If Sugar's are bad..

KBrenOH

Then why are Fruit sugar's ok? I've heard from various people to not worry about the sugar I take in from fruit, but I have to say when I see that number go to the red, whether it's from fruit or otherwise, I freak out. And when I only have a 24 points to spend in sugar to begin with, it makes it difficult.

So why are fruit sugar's ok?

garysgirl719

My personal belief is that the concept of fruit sugar being ok is not valid. Sugar is sugar. While yes, it may be "less bad" than added processed sugar, it still registers in your body.

KBrenOH

My personal belief is that the concept of fruit sugar being ok is not valid. Sugar is sugar. While yes, it may be "less bad" than added processed sugar, it still registers in your body.

Then how do you work around the sugar's that are in every day foods, and still get your fruit intake?

kmjudge

The sugars in fruit fall under the catagory of complex carbohydrates. They actually have a lot of fiber and less sugar, the difference is how your body uses it the energy.

Carbohydrate sources that are slowly digested are less likely to be stored as fat because the body can use them as fuel over a long period of time. Carbohydrate sources that are rapidly digested are more likely to be stored as fat because they provide a lot of fuel at once, and the body stores what it doesn’t use.

Fruit falls under the category of carbs that digest slowly, so you're body only uses what it needs instead of storing it as fat.

Not all carbs are equal.

KBrenOH

The sugars in fruit fall under the catagory of complex carbohydrates. They actually have a lot of fiber and less sugar, the difference is how your body uses it the energy.

Carbohydrate sources that are slowly digested are less likely to be stored as fat because the body can use them as fuel over a long period of time. Carbohydrate sources that are rapidly digested are more likely to be stored as fat because they provide a lot of fuel at once, and the body stores what it doesn’t use.

Fruit falls under the category of carbs that digest slowly, so you're body only uses what it needs instead of storing it as fat.

Not all carbs are equal.

So would I not want to eat Fruit at night then?

LoveMy3Boys

I cannot deal with this "sugar" thing. I thought they were carbs... then I looked and saw a separate section for them. I am having a hard enough time controlling calories, fat and sodium. I cannot, until I get these under control also focus on sugars, which I don't full understand.

I am no help LOL... That was a personal rant.

KBrenOH

LM3B: I know what you mean. It's hard enough to try and eat healthy in general when you have a family that really isn't 100% behind you (on what can be bought and eaten), but then you add in trying to keep this at one level, that at another, all while trying to eat back those calories (depending on who you talk to). My sodium and sugar are my biggest challenges and it's very frustrating; especially for someone like me who really isn't all that food smart. Thank goodness for these boards is all I got to say. I've learned quite a bit since joining the site.

kmjudge

I would say fruit is great as a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack, that will give your body time to burn those carbs, plus because it's fibrous it will make you feel more full until dinner time.

KBrenOH

Thank you KMJudge

kmjudge

Glad to be of service!! Keep up the great work!

Mindful_Trent

The sugars in fruit fall under the catagory of complex carbohydrates. They actually have a lot of fiber and less sugar, the difference is how your body uses it the energy.

Carbohydrate sources that are slowly digested are less likely to be stored as fat because the body can use them as fuel over a long period of time. Carbohydrate sources that are rapidly digested are more likely to be stored as fat because they provide a lot of fuel at once, and the body stores what it doesn’t use.

Fruit falls under the category of carbs that digest slowly, so you're body only uses what it needs instead of storing it as fat.

Not all carbs are equal.

Err - actually fruit sugars are typically considered simple sugars/carbs, NOT complex. The fiber in fruit is a complex carb, but the fruit sugar itself is a simple carb.

From http://www.wellnessletter.com/html/fw/fwNut03Carbs.html (a source that comes from UC Berley in California)

• Simple carbohydrates are sugars—glucose and fructose from fruits and some vegetables, lactose from milk, sucrose from cane or beet sugar, and others. Table sugar is pure sucrose. Much of the simple carbs we eat are sugars added to processed foods such as sodas, cookies, etc. These added sugars are the main reason why sugar now accounts for 16% of all calories consumed by Americans; 20 years ago, it supplied 11%. Soda alone supplies about one-third of this added sugar.

• Complex carbohydrates, which are chains of simple sugars, consist primarily of starches as well as the fiber that occurs in all plant foods. Starch is the storage form of carbohydrates in plants. Foods rich in complex carbs include grains and grain products (such as bread and pasta), beans, potatoes, corn, and some other vegetables.

Here's another source: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09301.html
Sugars (saccharides) are widespread in nature and are the building blocks of carbohydrates - monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. The monosaccharides, glucose, fructose, and galactose are composed of just one sugar molecule, and are known as the “simple sugars.”

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09362.html
Complex carbohydrates come from foods such as spaghetti, potatoes, lasagna, cereals and other grain products. Simple carbohydrates are found in fruits, milk, honey and sugar. During digestion, the body breaks down carbohydrates to glucose and stores it in the muscles as glycogen.

zornig

But not all fruits are equal either. Apples are high in sugar, but they don't cause an insulin spike; bananas are also high in sugar, and *do* cause an insulin spike. Honestly, if you're watching your sugar intake, you should eat very limited amount of fruits. And the fruits that you do eat should be low glycemic index fruits, like apples and berries, with an occasional piece of citrus. Avoid mango, pineapple, banana, peaches, all of which are much higher on the glycemic index.

Also, all of this is dependent on your own personal composition and response to sugar. I personally don't tolerate it well, whether it comes from fruit, candy, or ice cream (sugar from dairy doesn't effect me as much for some reason), therefore I eat fruit maybe 4 times a week at most. If you tolerate it well, there's no reason you can't eat fruit every day.

KBrenOH

Not really sure how my body reacts to the sugar to be honest. Of course all the fruits you listed to NOT eat a lot of are some of my favorite fruits lol, especially bananas

And it's not that I WANT TO limite my intake in fruits.. I'd eat them all day long if allowed. But by the numbers that MFP allows per day, I'd be lucky to get one piece of fruit in w/ what I intake during the day with the 3 normal healthy meals I eat.

Mindful_Trent

Here is a good blog post about sugar. It's kind of a sugar 101 type post. It's written by a very knowledgeable and respected MFP memeber. A little long, but worth taking the time to read through.
http://bankshealth.wordpress.com/brief-post-on-sugar/

The last section "What you should take away from this" is a good useful summary if the main part of the post is overwhelming.

KBrenOH

Thank you much!

Italiandoglover

I personally noticed that when I cut out alot of my fruits(especially bananas dammit) out of my protein shakes, I started losing a steadier amount of weight. I now limit myself to blueberries mixed into my shakes, and either an apple-applesauce or pear after my lunch, and cut out the fruits in the evening. I started following the tnt/zone diet in the last 2 months, and have seen a more dramatic fat percentage loss when combined with the exercise I have been doing. From March 29 to June 30, I lost 31# but went from 44.1% body fat, to 28.2%, so the balance of exercise with weights 3 times a week and 2 days of cardio, and the change in eating habits is what my Dr. says was a dramatic improvement on my blood counts and energy levels. One thing I really recommend is getting at least 7 hours of sleep, really helps in weight loss when exercising. Just my personal experience. Good luck and stay focused, just set yourself mini goals for each week, month, quarter, and see how long it takes to get to them, its kept me focused on the little things and the overall thing is coming.

SoCalSwimmerDude

I eat tons of fruit almost every day. Its a great sweet snack and sometimes a great desert. Many deserts (after dinner) that I have will consist of yogurt and strawberries or a bowl of watermelon (or something similar).

Like you said yourself... you're watching your calorie intake and sodium on top of that. I have never in my life heard someone say "I was skinny my whole life until I started eating fruit." Calorie in vs. calorie out with exercise and eating healthy is all, in my humble opinion, that we need to kill ourselves over. Yes, be careful of the 'bad' sugars (candy bars, etc), but as I always say in these "should I eat fruit?" threads....

Eat da fruit!

garysgirl719

My personal belief is that the concept of fruit sugar being ok is not valid. Sugar is sugar. While yes, it may be "less bad" than added processed sugar, it still registers in your body.

Then how do you work around the sugar's that are in every day foods, and still get your fruit intake?

As somone said earlier, it has to do with the types of fruits. Grapes are one of my faves. Apples too. What worked best for me was removing as much of the sugar as possible from my every day foods. Whole wheat grains helped. Limiting my starches.

Everyone's body is different. For me, being diagnosed with PCOS, I had no choice. If I wanted the pounds to come off, it mean keeping the sugar below 40 everyday.

BethanyMasters

The sugars in fruit fall under the catagory of complex carbohydrates. They actually have a lot of fiber and less sugar, the difference is how your body uses it the energy.

Carbohydrate sources that are slowly digested are less likely to be stored as fat because the body can use them as fuel over a long period of time. Carbohydrate sources that are rapidly digested are more likely to be stored as fat because they provide a lot of fuel at once, and the body stores what it doesn’t use.

Fruit falls under the category of carbs that digest slowly, so you're body only uses what it needs instead of storing it as fat.

Not all carbs are equal.

This exactly.

Sugar is sugar no matter where it comes from. Not only is the apple going to get used slowly over time and less likely to get stored as fat but it also has other nutrients in there as oppose to candy bar which is not going to do anything good for your body.

rosadona

here's my belief: fruit is nutritious and good for you. however, it still does have sugar in it (obviously) which can cause weight gain for some people if eaten in excess, and can cause cravings for other not-so-healthy sugary foods. for example, bananas for breakfast are great for some people - but if i eat something so sugary/carby first thing on an empty stomach, i crave things like breads and cakes all day. that's not to say bananas aren't healthy - but with my particular chemistry, they just don't work sometimes.
some of the reason why people say fruit sugars are better is because they are paired with fiber and other nutrients, and they are more "natural" so your body recognizes them more easily and can deal with them more readily (rather than having to divert a lot of energy to the food in your stomach and sapping energy from brain function and making you feel groggy, like after a heavy pasta dish...). so fruit sugars are less harmful to your body than, say, a cake with a lot of refined sugars and unnaturally sweet chemicals and all of that - your body doesn't recognize some of the chemicals we've created to make things taste good, so it just stores them as fat.
generally, it goes like this (this is JUST my finding, and it's just what i've found to be true for ME - don't take it too seriously, unless you happen to find it works for you too) - fruit is great. if you want to treat a sweet tooth in a way that has a lot less guilt, bake a pear. bake an apple. eat some strawberries. however, as far as weight loss goes, fruit is best limited to one or two servings a day - even better if it's low sugar fruits like berries. i've found that for me, keeping my cravings in check (and therefore making weight loss easier) happens when i don't eat sugary things that cause blood sugar spikes throughout the day.
hope this helps!