sugar issues

mszSHOGAN

This is my third day at this and MFP says I should be consuming 34 grams of sugar a day and I'm always going WAY over. But its from fruits, yogurt, etc. its not like I'm eating cookies and cakes. Does anyone else have this problem? Also, isn't there a difference between good and bad sugars? How do I differentiate between the two? Any advice would be great!

mszSHOGAN

This is my third day at this and MFP says I should be consuming 34 grams of sugar a day and I'm always going WAY over. But its from fruits, yogurt, etc. its not like I'm eating cookies and cakes. Does anyone else have this problem? Also, isn't there a difference between good and bad sugars? How do I differentiate between the two? Any advice would be great!

missyt78

Hey therre welcome to MFP!:flowerforyou:

Yes there are good and bad sugars, obviously the ones in cakes and processed food and sauces are bad for you as they are "processed" and contain empth calories which bump up the totall allowance daily.
It can be confusing a little with fruit but it is recommended daily to have 2 pieces of fruit and 3 veg as a rule. Some are higher in calories/sugars such as bananna. These should be eaten in moderation and with bananna limited to an extent due to their high potassium levels, which can have issues with blood pressure etc. but in moderation is fine.
Think of fruit as a hidden sugar, altho it is better than processed foods it should be eaten in moderation. It may be an idea to alternate with some raw veg when you feel like snacking, that way you can reduce your sugar and still enjoy the snack.. healthy too!

This link might help with ways to cut back on your sugar intake!

http://www.ivillage.co.uk/dietandfitness/nutrition/sugar/articles/0,,248_158250,00.html

nikki.:bigsmile: :bigsmile:

SHBoss1673

what missy said.

adding to that.

Fruit sugar is Fructose, this type of sugar differs from sucrose (common table sugar) in that the body metabolizes them differently. In reality sucrose is a (disaccharide) or a combination of Fructose and glucose (1:1 ratio), fructose is metabolized in the liver, where glucose can be metabolized anywhere, so while fructose takes a while to be broken down and transported, glucose can traverse the blood almost immediately after ingestion (relatively speaking). Thus why stuff with sugar in it (sucrose) can spike the blood sugar, where fruit doesn't.

So how does this relate to "good" and "bad" sugar? Well, the longer it takes to break down somehing into it's fuel components, the more spread out that breakdown is, and since the body can use only so much fuel at any one time, it will store the extra as body fat, so table sugar has a far higher percentage of fat storage then fruit. Add to that the fact that fruit contains fiber, and fiber slows down the breakdown of food, means it takes even longer to break down the fructose and send it to the liver. This is why fruit is better for you then fruit juice or HFCS.

Does that mean eat a much fruit as you want? No, sugar is still sugar, and eating too much will still cause fat storage. But it means that you aren't sending yourself on the fast track to mega fat storage if you steer clear of the processed sugars (this includes things with HFCS), it's also why you always see oranges and bananas at the end of road races. High fruit sugar is a good way to replenish energy stores that have been depleted without spiking the blood sugar and causing a crash.

mszSHOGAN

great info - thnx! Well I guess if i still go over i won't feel as bad because i know i'm eating the right kinds of sugars!