Sugar is scary..

Talim, you really touched a nerve! If you're truly curious, read a book called Sugar Blues by William Dufty, published originally in 1975. You might be able to find it at your local library or you can buy a copy -- it's still in print. It will give you an eye-opening discussion about the effects of refined sugar, which is what is the really problematic substance, not the "sugar" found in unprocessed food like fruits and vegetables. Don't be scared, be educated!

Because a 40 year old book trumps current science. :huh:

:laugh:

Saccarides is the biochemical name for the group of compounds that most people know as carbohydrates. Simple ones are sugars, longer ones as starches. Sugars ain't 1 thing. For example glucose is used by all living things as the only thing for energy. Fructose looks just like glucose, but just a little different. Likewise galactose. Sucrose (compound of glucose+fructose) is a di-saccharide and is table sugar. So when you hear sugar is scary - what the scientific evidence is unequivocal about is that fructose should be viewed as the same as alcohol. One glass, ok. One bottle. Sick. One glass being no more than 2 peices of fruit in this analogy. Amounts of fructose consumed as added sugar or as hfcs (high fructose corn syrup) in western diets averages 40 teaspoons a day!. Scientific evidence is now unequivocal. Heart disease, cancer, fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and dementia all follow. The only issue is that eating fructose & getting these diseases takes 20 years. In animals you get these is 6 weeks or 6 months. Science does not allow this ethically. So believe Lustig and others. For health reasons cut out all added sugar.

NO.

Sugar has NO nutritional value and is NOT healthy!

strong first post.

Well, I for one am terrified of running out of donuts and ice cream

Big food will do everything in their power to deny it including placing people on this site.

lol

Hi. I'm here representing nobody at all, and sugar is just a carb.

And you are ridiculous.

false. You are working for the man! Now let me find my tinfoil hat....

I used to think so too...Its not...my skippy peanut butter and honey told me so

Mmmmm honey and peanut butter

Sugar has NO nutritional value and is NOT healthy!

strong first post.

Meh. Not enough caps lock.

Hi everyone!
Don't be scared, sugar has health benefits too. While it is true that sugar makes you put on weight, it is also true that your body needs sugar to stay healthy. The health benefits of sugar are not implicit under normal conditions. But when your health is down, nothing works like sugar.
Your body needs sugar for strength and energy. Despite the fact that sugar leads to weight gain and several other disorders, you cannot deny that sugar gives you instant energy.
Your brain cannot function without sugar. Do you know why you have blackouts? It is because the sugar supply to your brain is cut off. So the health benefits of sugar include the proper functioning of your brain. However too much sugar has bad effects on your brain so always have it in moderation.
It works as glucose and cures depression too. You just need to have balanced intake!

Your brain can fuel itself just fine on ketones, it doesn't necessarily need dietary sugar to function. You don't need very much sugar to replenish glycogen stores as well. I believe everyone would do just fine limiting their sugar intake and getting it only from fruits and veggies, keeping refined sweets to once in a while treats like they're meant to be.

Your brain can fuel itself just fine on ketones, it doesn't need sugar. You don't need very much sugar to replenish glycogen stores as well. I believe everyone would do just fine limiting their sugar intake and getting it only from fruits and veggies, keeping refined sweets to once in a while treats like they're meant to be.

But what happens if we don't keep them to once in a while and instead have them daily but in moderation and make it fit into our daily numbers?

Your stomach goes from a washboard and back to a tub...j/k. If you can get away with it fitting a sugary treat ever day that's better then the average western diet eater having one with every meal on top of processed nutrient difficient carbage.

Your brain can fuel itself just fine on ketones, it doesn't need sugar. But what happens if we don't keep them to once in a while and instead have them daily but in moderation and make it fit into our daily numbers?

The amount of free glucose in your blood is only about a teaspoon (5g). Our liver and our insulin mechanism keeps it at that low level. (Hence the reason why diabetics run the risk of dying - too much or not enough glucose). Healthy systems are pretty good. We don't actually need to have any carbohydrates. Yep. None. (No carbs - simple ones like glucose, fructose, sucrose, moderately simple like rice, wheat, etc, or complex ones such as in leafy veges). As stated, we can get by on protein (need 9 essential amino acids) and fats (only 3 or 4 essential triglycerides). We make the rest. We need some other nutrients and we can get them from veges or meats. Just ask the Inuit. Western conventional recommendation is to have about 45% to 55% of our diet as carbs or about 150gm or about 600 Calories. The Paleo diet,; the South Beach Diet; Atkins diet; the LCHF diets all say that the amount should probably be much lower - about 50gm. In fact the Atkins drops it to about 15gm during the first 2 weeks.

Why? That's an busy area for research, but fructose has no hunger feedback mechanism. And protein and fat provides more appetite suppression than carbohydrates (either simple sugars or starchs).. Hence the reason most of these diets cut the carbs, try to eliminate added sugar (both fructose and glucose) and up the protein levels. E.g. meal replacement mixes re mostly protein. Like everything, it is not black or white, but the simple guidelines should be (1) eliminate added sugar (2) don't eat anything with more than about 3% sugar (except whole fruit); don't eat anything with "lite" in its name; and substitute protein or fat for carbs. (e.g. Eat a slightly larger piece of chicken/fish/ tofu/beef, and cut out the bun. 100 calories each, the protein will allow your appetite to work normally).

I just don't know what to think. I mean I know sugars in fruit are good but like, the high fructose corn syrup stuff? Idk man. :c It's hard to know with all these different sources saying different things.

I don't eat high fructose syrup in anything because (1) it makes me crave sugar and (2) it makes my body feel bad.

Sugar has NO nutritional value and is NOT healthy!

So. You're saying ice cream and cookies was a bad idea for dinner?

Well nuts.

Sugar has NO nutritional value and is NOT healthy!

So. You're saying ice cream and cookies was a bad idea for dinner?

Well nuts.

Well, no....if you put nuts on the ice cream and cookies dinner, that makes it healthier. :laugh: :bigsmile:

I didn't. I don't like nuts.