SUGAR!!!

taylorwaylor
taylorwaylor Posts: 417 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Just a few questions....

There are foods advertized as "fat-free", which are actually worse and yeaahh.. So, is there anything wrong with foods advertized as "sugar-free"??

And what are different forms/names of sugar... are some better than others??

Replies

  • CoachDreesTraining
    CoachDreesTraining Posts: 223 Member
    "Sugar-free" products are just as bad, and I would argue that they are actually worse. While they do not have calories, they contain artificial sweaters that are pretty toxic for your body. They also cause the same hormonal response that sugar would. As a result your body turns on it's fat storage.

    Sugars are not all the same either. Sugar found in fruit is not nearly as bad as the sugar you would find in things like soda, candy, and processed foods.
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,256 Member
    If you don't have a medical condition like diabetes (like me), I wouldn't worry about sugar. I use some sugar free foods because it helps me keep my blood sugar down.
  • fittiephd
    fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
    Usually sugar free products have fake sugars in them. There are artificial sugars and natural sugars that are both calorie free. They have a different taste and different aftertaste than regular sugar but are sweet.

    There's something to be said against artificial sugar and many studies touting them as both good and bad. I don't know any off the top of my head but I know that they have been shown to be bad time and time again and then other people say they aren't so bad!

    In general I don't avoid fake sugar because I don't care enough. But if given the option I'll pick something like stevia or truvia over splenda.

    Sugar in fruit and agave and maple and honey are much better for you than other more processed sugars. I don't really count them as bad. Then again I don't recommend chugging syrup either ;)

    There's also this new fangled thing appearing in foods called "sugar alcohol". I'm not sure exactly how it is different (it's a chemistry thing) but it actually counts towards your alcohol macros and not your carb macros if I read about it correctly. It lets the product advertise as no sugar but it does actually have sugar just sugar alcohol instead.

    that's about all I know :)
  • CatherineAnneP
    CatherineAnneP Posts: 6
    It's kind of weird because I always eat more sugar than what is my goal, but I don't eat any candy or sweets. I just eat a lot of fruits because my brain gets slow without the fructose.
    39457599.png
  • taylorwaylor
    taylorwaylor Posts: 417 Member
    So... "sugar-free" is not better...

    What are the "better" forms of sugar, that would be in food labels...? Or what should people look out for?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Sugar free is full of chemical junk, I avoid them personally. Rather have a bit of sugar than that stuff.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    If artificial sweeteners were that bad I'd be dead ten times over. I use splenda and drink diet soda every day and have had no adverse effects. Some people find that it gives them head aches and stuff but if you're not sensitive to it, don't worry about it. I use sugar free stuff like sugar free maple syrup and sugar free strawberry preserves all the time.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Scaremongering aside, no studies have conclusively shown artificial sweeteners to be toxic to humans. In the experiments done on laboratory animals, the dosages administered would be somewhere in the neighborhood of a human drinking about two cases of artificially sweetened soda per day. As usual in scaremongering, context and dosage is completely ignored.

    In regards to HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup), its molecular makeup is essentially identical to sucrose (table sugar) - it is composed of glucose and fructose in nearly identical quantities as sucrose. Just as with sucrose, consumption in excess (creating a caloric surplus) can lead to weight gain - but there is nothing "dangerous" about HFCS, any more so than with glucose, fructose or sucrose. Once again, context and dosage is relevant (but widely ignored by those with an axe to grind).
  • annanderson77985
    annanderson77985 Posts: 57 Member
    Sugar.. granulated sugar is produced by cooking the juice from either sugar cane, or sugar beets.. The cooking process produces molasses and granules.. The molasses is separated using a centrifuge.. Sugar is all natural, and fat free.. Unless you're diabetic, the only real danger is eating too much of it.. just like most other carbs.. If you limit the processed foods that you eat, and do most of your cooking with whole foods, you can easily control how much sugar you consume..
  • Sunny____
    Sunny____ Posts: 214
    "Sugar-free" products are just as bad, and I would argue that they are actually worse. While they do not have calories, they contain artificial sweaters that are pretty toxic for your body. They also cause the same hormonal response that sugar would. As a result your body turns on it's fat storage.

    Sugars are not all the same either. Sugar found in fruit is not nearly as bad as the sugar you would find in things like soda, candy, and processed foods.
    A woman should have no more than "6grams" of processed sugar and no more than 100g of natural sugar (fruit sugar). Not all sugars are created equal. A man should have no more than 12g of processed sugar and 150 g of natural sugar.

    Fake sugar such as aspartame is the same as processed sugar. One time I counted "processed sugars only" and had 12 or less, changed nothing else in my diet. Except for avoiding all bread and bread products and I lost 18 lbs in 5 weeks. That says a lot about the affects of sugar.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Fake sugar such as aspartame is the same as processed sugar. One time I counted "processed sugars only" and had 12 or less, changed nothing else in my diet. Except for avoiding all bread and bread products and I lost 18 lbs in 5 weeks. That says a lot about the affects of sugar.
    Congratulations, you created a caloric deficit. A caloric deficit is essential to weight loss. Eliminating sugar and bread is not.
  • Sunny____
    Sunny____ Posts: 214
    Fake sugar such as aspartame is the same as processed sugar. One time I counted "processed sugars only" and had 12 or less, changed nothing else in my diet. Except for avoiding all bread and bread products and I lost 18 lbs in 5 weeks. That says a lot about the affects of sugar.
    Congratulations, you created a caloric deficit. A caloric deficit is essential to weight loss. Eliminating sugar and bread is not.
    You have no proof that I created a deficit. You didn't see my calorie count. Did you see my response to Dr. Fuhrman's diet?

Categories