Why is everyone so afraid of sugar?

YaGigi

I'm always over on sugar because I eat lots of fruits.

Don't care about those numbers...

hookilau

I believe it is definately a misconception. It's not the sugar that made/makes us fat, it's the amount of which we take it in. If I ask someone for some kind of advice they say well if you cut this and that then you will lose. Umm nope, well maybe for a bit, but in my case before I started figuring this stuff out a little better I tried it all, and didn't get anywhere long term. I no longer cut anything from my diet, if it fits in my calories and my macros and I want it. I'll have it, and may have it the next day too. Maybe that's just me, but it's working and I'm still losing and a healthy rate.

I used to think this too...until for whatever reason, my insides went haywire :ohwell:

If everything is working correctly, then absolutely, the above statement is true.

However, a good deal of the time, folks don't know things have gone awry because it happens slowly, with T2D anyway. Couple that with the fact that due to fluctuations in blood sugar, one can be subclinical and on a speeding train headed towards horrendous complications looong before a diagnosis is reached...sometimes years....and by the time that happens, the criteria is so high, once one reaches that threshold, there's little one can do except back pedal as best as one can, provided the correct information is give (which is another problem altogether).:huh:

I think the misconception comes in where people think it's caused by eating too much, eating too much sugar or not taking care of oneself. Here's where the shame comes in....also, that it has a strong genetic component & it's what goes wrong inside you, coupled with whatever your diet or lifestyle is that can make it worse or complicate things.

Before I was diagnosed, I didn't realize starches equate to sugars & I recall telling the doctor that I only consume 26 g of sugar from fruits daily because I had been logging (and weighing my foods) with MFP for a couple of months prior.

He did all but roll his eyes. :huh:

SideSteel

As I understand it, sugar (if you don't burn it off) is converted to fat faster than any other food. If you are active and eat a lot of sugar, your body will use that as fuel and not burn your fat.....and you will end up craving more sugar.

Not in a caloric deficit. You will still burn fat. Your body cannot burn nothing.

I understand that. The body will use up the sugar FIRST, then, when that's gone, go for the fat (unless you eat more sugar, which a lot of people do). But if you limit the sugar, the body will burn MORE fat.

That is way too simplistic a way of looking at it. The body doesn't say, "Oh crap, no glucose... guess I'll have to burn fat until that's gone." If there is no sugar for energy, you will burn fat but you will also burn muscle. It takes a 3500 calorie deficit to burn a pound of fat, but only about 600 calorie deficit to burn through a pound of muscle. Carbs are good for you unless you're diabetic. They provide you with energy. Extreme low carb diets i.e. ketogenic diets are good for very quick very short-term fat loss. They aren't sustainable.

You are so ignorant it's not funny.

Why does it seem like most of your posts are angry and attacking?

mkbledsoe

I don't worry about the sugar in fruit. I don't like the added sugars. I started looking at sugar when I tried the Southbeach diet. I was amazed by the fact that everything seems to have added sugar or corn syrup. Try to find bread that doesn't have sugar in it. I pay $4-$5 per loaf for bread with no added sugar. Try to find salad dressing without sugar in it. Sugar has no nutritional value whatsoever and yet we are bombarded by sugar. I have stopped eating added sugar as much as possible. Now I don't crave it as bad and now fruits are so sweet to me. Once you start reading the labels and looking for added sugars, you will be amazed because you can't get away from it. If you aren't diabetic then you don't have to worry about fruits and complex carbohydrates so much. White table sugar and corn syrup are completely unnecessary, so why are companies putting it in everything? I got some fancy vanilla extract and when i looked at the ingredients, it had corn syrup added to it. WTH? Why? I just realized that bacon is generally cured with sugar. I love dried fruit and yet it usually has added sugar. I couldn't find any at Wal-mart without added sugar. Fruit doesn't need sugar added to it. Check out baby food, they add sugar to it. It is ridiculous.

hookilau

As I understand it, sugar (if you don't burn it off) is converted to fat faster than any other food. If you are active and eat a lot of sugar, your body will use that as fuel and not burn your fat.....and you will end up craving more sugar.

Not in a caloric deficit. You will still burn fat. Your body cannot burn nothing.

I understand that. The body will use up the sugar FIRST, then, when that's gone, go for the fat (unless you eat more sugar, which a lot of people do). But if you limit the sugar, the body will burn MORE fat.

That is way too simplistic a way of looking at it. The body doesn't say, "Oh crap, no glucose... guess I'll have to burn fat until that's gone." If there is no sugar for energy, you will burn fat but you will also burn muscle. It takes a 3500 calorie deficit to burn a pound of fat, but only about 600 calorie deficit to burn through a pound of muscle. Carbs are good for you unless you're diabetic. They provide you with energy. Extreme low carb diets i.e. ketogenic diets are good for very quick very short-term fat loss. They aren't sustainable.

You are so ignorant it's not funny. Your previous comment "sugar doesn't cause diabetes" couldn't be more wrong. Diabetes can be prevented; one does need to wait until they have it before they act. In fact, to do so is very illogical. Again, poor diet CAUSES type 2 diabetes and type 2 diabetes can absolutely be PREVENTED and TREATED with diet. All carbs are not all the same btw. Ketogenic lifestyles based on real food are both healthy and sustainable. It's true that people who just use keto for weight loss and don't commit permanently do not have permanent positive health results. duh.

Edit: I do not deny that some people can eat as much sugar as they want and don't have issues. However, anyone that is sick and obese is likely NOT one of those people.

From what I've read (& my personal experience) T2D cannot always be prevented because of the strong genetic component involved. If I remember correctly, the stats are something like 30% of people who are considered Insulin Impaired do not go on to develop T2D. This said, I don't think it's good enough odds to do nothing about it :laugh:

Bloodsugar101.com can help clear up some of these misunderstandings....click on the link that says 'the pattern in which diabetes develops'....

rachaelgifford

I am not afraid of refined sugars. Sadly people are afraid of me when I have been around refined sugars. I get mental hyper!

hookilau

I don't worry about the sugar in fruit. I don't like the added sugars. I started looking at sugar when I tried the Southbeach diet. I was amazed by the fact that everything seems to have added sugar or corn syrup. Try to find bread that doesn't have sugar in it. I pay $4-$5 per loaf for bread with no added sugar. Try to find salad dressing without sugar in it. Sugar has no nutritional value whatsoever and yet we are bombarded by sugar. I have stopped eating added sugar as much as possible. Now I don't crave it as bad and now fruits are so sweet to me. Once you start reading the labels and looking for added sugars, you will be amazed because you can't get away from it. If you aren't diabetic then you don't have to worry about fruits and complex carbohydrates so much. White table sugar and corn syrup are completely unnecessary, so why are companies putting it in everything? I got some fancy vanilla extract and when i looked at the ingredients, it had corn syrup added to it. WTH? Why? I just realized that bacon is generally cured with sugar. I love dried fruit and yet it usually has added sugar. I couldn't find any at Wal-mart without added sugar. Fruit doesn't need sugar added to it. Check out baby food, they add sugar to it. It is ridiculous.

yes :frown: as a T2D targeting tight control, I was just as shocked as you when I started testing and saw the effect certain foods had on my blood sugar. It's alarming.

You can get uncured bacon at Trader Joe's and instead of Vanilla extract, you could make your own using vodka & vanilla beans, or just use vanilla beans in recipes. You can make your own dried fruit with a dehydrator, but if you have blood sugar issues, this solution may not help much, everyone's different.

As far as baby food, one can also make their own. I did when my son was small but not because I knew about the additives, it was just something my parents did & it made sense to me. My grocery list has become less complicated though

Sadly, I haven't found a reasonable facsimile for bread :ohwell: or anything that asks for flour.

markink81

Oh to be young again...remember when I could get away with a crap diet and still make gains...Let me know how that works for you when your say about 50

49 here. A few months from 50. What do you think so far?

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Looking good ninerbuff...guess there is still hope for this old body...albeit, i haven't been working out for 30 years but I'm a work in progress and find I need to be spot on with my nutrition to see the results I want to see. Let's just say it's not as easy as it was when I was 25 and could eat what and when I wanted.

Acg67

I don't worry about the sugar in fruit. I don't like the added sugars. I started looking at sugar when I tried the Southbeach diet. I was amazed by the fact that everything seems to have added sugar or corn syrup. Try to find bread that doesn't have sugar in it. I pay $4-$5 per loaf for bread with no added sugar. Try to find salad dressing without sugar in it. Sugar has no nutritional value whatsoever and yet we are bombarded by sugar. I have stopped eating added sugar as much as possible. Now I don't crave it as bad and now fruits are so sweet to me. Once you start reading the labels and looking for added sugars, you will be amazed because you can't get away from it. If you aren't diabetic then you don't have to worry about fruits and complex carbohydrates so much. White table sugar and corn syrup are completely unnecessary, so why are companies putting it in everything? I got some fancy vanilla extract and when i looked at the ingredients, it had corn syrup added to it. WTH? Why? I just realized that bacon is generally cured with sugar. I love dried fruit and yet it usually has added sugar. I couldn't find any at Wal-mart without added sugar. Fruit doesn't need sugar added to it. Check out baby food, they add sugar to it. It is ridiculous.

"I don't worry about the sugar in fruit. I don't like the added sugars."

Right, cause they are so much different

Carnivor0us

Not afraid of any food. I just know what my body can and cannot handle.

ndj1979

Probably because sugar is one of the reasons many of us became overweight. For some ppl they can't just eat one cookie. A little sugar leads to a lot.

eating too much makes your overweight not consuming sugar...

ndj1979

Carbs are good for you unless you're diabetic. They provide you with energy. Extreme low carb diets i.e. ketogenic diets are good for very quick very short-term fat loss. They aren't sustainable.

I am not talking low carb. I know carbs are good for you. But I am talking about pure sugar...not potatoes or bread or other carbs. You DON'T need to ingest pure sugar to survive....that's why our bodies convert carbs to glucose. It may sound simplistic, but its true.

this exchange proves the point of OP's thread as to why people are afraid of sugar....

Acg67

The posts above are really a bit silly. Confusion. Sugars ain't sugars (like the oil advertisement) . What the research is about is added sugar in our diets and most of this either sucrose (cane sugar - a disaccharide of glucose+fructose) or fructose. The independent, non industry funded peer reviewed science says that fructose is strongly addictive, is implicated in a range of metabolic syndrome diseases. Cardiovascular, diabetes, chronic kidney, cancer, fatty liver and dementia. Demonstrated in animal studies. But this research will take years in people and often can't be done due to ethics.(One can't do trials on humans knowing it might cause harm!) So the evidence comes mostly from large reviews where researchers measure what people eat, measure stuff. So the research can be challenged!

Americans have over 15% of their average food as "added sugar." Fine to have 2 or 3 peices of added fruit per day. But a reasonable strategy is cut that added sugar out. Most importantly added fructose affects your appetite.

You might want to listen to this podcast on Australian ABC National Radio. The radiologist got type 1 diabetes & followed conventional carb based program. Looked for alternatives as he was concerned about long term issues.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/low-carbohydrate-diet-to-manage-diabetes/4880362

Happy to send the peer reviewed links of you want to message me.

Fruit contains both sucrose and fructose btw

michellekicks

As I understand it, sugar (if you don't burn it off) is converted to fat faster than any other food. If you are active and eat a lot of sugar, your body will use that as fuel and not burn your fat.....and you will end up craving more sugar.

Not in a caloric deficit. You will still burn fat. Your body cannot burn nothing.

I understand that. The body will use up the sugar FIRST, then, when that's gone, go for the fat (unless you eat more sugar, which a lot of people do). But if you limit the sugar, the body will burn MORE fat.

That is way too simplistic a way of looking at it. The body doesn't say, "Oh crap, no glucose... guess I'll have to burn fat until that's gone." If there is no sugar for energy, you will burn fat but you will also burn muscle. It takes a 3500 calorie deficit to burn a pound of fat, but only about 600 calorie deficit to burn through a pound of muscle. Carbs are good for you unless you're diabetic. They provide you with energy. Extreme low carb diets i.e. ketogenic diets are good for very quick very short-term fat loss. They aren't sustainable.

You are so ignorant it's not funny. Your previous comment "sugar doesn't cause diabetes" couldn't be more wrong. Diabetes can be prevented; one does need to wait until they have it before they act. In fact, to do so is very illogical. Again, poor diet CAUSES type 2 diabetes and type 2 diabetes can absolutely be PREVENTED and TREATED with diet. All carbs are not all the same btw. Ketogenic lifestyles based on real food are both healthy and sustainable. It's true that people who just use keto for weight loss and don't commit permanently do not have permanent positive health results. duh.

Edit: I do not deny that some people can eat as much sugar as they want and don't have issues. However, anyone that is sick and obese is likely NOT one of those people.

"You are so ignorant it's not funny." :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Because you say so? No.


Treating Diabetes with diet changes is just controlling your blood sugar. It's definitely good practice, but in the absence of diabetes, one's pancreas does that job for us. I was able to control my blood sugar when I had Gestational Diabetes by carefully timing carb intake (yes, even still fruit, ice-cream and cheesecake) with protein, fiber and fats - along with exercise - to keep my blood sugar exactly the same as a healthy individual. That doesn't mean the diabetes wasn't there any longer. It just meant I controlled my blood sugar with diet and didn't need medication. Not a cure; a treatment. Now that I am back to normal (Yes, my diabetes only presents itself during pregnancy), my pancreas is doing the work of controlling my blood sugar no matter what I eat.

I eat a lot of carbs. I am an endurance athlete. In fact, as I'm gearing up for a race in a couple of weeks, I'll be eating 450-500g of carbs per day. If they were all complex I'd be in dire pain from fiber overload. I will be eating bagels with jam, white pasta, white rice and lots of fruit.

This thread is not all about people who are sick and obese. Not everyone who uses MFP is sick and obese. Not sure where that idea came from... maybe I'm missing something.

EDIT TO CLARIFY: I know I listed mostly complex carbs. In addition to jam on my toast I'll be eating energy chews etc. It's not all of my diet, but does comprise some.

ndj1979

I don't worry about the sugar in fruit. I don't like the added sugars. I started looking at sugar when I tried the Southbeach diet. I was amazed by the fact that everything seems to have added sugar or corn syrup. Try to find bread that doesn't have sugar in it. I pay $4-$5 per loaf for bread with no added sugar. Try to find salad dressing without sugar in it. Sugar has no nutritional value whatsoever and yet we are bombarded by sugar. I have stopped eating added sugar as much as possible. Now I don't crave it as bad and now fruits are so sweet to me. Once you start reading the labels and looking for added sugars, you will be amazed because you can't get away from it. If you aren't diabetic then you don't have to worry about fruits and complex carbohydrates so much. White table sugar and corn syrup are completely unnecessary, so why are companies putting it in everything? I got some fancy vanilla extract and when i looked at the ingredients, it had corn syrup added to it. WTH? Why? I just realized that bacon is generally cured with sugar. I love dried fruit and yet it usually has added sugar. I couldn't find any at Wal-mart without added sugar. Fruit doesn't need sugar added to it. Check out baby food, they add sugar to it. It is ridiculous.

"I don't worry about the sugar in fruit. I don't like the added sugars."

Right, cause they are so much different

everyone knows the added sugars make your body fat increase by 5% minimum....while fruit sugar, on the other hand, decrease body fat and makes your gain muscle while eating in a deficit..

Adrianachiarato

Here are my reasons: http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/sugar-problem/refined-sugar-the-sweetest-poison-of-all

ndj1979

Just like there is "good" fat and "bad" fat there is good sugar and bad sugar. Its pretty obvious as to which is which. 1 in 3 Americans are at risk for type 2 diabetes. Its threads like this one that make me realize why. Dont ever feel bad about slipping up and eating sugar but dont make it a daily habit either, MFP makes you watch what you are eating so you have a more realistic idea of what your putting in your mouth. Yesterday I was at the check out counter and saw the candy bars they put right there in your face and I kept staring at it yearning for the pack of reeses so finally i picked it up and read the sugar content and it was OVER my entire days alotted sugar. If that wasnt enough motivation to put down the candy bar I dont know what is lol. Sugar is bad for you, thats just it, there is a reason vegetable intake is higher than fruit.

LOL at bad sugar....I would like an explanation how your body distinguishes between these good and bad sugars...

etoiles_argentees

Why would anyone be scared of sugar? Or fat intake? Or Msg? Or any food? Fear of food is what scares me. Unless you have a medical problem where you can't eat certain things, food should be enjoyed.

* a culture of fear is probably more harmful.

hookilau

Why would anyone be scared of sugar? Or fat intake? Or Msg? Or any food? Fear of food is what scares me. Unless you have a medical problem where you can't eat certain things, food should be enjoyed.
[/quote

Amen :drinker: :drinker:

ndj1979

I believe it is definately a misconception. It's not the sugar that made/makes us fat, it's the amount of which we take it in. If I ask someone for some kind of advice they say well if you cut this and that then you will lose. Umm nope, well maybe for a bit, but in my case before I started figuring this stuff out a little better I tried it all, and didn't get anywhere long term. I no longer cut anything from my diet, if it fits in my calories and my macros and I want it. I'll have it, and may have it the next day too. Maybe that's just me, but it's working and I'm still losing and a healthy rate.

Try that with finetti every day and you will never loose weight again. The human body does not burn fat between 48-72 hours after eating something in high sugars.

Links? Sources? Proof?

Who needs proof when you have wild claims based on bull****?

Honestly, I always hope they have some kind of blog/article/livestrong.com write up to back them up so I can read it and laugh. Does that make me a bad person?

Some people like comedy movies, people like you factless articles.
Not bad.

I like the way you put this. I always think of it as laughing at other people's gullibility and guilt follows. But you make it sound more like it's just my way of amusing myself, which isn't something to feel guilty about.


And, that said, still waiting for sources on how having high sugar days will stop me from losing weight for 3 days. Cause I may havea graph based on my diary data that shows my stupidly high sugar levels seem to have a slight positive correlation with my weight loss. Don't leave me hanging Flo.

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/balance-your-blood-sugar-lose-weight

bahahahahahhahaha..dr oz as a source...oh damn I am tearing up over here I am laughing so hard....oh damn..breath....