carbohydrates/sugar

rosiekin
rosiekin Posts: 80 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi, I am relatively new to MFP and I'm totally confused about the goals at the bottom of the food record page. Initially I was shocked I was always double or more over my sugar goal despite eating very little foods with added sugar. Now I've worked out that about 90% of my sugar was from fruit. Now today I have noticed that when I ate an apple it registered as 22g of carbohydrates AND 22g of sugar so I am now more confused than ever. I understand enough to know that sugar is carbohydrates but I don't understand why it is registered twice on the goal record.

Could anyone help explain this to me and also is it possible to set your own nutrition goals or do you have to go with the ones set for you by MFP?

Thanks.

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Carbohydrates, Protein, and Fat are macronutrients. Sugar is a micro-nutrient and just a subset of carbohydrates...not all carbohydrates are sugar. Personally, I don't track sugar...I manage my macros, I do not micromanage my micros.

    MFP's sugar recommendation is based on the WHO's recommendation for ADDED/REFINED sugar due to the propensity of people to consume multiple 40 Oz Big Gulps daily. To my knowledge there is no formal recommendation for total sugar. Really, if you don't have a medical condition which warrants worrying about sugar and/or aren't consuming mass quantities of sugar and are otherwise eating a well balanced and nutritious diet, I wouldn't worry about it.

    And yes, just go to settings and you can choose what macros and micros, etc that you want to monitor.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1181259-so-what-s-with-this-sugar-then-revised-faq-jan-2014

    "2. Where does the target come from ?

    It was revised following the recommendations to increase fruit and vegetable intake in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, and using an average of the sugar found of sample menus provided by the USDA. "
  • rosiekin
    rosiekin Posts: 80 Member
    Thanks very much for the replies. I know I am eating very healthily so I will just continue with what I have been doing. However I think I will switch off the sugar goal in my settings as it is putting me off eating fruit!

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