Sugar Carbs

itend2giggle

Hello, I am new to this app and although I do love it - I get a bit confused when my "sugar carbs" start going into the red (meaning over my limit for the day) after I eat fruit. Should I stop eating fruit when it start pushes me into the red or are they considered okay? Like for instance I only had strawberries and banana pieces this morning and i am in the red already..... is that normal?

Hope someone can give me some suggestions!

yarwell

fruit is full of sugar, so that's why.

You can turn off sugar completely and not track it. I have no idea where the MFP sugar target comes from.

impyimpyaj

There are differing opinions on this, but for most people, fruit sugar isn't a problem. And nobody can deny that fruit sugar is better than white sugar any day! I personally dont' bother tracking sugar, because it's not an issue for me. If you have diabetes or other health concerns that require you to track sugar, then do so, but otherwise, I'd probably not even worry about it. Watch your refined sugars, but fruit is good for you.

kathyms13

im type 2 diabetic and can only have 2 or three fruits. carbs have what they call complicated sugars so you have to watch those as well.

erikapereira

The same happens to me and I am concerned about it. I am looking on the food I eat that have sugar and I am looking for other options for example yogurts and milk. With the fruits perse I am trying to eat less portions.

Lleldiranne

There are differing opinions on this, but for most people, fruit sugar isn't a problem. And nobody can deny that fruit sugar is better than white sugar any day! I personally dont' bother tracking sugar, because it's not an issue for me. If you have diabetes or other health concerns that require you to track sugar, then do so, but otherwise, I'd probably not even worry about it. Watch your refined sugars, but fruit is good for you.

^^this

SPNLuver83

I usually go over my sugar every day because of the fruit I eat. And I don't even eat a ton. I track it to help deter myself from eating sugar from other sources, but sugar from fruit is ok. In moderation of course.

Angie_1MR

sugar is sugar, whether it's in the form of strawberries or a candy bar

AZKristi

I don't track sugar for this reason. Fruit has lots of nutritional benefits that make it worthwhile, unless you have a medical conditions that requires very strict sugar control. I track calories, fat, saturated fat, fiber and protein.

impyimpyaj

sugar is sugar, whether it's in the form of strawberries or a candy bar

Undoubtedly, but strawberries are a heck of a lot better for you than a Snickers.

n25philly

There are differing opinions on this, but for most people, fruit sugar isn't a problem. And nobody can deny that fruit sugar is better than white sugar any day! I personally dont' bother tracking sugar, because it's not an issue for me. If you have diabetes or other health concerns that require you to track sugar, then do so, but otherwise, I'd probably not even worry about it. Watch your refined sugars, but fruit is good for you.

Actually fructose the kind of sugar found in fruit is worse for you than cane sugar as it forms more age's which are basically strands in your blood vessels that will eventually clog them up increasing chances of heat attack/stroke. It's typically considered healthy because you get a lot of healthy nutrients with the fructose unlike processed sugar. As long as it's kept withing reasonable moderation you should be fine.

poodlelaise

I am diabetic, work very hard to control it through meds, diet and exercise, yet I do not track sugar. I do, however, focus on total carbs, and try to get in as much fiber and whole grains as I can within those carbs. I'm sure this approach helps to limit my sugar intake, but I refuse to obsess over it.

yarwell

Undoubtedly, but strawberries are a heck of a lot better for you than a Snickers.

Debatable. Snickers has peanuts in it, a protein source, and nice fats and oils. Strawberry nutrition is mainly calories from sugars, good for vitamin C and a bit of manganese but that's about it.

I think I would stay alive longer on Snickers bars than strawberries,

erickirb

fruit is full of sugar, so that's why.

You can turn off sugar completely and not track it. I have no idea where the MFP sugar target comes from.

Comes from the RDA, I beleive, but is the recommendation for added sugar. Since MFP does not distinguish between types of sugar, and that sugar is just a type of carb, and you are tracking carbs, there is no reason to track sugar on MFP.

itend2giggle

thanks for all the info! lots of good advice.

jenj1313

I only track ADDED sugars, which means that I mentally go through and subtract sugars that naturally occur in fruits, veggies, etc. I try to stay below 26 g/day of added sugar, which is a recommendation from the American Heart Assoc. I still go over at times, but that's generally how I approach it.

Good luck!
Jen

itend2giggle

Thanks Jen - that is a smart way to look at it. Good Luck to you too! liz

tigersword

There are differing opinions on this, but for most people, fruit sugar isn't a problem. And nobody can deny that fruit sugar is better than white sugar any day! I personally dont' bother tracking sugar, because it's not an issue for me. If you have diabetes or other health concerns that require you to track sugar, then do so, but otherwise, I'd probably not even worry about it. Watch your refined sugars, but fruit is good for you.

Actually, anybody can deny it, because "fruit sugar" and white sugar are both exactly the same, chemically.

scottstephens79

sugar is sugar, whether it's in the form of strawberries or a candy bar

High Fructose Corn Syrup is chemically different than glucose/lactose/sucrose/etc., but is allowed to be listed on the nutrition label as sugar. High Fructose Corn Syrup is some nasty stuff that needs to be avoided. Yes, you will get your "sugar high" from hfcs but your liver doesn't know what to with it other than make is the LDL (the bad cholesterol) out of it.

tigersword

sugar is sugar, whether it's in the form of strawberries or a candy bar

High Fructose Corn Syrup is chemically different than glucose/lactose/sucrose/etc., but is allowed to be listed on the nutrition label as sugar. High Fructose Corn Syrup is some nasty stuff that needs to be avoided. Yes, you will get your "sugar high" from hfcs but your liver doesn't know what to with it other than make is the LDL (the bad cholesterol) out of it.

False. HFCS is essentially sucrose blended with fructose. Chemically it's identical, and the human body processes it in the exact same way it processes sucrose. Sucrose is 50/50 fructose/glucose, while HFCS is 55/41/4 fructose/glucose/maltose, all of which are normal sugars that the body processes constantly.

yarwell

HFCS is essentially sucrose blended with fructose.

HFCS is actually glucose syrup partially isomerised to increase its fructose content in order to give it the same / similar properties in use as liquid sucrose solution (which it largely replaced in the US, but less elsewhere).

"Sugars" in general are sucrose, fructose and glucose. Sucrose is a molecule of fructose plus a molecule of glucose, give or take a water molecule. In the acids of your stomach (or a can of soda) sucrose hydrolyses to glucose and fructose anyway.

Many starches end up as glucose in your blood stream, as starch is a lot of glucose molecules joined together in a polymer. So starch is sugar, which makes grains sugar too.

Glucose (aka "blood sugar") is handled differently to fructose in the body, the latter has to be processed by the liver as I understand it. So HFCS and sucrose and fructose have different implications to glucose and starch on account of their fructose content.

The oranges grown in Florida by the same company that grows sugar cane and extracts sucrose from it will ultimately put the same components into your body as the cane sugar, however they get there.