What's the real deal with sugars?

There is NO good or bad sugar. It is fuel for the body and has the same amount of cal per gram as every other carb you eat.

I posted the same question in another form today.. and from the answers, I'm still confused. Most say not to worry about naturally occurring sugars, like in fruit and dairy. But then some say a sugar is a sugar and your body treats it as such...which does make some sense to me. If I go as low as the sugar on my goals I'm basically on an Atkins type diet and I don't want that.

Your body doesn't treat all sugars the same.

Basically, fructose (sugar from fruit) has a low glycemic index, meaning it breaks down slower, and provides energy longer giving our bodies time to burn it off, rather than store it.

Sucrose (refined sugar) has a high GI, it's broken down very quickly, and whatever isn't burned off in a short period is stored as glycogen. When the glycogen stores are full, it is then stored as fat. Sucrose also causes blood sugar to spike and an immediate release of insulin. Your body doesn't really know how to react to it, because it's not something your body easily recognizes, because it's unnatural.

So natural sugars won't make you fat, but refined sugar will.

If the idea of sugars in fruits keep you from eating fruits, then no. Do not pay attention to them. If you are going over your caloric goal for the day because you're eating a crap ton of fruits, then yeah, maybe you should keep track of it.

Your body doesn't treat all sugars the same.

Basically, fructose (sugar from fruit) has a low glycemic index, meaning it breaks down slower, and provides energy longer giving our bodies time to burn it off, rather than store it.

Sucrose (refined sugar) has a high GI, it's broken down very quickly, and whatever isn't burned off in a short period is stored as glycogen. When the glycogen stores are full, it is then stored as fat. Sucrose also causes blood sugar to spike and an immediate release of insulin. Your body doesn't really know how to react to it, because it's not something your body easily recognizes, because it's unnatural.

So natural sugars won't make you fat, but refined sugar will.

No. Unless you have a medical condition that dictates you watch sugar, it's not that important. Stay wiyhin your caloric goals and you'll be fine.

Sugar, whether from fruit or cookies, is like Chinese food for me - I eat it and am hungry again an hour later. I try to limit myself to some dark chocolate and a cup of fruit. Your mileage may vary.

Watch the documentary 'Hungry for Change'... then let me know what you think about sugar. I JUST watched it yesterday - so it's fresh in my mind. Very eye opening.
Sugar, in it's natural state (such as in corn, fruit, etc) is fine. But the refined, white sugar that is added into almost everything we eat and drink-- not so good.
It's a great doc, and is on Netflix. Check it out!

(and don't even get me started on MSG and aspartame!)

Your body doesn't treat all sugars the same.

Basically, fructose (sugar from fruit) has a low glycemic index, meaning it breaks down slower, and provides energy longer giving our bodies time to burn it off, rather than store it.

Sucrose (refined sugar) has a high GI, it's broken down very quickly, and whatever isn't burned off in a short period is stored as glycogen. When the glycogen stores are full, it is then stored as fat. Sucrose also causes blood sugar to spike and an immediate release of insulin. Your body doesn't really know how to react to it, because it's not something your body easily recognizes, because it's unnatural.

So natural sugars won't make you fat, but refined sugar will.

You are misinformed. Fructose doesn't break down slower, it's a monosaccharide so it's absorbed immediately in the intestines. Sucrose is a disaccharide and requires the enzyme sucrase to break down the molecule into fructose and glucose.
Both fructose and sucrose will cause weight gain if you consume more calories than you burn. Both contain 4 kcals/gram

the real deal is that sugar taste good, and i eat it.

Watch the documentary 'Hungry for Change'... then let me know what you think about sugar. I JUST watched it yesterday - so it's fresh in my mind. Very eye opening.
Sugar, in it's natural state (such as in corn, fruit, etc) is fine. But the refined, white sugar that is added into almost everything we eat and drink-- not so good.
It's a great doc, and is on Netflix. Check it out!

(and don't even get me started on MSG and aspartame!)

:laugh:

Thank you.

So... you're saying the heaping teaspoonfuls of sugar added in the kids milk, and the sugar in soda and cereal and bread and peanut butter and ketchup and just about EVERYTHING ... is good for us? Consuming 150+ lbs of sugar a year is good?

That must be why we're all so lean, and fit, and healthy and not overweight. And on this site because we're not addicted to crappy processed food and sugar and salt that we've been fed all our lives. We're not overweight as a nation because of all this crap... Riiiight.

g'nite!

You can't blame any single (type of) macronutrient for the obesity epidemic. (80's was fat, 90's was carbs, 00's was GI BS)

too many calories in, not enough calories out = get fat.

Watch the documentary 'Hungry for Change'... then let me know what you think about sugar. I JUST watched it yesterday - so it's fresh in my mind. Very eye opening.
Sugar, in it's natural state (such as in corn, fruit, etc) is fine. But the refined, white sugar that is added into almost everything we eat and drink-- not so good.
It's a great doc, and is on Netflix. Check it out!

(and don't even get me started on MSG and aspartame!)

:laugh:

Thank you.

So... you're saying the heaping teaspoonfuls of sugar added in the kids milk, and the sugar in soda and cereal and bread and peanut butter and ketchup and just about EVERYTHING ... is good for us? Consuming 150+ lbs of sugar a year is good?

That must be why we're all so lean, and fit, and healthy and not overweight. And on this site because we're not addicted to crappy processed food and sugar and salt that we've been fed all our lives. We're not overweight as a nation because of all this crap... Riiiight.

g'nite!

You can't blame any single (type of) macronutrient for the obesity epidemic. (80's was fat, 90's was carbs, 00's was GI BS)

too many calories in, not enough calories out = get fat.

have to agree. i got fat from too much beer, too much flaming hot cheetos, and too much mexican food... i can easily put away 6000 calories in a day with those three things on my list. before coming to mfp, those three things were on my list atleast 3 times per week... and i did absolutely no exercise. now, i watch my calories, but still eat whatever i want, in moderation, and get exercise, and the fat is melting off. "sugar" does not make people fat... over eating and undermoving does.

What has the world come to that people are doubting the age-old wisdom of "eat more fruits and vegetables to be healthy"?!?! NO ONE HAS EVER BECOME FAT AND SICK FROM EATING TOO MANY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES! No. One. Ever.

I wish that MFP didn't even provide a column for sugar. So pointless. Sugar is a sub-set of carbs (check your nutrition label). If you are tracking your carbs, then its redundant and pointless to track sugar. (First thing I did when I got to MFP was hide the silly sugar column.) And I was diabetic at the time!! (I reversed my diabetes in 8 weeks with diet, btw.)

Yes there is "good sugar" and "bad sugar." Just like there is good fat and bad fat and good food and bad food and good protein and bad protein.... but we still NEED all those things to be healthy, and nothing is poisonous in MODERATION.

Let's use our common sense, people! Avoid processed crap with processed sugar! Eat natural things that grow from the earth like fruits and vegetables. And will someone do us all a favor and destroy the freaking sugar column?

Peace out :flowerforyou:

What are good and bad proteins? I never heard about this in school?

Ok so I am reading these posts and realizing something that is not being said that really should be. If you are over weight, and I venture a lot of people here are, then sugar, any sugar spikes your insulin, because you are pre-diabetic and that is NOT a good thing. Constant blood sugar spikes cause insulin resistance and this is a BAD thing, it causes metabolic resistance and make weight loss really hard. It increases hunger as well, which leads to over eating. ANY sugar can do this, even fruit sugar. The key to controlling hunger, and weight loss is to control your blood sugar and any doctor can tell you that.

With that being said it takes a lot of energy to process fiber so fruit and veggies do not spike the blood sugar as high as a cookie, because there just is not that much sugar in a piece of fruit and the body has to burn fuel to process it. Also eating protein and fat with carbohydrates (sugar) will slow the process down. And don't fool yourself, though there are complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates, they BOTH spike blood sugar. Complex carbohydrates are healthier for you because they supply a great deal of vitamins and minerals, like complex vitamin B's and potassium. But you still need to eat them in SERIOUS moderation when you are overweight.

Going completely sugar free is not needed. Being carbohydrate minded is. Eat healthy foods like fruit and veggies and whole grain in moderation and balanced with protein and fat. And that moderation is a lot lower than what most people realize. Constant carbohydrate intake over 125 grams a day without balancing it with equal amounts of protein and fat can lead you to insulin resistance, especially if you are over weight.

There are a lot of resources out there that discuss this but any recent research on diabetes will explain this further. Doctors debate how low carb/sugar intake should be, but they all agree that it must be reduced to fight diabetes and obesity.

What has the world come to that people are doubting the age-old wisdom of "eat more fruits and vegetables to be healthy"?!?! NO ONE HAS EVER BECOME FAT AND SICK FROM EATING TOO MANY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES! No. One. Ever.

Not true.

"The CDC estimated 277 poultry-related deaths in 1998-2008, compared to 236 vegetable-related deaths."
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/leafy-greens-poultry-foodborne-illness-study-article-1.1250443

This happened in 2011:

"The number of victims of the colibacillus infection in Germany has grown to 11 people. A 91-year-old woman from North Rhine-Westphalia in the west of the country died on Monday. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection is calling on people to refrain from eating fresh vegetables, especially cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce, until experts find the source of infection.
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/05/30/51028442/

Ok so I am reading these posts and realizing something that is not being said that really should be. If you are over weight, and I venture a lot of people here are, then sugar, any sugar spikes your insulin, because you are pre-diabetic and that is NOT a good thing. Constant blood sugar spikes cause insulin resistance and this is a BAD thing, it causes metabolic resistance and make weight loss really hard. It increases hunger as well, which leads to over eating. ANY sugar can do this, even fruit sugar. The key to controlling hunger, and weight loss is to control your blood sugar and any doctor can tell you that.

With that being said it takes a lot of energy to process fiber so fruit and veggies do not spike the blood sugar as high as a cookie, because there just is not that much sugar in a piece of fruit and the body has to burn fuel to process it. Also eating protein and fat with carbohydrates (sugar) will slow the process down. And don't fool yourself, though there are complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates, they BOTH spike blood sugar. Complex carbohydrates are healthier for you because they supply a great deal of vitamins and minerals, like complex vitamin B's and potassium. But you still need to eat them in SERIOUS moderation when you are overweight.

Going completely sugar free is not needed. Being carbohydrate minded is. Eat healthy foods like fruit and veggies and whole grain in moderation and balanced with protein and fat. And that moderation is a lot lower than what most people realize. Constant carbohydrate intake over 125 grams a day without balancing it with equal amounts of protein and fat can lead you to insulin resistance, especially if you are over weight.

There are a lot of resources out there that discuss this but any recent research on diabetes will explain this further. Doctors debate how low carb/sugar intake should be, but they all agree that it must be reduced to fight diabetes and obesity.

Very informative post. I did not tackle this in depth whatsoever and just stated that eating less refined sugars is beneficial health wise but you broke it down in depth for those who may need light shed on this issue. Well spoken.