Sugar in vegetables

shosho420
shosho420 Posts: 220 Member
I know someone already made a topic about sugars but I have another question. I logged an eggplant and 1 banana and it said like 32 grams of sugar (it said the egg plant had like 19) so I went into the red after eating a yogurt which I admit would be the only super bad sugar out of everything. My thing is why can't I separate my sugars! I don't want to be in the red from eating 3 pieces of fruit. Obviously I am not going to eat 14 bananas or anything crazy. But seriously why does an egg plant have so much sugar!

Replies

  • bradwwood
    bradwwood Posts: 371 Member
    unless you are going way over because of processed sugar, don't worry about it.
  • I hear ya on the sugars! Even when I have coffee & oatmeal for crying out loud! I am in the -'s 1st thing.
    I always come under my calorie allotment & am dropping the LBS so I'm not too worried & like was mentioned
    above, if it's natural sugars I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you are at a plateau I would try eliminating the
    banana.
  • FitandFab33
    FitandFab33 Posts: 718 Member
    Different sugars are treated differently physiologically after ingestion: some sugar is more readily available and hits your system more quickly, causing a rapid rise in insulin etc... unfortunately fruits often fall into this category (though the fibrous portion of fruits will slow the digestion and retard the glucose effect somewhat)..

    It's pretty easy to go over sugar with fruits and veggies- if that's where most of your sugars are coming from- don't fret too much about it. Be careful about the other sources though- many yogurts have a TON of added sugar, and since you mentioned coffee, I'm guessing you either add sugar or sweetened creamer to it as well which packs a huge sugar punch. MFPs sugar limits are placed pretty low anyway, but it does matter where you're getting it!
  • Thanks, that's helpful.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2858/2

    I think that the entry you are using is wrong a cup of eggplant boiled and drained has 8 g carbs and 3 g sugars. Unless there was added sugar that seems off.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    All vegetables have sugar in them - some like beetroot and carrot are much higher than you'd think.

    I'd query the 19g in your eggplant, though. Now, I'm in the UK, so I looked up "aubergine" in the database, and it says 100g has about 4g sugar. That seems about right to me. Did you weigh your eggplant?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Just watch your consumption of processed sugars...sodas, candy, cookies, etc. Your body metabolizes sugars in fruit and veg slower than refined sugar due to the fiber in fruits and veg. This is why people like my dad who are type II diabetics can eat fruit and veg, but aren't supposed to consume sodas or cookies, etc. Also, if you do some research on sugar guidelines, you will find that the guideline is for "added/processed" sugars, not fruit and veg.

    I don't believe the obesity epidemic is due to an over consumption of fruit and veg...just think about it...eat your fruit and veg.
  • lilmilo
    lilmilo Posts: 2 Member
    thanks for this thread. i was wondering the same thing, as my morning cup of berries, plain greek yogurt, and 8oz of skim milk, that i drink throughout the day, practically eats up sugar allotment . this clarification really helps.
  • shosho420
    shosho420 Posts: 220 Member
    Different sugars are treated differently physiologically after ingestion: some sugar is more readily available and hits your system more quickly, causing a rapid rise in insulin etc... unfortunately fruits often fall into this category (though the fibrous portion of fruits will slow the digestion and retard the glucose effect somewhat)..

    It's pretty easy to go over sugar with fruits and veggies- if that's where most of your sugars are coming from- don't fret too much about it. Be careful about the other sources though- many yogurts have a TON of added sugar, and since you mentioned coffee, I'm guessing you either add sugar or sweetened creamer to it as well which packs a huge sugar punch. MFPs sugar limits are placed pretty low anyway, but it does matter where you're getting it!
    Yeah I do use coffee creamer, which I am trying to quit, I bought sugar free today and it taste like crap so I may just stop drinking it or take it black. I know that my coffee and yogurt is bad sugar. I just don't understand how an eggplant has that much sugar.
  • shosho420
    shosho420 Posts: 220 Member
    http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2858/2

    I think that the entry you are using is wrong a cup of eggplant boiled and drained has 8 g carbs and 3 g sugars. Unless there was added sugar that seems off.
    I used the 1 eggplant raw unpeeled option it says 132 calorie. . Because I did eat a whole eggplant but it was a small one. I logged 1 whole egg plant I don't think there was a option for small/medium or large, I clicked the first option. I entered eggplant raw, and that was the first option.
  • allknowingtomato
    allknowingtomato Posts: 42 Member
    I "track" my sugar, but that involves looking at the sources and why i went over for the day. if i eat fruits and vegetables all day, and go over my sugar without having anything processed, i don't sweat it. example:

    If I eat some chopped tomatoes in my salad at lunch, and some baby carrots with hummus as an afternoon snack, and put 1/2 a banana in my protein smoothie after the gym, i go over my sugar for the day. but i know i wasn't eating cookies and cake and chocolate, so i ignore the "sugar" number and just pay attention to my "carb" number (I am working on eating a relatively carb-moderate diet overall).

    So when i see red in that column, i just look to see where it came from. I'm not going to eat 3 bananas in one sitting, so i'm not worried about overdoing it on the whole raw fruits/veggies deal. i will still track sugar tho, because i want to see the hidden sugar in processed foods (lots of "savory" processed foods have surprising amounts of added sugar).

    good luck!