high sugar intake

missyt78
missyt78 Posts: 62 Member
edited September 21 in Food and Nutrition
Hi guys

Im been logging for a couple of weeks now, and i am always consistently over my recomended sugar intake.

This is not from eating very sugary food, but from eating fruit and selected veg like cucumber :( which i love. I was wondering if this is going to impact on my weighloss on the longer term?

I understand the difference between sugars in fruit wich are cellular and within their structure (fructose) and those in sweet foods, which are added artificially, but all the same it is sugar.. whether its good or bad.. does it make any difference to the bigger picture??

Love and light
Nikki :)

Replies

  • McGruber03
    McGruber03 Posts: 113 Member
    Your body reacts to most sugar the same way, whether it comes from fruit or candy. Your body converts sugar to glucose for energy, and if it is not used for energy, it will be stored as fat. You should focus on getting your "energy" from carbohydrates, and don't just look at the sugar content. Sugar from fruit is more beneficial b/c fruit usually has fiber, which causes the sugar to be absorbed at a slower rate, preventing a blood sugar spike. Also, fruit carries a lot more nutrients and phytochemicals (cancer fighting nutrients) than candy, donuts, etc. Also fruit is lower in calories than foods with processed or refined sugar. Cucumbers are a non starchy vegetable, their sugar content is very low. If your food diary is showing that cucumbers are high in sugar, it is wrong. Remember, a lot of the foods in the data base are added by members, not food content professionals. For the most part, the data base is correct, but I have found some errors. A good way to check yourself is to look up food content on www.usda.gov.

    Back to carbohydrates. There are carbohydrates that are healthy, and some that are not as healthy. For example, milk and regular soda are both carbohydrates...which is more healthy? Obviously the milk b/c it also has vitamin D, calcium, potassium, protein, etc. Soda has none of those. Wheat and White bread have about the same amount of carbs, but wheat is more healthy than white b/c it has more fiber. Therefore, you should monitor your carb intake, DO eat carbs, but try to consume carbs from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains instead of from processed foods like donuts, candy, and soda.
  • SemiSweetRae
    SemiSweetRae Posts: 30
    Yes! There is a huge difference! Processed white sugars aren't easily digested by your body and are more readily converted to fat. The sugar from fruit and veggies gets used by your body for energy, digestion, brain function etc. There are good sugars and bad sugars just like good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. Try to only get your sugar intake from healthy foods, if you are like me and drink coffee or tea or other items that need to be sweetened try using something like stevia. It is an all natural plant derived sweetner. Also make sure you are balancing it out with protein.
  • bleedo
    bleedo Posts: 6 Member
    So glad someone else has this issue. I just logged my breakfast which
    Was a banana and some grapes- and I am already over my sugar amounts!
  • missyt78
    missyt78 Posts: 62 Member
    Thanks guys

    Yes i have just realised that some nutritional amounts are wrong - which can be a problem as some of us may be eating more or less than our calorie allowance :( I am double checking everything now :O)

    I guessed that the sugars were broken down and used more by the body rather than just turning the excess into FLAB :)

    I am also wheat/gluten intollerant so i try to avoid carbs which come from bread/pasta etc as it causes probs with my IBs.. altho the odd slice bowl never causes too mush probs. Bulking up on veg.. and a few portions of fruit. Feel free to check my diary to view my intake and let me know what you think :O)

    Thanks again for your responses :O)
    nikki
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
    Searched for this topic hoping for some insight. Thanks for the info in differentiating between sugars but unfortunately it doesn’t solve my particular concern so bear with me as I just complain ;) I have no idea how to keep sugars so low even while eating minimal fruit (which of course is good sugars!) and its driving me NUTS to see the red sugar total!!!

    It seems the worst offender for me is milk - who knew! (Ps normally I drink skim but for this week its 1% until its gone, lovely husband bought the wrong one ;)

    At the end of today I'll be at 71 sugars and I should be at 25, ugh!

    What I’ve eaten: protein shake w/ ½ banana (protein powder and banana are about 2 sugars total – virtually nothing it’s the milk that’s bad) ½ cup all bran (again the evil ½ cup milk sugars) vegetables, tuna, 1 apple, black beans, brown rice, peppers, ¼ cup corn and one silhouette yogurt w/ 1 tbsp flax.
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