who recommends reduction in sugar intake

meerkat70
meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Interesting debate on the role of calorie dense food in obesity. Also very interesting to note the role of industry investment in scientific advice.

The WHO organisation is revising the rda for sugars downwards. Government science advisers with links to companies like Mars don't agree. Quelle surprise.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/sep/07/sugar-diet-who-uk-experts

Replies

  • oferb1
    oferb1 Posts: 33
    So from what I understand the big debate is reducing sugar from currently being 11% to 10%? I am sure that will completely shock the system, and effectively solve the obesity in the UK :wink:

    If they really want to help... rethink that stupid food pyramid, reducing carbs (sugars, starch, the lot) to no more than 20%, and through those stupid BMI charts to the dumpster...
  • jackielou867
    jackielou867 Posts: 422 Member
    Sugar is the devil, the more you eat the more you crave. Almost given it up except where it occurs naturally like in fruit. Actually losing my sweet tooth now. Turned down a cookie this week for some raw cauliflower. Not because I knew I should, but because I actually craved the cauliflower more than the cookie. Weird but true :-)
  • TammyW18
    TammyW18 Posts: 244 Member
    I took a sugar challenge a few months back ...not allowing over 60 grams of sugar period. This is 60 before exercise and NOT counting the added exercise. Along w this I also increased my protein intake. This started out to be a 2 week challenge, after 3days I felt the difference...more energy and the bloated feeling went away... This was in the spring ...I still am not eating over 60 grams (normally between 30-50) and feeling great :)
  • oferb1
    oferb1 Posts: 33
    I took a sugar challenge a few months back ...not allowing over 60 grams of sugar period. This is 60 before exercise and NOT counting the added exercise. Along w this I also increased my protein intake. This started out to be a 2 week challenge, after 3days I felt the difference...more energy and the bloated feeling went away... This was in the spring ...I still am not eating over 60 grams (normally between 30-50) and feeling great :)

    That is great! I am on a low carb diet (that also obviously cuts my sugars), for the past 10 days I am averaging at 37gr of sugar a day... I am currently doing a 20% carb (100gr), 30% protein and 50% fat, and I feel great (and not doing too bad on the scales either)
  • oferb1
    oferb1 Posts: 33
    Sorry, my post was actually posted twice... so ignore this one...
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    I finally broke my sugar addiction a few years ago and since then I've been able to turn down sweets that aren't "worth it", like grocery store cake, boxed cookies, etc. I pretty much only eat baked good I've made myself (because I'm an awesome baker) but even the it isn't guaranteed that I'll actually eat it. I've had me remains of a batch of cookies in my cookie jar for a couple of months now. Leftover cake or cupcakes from a birthday party do not end up getting eaten. Besides a few pregnancy cravings, I've found I don't want sweets all that often, and if I do have some candy or soda it's far too sweet and/or syrupy now.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    So from what I understand the big debate is reducing sugar from currently being 11% to 10%? I am sure that will completely shock the system, and effectively solve the obesity in the UK :wink:

    If they really want to help... rethink that stupid food pyramid, reducing carbs (sugars, starch, the lot) to no more than 20%, and through those stupid BMI charts to the dumpster...

    :drinker:
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    I do - I try to limit refined sugar and don't worry about natural sugar.
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    Interestingly, MFP seems to have set mine at 7%.

    Anyway as usual, it's an oversimplification of a complicated issue, the same as they did for fat in the past.

    Changing this number is not going to affect the people it needs to, so change it, don't change it, whatever.
    It won't do a thing.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    So from what I understand the big debate is reducing sugar from currently being 11% to 10%? I am sure that will completely shock the system, and effectively solve the obesity in the UK :wink:

    If they really want to help... rethink that stupid food pyramid, reducing carbs (sugars, starch, the lot) to no more than 20%, and through those stupid BMI charts to the dumpster...

    possibly a slight misread :)
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    I average 50-120 grams of sugar per day, most from refined sources. I can't say that it has hindered my progress at all.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Sugar is the devil, the more you eat the more you crave.

    That is ridiculous. Why demonize a food type because you, admittedly, can't control your intake?:huh:
  • shapefitter
    shapefitter Posts: 900 Member
    Sugar, has made me look like, I am competing for the golly gosh belly competition. If, I was an alcoholic, I would be proud, but I am not.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Sugar is the devil, the more you eat the more you crave. Almost given it up except where it occurs naturally like in fruit. Actually losing my sweet tooth now. Turned down a cookie this week for some raw cauliflower. Not because I knew I should, but because I actually craved the cauliflower more than the cookie. Weird but true :-)

    Oh, come ON! No one could possibly crave cauliflower over a cookie.


    Just.


    No.



    How long have you felt this way?




    Here, lie down over here.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    Sugar is the devil, the more you eat the more you crave. Almost given it up except where it occurs naturally like in fruit. Actually losing my sweet tooth now. Turned down a cookie this week for some raw cauliflower. Not because I knew I should, but because I actually craved the cauliflower more than the cookie. Weird but true :-)

    I must be a special snowflake because after I've eaten my sweet treat I'm satisfied. I don't crave foods I just enjoy them in moderation. Oh and I totally ignore my sugar setting on mfp.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Sugar is the devil, the more you eat the more you crave. Almost given it up except where it occurs naturally like in fruit. Actually losing my sweet tooth now. Turned down a cookie this week for some raw cauliflower. Not because I knew I should, but because I actually craved the cauliflower more than the cookie. Weird but true :-)

    If I ever find myself in a place where I crave cauliflower I'm going to stop trying to lose weight, start seeing a shrink, and opt to Just Stay Fat. And I mean that.


    But then, I can eat a cookie or ice cream and go about my day without being tempted to start selling TVs and pimping out my sisters for my next hit.
  • sjanejack
    sjanejack Posts: 158
    Honestly, I think it doesn't always matter if you reduce it or not, as long as you don't have up to 50 grams of sugar per day, plus no exercise. For me, me reducing my sugar intake more and more, was not just because of me wanting or trying to lose weight, but because if I just kept letting myself stay even a little bit obese or more than that, and let myself sit around, not eating right or drinking enough water, whatever, that there'd be a chance i'd gain even more weight, and that because of that I would get diabetes. Both my parents have it, and had it when I was conceived too. For me it was either have less sugar, drink more water, get exercise sometimes, or just risk getting diabetes, which was a chance I could not take.
  • sjanejack
    sjanejack Posts: 158
    Sugar is the devil, the more you eat the more you crave. Almost given it up except where it occurs naturally like in fruit. Actually losing my sweet tooth now. Turned down a cookie this week for some raw cauliflower. Not because I knew I should, but because I actually craved the cauliflower more than the cookie. Weird but true :-)

    I must be a special snowflake because after I've eaten my sweet treat I'm satisfied. I don't crave foods I just enjoy them in moderation. Oh and I totally ignore my sugar setting on mfp.
    I am the same sort of way, after I have sugar even once in a while I don't exactly want it more. I never crave foods, there's not exactly an exception to it, and I don't have it set up to limit my sugar intake on here because I already limit it a lot in real life.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Sugar is the devil, the more you eat the more you crave. Almost given it up except where it occurs naturally like in fruit. Actually losing my sweet tooth now. Turned down a cookie this week for some raw cauliflower. Not because I knew I should, but because I actually craved the cauliflower more than the cookie. Weird but true :-)

    If I ever find myself in a place where I crave cauliflower I'm going to stop trying to lose weight, start seeing a shrink, and opt to Just Stay Fat. And I mean that.


    But then, I can eat a cookie or ice cream and go about my day without being tempted to start selling TVs and pimping out my sisters for my next hit.

    Want a piece of candy little girl? The first one's free.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Sugar is the devil, the more you eat the more you crave. Almost given it up except where it occurs naturally like in fruit. Actually losing my sweet tooth now. Turned down a cookie this week for some raw cauliflower. Not because I knew I should, but because I actually craved the cauliflower more than the cookie. Weird but true :-)

    If I ever find myself in a place where I crave cauliflower I'm going to stop trying to lose weight, start seeing a shrink, and opt to Just Stay Fat. And I mean that.


    But then, I can eat a cookie or ice cream and go about my day without being tempted to start selling TVs and pimping out my sisters for my next hit.

    Want a piece of candy little girl? The first one's free.

    :noway:

    Run away, it's the sugar pusher!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Interestingly, MFP seems to have set mine at 7%.

    Anyway as usual, it's an oversimplification of a complicated issue, the same as they did for fat in the past.

    Changing this number is not going to affect the people it needs to, so change it, don't change it, whatever.
    It won't do a thing.

    this times a miggity miggity million. people the overeat are going to overeat, and adjusting their macros is not some miracle fix. I know people the believed if they stopped eating meat they would be healthier, but they replaced cheeseburgers with Oreos. Like Smasher said, remember when they told us that eating fat made us fat? Or eating cholesterol gave us high cholesterol and eggs became the devil? Note that they are starting the reverse their position on sodium as well.

    Sugar, the new devil. Same as the old devil
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I've never tracked a single gram of sugar......... ever.......... and I am going to go out on a limb and say it hasn't hindered my weight loss that I can tell....... No I believe sticking to a modest caloric deficit, don't demonize any foods, and get your *kitten* up off the couch and get moving seems like a sensible plan to me but that's just me..... Best of Luck
  • _EndGame_
    _EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
    I eat fruit every single day. I usually always end up going over my sugar allowance.

    It's never hindered my weight loss or caused me to crave more sugar.
  • oferb1
    oferb1 Posts: 33
    So from what I understand the big debate is reducing sugar from currently being 11% to 10%? I am sure that will completely shock the system, and effectively solve the obesity in the UK :wink:

    If they really want to help... rethink that stupid food pyramid, reducing carbs (sugars, starch, the lot) to no more than 20%, and through those stupid BMI charts to the dumpster...

    possibly a slight misread :)

    then this is very misleading "The UK still officially uses an 11% limit on sugar set 22 years ago by the SACN's predecessor"

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