Is fruit sugar different than processed sugar?

EricCowperthwaite

I don't think it's obvious though on how to tune the macros.

I sort of stayed away from that because everyone is different. I happen to be highly insulin resistant and need to do something different with macro's than a normally healthy person would.

Bottom line, understanding how the body uses macros is important, at least at a simplified and basic level of sugar/carbs become glucose, fat becomes ketones or triglycerides. Just creating a calorie deficit is not enough for good health, fitness and weight loss. It's important to adjust macro-nutrients to the needs of your body, as well.

You adjust macro-nutrients by changing the foods you take in. Fructose is better than sucrose, so get your sugar from strawberries instead of coca-cola. Carbs are necessary for fuel, but without fiber they just get turned in to glucose extremely rapidly, same as sucrose. So, eat broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes (for example) and avoid pasta and bread. Great thing is that MFP will show you how much carbs, fiber and sugar a particular food has in it.

Good fats provide your body with energy, bad fats gum up your arteries. So, consume fats that are from natural sources, with saturated fats. Avoid processed/manufactured fats, especially ones that contain trans fats. Your body can't process those for energy at all. Yes to olive oil, no to margarine. Yes to butter, no to Crisco. Again, MFP will show you what these foods contain.

But, really, there are a ton of fantastic resources on all of this available from real experts. The combination of knowledge and MFP is really powerful.

Simple answer on sugars: natural sources of sugar that also contain fiber are good in moderation. Fruits, berries, root vegetables. Highly starchy sources of sugar, or pure processed sugar, are essentially not good for you and should be kept to a low or non-existent intake.

ninerbuff

Sugar is sugar when it comes to calories. Calorie count is the same.


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neverstray

I don't think it's obvious though on how to tune the macros.

I sort of stayed away from that because everyone is different. I happen to be highly insulin resistant and need to do something different with macro's than a normally healthy person would.

Bottom line, understanding how the body uses macros is important, at least at a simplified and basic level of sugar/carbs become glucose, fat becomes ketones or triglycerides. Just creating a calorie deficit is not enough for good health, fitness and weight loss. It's important to adjust macro-nutrients to the needs of your body, as well.

I know, it's a land mine. Looks like you avoided hitting any. For the record, I try to eat 50% fat, 35% protein, and 15% carbs from veggies and fruit. But, yeah, it's hard to recommend for others.

EricCowperthwaite

I know, it's a land mine. Looks like you avoided hitting any. For the record, I try to eat 50% fat, 35% protein, and 15% carbs from veggies and fruit. But, yeah, it's hard to recommend for others.

I honestly believe that your diet is what the typical human should eat. HOWEVER, as you noted, there's freaking land mines all over the place.

I eat 60/30/10 .... but I am insulin resistant and treating type II diabetes purely with diet (and doctor's concurrence) ... I wouldn't recommend the typical person wanting to lose weight do what I'm doing without a good understanding and at least consulting their doc.

CalJur

Peeps do your research. Natural sugar present in fruits is perfectly fine. The key is to be careful of added sugar in supposedly healthy foods and drinks. All still count toward cals but not all sugar is equal.

Iron_Pheonix

The body processes fructose in a different way to glucose etc...fruit is great but if you want to lose weight then minimising your fruit and sugar intake is vital because you need to keep insulin low to ensure insulin sensitivity. If you become insulin resistant your cells are on lock down and your body can't access the stored energy, blood sugar levels rise and eventually leads to diabetes.

If you eat fruit then combine it with a fat to slow the digestion of the fruit sugars. This will prevent the energy spike/dip. If you want to achieve optimum health- then keep intake in moderation. This includes smoothies!

Research the role of insulin!

neverstray

Peeps do your research. Natural sugar present in fruits is perfectly fine. The key is to be careful of added sugar in supposedly healthy foods and drinks. All still count toward cals but not all sugar is equal.

My research differs from yours I guess. Mine says all sugar is sugar. It doesn't matter. Also, all carbs are just basically sugar bby the time they are broken down. So, all of it is just sugar. I'd be interested in your research though.

Iron_Pheonix

Peeps do your research. Natural sugar present in fruits is perfectly fine. The key is to be careful of added sugar in supposedly healthy foods and drinks. All still count toward cals but not all sugar is equal.

My research differs from yours I guess. Mine says all sugar is sugar. It doesn't matter. Also, all carbs are just basically sugar bby the time they are broken down. So, all of it is just sugar. I'd be interested in your research though.

Agreed.....any sugar will raise insulin. The body can actually store less fructose than any other sugar also. I keep all sugar/carbs low.

neverstray

Peeps do your research. Natural sugar present in fruits is perfectly fine. The key is to be careful of added sugar in supposedly healthy foods and drinks. All still count toward cals but not all sugar is equal.

My research differs from yours I guess. Mine says all sugar is sugar. It doesn't matter. Also, all carbs are just basically sugar bby the time they are broken down. So, all of it is just sugar. I'd be interested in your research though.

Agreed.....any sugar will raise insulin. The body can actually store less fructose than any other sugar also. I keep all sugar/carbs low.

Ok. I thought you were saying something different.

Iron_Pheonix

Peeps do your research. Natural sugar present in fruits is perfectly fine. The key is to be careful of added sugar in supposedly healthy foods and drinks. All still count toward cals but not all sugar is equal.

My research differs from yours I guess. Mine says all sugar is sugar. It doesn't matter. Also, all carbs are just basically sugar bby the time they are broken down. So, all of it is just sugar. I'd be interested in your research though.

Agreed.....any sugar will raise insulin. The body can actually store less fructose than any other sugar also. I keep all sugar/carbs low.

Ok. I thought you were saying something different.

Nope I was disagreeing with Caljur and agreeing with you lol. I don't believe fructose sugar is any better than any other sugar in that it raises blood sugar levels, releasing insulin to open the cells up to allow the sugar into the cells to be stored as energy and lowering blood sugar levels, then releasing glucagon prompting the brain to demand more sugar/carbs and starting the whold process over leading eventually to insulin resistance - cells being locked down and the blood sugar level remaining raised. Cells can't be accessed, I.e. preventing the use of availiable fat stores and keeping blood sugar levels high = diabetes. Of course that's in the extreme but anybody consuming large amounts of fruit will be heading in this direction. I keep my carbs v low for health reasons.

jehavin

I think it depends on who you're listening to on whether or not fruit sugar is "better" than processed, but what I've found is that the *addiction* to sugar that is prevalent in overweight people cannot be sufficiently broken unless you lower your fruit intake or eliminate it altogether for a set period of time. Otherwise, you are still psychologically bound to that "flavor" and the physiological reaction that your body gets from large infusions of sugar.
I'm not an expert, but I've been managing my carbs for a year now and when asked, I advise "fruit lovers" to switch to less sweet fruits such as blueberries, rasp/blackberries, rhubarb, etc that will give you a good amount of fructose but help curb the sweet tooth. Those types of fruit have also been shown to have different nutrient benefits from the overly sweet "seasonal" favorites such as melons, apples, oranges, peaches, pears, etc.
Also, as a previous poster said, it's good to temper the fruit with some protein, such as cheese or greek yogurt, which can keep a sugar addict from binging on it.
In "The 4 Hour Body," the author makes a valid argument that fruit is not necessarily a cornerstone of a daily diet, but more of a natural "treat" that has been mainstreamed b/c it tends to taste better than vegetables/greens, which ARE necessary on a daily basis.

jehavin

ETA: I only eat about one piece of fruit a day, which adds about 15-25g of carbs to my daily total of around 150-200g. Do I feel like I am missing out on nutrients by not having more? No way! I can eat way more veggies/greens for less carbs that have the SAME nutrients/vitamins without as many calories or as much temptation to overeat