Quitting Sugar
Replies
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Wow, no wonder all the cavemen are dead then, dem berries are poison!
Yes, because 5 raspberries and an apple scrounged over the course of a day compares to a gallon of soda on the couch.
What if I drink my soda while running a few miles a day, in the manner of our nomadic ancestors? Am I safe then?
If I take a fiber supplement with my ice cream, does that make it okay to eat, cause fiber?
If sugar doesn't make me hungry/overeat does that mean I'm in the clear?0 -
Well, the videos do nothing to dispute the use of high energy density foods like sugar and alcohol to replace energy you have used though exercise. And I am not saying people should have zero sugar. I am agreeing with the videos that sugar has increased in our diets to the point where it is a cause of disease and that eating less - or more glucose and less fructose - can only be a good thing.0
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I'm eating lots of vegetables, and drink lots of water. I've heard that drinking broth is supposed to help replace electrolytes, but it doesn't seem to be helping with headaches much.
Off topic but if your drinking a lot of broth your sodium might be high; high sodium intake actually gives me headaches so perhaps that wouldn't help?0 -
Well, the videos do nothing to dispute the use of high energy density foods like sugar and alcohol to replace energy you have used though exercise. And I am not saying people should have zero sugar. I am agreeing with the videos that sugar has increased in our diets to the point where it is a cause of disease and that eating less - or more glucose and less fructose - can only be a good thing.
Not disagreeing that eating less of some things may not be a bad thing - but actually, if you read the link I provided, it will show that the increase in obesity, and as such the higher prevalence of certain diseases is actually more highly correlated with an increase in fats. Fats are not to blame either. Its more food and a lower energy expenditure in general.0 -
I'm trying to quit eating sugar. I don't include fruit in this, but I am limiting my fruit intake to 1 serving per day.
The sugar withdrawals are intense! Headaches, fatique, hypoglycemic blood sugar levels, even shaking at times.
Have you been able to completely quit sugar? Did you feel withdrawal symptoms? How did you deal with them? How long did it take for the effects to stop?
Go for it (sugar restriction), however, peer-reviewed research indicates that sugar consumed as whole fruit is metabolized differently than added sugar.
You might be interested to know that there is a Sugar Free September Challenge Group:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/16239-sugar-free-september-challenge-group
I hope to see you there!
kind regards,,
Ben0 -
If you research the human brain, you will come to find that it essentially runs on glucose, which is what sugar broken down in the body turns into. So by limiting your sugar intake as a whole, you are basically limiting your brain's primary source of energy, which is required for even the most basic of functions.
I think that (like previously mentioned above me) you may be confusing processed and refined sugars, for sugar as a whole. When it comes down to it, sugars are just like every other nutrient and macro-nutrient: you can get them from healthy and unhealthy sources. The same goes for sugar, since you can consume rather refined sugars, or sugars in fruits, such as fructose. That being said, fruit has healthy and unprocessed sugars: fructose. Why limit yourself to one serving of fruit a day, when the sugars are healthier sources of such, and fruit has so many other nutritional/health benefits? I could understand limiting your consumption of refined sugars to once a day, but why fruit? Not all sugar is unhealthy.
Firstly the glucose used by the brain comes from any carbohydrate, not just sugars. Starch is a polymer of glucose and it'll do fine.
Fruits contain glucose, fructose and sucrose in varying proportions, plus in the case of banana some starch. Most fruits are 10% or less sugar by weight, with grapes about 15 and banana about 20. So eating a pound of the lower sugar fruits won't exceed 45g of sugar per day and part of that will be fructose, this is within anyone's view of a safe limit.
Sugar in fruits data http://goo.gl/ygwYMJ0 -
I gave up refined sugar on 10th June. I was fine after five days of withdrawal symptoms.
I do eat I portion of fruit a day. It works well for me and my all or nothing approach to sugar has really helped with my food choices... Now I have been able to occasionally eat something sugary but I'm not hooked on it.
Sugar is apparently eight times more addictive than cocaine!0 -
Unless you're diabetic, why would you quit sugar?
Some ppl can't handle things, even in moderation. Sugar seems to be an addictive thing. I mean, she's going through sugar withdrawals...
OP, as far as quitting sugar is concerned, my problem was pouring it in my drinks. I hardly ever ate candy, but when I did, I would binge on it. Seriously, I'd buy the big pack and eat it within 2 days or buy king size candy barS and eat them in one day. I also used to say that I ate icing with cake instead of cake with icing bc I used to eat so much icing with my cake. Mmm. Normally, I would buy a small sheet cake and eat the whole thing in two days. I've had cake recently, but only bc my bosses have given it to me, and that was a big mistake, bc although their offerings were small, they were so good that I wanted more. I bought 6 of the Starbucks cake pops that my boss gave me and ate them in one day. I purchased about 9 over three days, and purchased two recently, so I think that I'm over it. My other boss gave me a piece of cake the other day and I was tempted to buy more later, but I didn't! I haven't drank soda in two months! I used to get headaches when trying to quit soda. For some reason, everything just worked out this time. My cookies are all sugar free, so that's how I get my sugar fix these days. I get the Murray brand of sugar free products. Check the candy and cookie aisle for sugar free snacks. The Dollar Tree also has sugar free candy. I don't really check the sugar for other foods. Oh, I also eat honey roasted cashews or Cinnabon cashews, but don't really count that as a bad food since the cashews are healthy.0 -
If you research the human brain, you will come to find that it essentially runs on glucose, which is what sugar broken down in the body turns into. So by limiting your sugar intake as a whole, you are basically limiting your brain's primary source of energy, which is required for even the most basic of functions.
I think that (like previously mentioned above me) you may be confusing processed and refined sugars, for sugar as a whole. When it comes down to it, sugars are just like every other nutrient and macro-nutrient: you can get them from healthy and unhealthy sources. The same goes for sugar, since you can consume rather refined sugars, or sugars in fruits, such as fructose. That being said, fruit has healthy and unprocessed sugars: fructose. Why limit yourself to one serving of fruit a day, when the sugars are healthier sources of such, and fruit has so many other nutritional/health benefits? I could understand limiting your consumption of refined sugars to once a day, but why fruit? Not all sugar is unhealthy.
Firstly the glucose used by the brain comes from any carbohydrate, not just sugars. Starch is a polymer of glucose and it'll do fine.
Fruits contain glucose, fructose and sucrose in varying proportions, plus in the case of banana some starch. Most fruits are 10% or less sugar by weight, with grapes about 15 and banana about 20. So eating a pound of the lower sugar fruits won't exceed 45g of sugar per day and part of that will be fructose, this is within anyone's view of a safe limit.
Sugar in fruits data http://goo.gl/ygwYMJ
I know that glucose can also be metabolized from carbohydrates, and about the various types of sugars present in fruits. I was trying to speak on more simplistic terms, because the OP was seemingly confused about sugar as a whole. So, I didn't see the point in going into the specifics of such things, if the OP was already a bit confused as a whole.
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Unless you're diabetic, why would you quit sugar?
Some ppl can't handle things, even in moderation. Sugar seems to be an addictive thing. I mean, she's going through sugar withdrawals...
OP, as far as quitting sugar is concerned, my problem was pouring it in my drinks. I hardly ever ate candy, but when I did, I would binge on it. Seriously, I'd buy the big pack and eat it within 2 days or buy king size candy barS and eat them in one day. I also used to say that I ate icing with cake instead of cake with icing bc I used to eat so much icing with my cake. Mmm. Normally, I would buy a small sheet cake and eat the whole thing in two days. I've had cake recently, but only bc my bosses have given it to me, and that was a big mistake, bc although their offerings were small, they were so good that I wanted more. I bought 6 of the Starbucks cake pops that my boss gave me and ate them in one day. I purchased about 9 over three days, and purchased two recently, so I think that I'm over it. My other boss gave me a piece of cake the other day and I was tempted to buy more later, but I didn't! I haven't drank soda in two months! I used to get headaches when trying to quit soda. For some reason, everything just worked out this time. My cookies are all sugar free, so that's how I get my sugar fix these days. I get the Murray brand of sugar free products. Check the candy and cookie aisle for sugar free snacks. The Dollar Tree also has sugar free candy. I don't really check the sugar for other foods. Oh, I also eat honey roasted cashews or Cinnabon cashews, but don't really count that as a bad food since the cashews are healthy.
Saying that some people can become addicted to sugar as a justification in avoiding it is like saying that some people can be addicted to water "so they should avoid it", which is far from the case.
You've basically replaced sugars, with sugar alcohols (aka, chemically synthesized sugar alcohols). That is, unless you are using pure powdered replacements for refined sugar, such as stevia leaf or monk fruit. While refined sugar is not the most healthy of sugars, it's much healthier than sugar alcohols.
Why give up sugar as a whole, instead of working to have a healthier relationship with it? From one sugar junkie to another I TOTALLY get the loss of control around sugary foods leading to binge eating. Why not fix that relationship and return at a later date to such foods? Cutting out a desired group of food completely is never healthy. Everything is okay in moderation.
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I know that glucose can also be metabolized from carbohydrates, and about the various types of sugars present in fruits. I was trying to speak on more simplistic terms, because the OP was seemingly confused about sugar as a whole. So, I didn't see the point in going into the specifics of such things, if the OP was already a bit confused as a whole.
If you simplify it to the point of wrongness you do nobody any favours.
"So by limiting your sugar intake as a whole, you are basically limiting your brain's primary source of energy, which is required for even the most basic of functions" is actually incorrect, not simplified. 0/10.0 -
I know that glucose can also be metabolized from carbohydrates, and about the various types of sugars present in fruits. I was trying to speak on more simplistic terms, because the OP was seemingly confused about sugar as a whole. So, I didn't see the point in going into the specifics of such things, if the OP was already a bit confused as a whole.
If you simplify it to the point of wrongness you do nobody any favours.
"So by limiting your sugar intake as a whole, you are basically limiting your brain's primary source of energy, which is required for even the most basic of functions" is actually incorrect, not simplified. 0/10.
My science and cognitive psychology professors taught me otherwise, in my recent courses. I was taught that glucose was the primary source of energy for the cells within the brain, specifically when it comes to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine responsible for memory, learning, and muscular/nervous system function.
I'm always open to learning new information, since I believe the current educational system merely teaches students what to think, and not how to think. So, I enjoy hearing about/learning about alternative perspectives, theories, changes in theories, etc. How is it incorrect then? Do you have any valid articles/research I could read on such topics? Is there new information, or another perspective on the subject that I'm not yet aware of? Thank you in advance, if you have such. 0 -
I know that glucose can also be metabolized from carbohydrates, and about the various types of sugars present in fruits. I was trying to speak on more simplistic terms, because the OP was seemingly confused about sugar as a whole. So, I didn't see the point in going into the specifics of such things, if the OP was already a bit confused as a whole.
If you simplify it to the point of wrongness you do nobody any favours.
"So by limiting your sugar intake as a whole, you are basically limiting your brain's primary source of energy, which is required for even the most basic of functions" is actually incorrect, not simplified. 0/10.
My science and cognitive psychology professors taught me otherwise, in my recent courses. I was taught that glucose was the primary source of energy for the cells within the brain, specifically when it comes to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine responsible for memory, learning, and muscular/nervous system function.
I'm always open to learning new information, since I believe the current educational system merely teaches students what to think, and not how to think. So, I enjoy hearing about/learning about alternative perspectives, theories, changes in theories, etc. How is it incorrect then? Do you have any valid articles/research I could read on such topics? Is there new information, or another perspective on the subject that I'm not yet aware of? Thank you in advance, if you have such.
your professor is correct. the brain utilizes glucose0 -
I'm so impressed with how many doctors, nutritionists, and scientists are on this website. I thought I was addressing everyday dieters for their personal experience.
To those that have shared their personal experience, thank you.0 -
I'm so impressed with how many doctors, nutritionists, and scientists are on this website. I thought I was addressing everyday dieters for their personal experience.
To those that have shared their personal experience, thank you.
Don't be passive aggressive, it won't end well. You don't have to be a doctor or a scientist to be informed about sugar and it's effects on the body. I would be grateful that people are informed and sharing their opinion and you're not talking to 'everyday dieters' who just follow whatever trend seems loosely backed by dr Oz...0 -
I'm so impressed with how many doctors, nutritionists, and scientists are on this website. I thought I was addressing everyday dieters for their personal experience.
To those that have shared their personal experience, thank you.
Because only doctors and scientists take the time to be informed about sugar/nutrition/health. The rest of us are just ignorant dieters, right?
:huh:0 -
Yeah, those people who stopped smoking totally lost their lifes!0 -
I'm so impressed with how many doctors, nutritionists, and scientists are on this website. I thought I was addressing everyday dieters for their personal experience.
To those that have shared their personal experience, thank you.
Because only doctors and scientists take the time to be informed about sugar/nutrition/health. The rest of us are just ignorant dieters, right?
:huh:
Because people seem to assume I didn't bother to inform myself before I planned my dietary efforts, or that they're own knowledge is more complete (applied to their own lives, I'm sure it is). I know what I'm doing, I just want to know how my experience compares to others that have tried the same thing. And more than half the responses are people that seem to have never even tried it, and are just here to tell me I'm doing it wrong. Plus all these technical debates are really distracting in this forum.
Being able to understand this stuff within the context of your own health condition is good enough for most, and probably all that most people do. Applying it to the lives of others is another effort altogether. All the comments with "you're supposed to do this" and "you need that" tone are just regurgitations of the stuff somebody read (or heard from a friend) and I suspect most of it has the traces of the mutations similar to those found in the telephone game.
I do appreciate when people post links to information. But most of these responses contain nothing that I couldn't have found (with sources cited) in a google search.0 -
I'm trying to quit eating sugar. I don't include fruit in this, but I am limiting my fruit intake to 1 serving per day.
The sugar withdrawals are intense! Headaches, fatique, hypoglycemic blood sugar levels, even shaking at times.
Have you been able to completely quit sugar? Did you feel withdrawal symptoms? How did you deal with them? How long did it take for the effects to stop?
didn't read this thread but just responding to the first question:
It took about a week, and I had some intense headaches too. A little green or black tea seemed to help.
I tend to remove sugar from my or my kids diet when we are fighting a cold because sugar can compete with vitamin C in our bodies and it can slow down our immune system. The nice thing about nature is that many natural sources of sugar (fruit) have vitamin C to offset this issue, but things like cookies and cake don't.
Thanks for your response. I hadn't thought about caffeinated teas, because I usually drink herbal. But that makes sense.
Thanks!0 -
Deary me! There is a lot of misinformed posts on here. Sugar - all sugar is 'natural' ie occurs in nature. How refined that sugar is by us humans affects the amount of other nutrients you will gain from that food. Fructose for example (fruit sugar) is the same calorie for calorie as sucrose but it tastes sweeter so you need less to get a sugar hit. Also you gain a lot of other nutrients from fruit than say a chocolate bar.
In terms of calories fruit is quite high so you should include it in your target. Cutting out more refined sugars is good but purely for the reason that you don't gain much else from the food your eating other than sugar.
I have cut out all refined sugar and fruit ( the fruit for a medical bowel condition). It was so hard bit I'm ok now, but I occasionally crave it. Good thing is I only need a tiny amount of sugar to fulfil that craving as it tastes soooo sweet now!
Hope that is some sensible info and just to ensure your confidence in this I have a biomed degree, and a post grad diploma, and I teach about health lol. DONE.0 -
I gave up refined sugar on 10th June. I was fine after five days of withdrawal symptoms.
I do eat I portion of fruit a day. It works well for me and my all or nothing approach to sugar has really helped with my food choices... Now I have been able to occasionally eat something sugary but I'm not hooked on it.
Sugar is apparently eight times more addictive than cocaine!
As a former cocaine addict, I call complete BS on that. Jesus, where do people get this crap.0 -
I gave up refined sugar on 10th June. I was fine after five days of withdrawal symptoms.
I do eat I portion of fruit a day. It works well for me and my all or nothing approach to sugar has really helped with my food choices... Now I have been able to occasionally eat something sugary but I'm not hooked on it.
Sugar is apparently eight times more addictive than cocaine!
As a former cocaine addict, I call complete BS on that. Jesus, where do people get this crap.
I think people get confused between psychologically addicted and physically addicted.0 -
Worse, I think peope like to justify a lack of self control by calling it an addiction.0
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If the sugar is from FRESH fruit then it comes with vitamins, roughage and fiber, good to keep the old pooper workin.
If the the sugar is table sugar then it is empty calories
If it is high frutcose then it is downright mcnasty
Watch what your are getting the sugar from my bubby is an exsmoker and knows how stuff gets manipulated , remember those big chiefs for ciqarette companies testifying nicotine wasn't additive but they were manipuating the nicotine to keep people hooked well I read this today
The big players in the U.S. food industry have certainly acted like the tobacco pushers as they have deployed an incredible array of scientific and marketing research designed to get people to eat more, often at the obvious expense of their health. In his book, "Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us," journalist Michael Moss offers a damning portrait of food companies that have entire research wings dedicated to creating the ideal "bliss point" so that brain receptors crave a food without ever triggering a sense of being satiated. More often than not, adding sweetness has been the easiest way to fool the brain, resulting in products like Yoplait yogurt, which tries to project a healthy image but, as Moss notes, has twice as much real sugar per serving as Lucky Charms cereal - the poster child for an unhealthy breakfast when I was growing up. - See more at: http://mcalesternews.com/features/x1253343348/How-America-is-exporting-its-obesity-epidemic#sthash.Eg71H0w3.dpuf0 -
please stopIf the sugar is from FRESH fruit then it comes with vitamins, roughage and fiber, good to keep the old pooper workin.
If the the sugar is table sugar then it is empty calories
If it is high frutcose then it is downright mcnasty
Watch what your are getting the sugar from my bubby is an exsmoker and knows how stuff gets manipulated , remember those big chiefs for ciqarette companies testifying nicotine wasn't additive but they were manipuating the nicotine to keep people hooked well I read this today
The big players in the U.S. food industry have certainly acted like the tobacco pushers as they have deployed an incredible array of scientific and marketing research designed to get people to eat more, often at the obvious expense of their health. In his book, "Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us," journalist Michael Moss offers a damning portrait of food companies that have entire research wings dedicated to creating the ideal "bliss point" so that brain receptors crave a food without ever triggering a sense of being satiated. More often than not, adding sweetness has been the easiest way to fool the brain, resulting in products like Yoplait yogurt, which tries to project a healthy image but, as Moss notes, has twice as much real sugar per serving as Lucky Charms cereal - the poster child for an unhealthy breakfast when I was growing up. - See more at: http://mcalesternews.com/features/x1253343348/How-America-is-exporting-its-obesity-epidemic#sthash.Eg71H0w3.dpuf0 -
Just eat sugar in moderation! Your body is withdrawing for a reason because it needs some amount of sugar in fruits and vegetables. I went over to splenda for my tea and other snacks that I eat. I hope this helps for you!0
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......I get where you are coming from. Fruit like anything in excess can react badly in your body. On days where I have more than one fruit a day for a consistent period of time, my belly bloats very painfully. Yes science and society can tell you that, you should eat x amount of fruit and veg and why in ***** would someone limit fruit and its nutrients. Only you know the way a certain food reacts with you and your body. For me, having one serving of fruit in the mornings with breakfast has done wonders for weight loss. I find by eating less fruit, my craving for sweets is also lowered. This is just what works for me. I too am going back to a limit on my fruit.0
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I know that glucose can also be metabolized from carbohydrates, and about the various types of sugars present in fruits. I was trying to speak on more simplistic terms, because the OP was seemingly confused about sugar as a whole. So, I didn't see the point in going into the specifics of such things, if the OP was already a bit confused as a whole.
If you simplify it to the point of wrongness you do nobody any favours.
"So by limiting your sugar intake as a whole, you are basically limiting your brain's primary source of energy, which is required for even the most basic of functions" is actually incorrect, not simplified. 0/10.
My science and cognitive psychology professors taught me otherwise, in my recent courses. I was taught that glucose was the primary source of energy for the cells within the brain, specifically when it comes to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine responsible for memory, learning, and muscular/nervous system function.
I'm always open to learning new information, since I believe the current educational system merely teaches students what to think, and not how to think. So, I enjoy hearing about/learning about alternative perspectives, theories, changes in theories, etc. How is it incorrect then? Do you have any valid articles/research I could read on such topics? Is there new information, or another perspective on the subject that I'm not yet aware of? Thank you in advance, if you have such.
He may be referring to the fact that the liver can make glucose from scratch and that the brain can also use ketones for energy when a person is in ketosis.
I agree that it is incorrect to imply that people need to eat "sugar" in order for their brain to function.0 -
I'm so impressed with how many doctors, nutritionists, and scientists are on this website. I thought I was addressing everyday dieters for their personal experience.
To those that have shared their personal experience, thank you.
Missed this until someone necromanced this thread, but since I asked the question that rustled some jimmies, please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Dr. Vpteryshyn, and unless you have a medical condition, there is no reason to cut out sugar. If it makes you feel better psychologically to restrict, well then have at it, but it is not inherently dangerous.0 -
Herbal tea stops a heart attack within 30 seconds. You’ll see how to make it at home for pennies. http://CancerSurvivals.com
also, DAFUQ?0
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