sugar

MelanieP_TX

I recently started tracking my sugar intake. Does anyone know what the true daily value recommendation is? I keep getting tons of different answers via the internet.. I think the MFP recommendation on here is very low or I am doing something wrong.. The only sugar I eat aside from natural sugars occurring in fruit etc.. is in my coffee in the morning (2 tsp) and I go over everyday by lunch!!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Amarillo_NDN

found this is if you are interested.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/publicsite/news/view.aspx?id=638213

Mindful_Trent

You'll get a million different opinions on this... My take is that natural sugars in fruit are packaged with lots of good fiber, vitamins, minerals, water, antioxidants and other healthy "stuff". Added sugars have all the good stuff stripped out and are essentially empty calories that don't do you any good. If you're getting almost all your sugar from fruits/veggies, I wouldn't worry about going over - MFP's limit is pretty low considering I go over it with 2 servings of fruit a day and no processed food. If you're diabetic or have special medical concerns, then you may have to be careful with the fruit too, but if not, I wouldn't worry. My general sugar rules:

-Avoid processed foods/processed sugars as much as possible
-eat reasonable portions of fruit/milk daily (for me, this is 2 servings of fruit, 1 to 2 servings of dairy)
-Learn to eat foods (& drinks) without having to add sugar. If you do need added sugar, use natural sweetener - honey, pure maple syrup, agave nectar or stevia.

doris_day

I've tried to eliminate sugar because it's so addictive for me. But when I started the food log - I'm going over my sugar intake just from all the fruit I eat and Milk. Why is there sugar in milk? Sugar in whole wheat bread - it's ridiculous.
I look at all the ingredients to see if it has the high fructose corn syrup and I'm still going over the sugar for the day.
Frustrating.

fit2sit

Agreed that the internet will have tons of varying views (e.g. no sugar period, sugar as long as it's natural, etc.). Sugar is very hard to avoid, period. It is in a TON of stuff. I ate a bunch of broccoli and that had 10 grams of sugar, raw! So yesterday I only ate 1/2 a bunch so I didn't go over my sugar for the day, which I think I set at 40 grams.

I think if you want to eat fruits for the natural sugars, I would suggest berries of all sorts, they seem to have the least amount of natural sugars lurking inside them. It seems the more "tropical" you go down the fruit line the higher in sugar they go, oranges and bananas seem to have more than apples or melons, which have more than berries.

carajo

Thats SOOOO funny i almost posted the exact same thing earlier!! From what most people are saying i am just going to keep doing what i have been..eating fruit in my smoothies and an apple or two thoughout the day...one lady wrote about the difference in how natural sugar is used apposed to high fructose corn syrup...big difference, and if you eat the fruit with a protein it absorbs even slower, so your insulin does not spike...alot of people said they don't bother tracking the sugar too...

Mindful_Trent

I've tried to eliminate sugar because it's so addictive for me. But when I started the food log - I'm going over my sugar intake just from all the fruit I eat and Milk. Why is there sugar in milk? Sugar in whole wheat bread - it's ridiculous.
I look at all the ingredients to see if it has the high fructose corn syrup and I'm still going over the sugar for the day.
Frustrating.

FYI - milk has natural sugar in it - that is what the Lactose is, and many people have trouble breaking this sugar down (which is where lactose intolerance problems arise). Basic dairy products (milk, cheese) shouldn't have any added sugars. Be careful of the yogurts and other dairy products that do have added sugars - you really have to read diary labels carefully so that you know what you're getting, since you can't otherwise know if the sugar content is natural or added.