Sugar - Is It Fair To Count Natural the Same As Processed?

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Replies

  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    Recently though, I have been thinking of getting a juicer so I can still have juice at breakfast, butmake it myself every day. That way, I know there is nothing dodgy in it, even if the juices I buy do say "all natural" etc!
    The "all natural" bit is something I try and steer clear of now and reminded me of this article on cracked -- who knew?!

    The 6 Most Horrifying Lies The Food Industry is Feeding You
    http://www.cracked.com/article_19433_the-6-most-horrifying-lies-food-industry-feeding-you.html
  • issystclaire
    issystclaire Posts: 113 Member
    I would like to know where you get your information from, as you have simply made a statement, yet not backed it up with any evidence?
    A foodstuff being "organic" refers to the conditions the agricultural crops are grown in, and doesn't point to a lack of processing. I don't think anyone needs evidence to back that up, for example it's blatantly obvious that organic chocolate has been processed from a number of ingredients. Organic sugar is made the same way as any other sugar, but from an organically grown crop. "Chemicals" are used in its processing.

    I agree with this, but I do not eat chocolate atm (*tear!). I eat very fresh foods. I rarely have anything that comes in a package, unless it is like nuts, peanutbutter, etc.

    I think it is more a fact of common sense. If you buy things that say "all natural" "organic", etc, without taking the time to look at the labels or educate yourself on what you are eating, then it is very probable that you are still eating things that aren't exactly good for you.

    As others have brought up about juice...I found out recently that even juice which has "no sugar added" and "not from concentrate" are treated with chemicals so they stay "fresher" for long. Real juice which is made straight from fruit, i.e. like from a juicer, has no preservatives in it so will go off very quickly. which is why they have to put them in so their product won't spoil so quickly.

    One thing I won't agree with though, are people who immediately attack the "all natural" way of eating without a thought. I hear it time and time again, "it's still not always as healthy as you think" and I have to feel after a while, that it is a bit condescending. I have educated myself on a lot of things in terms of where food comes from and what is done to it, and though I will never get literally 100% all natural unless I grow the stuff, pick it and prepare it myself, that is not to say that what I do eat isn't as close as possible to being as natural as I can hope for living in an urban environment.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Oragnic all the way. :-)

    Organic food is chock full of chemicals and processed as well

    I respect your opinion, but I know what I am putting in my body, I read the ingredients on everything I buy.

    I would like to know where you get your information from, as you have simply made a statement, yet not backed it up with any evidence?

    Are you confused about organic foods containing chemicals or that lots of them are processed?
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    Oragnic all the way. :-)

    Organic food is chock full of chemicals and processed as well

    I respect your opinion, but I know what I am putting in my body, I read the ingredients on everything I buy.

    I would like to know where you get your information from, as you have simply made a statement, yet not backed it up with any evidence?

    Are you confused about organic foods containing chemicals or that lots of them are processed?
    They are just one of those people, that believe organic food is grown and just magically appears at the grocery store.

    The term organic has to be the biggest scam in the food industry.
  • samhigh
    samhigh Posts: 86 Member
    Yes, all sugar is the same in the end and the effects it has on the human body.

    False.

    Ultimately all sugar gets converted to glucose, but there are some major differences.

    Refined / Processed Sugar (sucrose) - Completely void of any nutritional benefit, spikes insulin.
    Fruit (fructose) - Typically has some nutritional content, elevates and then moderates insulin (read this again, it has big implications)

    If you suffer from poor insulin response, limiting all forms of sugar is a good idea.
    If you are running a caloric deficit, you can eat any type of sugar you want with minimal harm.
    If you are an average person looking to lose weight, limiting your sugar intake to fructose is a good idea. Basically minimize processed sugar.

    Timing of sugar is very relevant. Eating a pound of gummy bears immediately following intense exercise is not the same as eating gummy bears before bed.

    I eat around 400g of carbs on training days, with at least 125 grams coming from delicious sugar.

    Several trainers I know eat huge amounts of candy following their workouts - they have 6% bf or less. The point - sugar is not bad, just use intelligence regarding the amounts and timing.
  • Macrocarpa
    Macrocarpa Posts: 121 Member
    This is not entirely tru though. Iodized salt is chemical - natural sea salt will be straight from the ocean. I believe very strongly in eating all natural/no chemical foods so I tend to stay away from anything that is procssed.

    So now you've piqued my interest. Iodised salt exists for a reason, iodine is a trace element required in the diet to prevent iodine deficiency, which is associated with mental retardation, and it affects 2 billion people worldwide. Many of the 2 billion people that are affected subside on foodstuffs that you'd label 'all natural' and 'unprocessed', so...kind of a self-defeating argument.

    There's a difference between 'processed' food and 'all natural / no chemical' foods.

    All natural - Did you know all citrus fruit contain very high levels of ascorbic acid - a chemical which is added to many other foodstuffs? You'd also know ascorbic acid as Vitamin C. Without it, food rots / degrades far quicker. So how is consuming citrus any different from consuming a foodstuff with Vitamin C as an additive?

    What about either sodium or potassium nitrite? These are commonly-used preservatives. You know where they originate from? Salts. Not sodium chloride salt, but other salts (originally mined from caves; now produced in much purer form in bulk commercially). The reason they're used is they are adept at preventing bacterial infection of meats. The original form of treatment - adding salts to prevent the meat from going off - could loosely be described as 'natural'; if the treatment changes to using a purer substance than is available in nature, and maximising the benefit of the treatment, is there any real difference?

    Almost all standard foods are processed in some ways. Cheese? A process. Butter? A process. Milk? A process (pasteurisation). Slaughtered food? Process. Process is required to turn the raw product into a finished product, and process is required to make some foodstuffs safe. Cooking is a process! Fermentation is a process! Curing is a process!

    Unless you're digging vegetables straight out of the ground and eating them raw, slaughtering your own animals and eating the meat raw, drinking milk straight out of the cow's teat, picking your own fruit and eating them on the spot, you're not actually avoiding the 'processing' part of the equation.

    The final thing which I find really, really hard to reconcile between natural / processed is the amount of processing which is attached to things that actually directly have an impact on our health. Antibiotics and medicines are 100% processed, and even those that are touted as 'natural' are so heavily processed as to not be recognisable as the original form whatsoever. Yet these have a huge net benefit on health and wellbeing - so surely processing cannot be the evil it's made out to be.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member


    One thing I won't agree with though, are people who immediately attack the "all natural" way of eating without a thought. I hear it time and time again, "it's still not always as healthy as you think" and I have to feel after a while, that it is a bit condescending. I have educated myself on a lot of things in terms of where food comes from and what is done to it, and though I will never get literally 100% all natural unless I grow the stuff, pick it and prepare it myself, that is not to say that what I do eat isn't as close as possible to being as natural as I can hope for living in an urban environment.

    Eat what you want, and feel good about it. It's your body! :flowerforyou:
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    I don't even track sugar. It's not that important to me.
  • sallysuze
    sallysuze Posts: 65 Member
    Sugar is Sugar. Same same I would have guessed.

    Like Salt v "thats sea salt, natural" smae thing mate

    This is not entirely tru though. Iodized salt is chemical - natural sea salt will be straight from the ocean. I believe very strongly in eating all natural/no chemical foods so I tend to stay away from anything that is procssed.
    So what do you do with water? It is natural, and also a chemical... H2O.
    Everything is chemistry - I think you get confused perhaps with your definations.
    If chemicals are so bad, then try living without any lol. You won't last too long.
  • Zeromilediet
    Zeromilediet Posts: 787 Member
    I would clarify that fructose is processed almost entirely by the liver. Eating too much of it places a load on the liver that may be unhealthy.

    Having a cup of strawberries (maybe 9 g of sugar) won't be an issue, but a granola bar or cereal (25+g of sugar) plus all the other food, beverages, condiments etc that contain fructose as the sugar ... it adds up over a day. If one can reduce the foods that contain sugar (including too much of fresh & dried fruit), it becomes easier to lose weight.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I would clarify that fructose is processed almost entirely by the liver. Eating too much of it places a load on the liver that may be unhealthy.

    Having a cup of strawberries (maybe 9 g of sugar) won't be an issue, but a granola bar or cereal (25+g of sugar) plus all the other food, beverages, condiments etc that contain fructose as the sugar ... it adds up over a day. If one can reduce the foods that contain sugar (including too much of fresh & dried fruit), it becomes easier to lose weight.

    Too much sugar at one time can potentially be taxing on the body, but it doesn't matter if it's sucrose or fructose. And sugar can't stop you from burning fat. That's a myth.
  • endlesoul
    endlesoul Posts: 98 Member
    OP just my opinion but juicing takes away a vital part of the fruit/vegetable. No offence to people who juice.

    Please read the following links. Just a few months ago this has been all over TV about "Organic & Natural "

    http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/myths-organic-food

    http://www.thewellnesschick.net/2012/05/organic-food-myths-why-its-not-better.html

    http://www.businessinsider.com/new-study-shows-its-a-myth-that-organic-foods-are-healthier-2012-9

    http://www.naturalnews.com/034957_natural_foods_fraud_GMOs.html

    http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2011/07/18/mythbusting-101-organic-farming-conventional-agriculture/

    To be a informed consumer is an empowered one, I think reading and research never hurts to get the whole picture.
  • hikeout470
    hikeout470 Posts: 628 Member
    New research linking sugar, in any form, to cancer, diabetes,cholesterol problems, high blood pressure. Basically all the bad stuff. The researchers suggest limiting caloric intake to 100 to 150 calories a day from sweets. Worth the watch.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    New research linking sugar, in any form, to cancer, diabetes,cholesterol problems, high blood pressure. Basically all the bad stuff. The researchers suggest limiting caloric intake to 100 to 150 calories a day from sweets. Worth the watch.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n

    Dr LOLstig? Instead of watching the video you may have wanted to try and read the main study they were referencing and see if it supports " linking sugar, in any form, to cancer, diabetes,cholesterol problems, high blood pressure"
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    New research linking sugar, in any form, to cancer, diabetes,cholesterol problems, high blood pressure. Basically all the bad stuff. The researchers suggest limiting caloric intake to 100 to 150 calories a day from sweets. Worth the watch.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n

    I can't view the link at the moment, but does that apply to fruits and veggies sugars also? 100-150 calories from sugar isn't much, I eat about that much from a single large organic peach.
  • onedayillbeamilf
    onedayillbeamilf Posts: 966 Member
    Oragnic all the way. :-)

    Organic food is chock full of chemicals and processed as well

    But its organically chemicalized and processed with organic machines.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    New research linking sugar, in any form, to cancer, diabetes,cholesterol problems, high blood pressure. Basically all the bad stuff. The researchers suggest limiting caloric intake to 100 to 150 calories a day from sweets. Worth the watch.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n

    I can't view the link at the moment, but does that apply to fruits and veggies sugars also? 100-150 calories from sugar isn't much, I eat about that much from a single large organic peach.
    Sugar is sugar.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    Does anyone else find mfp's sugar allowances a bit whacked? I track my sugar intake along with the other stuff (protein, fat, carbs, etc), but I find the allowances a bit one sided. I only eat natural sugars - i.e. fresh or sometimes dried fruit (mainly raisins), organic juices, and about once a week an organic yogurt, and anything else I eat I am very meticulous with and make sure they do not have "hidden" sugars. I don't eat gluten(by personal choice), so no kind of white flours/breads that have sugar in them, and I don't even have any sort of sweetner in my coffee, I haven't done for a few years now.

    But even like eating one fruit a day + 1 glass of juice (250 ml) puts me dangeriously close to going over, and then if I do happen to have, say, one piece of gluten free toast that has like 5 grams of sugar in it, it puts me over!

    It is just a bit maddening I guess bc I am super good about not eating sweets, junk food or processed sugars/foods.

    What does anyone else think about this? Should I not worry so much since I am only eating natural sugars?

    I think you are worrying too much. If you cut out all processed sugar you are doing quite well. The only time you really have to worry any more than that is you have a specific health issue that your doctor would be helping you address. I've cut out almost all processed sugar except as an occasional treat because diabetes runs in my family and for other health reasons. I don't worry about the natural sugar in foods, dairy, fruits, veggies, etc.

    As far as weight loss goes all that maters is calories. The rest is just individual health needs.
  • WestCoastPhoenix
    WestCoastPhoenix Posts: 802 Member
    I like pie and sugar. That is all, thank you.
  • onedayillbeamilf
    onedayillbeamilf Posts: 966 Member
    I like pie and sugar. That is all, thank you.

    Especially pie with sugar on top! Yum yum!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Not sure whether there is a question there, but in response to the title - yes.
  • ihateroses
    ihateroses Posts: 893 Member
    Yes.
  • mommy090
    mommy090 Posts: 1
    It is all how ur body processess it.
    Natural sugars work with ur body, as someone else said the natural sugars have fiber it it (the whole fruits)
    Processes sugar is man made.

    Gluten free anthing is man made.

    If "man" made it. I don't want it.

    Someone once told me to ONLY eat one ingrident food. Ie.. egg. Nothing else was added to egg.
    Chicken. Nothing else was dded to chicken. Orange. Nothing else was added to orange.
    ONE INGREDIENT
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    It is all how ur body processess it.
    Natural sugars work with ur body, as someone else said the natural sugars have fiber it it (the whole fruits)
    Processes sugar is man made.

    Gluten free anthing is man made.

    If "man" made it. I don't want it.

    Someone once told me to ONLY eat one ingrident food. Ie.. egg. Nothing else was added to egg.
    Chicken. Nothing else was dded to chicken. Orange. Nothing else was added to orange.
    ONE INGREDIENT

    I'm sure your meals are awesome
  • VFBloch0725
    VFBloch0725 Posts: 37
    Nutrionally, natural such as fresh fruit is better for your body than processed, you are better off to eat the fruit than the drink because it'll stay in your system longer. As a diabetic, processed sugar spikes my insulin quicker and depleates it faster, I am only allowed 2 servings a day since it'll raise my insulin/glucose. I keep track of my sugar only to give me an idea of how I eat and what I should eat. Remember, carbohydrates has sugar in it, so tracking your carbs should be efficient.
  • issystclaire
    issystclaire Posts: 113 Member


    Gluten free anthing is man made.


    This is completely inaccurate.

    The way you get gluten free products is by making sure it doesn't have wheat or gluten stabilisers in it. There are several alternatives to using wheat to make popular products like breads, pastas, etc. Rice, soy, and corn are just a few popular alternatives. Some gluten free stuff is simply "free from" which won't necessarily not contain chemicals or artificial ingredients - as long as you get your gf products from a reputable source and make sure they are all natural, then you are ok.

    Techincally speaking, wheat bread is man made as you have to take the wheat and process it down to a point to make the dough, then bake it, etc.

    I accept that people have different opions on healthy foods and diet and different things work for different people. But a lot of people say things based off of hearsay or just what they think is true when it is not. There are loads of websites out there which can educate you on wheat, gluten, and gluten free.
  • amberlilies
    amberlilies Posts: 41 Member
    This is one of the 'hot button' issues here.

    For me sugar is sugar. If you're interested in the chemical background and the reactions etc.. you can watch Sugar: The Bitter Truth on you tube -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM I will agree that fruit is better than HFCS but less sugar = better.

    Watched it a while back: great lecture

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