Natrual Sugars vs. Added Sugars

smuehlbauer
smuehlbauer Posts: 1,041 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
My sugars are set to 34 grams.
Is that is what is suggested for TOTAL sugars per day or added sugars per day.

I have been reading and I am assuming that is added sugags - let's say my coffee, my Starburst, Jelly Belly's - but I shouldn't count my fruit or viggies in this amount.

So, subtract my fruits from that total and stay under and I should be fine.

Correct?

Found this on line - one of many:
There is no formal limited Recommended Daily Intake for sugar. “Added sugars” are sugars and syrups that are added to foods during cooking. They don’t include naturally occurring sugars like the ones found in milk and fruit. Sugars may be added to foods to make them more palatable and are found in calorie-rich foods, which may lead to a higher calorie diet, excess weight and cavities. This is why most nutrition experts recommend limiting added sugars (excluding fruit and milk) to 40 grams per day or 10 teaspoons (4 grams is in one teaspoon). Total sugar content is easily identifiable on the Nutrition Facts panel on the back of processed foods.

Replies

  • annie_p
    annie_p Posts: 319 Member
    I was curious about this too, and asked a friend of mine who has done weight watcher's in the past. This is what she told me:


    It really depends on if you want to follow the lowfat or the lowcarb train of thought.

    In lowfat it's not a huge deal because the sugar is naturally occuring. In low carb you want to keep it low so it doesn't spike your blood sugar.

    I think as long as most of your sugar is from fruit and veggies you are fine. Don't subtract them from your total but don't get hung up on them either.
  • aghack
    aghack Posts: 107 Member
    I always struggle with this. My sugar comes in over every single day! It is so frustrating. But most of it is from fruit- I don't know whether or not I should exclude fruit until I get it figured out. One banana has half of my daily sugars in it! If I have blueberries and strawberries or a pear later in the same day, I go way over.
  • RMinVA
    RMinVA Posts: 1,085 Member
    My feeling is that sugar is sugar.. I eat very little processed/added sugar foods, but it is still often in the 70+ range because I eat a lot of fruit..

    Unfortunately, none of these tracking websites have figured out a way to back out naturally occurring sugars, or @ least those from fruit and veggies. I can understand the issue w/dairy since there is so much sugar added to flavored yogurts, some milk beverages, etc.

    I have found that I get the best result when I keep sugars in the 50-60g range. And that can be a challenge. It works out to about 2 servings of fruit (maybe 3 depending on what type), 1-2 servings of low fat diary and my veggies. Just doesn't leave a whole lot of room for anything else.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    Sugar is sugar - although fruit sugar comes packaged with lots of healthy vitamins/fiber/nutrients, it is still sugar. I'm not saying that it's bad, but people don't need to be eating a TON of fruit every day. After a bunch of reading from various sources, I've decided to aim at keeping my TOTAL sugars at 10% of my calories - that's about 32g/day right now. That leaves me enough room to have one piece of fruit, a little bit of dairy and all my veggies without going over - it just doesn't leave much room for added sugars. That's fine with me, because I'm working to cut out as much processed food (including added sugars) as possible.

    Yes, natural sugars are better than added sugars, but that doesn't mean you should be totally disregarding them - they still count as sugar. If you do eat a bit of fruit every day, try to focus on the fruits that are low on the Glycemic Index - these won't affect your blood sugar as much.
  • jurgitafit
    jurgitafit Posts: 112
    Yes, natural sugars are better than added sugars, but that doesn't mean you should be totally disregarding them - they still count as sugar. If you do eat a bit of fruit every day, try to focus on the fruits that are low on the Glycemic Index - these won't affect your blood sugar as much.

    Great response. However, I would add that it would be the best practice to have fruit with some protein to balance the sugars in fruit. For example, have an apple and natural nut butter, or half banana with some almonds. This helps minimize the insulin spike and makes you full longer. Make sure the veggies is your main addition to any meal, and leave the fruit an occasional snack. :wink:
This discussion has been closed.

Categories