Sugar....natural sugar vs. added sugar

ASB2683
ASB2683 Posts: 12
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been trying to cut back on my sugar intake, however I have heard that natural sugars in fruit is ok and "doesn't count" towards your total sugar intake.....is this true? The reason I ask is that I make a Visalus shake with frozen fruits ground up to make a smoothie.....would it be better to stick with eggs for breakfast to stay away from the (fruit) sugars for weight loss?

Replies

  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Don't ever limit fruit intake due to sugar. The fructose in fruit is natural, and is accompanied by the fiber in the fruit which causes slow absorption of the sugar preventing insulin spikes. That being said, in terms of body composition, you can eat as much sugar as you want, natural or artificial, as long as you don't go over your carb goal. Someone will inevitably post after me and say that you should limit artificial sugars as much as possible, which is good advice for long term health, but in reality, people aren't unhealthy because they consume too much sugar, they're unhealthy because they consume too many calories every day. High sugar in and of itself does not cause obesity, caloric surpluses cause obesity.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    sugar is sugar...the difference is that with fruit and what not, that sugar is wrapped up in fiber and also includes other nutrients. The fiber slows down the rate at which your body metabolizes the fructose in fruit. This is why my diabetic dad can eat some fruit in moderation, but he's not supposed to have just a soda or whatever...straight sugar. MFP's recommendation doesn't differentiate between added sugar and naturally occurring sugar because that would be a ***** to program...the recommendation is based on American Heart Associations recommendation for ADDED sugar 'cuz people go around guzzling 3 100 oz cherry cokes every day and ****.

    If you don't have a medical condition or otherwise have an allergy, avoiding sugar is going to do nothing in regards to your weight loss. Weight loss = calorie in/out...law of thermodynamics...science and stuff.

    I eat anywhere between 2-4 servings of fruit daily and I've lost 35-40 Lbs and counting. Fruit is packed with all kinds of nutrients and are also good source of antioxidants. Personally, I'd have the eggs and a serving of berries or something for breakfast...but I'd definitely stick with a protein early in the day. I eat a protein every time I sit down to eat anything.
  • lilcassers
    lilcassers Posts: 163
    Yes, I wouldn't worry about fruit sugar.
  • ASB2683
    ASB2683 Posts: 12
    Thanks everyone! I think I will just delete that sugar line through MFP as I don't tend to eat things with a lot of added sugar (anymore!)
  • garlic7girl
    garlic7girl Posts: 2,236 Member
    I read an article by a Registered Dietician and her greatest advice was avoid ADDED sugars for example like in processed foods and table sugar, in your beverages etc. What is naturally in foods is fine but she said what kills most folks is what is added in their packaged and restaurant foods.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    I posted this a few weeks ago as a response to a similar thread.
    Also, the RDI is actually a MINIMUM. Perhaps it should be in red until you exceed it so there aren't "OMG, I ate an apple and I'm already over my sugar" threads on a daily basis.

    Take a look at:
    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/4/827S.full#sec-9

    The only upper limit that they even talk about is to stay less than 25% of your daily calories from ADDED sugar, but they did not make it an official RDI.

Categories