added sugar, whats the difference?

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24

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  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
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    People on the MFP forums usually say not to worry too much about sugar intake from fruits and natural sources because no one should get discouraged from making healthy choices, such as eating fruit, because they're scared of sugar. Added sugar is worse because it provides no nutritional benefits, just sugar.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    Does sugar really make a difference when it fits into your daily calories?

    no...
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I'm gonna switch to only eating sugar from sugarbeets so I can start saying, "Oh, I only eat VEGETABLE sugar" :)

    What do we call sugar cane then ? It's a grass I think - so also a vegetable ??
  • gaevren
    gaevren Posts: 9
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    I try to stay away from added sugars in things just to limit the sugar intake overall. Meaning, if the sugar isn't normally present in the food (such as fruit, dairy, etc) then I limit myself on those foods. I go out of my way to find Spaghetti sauce that doesn't have added sugars, ditto for sausages, things like that. (If anyone's curious, the only commercial brand of spaghetti sauce that doesn't have added sugar that I've found is Classico's Spicy Red Pepper sauce. There may be others but that's the only one I've found so far.)

    That's not to say that I don't enjoy the occasional Cadbury Creme egg or bowl of ice cream or whatnot, but in daily life I try to really limit the amount of sugar that gets added to my foods, and yes that includes honey and maple syrup and whatnot.
  • firesoul19
    firesoul19 Posts: 37 Member
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    I try to stay away from added sugars in things just to limit the sugar intake overall. Meaning, if the sugar isn't normally present in the food (such as fruit, dairy, etc) then I limit myself on those foods.

    Exactly, same here. I'm not about to swear off all sugar, that would be totally unrealisitc. But I do attempt to limit it when I can and this is one way, 'no added sugars' just means I'm taking in less than the regular stuff. Enjoying it in moderation, etc.
  • PositiveBody
    PositiveBody Posts: 43 Member
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    I couldn't have said it better. Our bodies react differently to processed sugars and sugars that are naturally occurring. Eating an apple is way different then eating a tablespoon of sugar. The glucose response level is way different....!!! :)
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    It's all sugar and it really doesn't matter when you look at it just that way. Your body sure doesn't care. There is no good sugar and bad sugar.

    I see where you are coming from, but if you are diabetic, hypoglycemic, or you have sugar sensitivities, your body does care. Many diabetics can have limited fruit, but cannot have candies, cakes, cookies, because it will throw their sugar over the top.

    Being ensitive to added sugar, my body sure cares. :wink: (see my post above).

    I think ndj should have put a disclaimer. For non diabetics/insulin resistant. Because it didn't even take one page for it to show up.

    oh crap I forgot the disclaimer....*smacks forehead*

    I am referring to people that do not have an underlying medical issue...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    I couldn't have said it better. Our bodies react differently to processed sugars and sugars that are naturally occurring. Eating an apple is way different then eating a tablespoon of sugar. The glucose response level is way different....!!! :)

    disagrees....but please explain your position..
  • lottewiegeraad
    lottewiegeraad Posts: 64 Member
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    I had a friend critique my homemade strawberry chia jam today (we were talking about our kid's packed school lunches), because I add sugar to it. She then proceeded to tell me her homemade jam is sugar free and then listed the ingredients, which included store bought bottled apple juice and honey :huh: I just smiled and did a mental face palm in my head :laugh:

    bahahaha I had someone tell me in the threads that sugar is bad, but honey is fine...LOL

    I always 'convince' myself the same thing :p
  • firesoul19
    firesoul19 Posts: 37 Member
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    I had a friend critique my homemade strawberry chia jam today (we were talking about our kid's packed school lunches), because I add sugar to it. She then proceeded to tell me her homemade jam is sugar free and then listed the ingredients, which included store bought bottled apple juice and honey :huh: I just smiled and did a mental face palm in my head :laugh:

    bahahaha I had someone tell me in the threads that sugar is bad, but honey is fine...LOL

    I always 'convince' myself the same thing :p


    Welll....... honey has been used for hundreds (? thousands? I don't know, a long time.....) of years for medicinal purposes. So yes, it's high in sugar, but I always add it to my tea when I have a sore throat. Does wonders. I think I read some ancient cultures used it as an antibacterial. Didn't Cleopatra use it as a moisturizer, or something like that? So it does have some positives.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
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    I believe there is a difference
    -- When was the last time you heard anybody say, I had so much fruit that I gained weight?
    -- When was the last time you saw an obese animal???
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    I had a friend critique my homemade strawberry chia jam today (we were talking about our kid's packed school lunches), because I add sugar to it. She then proceeded to tell me her homemade jam is sugar free and then listed the ingredients, which included store bought bottled apple juice and honey :huh: I just smiled and did a mental face palm in my head :laugh:

    bahahaha I had someone tell me in the threads that sugar is bad, but honey is fine...LOL

    I always 'convince' myself the same thing :p


    Welll....... honey has been used for hundreds (? thousands? I don't know, a long time.....) of years for medicinal purposes. So yes, it's high in sugar, but I always add it to my tea when I have a sore throat. Does wonders. I think I read some ancient cultures used it as an antibacterial. Didn't Cleopatra use it as a moisturizer, or something like that? So it does have some positives.

    I think you missed the point...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    I believe there is a difference
    -- When was the last time you heard anybody say, I had so much fruite that I gained weight?
    -- When was the last time you saw an obese animal???

    1. why would you compare a random animal to a human? I would assume an Animals TDEE is way higher than a humans as they are constantly moving..and do not drive a car or sit on the couch all day...I have seen fat animals before..ever seen an indoor cat/dog that is over fed..they are fat.
    2. Eat 500 calories a day over maintenance in fruit and you will gain weight.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Chemically speaking, what people men when they say 'sugar' is table sugar or sucrose. The sugar in fruit is fructose. Both are broken down by the body into glucose (another sugar). In England, you can get soda that is sweetened with glucose!

    For what it is worth...
    What about all the sucrose, glucose, galactose, maltose, etc in fruit? Saying the sugar in fruit is only fructose is horribly uninformed and completely incorrect. There are hundreds of different sugars in fruits. Fructose is only named after fruit because it was discovered in fruit, just like taurine is named after bulls because it was first discovered in stomach bile from a bull.

    Quite simply, "added" sugar or fruit sugar is irrelevant as far as digestion, nutrition, and the human body is concerned. Chemically identical, and processed identically, regardless of source.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
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    Prove it..
    Have you eating 500 calories over maintance by eating fruit???
    Animals are built the same way, or almost the same way as humans, and prob works the same way.
    There is a reaons, why they get tested.
    Dogs and Cats that are home bound are one thing, what about deers, & rabbits that are not home bound?
  • SkinnyFatAlbert
    SkinnyFatAlbert Posts: 482 Member
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    I believe there is a difference
    -- When was the last time you heard anybody say, I had so much fruit that I gained weight?
    -- When was the last time you saw an obese animal???

    My dogs are fat.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Prove it..
    Have you eating 500 calories over maintance by eating fruit???
    Animals are built the same way, or almost the same way as humans, and prob works the same way.
    There is a reaons, why they get tested.
    Dogs and Cats that are home bound are one thing, what about deers, & rabbits that are not home bound?
    Prove what? You eat 500 calories over maintenance, you gain weight. Doesn't matter what foods you eat, eat more than your body burns, the rest is stored as fat. Biology 101. Also, why are you comparing humans to other species, that have completely different biologies and whose bodies don't process nutrients in the same way as humans?

    When you buy a car, do you compare the car you want to buy to a bicycle? Your comparison makes absolutely no sense.
  • Tessyloowhoo
    Tessyloowhoo Posts: 504
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    I look at it simply by what my body reacts too. I am epileptic and one of my seizure triggers is spikes in blood sugar. Sugar in the absence of fiber and other nutrients spikes my blood sugar higher and faster. While sugar in the presence of nutrients such as potassium, vitmains and of course fiber creates spikes in my blood sugar patterns that are more controlled.

    Therefore in my body not all sugar is created equal.
  • Pookylou
    Pookylou Posts: 988 Member
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    I believe there is a difference
    -- When was the last time you heard anybody say, I had so much fruit that I gained weight?
    -- When was the last time you saw an obese animal???

    My dogs are fat.

    Just had to cover my giggle with a snort at work. Thanks for that :drinker:

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