Why is sugar the devil?

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  • LeonCX
    LeonCX Posts: 862 Member
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    ....
  • CallMeRuPaul
    CallMeRuPaul Posts: 151 Member
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    when did sugar become the devil? I thought pork was the devil?
  • FitForL1fe
    FitForL1fe Posts: 1,872 Member
    edited October 2014
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    :laugh:
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
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    Shhhh, don't tell anyone....PEOPLE are the devil; sugar is just a scapegoat.
  • hearthwood
    hearthwood Posts: 794 Member
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    Sugar isn't evil it's in about everything. The problem with sugar, is that while we need some sugar--too much makes you hungrier and then you eat more of it. It's addicting to some, and it makes them obese.

    Sweeteners are the way to go. You get used to them very quickly, and they are ZERO calorie. You're still going to get some sugar in the foods you eat, but it's not going to be the thousands people consume in a month from drinking Pepsi's, Coca Cola's, and other sweet foods.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Sugar isn't evil it's in about everything. The problem with sugar, is that while we need some sugar--too much makes you hungrier and then you eat more of it. It's addicting to some, and it makes them obese.

    Sweeteners are the way to go. You get used to them very quickly, and they are ZERO calorie. You're still going to get some sugar in the foods you eat, but it's not going to be the thousands people consume in a month from drinking Pepsi's, Coca Cola's, and other sweet foods.
    Sweeteners as in aspartame? So that would be better in "everything"?
    hmm. I disagree.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    just remember….added sugar = bad; natural sugar = good…so that sugar that you add to your coffee = satan …sugar from fruit = heavenly….
  • judiness101
    judiness101 Posts: 119 Member
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    Wow that's quite a heated topic! I'm personally a low carber (below 50g a day) and for myself I find that limiting sugar really speeds up the weight loss and reduces the hunger.

    Studies also show that low carbers tend to conserve more lean mass than low fat dieters. If you are not working out, than maybe limiting sugar and carbs is a good idea.

    That been said, a lot of people are really healthy while consuming most of their calories from carbohydrates. If you are not insulin resistant and your hormones are working properly it shouldn't be an issue.

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    VelveteenArabian wrote: »
    Why is sugar the devil?

    Because it was in the apple used to tempt Adam and Eve.

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    judiness101 wrote: »
    Wow that's quite a heated topic! I'm personally a low carber (below 50g a day) and for myself I find that limiting sugar really speeds up the weight loss and reduces the hunger.

    Studies also show that low carbers tend to conserve more lean mass than low fat dieters. If you are not working out, than maybe limiting sugar and carbs is a good idea.

    That been said, a lot of people are really healthy while consuming most of their calories from carbohydrates. If you are not insulin resistant and your hormones are working properly it shouldn't be an issue.

    limiting sugar and "speeding up" the weight loss have no relation ..eat in a deficit and eat sugar and you will still lose weight..

    i would be curious to read said studies...
  • bandit8it
    bandit8it Posts: 3 Member
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    If you want to understand why sugar is problematic, watch the documentary FED UP. The safe threshold for sugar is 5 tsp per day. Moat people get more than that in their morning cereal. Sugar puts the liver and pancreas into overload, forcing them to convert the excess sugar into, you guessed it, FAT. The documentary explains the mechanism much better than I can. Leslie (above) also explained some of the process.
    There are also market forces which contribute to WHY we are not given this information (USDA is paid to promote us agriculture, such as dairy, corn (ie high fructose corn syrup), beet sugar, and simple grains). This is a direct conflict of interest with their role as nutrition consultants to the American Dietetics Assn. Lobbyists heavily fund nutrition research, creating a conflict of interest. Do you begin to see the problem? I work in this field...there is lots that is problematic. DO you know the daily USDA recommendation for sugar in your diet? 25% of calories. Doesn't that seem a bit off? Sugar provides NO nutritional value, and wreaks havoc on everything from your teeth to your blood glucose, yet it is a recommendation for 25% of your daily calories? Be a smart consumer. Educate yourself. Watch Fed UP. Watch Forks over Knives. Read Dr. Furman, Eat to Live. Sugar from time to time, even in excess, is fine, but most Americans daily consumption is far in excess of a safe level.
  • lolabluola
    lolabluola Posts: 212 Member
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    It's fine probably for most people that can control themselves around it - totally wasn't me - so to lose weight i just avoided it as much as possible and tried to get as much veggies and stuff in place sugar and breads - now that i did that for about two years and lost weight and run and work out - I've learned some control my insane sugar love and can for the most part moderate my intake :) I'm not even exaggerating, i would crave sugar and bread it was bad. :blush: probably not the most nutritious thing :smiley:
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
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    bandit8it wrote: »
    If you want to understand why sugar is problematic, watch the documentary FED UP. The safe threshold for sugar is 5 tsp per day. Moat people get more than that in their morning cereal. Sugar puts the liver and pancreas into overload, forcing them to convert the excess sugar into, you guessed it, FAT. The documentary explains the mechanism much better than I can. Leslie (above) also explained some of the process.
    There are also market forces which contribute to WHY we are not given this information (USDA is paid to promote us agriculture, such as dairy, corn (ie high fructose corn syrup), beet sugar, and simple grains). This is a direct conflict of interest with their role as nutrition consultants to the American Dietetics Assn. Lobbyists heavily fund nutrition research, creating a conflict of interest. Do you begin to see the problem? I work in this field...there is lots that is problematic. DO you know the daily USDA recommendation for sugar in your diet? 25% of calories. Doesn't that seem a bit off? Sugar provides NO nutritional value, and wreaks havoc on everything from your teeth to your blood glucose, yet it is a recommendation for 25% of your daily calories? Be a smart consumer. Educate yourself. Watch Fed UP. Watch Forks over Knives. Read Dr. Furman, Eat to Live. Sugar from time to time, even in excess, is fine, but most Americans daily consumption is far in excess of a safe level.
    Sensationalist documentaries and conspiracy theories oh my!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    bandit8it wrote: »
    If you want to understand why sugar is problematic, watch the documentary FED UP. The safe threshold for sugar is 5 tsp per day. Moat people get more than that in their morning cereal. Sugar puts the liver and pancreas into overload, forcing them to convert the excess sugar into, you guessed it, FAT.

    Damn it! My scale has been lying to me. "THEY" got to my scale and made it hide over 93 pounds of sugar converted into fat. (P.S: I'm over my sugar allowance almost every single day)
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    steve098 wrote: »
    However, one can also make the case the sugar is preferentially used because high levels of glucose in the blood is very bad.

    That's a stretch...

  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    bandit8it wrote: »
    Sugar puts the liver and pancreas into overload, forcing them to convert the excess sugar into, you guessed it, FAT.

    Not in a state of negative energy balance.

    You may temporarily store the excess (of any nutrient) as fat to be burned later for fuel, but that is what a healthy body normally does anyway.
  • Runcakes
    Runcakes Posts: 92 Member
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    Excess sugar that is not used by the body is converted into fat. However, this does not mean that we should avoid eating carbs all together...they are an important source of energy for the body. We just need to be careful about what kind of sugars we are consuming, as many processed foods have hidden added sugars that can quickly add up.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    bandit8it wrote: »
    If you want to understand why sugar is problematic, watch the documentary FED UP. The safe threshold for sugar is 5 tsp per day. Moat people get more than that in their morning cereal. Sugar puts the liver and pancreas into overload, forcing them to convert the excess sugar into, you guessed it, FAT. The documentary explains the mechanism much better than I can. Leslie (above) also explained some of the process.

    Educate yourself. Watch Fed UP. Watch Forks over Knives. Read Dr. Furman, Eat to Live. Sugar from time to time, even in excess, is fine, but most Americans daily consumption is far in excess of a safe level.

    First I feel like you should take your own advice, secondly- you're first step would be to stop watching ridiculous "documentaries" that are designed to get you all worked up.
    - seriously- it's to much and quiet a bit of fear mongering.

    so much wrong. just stop.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    bandit8it wrote: »
    If you want to understand why sugar is problematic, watch the documentary FED UP. The safe threshold for sugar is 5 tsp per day. Moat people get more than that in their morning cereal. Sugar puts the liver and pancreas into overload, forcing them to convert the excess sugar into, you guessed it, FAT. The documentary explains the mechanism much better than I can. Leslie (above) also explained some of the process.
    There are also market forces which contribute to WHY we are not given this information (USDA is paid to promote us agriculture, such as dairy, corn (ie high fructose corn syrup), beet sugar, and simple grains). This is a direct conflict of interest with their role as nutrition consultants to the American Dietetics Assn. Lobbyists heavily fund nutrition research, creating a conflict of interest. Do you begin to see the problem? I work in this field...there is lots that is problematic. DO you know the daily USDA recommendation for sugar in your diet? 25% of calories. Doesn't that seem a bit off? Sugar provides NO nutritional value, and wreaks havoc on everything from your teeth to your blood glucose, yet it is a recommendation for 25% of your daily calories? Be a smart consumer. Educate yourself. Watch Fed UP. Watch Forks over Knives. Read Dr. Furman, Eat to Live. Sugar from time to time, even in excess, is fine, but most Americans daily consumption is far in excess of a safe level.

    It's sad if you buy into documentaries as if they were certain truth and not potentially sensationalist and always opinion pieces.

    I say people should just focus on whether they are eating a healthy balanced diet appropriate for their goals. If your sugar consumption is interfering with that, eat less sugar.

    As for the 25 percent of calories, the recommendation is for no more than, not that you must get that much, obviously, and I would strongly disagree that it's nutritionally vacant. A high percentage of my sugar (including pretty much all my normal breakfast sugar) is from fruit, dairy, and veggies, all which I think are nutritionally dense and important to my diet. That this anti sugar nonsense is scaring people about fruit (see another current threat) is one of many annoying things about it.

    If you read the reasons for the sugar limits, apart from people with health issues, it's because of the concern that people won't eat a balanced diet or will eat too much. If you watch your diet and count calories, you aren't who it applies to, really.

    And anyone who thinks they are getting lots of hidden sugar is probably buying lots of stuff they'd do better making for themselves, but at least I admit that's just my snobby taste-driven opinion and not really relevant to taste or weight loss. It's just ridiculous to hear all these claims about what "we" do or sugar being in everything when no, it's not.

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