recommended daily sugar intake NOT including added sugars?

Options
timothycarey7549
timothycarey7549 Posts: 7 Member
in Food and Nutrition
When I set my daily sugar allowance to 40 grams or thereabouts, (as the W.H.O. recommends. link below) as soon as I have any fruit or even carrots my numbers go crazy. Not all sugars being created equal, how do I calculate my daily sugar allowance having none (or very little ) added sugar in my diet? is the allowance therefore higher if they're "good" sugars?

thanks!
Tim

http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/#!/content/1.2560639

Replies

  • myfitnesspale3
    myfitnesspale3 Posts: 276 Member
    Options
    Regarding added sugar and "natural" sugar intrinsic to whatever fruit or food you are interested in, guess what:

    no difference.

    Sugar is not a necessary nutrient. So the 36g/day recommended high limit applies to all sugars.

    Sure, it sucks but still, simple.
  • timothycarey7549
    timothycarey7549 Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    thanks for the reply!
    I was kinda hoping that wasn't going to be the case, but alas! as you say, at least it's simple (and totally sucks! lol)
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
    Options
    I think the WHO recommendations are too low personally and would ignore them. In fact I believe some studies have shown that sugar intake under 5% of your calories - actually correlates with micronutrient deficiencies.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19079865
    Full Text: http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=/NRR/NRR20_02/S0954422407797846a.pdf&code=63eba883f3d631eba69d566e33aeaf5e

    Conclusions:

    Overall, the studies suggest micronutrient intakes are optimal at moderate levels of sugars in the diet, provided energy needs are met. Very high intakes of added sugars or NMES in excess of 20 % of energy are associated with lower intakes of several micronutrients. In some studies, very low intakes of all types of sugars (i.e. diets containing ,5 % energy from sugars) are also associated with poor nutrient intakes.

    This is all my opinion I am neither a doctor or a scientist - I just feel like the current war on sugar in the mainstream media is largely unfounded.
  • timothycarey7549
    timothycarey7549 Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    tedrickp, I tend to agree, they seem pretty low, which is the main reason for my confusion. What would you consider a reasonable amount of grams of sugar per day? (or a reasonable calculation) thanks!
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    Options
    Regarding added sugar and "natural" sugar intrinsic to whatever fruit or food you are interested in, guess what:

    no difference.

    Sugar is not a necessary nutrient. So the 36g/day recommended high limit applies to all sugars.

    Sure, it sucks but still, simple.

    The WHO recommendations do not relate to "intrinsic" sugars — those built into whole foods such as fruits or vegetables - just added sugars.

    Sure... maybe all sugars are 'technically sugar', but the difference is that sugar from fruits/vegetables/milk/etc comes paired with other nutrients that are necessary and good for you, like vitamins, minerals and fiber.

    People shouldn't stop eating vegetables and fruit to avoid sugar (unless their doctor tells them to do so for some specific metabolic reason).
  • hearthwood
    hearthwood Posts: 794 Member
    Options
    Yes me too I don't eat sugar but it's in everything, so I just put that section on ignore.
  • sinistras
    sinistras Posts: 244 Member
    Options
    I eat 3-5 pieces of fruit every day and ain't stopping.
  • timothycarey7549
    timothycarey7549 Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    so, how much is reasonable? The WHO's 38 grams is too low (assuming they are not coming from added sugars, but rather "intrinsic") Is there a method of calculation?
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    Options
    so, how much is reasonable? The WHO's 38 grams is too low (assuming they are not coming from added sugars, but rather "intrinsic") Is there a method of calculation?

    I would just turn the sugar column off in MFP and not worry about it. If you want to avoid added sugar, just limit your desserts, sweetened drinks, commercially-made bread, flavored sugar-sweetened yogurt, etc.

    Personally, I didn't pay any attention to sugar (added or intrinsic) at all - just overall calories with a secondary look at my macros (protein, fat, carbs). Eating sugar never slowed my weight loss and my bloodwork has been excellent the past three years. I eat at least one dessert a day - usually more. :-)
  • timothycarey7549
    timothycarey7549 Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    You're right UpEarly, all this calculating is getting on my nerves. I've cut out most of the added sugars in my diet already and that should be sufficient. Getting bent out of shape because I added an apple to my veggie smoothie seems a little counter productive... lol! thanks!!
  • kevinsmithrn
    kevinsmithrn Posts: 70 Member
    Options
    I'm not to concerned about sugar when it's from a natural source i.e. Fruit - however added sugar is terrible and sticking to the aha and who guidelines is sound strategy - until the government requires added sugars to be separate on the food labels MFP will have a hard time separating the categories. On a side note it's very very wierd how upset people get when u start hating on sugar almost like the reaction people get when you hate on tobacco.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Options
    Sugar is not a necessary nutrient. So the 36g/day recommended high limit applies to all sugars.

    Source?

    The sugar recommendations are all over the place, but I haven't found one that low that applies to all sugars or any good reason for such a limit.

    I saw that the AHA has 36 g for men and 24 g for women, based on the average calories required to maintain weight. So for someone in a deficit their recommendation would be even lower, but that's only added sugar. And significantly their reasoning wouldn't apply to naturally occurring sugar in foods (like fruit and dairy) with higher natural sugar contents but also nutrients. Their basis for the limit is: "Although sugars are not harmful to the body, our bodies don’t need sugars to function properly. Added sugars contribute additional calories and zero nutrients to food.

    Over the past 30 years, Americans have steadily consumed more and more added sugars in their diets, which has contributed to the obesity epidemic. Reducing the amount of added sugars we eat cuts calories and can help you improve your heart health and control your weight."

    Similarly, the WHO recommendations focus on non-intrinsic sugars: "There is increasing concern that consumption of free sugars, particularly in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages, may result in both reduced intake of foods containing more nutritionally adequate calories and an increase in total caloric intake, leading to an unhealthy diet, weight gain and increased risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)." They also talk about dental issues.

    One take away from this for me is that the concern isn't really about sugar itself, but the fact that it is believed to contribute to an overconsumption of calories and underconsumption of nutrients. That's not a good reason to stop (or significantly limit) eating fruit or dairy, and it's less of a concern if you otherwise monitor your calories and nutrients.

    For these reasons I watched my sugar for a while to make sure there were no surprises (there weren't--maybe because I eat mostly whole foods even eating what seems to me lots of fruit isn't generally enough to make me go over and, more significantly, I was not eating lots more sugar from other sources, merely what I was already aware of, like yogurt and, obviously, anything like ice cream). After that, I decided it's not worth watching.

    If you worry that you are eating lots of hidden sugars and it's contributing to calories or some such, sure, watch it. But there's no good basis I see to cut down on fruit unless you are having trouble meeting your calories due to eating huge amounts or are low on other nutrients (like protein) for that reason.
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
    Options
    http://www.fitnessbaddies.com/your-problem-with-sugar-is-the-problem-with-sugar/ 

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/532251-let-s-talk-about-the-gi-index

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

    I don't have a medical condition that requires me to monitor my sugar. I track fiber in its place. There's nothing inherently wrong with added sugars. If you're getting the nutrition your body requires, your body couldn't care less where that comes from. It doesn't distinguish clean or dirty, fruit sugar or added. The benefit of fruit is it contains necessary vitamins and minerals for your body while added sugar alone, does not. It's not to say whatever you're eating that has added sugar in it is "bad". Don't over complicate it. Moderation with all things is pretty key to overall sustainability in the long run. Basically, if you're going to eat this way for your entire life, by all means, do so. Ultimately, it's what makes you happy. Just understand that there's nothing wrong with any one food. You have to look at a person's overall diet to determine if that good fits healthfully.
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
    Options
    tedrickp, I tend to agree, they seem pretty low, which is the main reason for my confusion. What would you consider a reasonable amount of grams of sugar per day? (or a reasonable calculation) thanks!

    Sorry for not replying - just saw this. I for one don't track it at all (agree with the above re: fiber) . From most of what I read - anything less than 20% of your total calories should be safe.

    Side note - that Fitness Baddies article above is great. Got to meet Joy at a seminar a couple weekends ago. :love:

Categories