Could "natural" sugars be keeping me overweight?

aloranger7708

I don't eat processed foods or "fake" sugary foods anymore (cookies, boxed brownies, candy, etc.) but I've replaced those sugary things with natural sugars, like from fruit or maple syrup. I don't eat a lot of each per day (1 tablespoon of pure MS in my oatmeal, and usually 1 cup berries in a smoothie, sliced strawberries atop oatmeal or yogurt, and one whole kiwi, apple, or pear for a snack.)

Could these "natural" sugars keep me from losing weight, even though they're not the "bad" sugars?

neanderthin

No. Even processed sugar won't do that if your eating within your calorie goals. FYI maple syrup is a processed sugar.

wellbert

Bad sugar won't keep you from losing weight.

Eating in a surplus will.

Mokey41

As above, what you eat doesn't make you fat, eating too much makes you fat.

WendyTerry420

No. Only a calorie surplus will make you overweight. A calorie deficit will reduce the weight.

Firefox7275

Maple syrup or honey is no different to using table sugar, there is no fibrous cell walls to slow digestion, one tablespoon is quite a lot. Certain carbs behave exactly like sugar in the body, it's not just sugars that will spike blood glucose levels. Most of the fruits you are eating are fairly low in sugar.

neanderthin

Maple syrup or honey is no different to using table sugar, there is no fibrous cell walls to slow digestion, one tablespoon is quite a lot. Certain carbs behave exactly like sugar in the body, it's not just sugars that will spike blood glucose levels. Most of the fruits you are eating are fairly low in sugar.

1 tbsp of sugar is 50 calories and has a low GL (glycemic load).

Firefox7275

1 tbsp of sugar is 50 calories and has a low GL (glycemic load).
[/quote]

Thanks but I work in/ am qualified to degree level in lifestyle healthcare, I don't need to be told that! Sugary/ junky/ processed foods should comprise no more than about 10% of daily calories, or around 150 kcals for a dieting female of average weight. 50kcals is a third of that in one tiny tablespoon, for reference a tablespoon is around three times the amount of sugar the blood can hold. Like most healthcare professionals I don't work on glycaemic load, it permits you to justify eating toxic substances like sugar. 'Behaving like sugar in the body' includes damaging the lining of the blood vessels and suppressing normal immune function.

aloranger7708

Thanks, everyone! I was only concerned because most days I go over my sugar intake, but that's almost always from the maple syrup.

neanderthin

1 tbsp of sugar is 50 calories and has a low GL (glycemic load).

Thanks but I work in/ am qualified to degree level in lifestyle healthcare, I don't need to be told that! Sugary/ junky/ processed foods should comprise no more than about 10% of daily calories, or around 150 kcals for a dieting female of average weight. 50kcals is a third of that in one tiny tablespoon, for reference a tablespoon is around three times the amount of sugar the blood can hold. Like most healthcare professionals I don't work on glycaemic load, it permits you to justify eating toxic substances like sugar. 'Behaving like sugar in the body' includes damaging the lining of the blood vessels and suppressing normal immune function.

When I first responded to your post it was just to add information about that tbsp of sugar, sometimes people aren't aware but now I see a bias with misinformation and a bit of fear mongering. Context and dosage is important but like most fear mongering that's totally disregarded. Anyway, wow...........GL permits the justification of eating toxic substances, really?Being a healthcare professional I don't have to tell you that the body doesn't differentiate the sources of glucose that is consumed. An apple, grapes, banana's, oranges all have more sugar than that 1 tbsp of sugar, and if that 1 tbsp of sugar isn't consumed from spoon to mouth and is added to a meal, then the argument about absorption rate is a moot point and for all intents and purposes so is the GI. And the GL is something that most people don't think about, present company included, that I thought might be of interest. We could get into the fact that glucose supplies ATP for cellular function within the body, also with glycogen, and spares protein for glucose conversion which is important when dieting.Funnily enough if there isn't enough glucose in the blood at any given time the liver will catabolise it's glycogen to supply the blood with glucose....this isn't a bad thing, this is how the body works. I also hope that you weren't suggesting that all of that 1 tbsp of sugar ends up in the blood stream. Anyway, sorry it had to go this way, I normally enjoy your posts.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Unless it's causing you to crave more sugar or you have a medical issue like diabetes, don't worry about it. Sugar makes me crave more sugar so I try to stay under 30-40g.

rachelbethany

Unless it's causing you to crave more sugar or you have a medical issue like diabetes, don't worry about it. Sugar makes me crave more sugar so I try to stay under 30-40g.

This. This is the only real reason I try to avoid sugar; when I eat a little of it (even like part of a banana or something), I immediately want more. For the whole day. Which can end up putting me over on calories. And also it's just better for the teeth and possibly skin to avoid it. But I think you gotta allow yourself a little every now and then! If you're really concerned, you could try VERY slowly reducing the amount of maple syrup you put in your oatmeal. Maybe over time, you'd crave it less.

AntWrig

1 tbsp of sugar is 50 calories and has a low GL (glycemic load).

Thanks but I work in/ am qualified to degree level in lifestyle healthcare, I don't need to be told that! Sugary/ junky/ processed foods should comprise no more than about 10% of daily calories, or around 150 kcals for a dieting female of average weight. 50kcals is a third of that in one tiny tablespoon, for reference a tablespoon is around three times the amount of sugar the blood can hold. Like most healthcare professionals I don't work on glycaemic load, it permits you to justify eating toxic substances like sugar. 'Behaving like sugar in the body' includes damaging the lining of the blood vessels and suppressing normal immune function.
[/quote]
What is this?

Sarauk2sf

1 tbsp of sugar is 50 calories and has a low GL (glycemic load).

Thanks but I work in/ am qualified to degree level in lifestyle healthcare, I don't need to be told that! Sugary/ junky/ processed foods should comprise no more than about 10% of daily calories, or around 150 kcals for a dieting female of average weight. 50kcals is a third of that in one tiny tablespoon, for reference a tablespoon is around three times the amount of sugar the blood can hold. Like most healthcare professionals I don't work on glycaemic load, it permits you to justify eating toxic substances like sugar. 'Behaving like sugar in the body' includes damaging the lining of the blood vessels and suppressing normal immune function.

Could you explain more about how sugar/junky/processed foods behaves like sugar and damages the lining of blood vessels and suppresses our immune system as I am a little confused. Also, do you mean all junky/processed foods, even something like weiners?

Sarauk2sf

OP - as others have said, its all about whether you are at a calorie surplus or not.