Sugar Intake

bol1989

I know sugar is bad. But is natural sugar just as bad as candy and cookies? I have been going over my sugar intake recommendation because I have been eating a lot of fruits. Should I cut back on the fruits to help decrease the sugar intake or are the sugars in fruit good sugars??

jeridith

Sugar in fruit is chemically identical to sugar in cookies. The difference is sugar in fruit is combined with fibre, vitamins and other nutrients your body needs. Sugar in cookies and other such is usually combined with additional highly refined items such as white flour, and has little to no nutritional value. Hence its being called empty calories. If you are staying within your calorie requirements, I wouldn't worry about eating fruit. My .02 worth.

wheird

Sugar is not bad.

kenkl

Yep. Sugar (all forms) is bad. Turns out, we (humans) can digest it, but we're not properly adapted to it after 2 million years of evolution. So, ingesting sugar lights up the same reward pathways in the brain as cocaine. It's addictive, destructive, and offers little/no nutritional value.

Eating an apple (or an orange, grapes, whatevs) once in a while probably isn't a big deal. As jeridith points out, fruits do have some nutritional value. But an apple a day? It won't keep the doctor away at all.

jonnythan

Yep. Sugar (all forms) is bad. Turns out, we (humans) can digest it, but we're not properly adapted to it after 2 million years of evolution. So, ingesting sugar lights up the same reward pathways in the brain as cocaine. It's addictive, destructive, and offers little/no nutritional value.

Eating an apple (or an orange, grapes, whatevs) once in a while probably isn't a big deal. As jeridith points out, fruits do have some nutritional value. But an apple a day? It won't keep the doctor away at all.

This is, presumably, satire.

tigersword

Sugar is not bad.

/thread

alexandriax03

ADDED sugar is bad, aka table sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup. These sugars have a negative metabolic effect. Because of this, many people now believe that fruits are bad because fruit contains fructose. However, it's almost impossible to consume enough fructose from fruits to cause harm.

Fruits are nutritious (lots of vitamins and minerals) and filled with fiber. Because of this, most fruits take a while to eat and digest. Therefore, the fructose hits the liver slowly.

Fruits are filling. Things like candy bars, soda, cake, cookies, etc. are not filling (they are not nutrient dense) and they are harmful because they hit the liver fast and in large amounts. This causes a crazy insulin spike and then a crash… which ultimately makes you even more hungry.

Whether it's a piece of fruit or a piece of cake, sugar is made up of the same components: fructose and glucose. The molecular structure is the same. However, the way the body processes a piece of fruit and a piece of cake is entirely different.

Fructose is broken down in the liver and doesn't provoke an insulin response. Glucose starts to break down in the stomach and therefore requires the release of insulin into the bloodstream to be metabolized completely.

Most Americans don't eat nearly enough fruit. So don't cut it out of your diet in attempt to lower your sugar intake.

PikaKnight

Sugar is not bad.

/thread

^QFT

wheird

ADDED sugar is bad, aka table sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup. These sugars have a negative metabolic effect. Because of this, many people now believe that fruits are bad because fruit contains fructose. However, it's almost impossible to consume enough fructose from fruits to cause harm.

Fruits are nutritious (lots of vitamins and minerals) and filled with fiber. Because of this, most fruits take a while to eat and digest. Therefore, the fructose hits the liver slowly.

Fruits are filling. Things like candy bars, soda, cake, cookies, etc. are not filling (they are not nutrient dense) and they are harmful because they hit the liver fast and in large amounts. This causes a crazy insulin spike and then a crash… which ultimately makes you even more hungry.

Whether it's a piece of fruit or a piece of cake, sugar is made up of the same components: fructose and glucose. The molecular structure is the same. However, the way the body processes a piece of fruit and a piece of cake is entirely different.

Fructose is broken down in the liver and doesn't provoke an insulin response. Glucose starts to break down in the stomach and therefore requires the release of insulin into the bloodstream to be metabolized completely.

Most Americans don't eat nearly enough fruit. So don't cut it out of your diet in attempt to lower your sugar intake.

Added sugar is not bad.

twixlepennie

I know sugar is bad. But is natural sugar just as bad as candy and cookies? I have been going over my sugar intake recommendation because I have been eating a lot of fruits. Should I cut back on the fruits to help decrease the sugar intake or are the sugars in fruit good sugars??

Unless you have a medical condition, sugar is NOT bad for you.

Eat the foods you enjoy, measure out portion sizes, stick within your daily calorie allotment and you'll succeed

bol1989

Lol some people saying its good, some saying its bad

Andy_Chow

Two words: Nutrient density.

If you eat sugar, you get macro-nutrition without micro-nutrients. Fruits at least have vitamins and minerals that go with them. You should avoid fruit juices (a glass of pineapple juice has more calories and sugar than an entire pineapple, that sugar is absorbed more quickly because of the lack of fiber).

Not all fruits are created equal. Check ANDI scores. For example strawberries are better than oranges which are better than mangos which are better then grapes.

If you stay within your macro goals for the day (x grams of carbs, y grams of fat, z grams of protein) you'll be fine. But know that eating fruits are way better than eating candy, even though if you eat the same amount of calories of one or the other your weight will change the same, it's just your health won't be the same long term.

prattiger65

Sugar is not bad. Added sugar is not bad. In fact, it's quite tasty and I enjoy it. However, I have no underlying medical conditions that would make me sick if I consume sugar. Most people cannot cut sugar from their diet and have long term success. That is why you will find that if you demonize almost any food on these boards you will meet resistance.

tigersword

ADDED sugar is bad, aka table sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup. These sugars have a negative metabolic effect. Because of this, many people now believe that fruits are bad because fruit contains fructose. However, it's almost impossible to consume enough fructose from fruits to cause harm.

Fruits are nutritious (lots of vitamins and minerals) and filled with fiber. Because of this, most fruits take a while to eat and digest. Therefore, the fructose hits the liver slowly.

Fruits are filling. Things like candy bars, soda, cake, cookies, etc. are not filling (they are not nutrient dense) and they are harmful because they hit the liver fast and in large amounts. This causes a crazy insulin spike and then a crash… which ultimately makes you even more hungry.

Whether it's a piece of fruit or a piece of cake, sugar is made up of the same components: fructose and glucose. The molecular structure is the same. However, the way the body processes a piece of fruit and a piece of cake is entirely different.

Fructose is broken down in the liver and doesn't provoke an insulin response. Glucose starts to break down in the stomach and therefore requires the release of insulin into the bloodstream to be metabolized completely.

Most Americans don't eat nearly enough fruit. So don't cut it out of your diet in attempt to lower your sugar intake.

The last sentence is fine, the rest of this post is 100% nonsense. Fructose DOES cause an insulin response. Your liver has nothing to do with insulin. Fat and protein (both of which are found in cakes and candy bars) slow digestion as much, if not more than fiber and both increase satiety more than fiber. Sucrose does not have a "negative metabolic effect," (not even sure what that's supposed to mean) the human body actually has an enzyme (sucrase) that's specific job is to break down sucrose.

jenns25

Too much of anything causes harm or has a bad effect to our health. So just take it in moderation.

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http://femalefatloss.net

ElliottTN

Sugar is not bad. In very active people added sugar can be your best friend for it's ability to rapidly fuel you. It just gets a bad wrap because there is an overwhelming amount of high sugar consumer products that are not nutritionally balanced which ends up in a what people refer to empty calories. Combine that with a relatively sedentary populace and you have news outlets throwing out articles about how evil it is....a.k.a It is not your fault you are a land whale, it's SUGAR and its EVERYWHERE...OMG pandemic what will we ever do?

tigersword

Exactly. Sugar isn't bad. Eating 5000 calories of sugar while sitting on your *kitten* in front of the tv or computer screen is bad. For that matter, so is eating 5000 calories of protein or fat while sitting on your *kitten* in front of the tv or computer.

The health problems in this country have far less to do with the food we eat, and far more to do with the fact that as a country, we are sedentary and lazy.