even diabetics can eat it in small amounts.

    The issue is not sugar per se but over consumption leadng to obesity related diseases or, in case of diabetics, to diabetic complications.

    Context. Dosage.

    You conflated an instantaneous consequence with an average over time consequence, in order to call someone else dumb. People aren't talking about eating a lot of sugar once, they're talking about eating a lot of it over time, which would why diabetes is called a CHRONIC illness.

    Um, no. The debate in this thread seems definitely to be between those who think sugar (or added sugar) in any amount is terrible and those of us saying it's fine in moderate amounts in the context of a healthful overall diet.
    Lol no one eats sugar in "sensible" amounts in the US.

    No one? I think many of us here do.

    It usually comes in a small package, with loads of fat, that is easy to over eat on. I have seen the research, a high sugar diet can actually lower overall fasting blood sugars in HEALTHY adults. It is because they lose weight and insulin sensitivity goes up usually when people lower adiposity.

    Yep, we agree. But many people are able to include small amounts of added sugar in a healthy overall diet.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited July 2020
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    psychod787 wrote: »
    I don't know... because it's a socially accepted drug? 🤔

    <---- is currently mainlining his apple right now..... ahhh...., sweet, pun intended, bliss!
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Maybe they never had half their family die from it


    Is this a serious comment?? :*

    People are not dying from sugar

    well, I guess a type 1 diabetic could go into diabetic coma and die if they ate massive amount and did not take their insulin. I knew somebody once who almost did that - was in ICU with BSL of 48 - but did recover.

    But, most people can eat sugar in sensible amounts. Even diabetics can eat it in small amounts.

    The issue is not sugar per se but over consumption leadng to obesity related diseases or, in case of diabetics, to diabetic complications.

    Context. Dosage.

    You conflated an instantaneous consequence with an average over time consequence, in order to call someone else dumb. People aren't talking about eating a lot of sugar once, they're talking about eating a lot of it over time, which would why diabetes is called a CHRONIC illness.

    Um, no. The debate in this thread seems definitely to be between those who think sugar (or added sugar) in any amount is terrible and those of us saying it's fine in moderate amounts in the context of a healthful overall diet.
    Lol no one eats sugar in "sensible" amounts in the US.

    No one? I think many of us here do.

    It usually comes in a small package, with loads of fat, that is easy to over eat on. I have seen the research, a high sugar diet can actually lower overall fasting blood sugars in HEALTHY adults. It is because they lose weight and insulin sensitivity goes up usually when people lower adiposity.

    @Pogostickers , I am with you ma'am, personally added sugars are just not worth the added calories or lack of satiety for me. I prefer my sugars to come from fruits and veggies. I noticed when I gave up added sugar, fruit became super sweet. Taste can change.

    I always find this odd, although enough people say it that it must be a thing.

    I did not find fruit to taste different based on me eating more or less sugar.

    I got fat eating little added sugar, ate more ice cream than before when losing, and have currently lost my taste for dessert so don't eat ice cream. Fruit has tasted the same (quite sweet), throughout.

    Yeah I do find it odd too. I'm someone who can't have a savory food that tastes sweet. I can't eat sweet potatoes or certain squashes because they taste too sweet to be a savory food. I can't eat BBQ sauce because it tastes too sweet. Pretty much the only sweet things I can handle are cooked carrots and onions because I'm used to them, and yes, they still taste sweet although I eat things with added sugar. Cherry tomatoes are my least favorite type of tomatoes because they're too sweet.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,498 Member
    psychod787 wrote: »
    psychod787 wrote: »
    I don't know... because it's a socially accepted drug? 🤔

    <---- is currently mainlining his apple right now..... ahhh...., sweet, pun intended, bliss!
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Maybe they never had half their family die from it


    Is this a serious comment?? :*

    People are not dying from sugar

    well, I guess a type 1 diabetic could go into diabetic coma and die if they ate massive amount and did not take their insulin. I knew somebody once who almost did that - was in ICU with BSL of 48 - but did recover.

    But, most people can eat sugar in sensible amounts. Even diabetics can eat it in small amounts.

    The issue is not sugar per se but over consumption leadng to obesity related diseases or, in case of diabetics, to diabetic complications.

    Context. Dosage.

    You conflated an instantaneous consequence with an average over time consequence, in order to call someone else dumb. People aren't talking about eating a lot of sugar once, they're talking about eating a lot of it over time, which would why diabetes is called a CHRONIC illness.

    Um, no. The debate in this thread seems definitely to be between those who think sugar (or added sugar) in any amount is terrible and those of us saying it's fine in moderate amounts in the context of a healthful overall diet.
    Lol no one eats sugar in "sensible" amounts in the US.

    No one? I think many of us here do.

    It usually comes in a small package, with loads of fat, that is easy to over eat on. I have seen the research, a high sugar diet can actually lower overall fasting blood sugars in HEALTHY adults. It is because they lose weight and insulin sensitivity goes up usually when people lower adiposity.

    @Pogostickers , I am with you ma'am, personally added sugars are just not worth the added calories or lack of satiety for me. I prefer my sugars to come from fruits and veggies. I noticed when I gave up added sugar, fruit became super sweet. Taste can change.

    I handle this a bit differently. I eat food. I don't eat "sugar" or "fat" or whatever. I don't get my sugar from sources because getting my sugar is not important, I don't even look at it, I just eat food and sometimes it has sugar and sometimes it doesn't, sometimes the sugar is of the added sort, sometimes it's not. I focus on 2 things: eating foods I enjoy, and overall meeting my nutrient needs within calories.

    What I do eat is more important to me than what I don't eat, and sometimes something that has added sugar is worth it and sometimes it isn't, just like any other food that has any other ingredient. I make my decisions on a food to food basis, I don't need to waste my effort on setting up rules for trivial things that don't affect my health or weight management. For example, yesterday I had ice cream planned but I was a bit hungrier than usual so I decided to eat a hearty snack instead because it felt more worth it. Sometimes ice cream is exactly what I need and it's worth it.

    I agree with your statement, but we have to look at added sugar intake in the context of overall diet. When Cuba went into a massive recession in the past, added sugar intake went up and fat intake went down. Overall caloric intake went down. They could not afford gas, so many people started walking everywhere. Many folks lost weight. So, added sugar in the context of a deficit or energy equilibrium has no effect on weight. When people on MFP, such as yourself, count calories and have added sugar with energy equilibrium, it has little effect. Unfortunately, most western/ affluent individuals do not track their intake. We have seen that added sugar does not have the same effect on satiety as food in its whole form. This is probably why we see a correlation between Sugary Beverage consumption and weight gain, no correlation between weight gain and fresh fruit consumption. There is actually a net slimming effect in replacing sugary beverages with fresh fruit for the same "sugar" intake.

    Yep see if you can eat 7 apples (about 100 calories each) vs downing 700 calories of pop.
  • janereiff
    janereiff Posts: 2 Member
    When adding foods to the food diary, it records all sugars (natural and added) as sugar. I've been told that I should be counting/restricting the grams of added sugar and not be concerned with the naturally occurring sugars. Is this accurate advice?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited July 2020
    janereiff wrote: »
    When adding foods to the food diary, it records all sugars (natural and added) as sugar. I've been told that I should be counting/restricting the grams of added sugar and not be concerned with the naturally occurring sugars. Is this accurate advice?

    @janereiff

    "When adding foods to the food diary, it records all sugars (natural and added) as sugar."
    As your body has no way of knowing the source of your sugar, whether a naturally occurring part of a food or drink item or refined and added to a food item that's entirely reasonable.

    "I've been told that I should be counting/restricting the grams of added sugar and not be concerned with the naturally occurring sugars. Is this accurate advice?"
    Not really - it's a dumbed down overly simple message for the general public for whom making better food choices (including but not limited to sugar in all its forms) could well be beneficial for many.
    You could overeat on a diet with zero added sugar, you could eat what is personally an inappropriate amount of intrinsic/natural sugar for your particular and personal needs within your calorie needs but crowding out other valuable nutrition.


    An analogy would be road safety campaigns using a simple and extremely dumbed down message of "Speed Kills".
    It's completely inaccurate (sudden deceleration and impacts can kill but not speed alone) but for people with little knowledge of how to be a safe driver/rider it may have a benefit of people having fewer accidents and at lower speeds.
    Just like "Be A Better Driver" as a slogan would just wash over many people and have no impact on behaviours so would "Eat A Better Overall Diet".
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,009 Member
    I don't track sugar, I track fiber and it seems to take care of itself...
  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,033 Member
    Slacker16 wrote: »
    (...) I gained weight eating savory and fatty foods.
    Let's start a gang :)

    I've thought about a motorcycle gang but every name I come up with just sounds wrong. I can't imagine a leather jacket with a big skull and the words "Sausage Hogs" or "Pepperoni Riders".
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,386 Member
    edited July 2020
    Slacker16 wrote: »
    (...) I gained weight eating savory and fatty foods.
    Let's start a gang :)

    I've thought about a motorcycle gang but every name I come up with just sounds wrong. I can't imagine a leather jacket with a big skull and the words "Sausage Hogs" or "Pepperoni Riders".

    Aprons, not leather jackets.

    I propose the name Lasagna Hogs with the motto: Go Hang a Salami. So the mantra would be:

    "Go hang a salami; I'm a lasagna hog."

    Read that from back to front now. :wink:
    Or read THIS one backwards:
    goh angasal a mi imalas a gnah og
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Slacker16 wrote: »
    (...) I gained weight eating savory and fatty foods.
    Let's start a gang :)

    I've thought about a motorcycle gang but every name I come up with just sounds wrong. I can't imagine a leather jacket with a big skull and the words "Sausage Hogs" or "Pepperoni Riders".

    Aprons, not leather jackets.

    I propose the name Lasagna Hogs with the motto: Go Hang a Salami. So the mantra would be:

    "Go hang a salami; I'm a lasagna hog."

    Read that from back to front now. :wink:

    The Pot Pie Putters?
  • gadorlogor
    gadorlogor Posts: 7 Member
    edited July 2020
    To much added sugar will "mess" up your heart and lead to insulin resistance and weight gain.
    The reason why it leads to weight gain is because your body is essentially something with zero nutritional value but an extremely high caloric count. So you wind up wasting your caloric limit on useless food, thus gaining weight while at the same time being starved nutritionally.
    Non-added sugar however is different, because it one contains lots of nutrients and two has high amounts of fiber which limits the glycemic index of the food. Increasing the time over which glucose thus insulin is released. Which is why complex carbohydrates are better, than simple carbohydrates like sugar. Because non-added sugars take longer to hit your blood it allows them to be actually "used", instead of stored as fat immediately like added sugar is. (Both should be limited though, just added sugars more so)
    Sugar,however ,hits your blood stream immediately and releases all that glucose at once, instead of over time, putting you on the path to diabetes through increased insulin resistance.
    There is no reason to eat an excess of added sugar, it only hurts and is bad for energy (see sugar crashes) not good.
    There is no defense for it.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,009 Member
    gadorlogor wrote: »
    To much added sugar will "mess" up your heart and lead to insulin resistance and weight gain.
    The reason why it leads to weight gain is because your body is essentially something with zero nutritional value but an extremely high caloric count. So you wind up wasting your caloric limit on useless food, thus gaining weight while at the same time being starved nutritionally.
    Non-added sugar however is different, because it one contains lots of nutrients and two has high amounts of fiber which limits the glycemic index of the food. Increasing the time over which glucose thus insulin is released. Which is why complex carbohydrates are better, than simple carbohydrates like sugar. Because non-added sugars take longer to hit your blood it allows them to be actually "used", instead of stored as fat immediately like added sugar is. (Both should be limited though, just added sugars more so)
    Sugar,however ,hits your blood stream immediately and releases all that glucose at once, instead of over time, putting you on the path to diabetes through increased insulin resistance.
    There is no reason to eat an excess of added sugar, it only hurts and is bad for energy (see sugar crashes) not good.
    There is no defense for it.


    I must be a special snowflake...
This discussion has been closed.