Holy sugar consumption Batman!!

AreUjoking2
AreUjoking2 Posts: 142
in Food and Nutrition
It's been all over the media, news and the news feeds about the drawbacks of sugar. I was like, "I don't eat sugar, who just eats a spoonful of sugar?" Maybe Mary Poppins. So since I've been here on MFP and logging every tiny morsel, I was like, "holy crap! that's a lot of sugar". You see, I don't eat cookies, cake, pie, ice cream, I just don't have much of sweet tooth. But I didn't realize how much sugar is in EVERYTHING! Yes, I have some in my coffee in the mornings, and just a tad in my ice tea, but the bread is killing me smalls! So I have decided to really watch the sugar from this day forth. How did you all cut down on sugars? I don't care for splenda or any of that other stuff, that is all I taste. I would rather do without.
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Replies

  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    The media often jumps on the latest fad and doesn't consider opposite sides of the story. They're there to make money, not give out equal and balanced truth. Sugar is not the devil.
  • kerricus
    kerricus Posts: 165 Member
    Not all sugar is bad for you. Fruits and vegetables have naturally occurring sugar in them. I don't think there's any harm in eating a red pepper.

    However, almost all processed foods have sugars added to them. That's where you run into trouble. You have to be very careful about reading labels. Companies now know that people want to avoid sugar, so they disguise it on labels as brown rice syrup, honey, barley malt syrup, on and on. Here's a link with a list: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/sugars.htm

    The more whole foods that you eat, the less you have to worry about sugar. Keep reading labels until you figure out what products have the least and which ones of those you like. Cooking/baking at home is another good option.
  • kickivale
    kickivale Posts: 260 Member
    I don't usually go over my sugar amounts when I look at the weekly breakdown….what I do go over is salt. Every damn day.
    I find that avoiding things in jars or bottles keeps my sugar down. Meaning, I don't buy sauces, I very seldomly buy bottled drinks, I prepare a lot of my meals. I try to limit bread to only at one meal per day. That's kind of advice, right? :drinker:
  • AreUjoking2
    AreUjoking2 Posts: 142
    Thanks for the link! I am learning to shop on the outside walls of the grocery store, but the bakery dept for fresh bread is my biggest weakness. I have gone 2 weeks now without buying any!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    more whole foods, less processed foods...that said, I agree with the following...
    The media often jumps on the latest fad and doesn't consider opposite sides of the story. They're there to make money, not give out equal and balanced truth. Sugar is not the devil.

    yeah, there was some recent study that came out and the media was all over it...if you look at it, the study is looking at these test subjects consuming 25% plus of their calories in added sugar. Study determines that this is bad (which it is) and sugar is the devil...never mind it's the fact that at consuming 25% of calories from added sugar that your diet is going to be for total **** and there's no way you're going to get anything remotely resembling proper nutrition...but yeah...it's the sugar exclusively and not the really crappy overall diet....

    I eat around 100 grams of sugar daily...most of that comes from vegetables and fruit...at least 60-70%. Problem with **** like this is that then we're going to have all kinds of whack jobs demonizing fruits and certain vegetables...ooooohhhh...beets are the devil because sugar....
  • AreUjoking2
    AreUjoking2 Posts: 142
    I don't usually go over my sugar amounts when I look at the weekly breakdown….what I do go over is salt. Every damn day.
    I find that avoiding things in jars or bottles keeps my sugar down. Meaning, I don't buy sauces, I very seldomly buy bottled drinks, I prepare a lot of my meals. I try to limit bread to only at one meal per day. That's kind of advice, right? :drinker:
    Yes, and good advice too. I love me some sauces.
  • marypatmccue
    marypatmccue Posts: 521 Member
    Sugar isn't bad for you unless your doctor has advised that you stay away from it... It's a carb... Focus on carbs as a whole instead of sugar. Stop looking at the number, and instead focus on something like..... Fiber.... instead.:wink:
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    For years, I have believed it is the combination of fat and sugar together in processed foods that is the issue, not sugar or fat alone...afterall, how many of us sit and eat lard by the spoonful or can stomach more than a few teaspoons of sugar by themselves? Or demolish a bag of hard candy in one go? But stick a tub of ice cream, a big piece of cake, a doughnut in front of many people, and it will be gone with a craving for more of the same.

    There was a programme shown on Uk BBC Tv not long ago about this, where two identical twins did an experiment with one cutting out carbs and the other cutting out most fat, to compare results. It was quite interesting, even if not totally scientific and their conclusion agreed with what I had concluded already. Worth a watch if you can access it.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2546975/One-twin-gave-sugar-gave-fat-Their-experiment-change-YOUR-life.html

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-3TiXw_nTk
  • Karen_LM
    Karen_LM Posts: 67 Member
    I wish they had done that as reasonably as you describe it, simply cutting out each category from an otherwise acceptable diet. But alas, they actually each ate terrible diets extremely high in whichever category they werent cutting out. Which is not the same thing at all. ( by the way, referencing the Daily Mail is like referencing those papers sold at grocery store checkouts in the US, the ones with martians abducting JonBenet. If it were a valid study, you would be finding it on BBC news or on American websites too.).


    Cutting out aded sugar is good. Eating wholegrain bread products, preferably homemade with minimal sugar is fine, but store bought, even standard grocery store bakery bread, too sweet.
  • AreUjoking2
    AreUjoking2 Posts: 142
    For years, I have believed it is the combination of fat and sugar together in processed foods that is the issue, not sugar or fat alone...afterall, how many of us sit and eat lard by the spoonful or can stomach more than a few teaspoons of sugar by themselves? Or demolish a bag of hard candy in one go? But stick a tub of ice cream, a big piece of cake, a doughnut in front of many people, and it will be gone with a craving for more of the same.

    There was a programme shown on Uk BBC Tv not long ago about this, where two identical twins did an experiment with one cutting out carbs and the other cutting out most fat, to compare results. It was quite interesting, even if not totally scientific and their conclusion agreed with what I had concluded already. Worth a watch if you can access it.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2546975/One-twin-gave-sugar-gave-fat-Their-experiment-change-YOUR-life.html

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-3TiXw_nTk
    Wow! This made a lot of sense to me. Probably the most useful information I have read in a long time. And I got a kick how one twin in red, and the other in blue. That is the colors we put our twins in so people can tell them apart! Thank you very much!!
  • DeadliftAddict
    DeadliftAddict Posts: 746 Member
    I don't care much about my sugar intake. I don't eat a ton of sugary stuff. i enjoy a bowl (one serving) of ice cream every couple of nights. I don't consume enough to worry about it.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    I wish they had done that as reasonably as you describe it, simply cutting out each category from an otherwise acceptable diet. But alas, they actually each ate terrible diets extremely high in whichever category they werent cutting out. Which is not the same thing at all. ( by the way, referencing the Daily Mail is like referencing those papers sold at grocery store checkouts in the US, the ones with martians abducting JonBenet. If it were a valid study, you would be finding it on BBC news or on American websites too.).


    Cutting out aded sugar is good. Eating wholegrain bread products, preferably homemade with minimal sugar is fine, but store bought, even standard grocery store bakery bread, too sweet.

    I am not here to give academic citations. I simply shared something I had found interesting, and nowhere did I claim it was accurate or scientific proof of anything. I made no claims. I am well aware of what the Daily Mail is, thank you very much, but as far as I know, nowhere on this site does it state one must only share links to scientific research and papers. Oh, and by the way, it was a BBC programme :) In the end, people can read and make of it what they will.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    For years, I have believed it is the combination of fat and sugar together in processed foods that is the issue, not sugar or fat alone...afterall, how many of us sit and eat lard by the spoonful or can stomach more than a few teaspoons of sugar by themselves? Or demolish a bag of hard candy in one go? But stick a tub of ice cream, a big piece of cake, a doughnut in front of many people, and it will be gone with a craving for more of the same.

    There was a programme shown on Uk BBC Tv not long ago about this, where two identical twins did an experiment with one cutting out carbs and the other cutting out most fat, to compare results. It was quite interesting, even if not totally scientific and their conclusion agreed with what I had concluded already. Worth a watch if you can access it.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2546975/One-twin-gave-sugar-gave-fat-Their-experiment-change-YOUR-life.html

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-3TiXw_nTk
    Wow! This made a lot of sense to me. Probably the most useful information I have read in a long time. And I got a kick how one twin in red, and the other in blue. That is the colors we put our twins in so people can tell them apart! Thank you very much!!

    You are welcome. I am glad you found it interesting and useful.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Why?
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
    There is added sugar in a lot of processed foods. That having been said, unless you have a medical reason to avoid it, it shouldn't interfere with your weight loss. But if you'd like to cut down on added sugar in breads and such, just reading labels on the foods you buy will help a lot.
  • sssself_samantha
    sssself_samantha Posts: 5
    Honestly, sugar is nothing to worry about. It's a carb that is treated like every other carb. I do watch my sugar intake, but I don't restrict. Have a great day! :smile:
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,981 Member
    I don't think sugar is the devil or anything - but I do think an easy way to reduce your calories is to cut down on added sugar - try to wean down the amount you have in coffee for example and try to choose unsweetened versions of products where possible.
    OJ with no added sugar vs sweetened OJ, for example.

    Incidentally my daughter is in USA for 6 months - she did comment that the bread there is much sweeter tasting than in Australia.
    I wonder if you have more added sugar to bread than we have here.

    I know you can get many varied versions of bread - but talking about run of the mill, sandwich bread from supermarkets.

    I just checked my loaf and is 3 g per 100g serving (everything in Australia is listed as per 100g)
    Just curious.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    I don't think sugar is the devil or anything - but I do think an easy way to reduce your calories is to cut down on added sugar - try to wean down the amount you have in coffee for example and try to choose unsweetened versions of products where possible.
    OJ with no added sugar vs sweetened OJ, for example.

    Incidentally my daughter is in USA for 6 months - she did comment that the bread there is much sweeter tasting than in Australia.
    I wonder if you have more added sugar to bread than we have here.

    I know you can get many varied versions of bread - but talking about run of the mill, sandwich bread from supermarkets.

    I just checked my loaf and is 3 g per 100g serving (everything in Australia is listed as per 100g)
    Just curious.
    I really wish that things in the US were per 100g because it would be so much easier to directly compare foods!

    I think the bread I eat (whole wheat) is about 3g, but that's per serving, which is a slice, which I'm guessing is less than 100g. It seems like a lot are 3-4g of sugar, and I was surprised to find that some of the best breads (sugar and calorie wise) are rye breads.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    You may not be eating as much bread as you think..

    When i eat bread I always weight it.. the serving size per packing on my bread is listed as 10 (there's at least 30 slices in there) and the calories say 130 per slice (or 57g) so I weighted my two small slices and it was like 20g. If I had taken to of the full sized slices I still don't think i'd be at 57g.

    And yep.. mine is a rye bread.
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
    Carbs are made of sugar, fiber, and other things. The carbs from fiber don't raise your insulin so those are good ones. If you are going to have carbs, make them high fiber. The carbs made of sugar will create an insulin response. This in itself wont make you gain weight but it is not something you want at every meal. Instead of worrying about sugar from a piece of fruit or fresh veggies be more concerned about where the foods you eat fall on the glycemic index. People are calling the Glycemic Index "diet" a fad, but honestly, it has been saving the lives of diabetic people for many many years and I don't personally consider it a fad. More recently, the benfits have been seen in non-diabetics. If you are concerned about your sugar intake, it may be beneficial to you.

    Here is what the American Heart Assosication says, http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyDietGoals/Glycemic-Index-and-Diabetes_UCM_457070_Article.jsp

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