What's worse, sugar or salt?

toots99
toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
It seems I can't get both under control at the same time...if I'm over on sugar, I'm okay on salt. I'm under on sugar, I'm over on salt!

Any tips?

Replies

  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    well, I'd point out that there's just one kind of salt. But many different forms sugar can take. IMHO, the fructose in a banana is a way better choice than the processed refined sugar in a snickers.

    I'm over on sugar all the time. Craisins in my cottage cheese are the culprit. But I worry more about salt since it causes water retention.
  • gentlebreeze2
    gentlebreeze2 Posts: 450 Member
    ok this isn't really a reply... but how cute, 2 dogs discussing sugar and salt. I personally think salt is a bigger issue, but I dont have any facts to back me up.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    well, I'd point out that there's just one kind of salt. But many different forms sugar can take. IMHO, the fructose in a banana is a way better choice than the processed refined sugar in a snickers.

    I'm over on sugar all the time. Craisins in my cottage cheese are the culprit. But I worry more about salt since it causes water retention.

    Okay I should have clarified I guess. I know sugar in banana form isn't nearly as bad as sugar in Snickers form. :laugh:
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    ok this isn't really a reply... but how cute, 2 dogs discussing sugar and salt

    :laugh:
  • TaraMaria
    TaraMaria Posts: 1,975
    That's a REALLY good question! I was just thinking about this yesterday! I know the second I've been eating too much goodies. I always stay in my calories, but if I make the wrong choices in that department I instantly know it in the scale department.

    As far as salt goes, it doesn't take TOO much. Its the instant. I eat Chinese food for example, the next morning my face is puffy. So not fair. I know none of this is technical and its just going off of my body's reactions but I would say salt. But right now, that is the going consensus so at least I am following the crowd right? :tongue:
  • 4lafz
    4lafz Posts: 1,078 Member
    I had to laugh - I needed that "two dogs" previous poster wrote. I would say sodium is worse but refined sugar is not real great either!
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    I had to laugh - I needed that "two dogs" previous poster wrote. I would say sodium is worse but refined sugar is not real great either!

    And you've got a cute dog too!
  • lordofultima
    lordofultima Posts: 293
    Sugar is going to make you gain weight, sucrose a.k.a. white table sugar, is also the type of sugar found in most processed foods, and it isn't good if you want to lose weight. So I'd say it's much worse than salt, of course an over-abundance of salt leads to a different host of issues. Retaining water weight is much better than retaining fat weight though, if you have to choose.
  • Squash97
    Squash97 Posts: 84
    Oddly enough, I say the opposite of the majority. I think that sugar is worse. If I'm over on salt, I know that I can drink a lot of water to flush it out, and that the water weight is temporary and will go away quickly. Sugar on the other hand (refined sugar), can actually make you put on fat that is much harder to get rid of. I'd rather have an extra five pounds of water for a couple of days as opposed to five pounds of fat that will take me a couple of months to work back off. Incidentally, it's the sugars I have a harder time with. I'm a sweets person....
  • summerblunden
    summerblunden Posts: 184 Member
    Oddly enough, I say the opposite of the majority. I think that sugar is worse. If I'm over on salt, I know that I can drink a lot of water to flush it out, and that the water weight is temporary and will go away quickly. Sugar on the other hand (refined sugar), can actually make you put on fat that is much harder to get rid of. I'd rather have an extra five pounds of water for a couple of days as opposed to five pounds of fat that will take me a couple of months to work back off. Incidentally, it's the sugars I have a harder time with. I'm a sweets person....

    I agree. Salt can be controlled if you have enough water intake. Sugar (refined)...is sugar. It is calories, which means, at the end of the day, it is fat.

    That being said, if it is between being over 10g of sugar, or 2000g of sodium...i think the answer there is obvious.

    Moderation is the key. If one day you're over on one, the next day you're over on the other, maybe the net of the two days is being right about at the limit for both, which is fine.

    Stay away from processed fast foods, and sweets, you'll be good. :)
  • wwjrankin
    wwjrankin Posts: 2
    I can't seem to get my sugar under control either. But I need to since my biggest problem is my mid-section... :sad:
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    I would much rather be over on salt than on sugar. As posted before, it is sugar that leads to fat retention...and even if you are over on salt, there are ways to overcome the water retention (drink more water, substituting other spices for salt in your food...etc)
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    I would much rather be over on salt than on sugar. As posted before, it is sugar that leads to fat retention...and even if you are over on salt, there are ways to overcome the water retention (drink more water, substituting other spices for salt in your food...etc)

    That's true. At least I'm usually over on sugar because of fruit and/or milk. That's the case today, anyway.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    You can actually substitute other kinds of milk, such as almond or soy, and they have lower sugar than cow milk.

    And don't worry too much about fruit because they are great for your body and have lots of fiber to slow down the absorption of the sugar in them.

    Try having some proteins with your sugary foods like fruit. That helps too.
  • apd183
    apd183 Posts: 1
    Unless you have some sort of health issue with salt, I would avoid sugar. ALL refined sugar (e.g.: sucrose, aka table, and HFCS) is poison in high enough doses, and those doses are trivial to get with today's foods.

    This is a long video, but worth the watch, about how there is too much sugar in today's foods:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

    Short version relevant to this question: High sugar diet = high fat diet. Fructose (which makes up ~50% of sucrose and ~55% of HFCS) causes a 'positive feedback' insulin response and is metabolized mostly into fat. With a high enough sugar intake, the insulin response doesn't tell your brain that you're full causing you to eat more, and the sugar is processed into fat. There are other bad things that happen as well, described in the video. The exception to this is sugar directly from natural sources (e.g.: fresh fruit).
  • ErinMarie25
    ErinMarie25 Posts: 733 Member
    Sugar, but I mean don't really count sugar in fruits and veggies. Table sugar though is horrible.
  • AmandaR910
    AmandaR910 Posts: 991
    Since I'm 8 months pregnant I have serious water retention issues, so I try to keep my salt lower. For sugar, I just focus on the type, like sugar from fruit versus sugar from candy, etc.
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