About the sugar thing......

jenX1174

Okay....I keep hearing sugar is sugar whether it's straight table sugar, pasta, or fruit -- your body treats it the same. That's all well and fine, but I think there is a big difference between eating a Kit Kat and an apple!!!

prencesskl

I think the difference is in the calories, and fat, not the sugar

NoAdditives

There is a big difference between the various types of sugar. Mostly, it's about how quickly the body can metabolize it. High fructose corn syrup is easily broken down and easily converted into fat. Refined cane sugar is wrapped in a protein that makes it more difficult to break down, but it still happens quickly and gets converted to fat. Natural sugars from milk, fruits and vegetables is different. It's harder to break down and is used in a different way. Since it's completely natural it's better for your body and isn't stored as fat as easily. It doesn't cause the high spikes in blood sugar levels and it's better for giving your body energy.

As far as tracking my sugar goes, I don't worry about natural sugars, I only count refined (added) sugars.

TrainingWithTonya

You're right. There are differences. Added sugars, like table sugar and HFCS and candy bars, are part glucose and part fructose. The body only uses glucose for fuel, so the fructose is the only thing that has to be converted in the body. The glucose portion of those things can go straight to the blood stream. The sugar from fruits and vegetables on the other hand are 100% fructose, so the sugar in them has to be converted in the body to glucose before it can be utilized. Therefore, even though fruits and vegetables are basically all sugar, fiber, and starch, they take longer to elevate the blood sugar then added sugars. It's not a whole lot longer time because fructose doesn't require much to convert, but there is that extra time in there. Thats why the RDA is specific to Added Sugar and not total sugar. Fruits and veggies are actually recommended in high doses compared to most other foods because you also get lots of vitamins, minerals, and fiber from them that you can't get from a candy bar.

Nigel99

Thanks for the information from the last couple of posts. I've been trying to watch my sugar, but kind of resigned myself that I was always going to be over (I've been eating plenty of fruit). In the scheme of things, the amount of sugar I consume daily now compared to what I was taking in a month ago is a huge difference (just from the soda alone).

jessieinblue

Fruits and veggies are actually recommended in high doses compared to most other foods because you also get lots of vitamins, minerals, and fiber from them that you can't get from a candy bar.

I think this is a really important point. An apple comes packed with fiber and nutrients that work together with the sugars to result in a healthy food. Nature knows what she's doing.

zianiH

Anybody here know whats the different between brown sugar and white sugar?

TrainingWithTonya

Anybody here know whats the different between brown sugar and white sugar?

Molasses. Some of it is less refined so the molasses stays in the product. Other brown sugars are fully refined white sugar with molasses added back in to make it easier to work with.

youlighter

I Hope this helps!

http://www.naturalnews.com/022692.html

This is a well written article from the Health Ranger at Natural News.com. Some of his topics seem to be a reach but his research is always sourced and very thorough.

New to MFP,
Justin Johnson Personal Wellness Coach - Michigan

Teemo

No difference in the sugar itself.

The differences are (1) what you get in addition to the sugar, i.e., vitamins, fiber, etc. with fruit; nothing with a kit-kat, and (2) what you're eating along with the sugar which may affect the rate at which the sugars are metabolized. That's why soda is bad and fruit juice is better and fruits are best.