Does "fruit sugar" count towards your daily sugar intake?

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cheerchicksie
cheerchicksie Posts: 51 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have issues with sugar...don't we all :)

I eat lots bananas, sweet potatoes, blueberries, etc. All "healthy" sugars, right?

But just by logging 1 banana, a cup of blueberries, and a sweet potato, I use up all my "sugar grams" for the day. (It's like 32 or something.)

Does that REALLY mean I shouldn't be having ANY more sugar all day?

I mean, it's all healthy sugars. I never have artificial sweeteners or anything with like aspartame or other dangerous chemicals. I rarely add "table sugar" to anything. And yet, I seem to go like 80 grams over my sugar limit, even though they're not "unhealthy" sugars.

Does that mean I need to eat less fruit or something?!?!

That sounds ridiculous if you ask me...
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Replies

  • tomdrinkard
    tomdrinkard Posts: 29 Member
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    bump
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
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    Yes, especially if you have "issues" with sugar. Sugar is sugar. You shouldn't be eating "white" sugar anyways. Your "sugar grams" are not bonus junk food grams.
  • Susantuti
    Susantuti Posts: 168 Member
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    Yes.
  • SToast
    SToast Posts: 255 Member
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    sugar is sugar...
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
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    Sugar is just a subset of carbohydrates. Watch your carbs and ignore the sugar -- remove that column entirely from your diary! I'm prediabetic, and that's what I do (although I can't eat a whole banana without it spiking my blood sugar).
  • hgilman1886
    hgilman1886 Posts: 1 Member
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    No ma'am! Oprah discussed this a lot during her fitness crazes. I have the same issue as you and I eat 2-3 servings of fruit each day. See the link below, it answers your question perfectly.

    http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/ask-diva-does-sugar-fruit-“count”-sugar?page=all
  • musicalboats
    musicalboats Posts: 31
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    Same! I am always over sugars as well - while I want to try and have a healthy intake of sugar, I can't really justify having no fruit. There doesn't seem to be a good solution to this that I have heard, so I just try and make it so my sugar is primarily coming from fruit, and limit sugars from other foods (breads, baked items, etc.) I don't know if that is actually logical or not, but it is what I am doing currently... Something to look into perhaps is the glycemic index of foods, looks at both the sugars and carbs.
  • benol1
    benol1 Posts: 867 Member
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    I have issues with sugar...don't we all :)

    I eat lots bananas, sweet potatoes, blueberries, etc. All "healthy" sugars, right?

    But just by logging 1 banana, a cup of blueberries, and a sweet potato, I use up all my "sugar grams" for the day. (It's like 32 or something.)

    Does that REALLY mean I shouldn't be having ANY more sugar all day?

    I mean, it's all healthy sugars. I never have artificial sweeteners or anything with like aspartame or other dangerous chemicals. I rarely add "table sugar" to anything. And yet, I seem to go like 80 grams over my sugar limit, even though they're not "unhealthy" sugars.

    Does that mean I need to eat less fruit or something?!?!

    That sounds ridiculous if you ask me...

    There are significant health benefits of eating whole fruit and vegetables. If you are not eating any other processed foods containing sugar (inc fruit juice) or added sugar, or you are diabetic - I wouldn't worry about it. There is an issue if you are consuming processed foods containing fructose or high-fructose corn syrup or adding sugar to your diet which breaks down into both glucose and fructose. Fructose down-regulates a 'satiety' hormone and is linked to over-eating and obesity. On the other hand, the fibre contained in whole fruit is linked to the production of propionate which is a fat-inhibiting hormone which is produced by good bacteria breaking down plant fiber.
    kind regards,

    Ben
  • glin23
    glin23 Posts: 460 Member
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    Yes it does, but sugar isn't a macro I'm concerned about. Obviously if you're diabetic, prediabetic, insulin resistant or something like that you need to care.
  • toholio
    toholio Posts: 46 Member
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    Sugar is sugar is sugar (when talking about these sugars, anyway).

    The sucrose in fruit is identical to the sucrose in table sugar. Neither is more or less "healthy" than the other.

    Sucrose itself isn't "unhealthy" either. It's just what you get when glucose and fructose join. Like anything, it's the quantity that will get you into trouble.

    For what it's worth I wouldn't worry too much about that specific sugar number. Just work it into your overall carbohydrates target and try to get it from whole foods only.
  • Maplewarrior
    Maplewarrior Posts: 8
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    I'm a sugar addict as well, unfortunately :/

    Although the type of sugar you're having (fructose) or fruit sugar is pretty healthy and a million times better for you than white sugar, i think you should count it as well, don't eat 100g of sugar a day and say, well that's healthy :/ but if you go over by a few grams, i don't think there would be a problem, it wouldn't hinder your weight loss, just keep it healthy and have your chocolate on the weekends :)
  • mmipanda
    mmipanda Posts: 351 Member
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    Sugar is sugar is sugar (when talking about these sugars, anyway).

    The sucrose in fruit is identical to the sucrose in table sugar. Neither is more or less "healthy" than the other.

    Sucrose itself isn't "unhealthy" either. It's just what you get when glucose and fructose join. Like anything, it's the quantity that will get you into trouble.

    For what it's worth I wouldn't worry too much about that specific sugar number. Just work it into your overall carbohydrates target and try to get it from whole foods only.

    do you have any sources to say that sugar in fruit is identical to refined white sugar? I find it hard to believe, given how much crap sugar goes through before it ends up on your table as tiny white beads.
  • toholio
    toholio Posts: 46 Member
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    do you have any sources to say that sugar in fruit is identical to refined white sugar? I find it hard to believe, given how much crap sugar goes through before it ends up on your table as tiny white beads.

    I said the "The sucrose in fruit is identical to the sucrose in table sugar." Not that all sugar in fruit is the same as table sugar.

    There are other sugars in fruit but sucrose is sucrose regardless of where it is.
  • toholio
    toholio Posts: 46 Member
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    Although the type of sugar you're having (fructose) or fruit sugar is pretty healthy and a million times better for you than white sugar,

    Some fruits contain more sucrose (same sugar as table sugar) than fructose.

    For example, in cantaloupe: 55% of the sugar is sucrose, 24% is fructose, and 19% is glucose. Source: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1954/2

    Apricots are even more surprising: 63% of the sugar is sucrose, 25% is glucose, and 10% is fructose. Source: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1827/2
  • lkgarza
    lkgarza Posts: 56 Member
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    Hey all....interesting conversation. I too, struggle with sugar and get REALLY mad to see that number so high after a great day in my book....all whole foods, plenty of protein/carbs and healthy fats. I kinda like the advice to just delete that from my goals...but don't know if I am ready for that either. I do enjoy learning how foods stack up and how to balance my meals accordingly.
  • mmipanda
    mmipanda Posts: 351 Member
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    do you have any sources to say that sugar in fruit is identical to refined white sugar? I find it hard to believe, given how much crap sugar goes through before it ends up on your table as tiny white beads.

    I said the "The sucrose in fruit is identical to the sucrose in table sugar." Not that all sugar in fruit is the same as table sugar.

    There are other sugars in fruit but sucrose is sucrose regardless of where it is.
    you also said 'sugar is sugar is sugar' and 'neither is more or less "healthy" than the other'

    both are misleading statements. sucrose may be sucrose regardless of form, but we're not just talking about that one ingredient. *shrug*
  • dkewatson
    dkewatson Posts: 1,415 Member
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    I would agree with everyone who said it is not that important. You want to watch out for "added" sugars. The health benefits of all the vitamins and minerals in fresh fruit and veggies outweighs the sugar, unless you have a medical condition that requires limited sugar intake. Here are some useful sites:

    http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/
    http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/howmany.html - lets you calculate your fruit/veggie needs per day

    And according to the USDA men (19 and older) should eat 2 cups of fruit a day, women 19-30 also 2 cups, women 31 and older 1.5 cups - source: http://myplate.gov/printpages/MyPlateFoodGroups/Fruits/food-groups.fruits-amount.pdf
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
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    The amount of sugar in a food is a terrible indication of the healthfulness of said food. Ignore it. Two large peaches have the same amount of sugar as a Snicker's bar.
  • toholio
    toholio Posts: 46 Member
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    you also said 'sugar is sugar is sugar' and 'neither is more or less "healthy" than the other'

    The bit you just quoted was immediately followed by "when talking about these sugars" which I thought made it pretty clear I meant the ones counting toward the "sugar" total MFP displays. I apologize if that wasn't as clear to you as it seems to me.

    I'm also at a loss as to how either statement is misleading. In the context of sugar specifically I would have thought my meaning was perfectly clear.

    I did end by saying "try to get it from whole foods only". I'm not advocating eating less fruit in favour of something more processed but the original post was asking about sugar specifically.

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