sugar intake - don't understand

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  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    rhtexasgal wrote: »
    I would suggest dumping those flavored Nestle creamers. Why? It is full of chemicals and hydrogenated oils - not good. I switched to the So Delicious brand of coffee creamer. It is dairy free and made from coconut milk but it does not taste like coconut. There is the regular flavor as well as vanilla and hazelnut. Yes, it does have sugar but it is lower in calories and healthier. Also, the product is non-GMO certified, has half the ingredients of the other stuff AND you can pronounce those ingredients!

    guess what…so delicious has chemicals in it too…as does every single food we consume...
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    rhtexasgal wrote: »
    I would suggest dumping those flavored Nestle creamers. Why? It is full of chemicals and hydrogenated oils - not good. I switched to the So Delicious brand of coffee creamer. It is dairy free and made from coconut milk but it does not taste like coconut. There is the regular flavor as well as vanilla and hazelnut. Yes, it does have sugar but it is lower in calories and healthier. Also, the product is non-GMO certified, has half the ingredients of the other stuff AND you can pronounce those ingredients!

    guess what…so delicious has chemicals in it too…as does every single food we consume...

    Yes, that is true BUT it is the lesser of two evils in my opinion (and that is what it is, just an opinion). I tend to avoid anything hydrogenated as it is high in trans fats, just like the Nestle creamers have.
  • Marianna93637
    Marianna93637 Posts: 230 Member
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    ok, I made some coffee just now. I measured everything and added 2 tbs creamer (fat free or regular has the same amount of sugar) and a half of cup skim milk. The taste is ok, I guess I could live with it. But here's the same question I had all along: how come SKIM milk has 12 grams of sugar in 1 cup? It's not even sweet. This is my issue. I'm not even drinking / eating anything that is classified as sweet (hot chocolate, cup cake, etc) and still, there's all that sugar. I don't even think it's added, it might just be natural.
    I guess I'm just frustrated.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    ok, I made some coffee just now. I measured everything and added 2 tbs creamer (fat free or regular has the same amount of sugar) and a half of cup skim milk. The taste is ok, I guess I could live with it. But here's the same question I had all along: how come SKIM milk has 12 grams of sugar in 1 cup? It's not even sweet. This is my issue. I'm not even drinking / eating anything that is classified as sweet (hot chocolate, cup cake, etc) and still, there's all that sugar. I don't even think it's added, it might just be natural.
    I guess I'm just frustrated.
    Milk contains lactose. Lactose is a sugar. Unless you've got a specific medical issue that requires you to track sugar - and are advised to do so by a well-informed physician, nutritionist or dietitian - there's no reason to separate sugars from other carbohydrates.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    ok, I made some coffee just now. I measured everything and added 2 tbs creamer (fat free or regular has the same amount of sugar) and a half of cup skim milk. The taste is ok, I guess I could live with it. But here's the same question I had all along: how come SKIM milk has 12 grams of sugar in 1 cup? It's not even sweet. This is my issue. I'm not even drinking / eating anything that is classified as sweet (hot chocolate, cup cake, etc) and still, there's all that sugar. I don't even think it's added, it might just be natural.
    I guess I'm just frustrated.

    Many, many foods have naturally occurring sugars. Fruit is the most obvious one, but veggies do too. Carrots, tomatoes, peppers are among the higher sugar veggies. Another is dairy. Like RllyGudTweetr said, dairy has lactose. Other sugars are sucrose (table sugar), glucose (also called dextrose), fructose (fruit sugar), maltose (produced when grain is allowed to germinate and is found in beer, cereal, and potatoes), and a bunch of others. Honey is made of fructose and glucose, corn syrup is also made of fructose and glucose, maple syrup is sucrose with small amounts of fructose and glucose, agave nectar is fructose and glucose (and is even higher in fructose by weight than high fructose corn syrup).

    You will not get away from sugar. When cutting calories, a simple way to find lower calorie foods is to look for added sugar. You rarely see "sugar" on the label. It is usually one of the chemical names for the different sugars.

    In the end, you have to decide where you want to spend your calories and enjoy the foods (an beverages) you have chosen.
  • lindadowd589
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    the butternut squash and onion both convert sugar in your body. you know that the food also converts into sugar in your body all carbs do. there are carbs in fruits and vegetables. the cards must be calculated as sugar...
  • Marianna93637
    Marianna93637 Posts: 230 Member
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    MrM27 wrote: »
    I'm sorry but just because you say you're hypoglycemic doesn't mean you are. You are self diagnosing when it could very well be something else. There are many things that share symptoms. You can't just choose the one you want to be true. It doesn't work that way.

    No, I don't WANT to be hypoglycemic. Why would I? But I'm sure it's at least a mild form of it. It's been at least 10 years that I figured it out, and since then it all makes sense. The symptoms, how I react when I 'fix' it, everything. I haven't actually gone to the doctor to really test it, but during check ups (a couple in the past 10 years) they checked it and it didn't show.
    It's probably similar how some people suffer from symptoms of hypothyroidism, it doesn't show up in tests but if treated with medication, they positively respond to it.

    I don't really care for a diagnosis from a doctor, I know what my symptoms are, what I have to do; what it's called is irrelevant.
  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
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    I like the vanilla creamer too and knowing I could have it while losing weight was a huge factor in my success in calorie counting. Maybe the biggest, seriously. I do not feel deprived because my coffee is "normal". So, what I did because I rarely want to devote even 70 calories to my morning coffee, was start by measuring 2 Tablespoons each day in a slightly smaller cup of coffee. Now, many months later, I have an even smaller cup of coffee with just 1 tablespoon of creamer. You should see how long that jug of creamer lasts me now! Some days I want more cream so add 2 T, but rarely. Instead, I enjoy the smaller cup of coffee with a Tablespoon. I still don't like my coffee black.

    Also, I use real sugar in my cereal which I eat with plain yogurt instead of milk, because I like it. This is something I've done for years, way before "dieting". Being able to continue this habit has also helped me.

    Oh, and one more thing: when I make hot cereal like oatmeal or cream of wheat, instead of milk I use a tablespoon or 2 of vanilla creamer. Yummy. Been doing that forever too.

    55835802.png

  • Marianna93637
    Marianna93637 Posts: 230 Member
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    I'm not even responding to this. Have no idea why you're attacking me (pity part, etc)
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I'm an Aussie and have no idea what creamer is, can someone explain please. We just have normal plain ol milk here lol
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    forgot to mention: I'm hypoglycemic. Not diagnosed because it never came up on tests, but I know I am. I have all the symptoms, and I usually know how to eat, and what to eat. The symptoms are actually unpredictable at times, but it's never life threatening, just uncomfortable (shakes, sweating, all of it is very sudden).
    So i try to stay away from processed sweets (and hardly ever have actual sweets), but I know some sugar is in a lot of food.

    If you are hypoglycemic, you should be monitoring your carb/sugar intake. Bananas aren't your best choice unless they are small and you are pairing it with a protein/fat like peanut butter or nuts. You must always eat protein and fat with a carbohydrate. This helps stabilize blood glucose. If you consume too many carbs, your blood glucose will spike and crash shortly after.

    You can purchase the most accurate glucose meter on the market for $19.99 at CVS. Test strips and lancets are expensive but it's worth having so that you are able to check your blood glucose when you are experiencing symptoms.

    FYI, I am a diagnosed hypoglycemic.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    MrM27 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    I'm sorry but just because you say you're hypoglycemic doesn't mean you are. You are self diagnosing when it could very well be something else. There are many things that share symptoms. You can't just choose the one you want to be true. It doesn't work that way.

    No, I don't WANT to be hypoglycemic. Why would I? But I'm sure it's at least a mild form of it. It's been at least 10 years that I figured it out, and since then it all makes sense. The symptoms, how I react when I 'fix' it, everything. I haven't actually gone to the doctor to really test it, but during check ups (a couple in the past 10 years) they checked it and it didn't show.
    It's probably similar how some people suffer from symptoms of hypothyroidism, it doesn't show up in tests but if treated with medication, they positively respond to it.

    I don't really care for a diagnosis from a doctor, I know what my symptoms are, what I have to do; what it's called is irrelevant.

    That was one check up 10 years ago. Go back to the doctor if anything. It's not uncommon for people to want to believe there is something wrong with them than to realize they are just normal and need to do things like people with no conditions and put in the work. Feel free to throw yourself a pity party and self diagnose yourself. It's a slap in the face to all those people around here that actually do suffer from issues and are proactive by getting intervention.

    You actually don't want a diagnosis because you don't want to be told you're normal. You don't know if you have anything for sure. And you don't know what to do. This thread alone is the perfect example. Why do I say that? Because someone that would have been hypoglycemic for 10 years would have known the answers to such an amateur topic as far as sugar, diabetes, hypoglycemia is concerned. You think you know. But you don't.

    I agree with MrM. As someone who suffers from hypoglycemia, you likely would not be able to consume some of the things you do without severe consequences.

    If you believe you have hypoglycemia, you should call your doctor and get tested again. And a simple fasting blood glucose test won't give you a diagnosis. A hypoglycemia diagnosis involves much more than that. A diagnosis is actually important because hypoglycemia can be extremely dangerous. Simple tasks like driving are risky because a hypoglycemic can pass out randomly. Most hypoglycemics wear a medical alert bracelet in case they are found unconscious and thus are unable to tell the medical responder that they are hypoglycemic. The medical bracelet lets the EMT know that they need a shot of glucagon immediately. It's not something to be taken lightly.
  • a4phantom
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    I don't get it. I don't eat sweets, not now and not before because I just don't crave it.
    My only sugar intake comes from fresh fruit (banana, strawberry, etc), and the creamer from my coffee (I don't use sugar).
    Today I've eaten 1 banana, coffee with creamer, egg whites with a little butternut squash and onion, tuna salad, steamed red cabbage and water. I'm already over my allowed sugar intake and it's only 3:30 !!!!
    This doesn't make sense. Granted most of it came from my creamer, but I can't do sugar free, it tastes nasty. But a large portion came from the banana - why is that a negative?

    You've run into one of the great limitations of MFP: It can't distinguish sugar the way you're supposed to eat it (wrapped in a whole fruit with lots of fiber) from high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice stripped of fiber, or other processed crap.

    In simple terms, the fiber in whole fruit prevents your body from processing the sugar instantly and spiking your insulin level. So it shouldn't count against your sugar total (neither should lactose in milk which is chemically speaking sugar but isn't metabolized in the same harmful way). Fruit is good as long as it's whole.

    My source is the book Dr Lustig's book Fat Chance: The Bitter Truth about Sugar. Here's his youtube lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
  • a4phantom
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    __drmerc__ wrote: »
    In equal portions how can these different types of sugars cause different amounts of fat?
    If that's true then calories in calories out doesnt work

    Yeah, if it fits on a bumper sticker it's probably not going to adequately describe something as complex as human nutritional needs . . .
  • a4phantom
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    MrM27 wrote: »
    Your source is a scaremonger and has even admitted to his faulty information in his lopsided debate with Alan Aragon.

    Do you have better sourced, conflicting data? Almost everyone who writes about the American diet is a "scaremonger."
  • Marianna93637
    Marianna93637 Posts: 230 Member
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    I seriously don't understand how this conversation went from me questioning why I go over the suggested sugar intake so easily to someone telling me how I'm having a pity party, because I say I think I'm hypoglycemic, and the "it's my creamer that's an issue". HUH??

    by the way as far as I know there is a mild, moderate and severe form of hypoglycemia. No, I'm not an expert. Yes, I'm self diagnosing myself, because as a single mom I was never able to afford insurance, and even now the insurance I have would charge me an arm and a leg to find something out that's really not an issue.
    My symptoms have been these:
    * nausea
    * Extreme hunger.
    * Feeling nervous or jittery.
    * Cold, clammy, wet skin and/or excessive sweating not caused by exercise.
    * A rapid heartbeat (tachycardia).
    * Numbness or tingling of the fingertips or lips.
    * Trembling.

    I got this from http://www.med.umich.edu/intmed/endocrinology/patients/hypoglycemia.htm
    Usually this happens suddenly, and is easily fixed by eating something. It happens sporadically and I haven't been able to figure out why.

    Am I hypoglycemic? Maybe yes, maybe no, it actually doesn't matter because I know what happens to me and how I can fix that.

    So can we get off this subject now please?
    thank you.