sugar v fake sugar

fortysixpounds

So the one thing that I always struggle with is staying within my sugar allowance. It's in everything!!! :noway: Even my natural pro-biotic yoghurt with no additives and no added sugar has 5.5 g per 100g and I eat about 300g at breakfast so that's 16.5g which is half of my sugar allowance!!! And it tastes so bitter!!! One apple and I'm way over my allowance haha.

But fake sugar's got downsides too right? I mean I don't really go in for sweetners but I'm starting to rethink it. Please educate me!!!

chevy88grl

Artificial sweeteners give me a headache. So, for me - real sugar is the way to go. Plus, I do admit that I wonder about long term side effects of the artificial sweeteners.

(NOTE: I'm not saying someone else can't consume them - I'm just trying to avoid them as much as I can. I am not going to get into some big debate about them as this is a PERSONAL choice *I* am making. If someone else wants to eat them - go ahead, but for me.. no, thanks!)

MayhemModels

I think it's impossible to stay under sugar, but as long it's from natural sources I wouldn't worry about it too much

rdfinster

I'm for natural sugar. I stay away from all artificial sweeteners as it causes me severe migraines. They have been linked to causing all kinds of health related issues, one of which is MS symptoms. Artificial sweeteners also make you more hungry. I say if it's not natural, stay away.

sonybalony

I think each person's body reacts differently to different amounts of sugar and where it comes from. I eat a LOT of fruit, I am always significantly over my sugar "allowance" but I have also lost 20 pounds in the past 2 months. I do not add processed sugar to anything... Last weekend while working in the yard, I accidentally picked up my husband's chug of lemonade (lemons, sugar, water, ice) instead of mine full of water and drank about 12 ounces in one go... It was SOOOO sweet I thought I'd puke! The only "fake" sugar I can tolerate is stevia... and it is also WAY too sweet in general.

Good Luck!

Sonia

MammaEllis

Google "side effects artificial sweeteners" and you will be sick.

Stick to the real thing in moderation

cre8freedom

I don't think you should worry about the sugar content in your natural food so much - as long as you are following a balanced diet it should be fine. If you do need to add sugar to something I would use Stevia as it is directly from a plant (I was growing one earlier this year and the leaves really do taste sweet!).

nighthawk327

The only time I used artificial sweeteners was when I drank coffee, and I don't do that much anymore... I try to just eat natural sugars too! And I also think it's pretty impossible to stay under sugar, it seems to imply that you could only have 1(ish) serving of fruit a day (and I try to do more than that, esp if I'm low on veggies)! I've also read that consuming the artificial sweeteners over a long period of time can have terrible side effects.

Dragonwolf

First of all, not all sugar is created equal, but unfortunately, most trackers (including MFP) treat them as such. I highly recommend researching the differences between the different kinds of sugar (fructose, sucrose, dextrose, etc) and how the body is affected by them.

In short, though, if your sugar is coming from natural sources, such as fruit, then you're probably fine. Where you can cut down are in the sources of refined sugar.

That said, I've worked with various sweeteners, thanks to being in a family that's all Diabetic, so here are my thoughts on a few:

Stevia - Currently my favorite, at least taste-wise. It's sweeter than sugar, so you use less, but actually tastes about like sugar. It's rather expensive, though, and I don't think organizations like the FDA have done a whole lot of testing (especially long term), as it's a newer one to the market.

Splenda - (Sucralose) Awesome for baking, since it's a 1:1 ratio to sugar. I've found it does have an aftertaste, so I don't like it for non-baking stuff. It does change the flavor of baked goods, but it's not terrible.

Equal - (Aspartame, dextrose, maltodextrin) Again, sweeter than sugar. Also has an aftertaste. There's also some growing controversy on the safety of aspartame.

NutraSweet - (Aspartame; also typically the sweetener for diet sodas) I'm not a fan of the taste. For uses, it's pretty much the same as Equal, since it's also sweeter than sugar. Again, remember the safety controversy.

If you do a lot of baking and want a substitute for sugar, you can often substitute applesauce for your sugar. However, you will need to tweak some recipes, since you lose the dryness from the sugar.

spyork

Hi,

Don't worry too much about sugar intake as it's a natural product and the body will use it as instant energy, I would always use real sugar and stay clear of "Fake sugar"

Hope this helps

Scott

fortysixpounds

Thank you everybody this is all really helpful information

caroleweber

Last December I had brain surgery, during my recovery, on a visit to my brain doctor he said that he has experenced an increase in young people having strokes, some as young as thirty years old. I asked him if he had any idea what causes the strokes, His reply was simple; "diet drinks" aspartame.. Years ago in the eighties I worked for a diet clinic and we were told to tell our patrons to stop drinking all forms of colas especially diet ones because they are "neur toxins" we were right. Please never use fake sweeteners, learn to like food for its natural taste.

fortysixpounds

Last December I had brain surgery, during my recovery, on a visit to my brain doctor he said that he has experenced an increase in young people having strokes, some as young as thirty years old. I asked him if he had any idea what causes the strokes, His reply was simple; "diet drinks" aspartame.. Years ago in the eighties I worked for a diet clinic and we were told to tell our patrons to stop drinking all forms of colas especially diet ones because they are "neur toxins" we were right. Please never use fake sweeteners, learn to like food for its natural taste.

Oh my goodness!
Well there ends my curiosity of sweetners!
I'm glad I don't go in for carbonated drinks :noway: