Natural Sugar/Daily Goal

kirstinlee
kirstinlee Posts: 152 Member
edited September 23 in Food and Nutrition
Hey everyone,

My daily goal for sugar is 24g. I'm a major fruit&veggies eater, though, and those fruits make my daily total skyrocket!
I've only eaten breakfast and a snack today, but I'm already three grams over my goal! While 4 of those came from a tbsp of ketchup, the other 23 are from blueberries and a small apple.
My question is, do naturally-occurring sugars, like those in fruit, count towards the daily goal of 24?
Thanks!~

Replies

  • cherrylime
    cherrylime Posts: 6 Member
    I agree, I'm watching my carbs and my sugar and I'm always WAY over on the sugars! I even wanted to snack on an apple, but am choosing sugarfree pudding instead, just because of the carbs.

    I hate seeing that i'm always in the red! So, I hear ya... :(
  • mkingraham
    mkingraham Posts: 445 Member
    When I know that all of my sugar is coming from fruit- like yours has today- I don't worry about it. its frustrating to see that red, but natural sugar from fruit is way better then sugar from say ice cream.

    And with 2 fruit servings a day I'll go over the sugar everyday even if I don't have a single other thing with it in it.
  • 13Phoenixs
    13Phoenixs Posts: 1
    I don't like it either. My carbs are never over, but my love of fruit does nothing for my sugar intake. I realise a simple sugar is a simple sugar, but it's still not great to look at :(
  • dawnbrisset
    dawnbrisset Posts: 16 Member
    Sugar is sugar, no matter where you get it from. If you are concerned about your sugar intake but still want to eat fruit, pick low sugar fruits like berries, and steer clear from higher sugar fruits like apples and bananas. Fruits are better treated as a condiment than as the snack itself.
  • KellyB2076
    KellyB2076 Posts: 7
    I was reading on this yesterday because I have the same problem. The general consensus is that natural sugars don't really count to your goal, so you should subtract them. The way I see it is that although natural sugars are absorbed more slowly due to the body's need to break down the fruit fiber before absorbing the sugar, it is still sugar, so I would say count them as 1/2 of what they say. According to the USDA food guidelines, you need about 1.5 cups of veggies to 1 cup of fruit each day, so I'm trying to get more veggies instead of so much fruit. You might google what fruits have more sugar than others and try to have a mix if you normally eat higher-sugar fruits (I know grapes are very high-sugar for example). And fruit juices, even 100% juice ones, are not as good because they lack the fiber of fresh fruit and therefore the sugar is absorbed very quickly. But fresh fruit as an option over most any dessert is still the way to go, and sometimes I just want something sweet instead of veggies. Though I've found as I'm cutting out the added sugars, that not only is fruit sweeter but some veggies taste sweeter as well, especially green beans (fresh or frozen, never canned).

    hope that helps!
  • mikejbo
    mikejbo Posts: 1
    My wife was told be her dietician that it is processed sugars you have to watch out for. So, that includes your everyday bleached white sugar but also includes honey and molasses (probably maple syrup too but I don't know) and I'm sure some others. She said to eat more fruit (she's been following fitness pal). My understanding to that you need the fiber in fruit to properly break down the sugars so fruit juices without high pulp content will act more like a processed sugar. Fiber slows down digestion and the sugar is properly broken down so it isn't stored as fat. That's my understanding, I'd read more if I was you:)
  • mhamirani
    mhamirani Posts: 7 Member
    http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/ask-diva-does-sugar-fruit-“count”-sugar
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