natural sugar

mslaurza
mslaurza Posts: 13 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm a little confused about sugar - I watch my refined sugar intake. The foods that I buy don't have added sugar and I don't eat sweets or anything like that. All of my sugar comes from fruits. My goal for sugar is 31 grams, but because I eat so much fruit it came to 72 grams - is this something I should consider limiting? Or is the natural fructose broken down easily enough that it isn't adding useless calories... what does everyone think?

Replies

  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I'm not quite sure why non diabetics even track sugar. Sugar is a carb. All carbs eventually get turned into sugar (glucose). If you are within your target for carbs, it doesn't matter what your sugar intake is assuming some common sense in what you are eating.
  • Haylz_ish
    Haylz_ish Posts: 80
    I don't think there has been a single day where I haven't been over my sugar.. but like you it's mainly fruit, I wouldn't worry too much. :)
  • chels0722
    chels0722 Posts: 465 Member
    Naturally occuring sugars are fine. You are right to only be counting the refined sugars. All added sugars should be kept to 10% or less of your total calorie intake. Naturally occuring sugars from fruits and veggies (fructose, sucrose) and dairy (lactose) are not harmful to your body. Just watch your ingredients labels.
  • chels0722
    chels0722 Posts: 465 Member
    I'm not quite sure why non diabetics even track sugar. Sugar is a carb. All carbs eventually get turned into sugar (glucose). If you are within your target for carbs, it doesn't matter what your sugar intake is assuming some common sense in what you are eating.

    It's important to watch your sugars because they affect your insulin levels most. Eating too much added sugar can cause your insulin to become less responsive and lead to diabetes.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Naturally occuring sugars are fine. You are right to only be counting the refined sugars. All added sugars should be kept to 10% or less of your total calorie intake. Naturally occuring sugars from fruits and veggies (fructose, sucrose) and dairy (lactose) are not harmful to your body. Just watch your ingredients labels.

    So, you can eat an unlimited amount of naturally occuring sugars??
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I'm not quite sure why non diabetics even track sugar. Sugar is a carb. All carbs eventually get turned into sugar (glucose). If you are within your target for carbs, it doesn't matter what your sugar intake is assuming some common sense in what you are eating.

    It's important to watch your sugars because they affect your insulin levels most. Eating too much added sugar can cause your insulin to become less responsive and lead to diabetes.

    Naturally occuring sugars affect your insulin levels also. So does protein. ????

    Edited to add: Additionally, no one gets Type II diabetes from eating carbohydrates, including sugar, within reasonable limits. (I assume the poster meant Type II as Type I is caused by pancreatic malfunction. I would hope they would know that?) Also, insulin doesn't become less responsive. In those that have a long standing obesity issue, or some other medical issue that could cause it, they can become less sensitive to insulin shuttling nutrients where needed and then store more nutrients as fat. It's called insulin insensitivity. Not likely to happen to a person within reasonable carb limits and in caloric deficit.
  • gadget4455
    gadget4455 Posts: 22 Member
    Find a few fruits you like that are not too starchy or high in sugar.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    I don't know anyone who has weight issues from eating too much fruit.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    I'm not quite sure why non diabetics even track sugar. Sugar is a carb. All carbs eventually get turned into sugar (glucose). If you are within your target for carbs, it doesn't matter what your sugar intake is assuming some common sense in what you are eating.

    this
  • mslaurza
    mslaurza Posts: 13 Member
    I actually found the answer to my own question - thought I'd share.
    Fruit sugars would affect your insulin levels the exact same way as other sugars except for one big difference - whole fruit contains fiber which slows the absorption of the sugar into your liver (which is why 100% fruit juice is actually worse for you than soda) - while a diet of all fruits would eventually lead to some weight gain and metabolic problems, a reasonable amount is worth it because of the fiber and other micro nutrients found in the food. I was a little freaked out when I saw how much sugar I was consuming, but as long as it is whole fruit, your body can break it down in a way that doesn't overload your system with sugar.

    I read this in a great book called: Fat Chance: Beating the odds against sugar, processed food, obesity and disease by Robert Lustig - very informative!
    Thanks for all the input!
  • bevmcarthur
    bevmcarthur Posts: 341 Member
    I am also confused about the amount of Sugar i don't add sugar to anything i only eat 2 servings of fruit and they are apples or berries and veggies that have natural sugars i don't eat processed food so i am not getting bad sugars and i am always over my 25G of sugar and i see where some say not to worry about natural sugars but if i am correct you still don't want to eat a lot of that do you what would you say it a good amount my food chart is shared so if anyone cares to have a look and give me some advise .
    Thanks
  • mslaurza
    mslaurza Posts: 13 Member
    As long as you're eating the whole fruit - not smoothies or juices, natural sugar is broken down in a way that doesn't affect your insulin levels in a negative way - don't drink the juice, eat the orange.
  • chels0722
    chels0722 Posts: 465 Member
    I'm not quite sure why non diabetics even track sugar. Sugar is a carb. All carbs eventually get turned into sugar (glucose). If you are within your target for carbs, it doesn't matter what your sugar intake is assuming some common sense in what you are eating.

    It's important to watch your sugars because they affect your insulin levels most. Eating too much added sugar can cause your insulin to become less responsive and lead to diabetes.

    Naturally occuring sugars affect your insulin levels also. So does protein. ????

    Edited to add: Additionally, no one gets Type II diabetes from eating carbohydrates, including sugar, within reasonable limits. (I assume the poster meant Type II as Type I is caused by pancreatic malfunction. I would hope they would know that?) Also, insulin doesn't become less responsive. In those that have a long standing obesity issue, or some other medical issue that could cause it, they can become less sensitive to insulin shuttling nutrients where needed and then store more nutrients as fat. It's called insulin insensitivity. Not likely to happen to a person within reasonable carb limits and in caloric deficit.

    I apologize, I wasn't saying that sugars are the ONLY thing that affect insulin levels, I just meant that they tend to have the most affect. I know eveything affects it in some way. And getting more than is necessary can affect you in the long term. You were right to say sensitive vs responsive, I'm not too word saavy. What you said is what I meant, you just stated it better. Basically everything in moderation, no matter what it is.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    As long as you're eating the whole fruit - not smoothies or juices, natural sugar is broken down in a way that doesn't affect your insulin levels in a negative way - don't drink the juice, eat the orange.

    I agree with "don't drink the juice, eat the orange" but to be honest, as long as you are within your carb targets and they are set right, occaisional juice and smoothies are not bad. You do deprive yourself of a good source of fiber and micronutrients though.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I'm not quite sure why non diabetics even track sugar. Sugar is a carb. All carbs eventually get turned into sugar (glucose). If you are within your target for carbs, it doesn't matter what your sugar intake is assuming some common sense in what you are eating.

    It's important to watch your sugars because they affect your insulin levels most. Eating too much added sugar can cause your insulin to become less responsive and lead to diabetes.

    Naturally occuring sugars affect your insulin levels also. So does protein. ????

    Edited to add: Additionally, no one gets Type II diabetes from eating carbohydrates, including sugar, within reasonable limits. (I assume the poster meant Type II as Type I is caused by pancreatic malfunction. I would hope they would know that?) Also, insulin doesn't become less responsive. In those that have a long standing obesity issue, or some other medical issue that could cause it, they can become less sensitive to insulin shuttling nutrients where needed and then store more nutrients as fat. It's called insulin insensitivity. Not likely to happen to a person within reasonable carb limits and in caloric deficit.

    I apologize, I wasn't saying that sugars are the ONLY thing that affect insulin levels, I just meant that they tend to have the most affect. I know eveything affects it in some way. And getting more than is necessary can affect you in the long term. You were right to say sensitive vs responsive, I'm not too word saavy. What you said is what I meant, you just stated it better. Basically everything in moderation, no matter what it is.

    No worries! Thanks for the followup.

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