Refined sugar
jo7777777
Posts: 30 Member
With all these sugar free threads going on, I was wondering if users here use refined sugar in their day to day meals? I don't add refined sugar to my foods and probably get some bit in when I go out. Most of the times refined sugar can be substituted by fruits etc.
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Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.0
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I use refined sugar in my coffee and periodically in a few recipes, mostly desserts. Sugar free is generally misunderstood and pretty much impossible to do. People confuse information with knowledge.0
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I don't add additional sugar to my meals but I will add a little bit to my coffee in the morning.0
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Yup. In cereals, in pastries, in bread, frozen dinners, ketchup, pasta sauce, snacks of various kinds, soda, "juice drinks", granola bars, fiber one bars, salad dressing, boxed convenience foods (hamburger helper, rice a roni...) etc. etc. etc.Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.
Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.0 -
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I use non bone char refined sugars like Moreno in my baked goods, there is also sugar (or more commonly HFCS) in things I use like ketchup. I no longer use sugars to sweeten my coffee, my morning oatmeal. Judging by how often I used to buy sugar, Ive greatly reduced my intake. I also don't use Splenda, or Stevia, or any of the other commonly used subs, agave or honey or maple syrup. But I am always over on my sugars, because I eat a ton of fruit.0
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
Paying attention to it is a good thing. Thinking the only way to reach your goals is by eliminating it altogether is not, IMO.
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yup. In cereals, in pastries, in bread, frozen dinners, ketchup, pasta sauce, snacks of various kinds, soda, "juice drinks", granola bars, fiber one bars, salad dressing, boxed convenience foods (hamburger helper, rice a roni...) etc. etc. etc.Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.
Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
It's not good or bad, it's more preference than anything.0 -
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I snack on Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Candy. I just don't go overboard with them.
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Agreed.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
Paying attention to it is a good thing. Thinking the only way to reach your goals is by eliminating it altogether is not, IMO.
And thinking about it as *a* way to reduce *some* unnecessary calories is fine.
And for some, it makes compliance easier (and for others it makes it harder).
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I can agree with that as well.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yup. In cereals, in pastries, in bread, frozen dinners, ketchup, pasta sauce, snacks of various kinds, soda, "juice drinks", granola bars, fiber one bars, salad dressing, boxed convenience foods (hamburger helper, rice a roni...) etc. etc. etc.Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.
Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
It's not good or bad, it's more preference than anything.
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Agreed.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
Paying attention to it is a good thing. Thinking the only way to reach your goals is by eliminating it altogether is not, IMO.
And thinking about it as *a* way to reduce *some* unnecessary calories is fine.
And for some, it makes compliance easier (and for others it makes it harder).
True...
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With all these sugar free threads going on, I was wondering if users here use refined sugar in their day to day meals? I don't add refined sugar to my foods and probably get some bit in when I go out. Most of the times refined sugar can be substituted by fruits etc.
The only time I add sugar to stuff is sometimes when I cook with rhubarb. I understand why people add it to oatmeal, but I prefer my oatmeal unsweetened. I also learned to cook tomato sauce originally with a bit of sugar added, but stopped doing that long ago due to personal preference.
I've also done a few recipes where I added honey, which is basically a similar thing.
However, none of this adds up to much. I assume that most people mainly use sugar (if not in their coffee or oatmeal) when baking sweet items. I rarely bake these days (I always liked cooking more than baking anyway, since I hate having to be precise), but obviously I add sugar if I make a pie or cookies. (Most of the calories in those items aren't from the sugar, though.)0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yup. In cereals, in pastries, in bread, frozen dinners, ketchup, pasta sauce, snacks of various kinds, soda, "juice drinks", granola bars, fiber one bars, salad dressing, boxed convenience foods (hamburger helper, rice a roni...) etc. etc. etc.Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.
Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
It's the irritating assumption that everyone eats lots of that stuff in the first place or doesn't know where their sugar comes from.
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yup. In cereals, in pastries, in bread, frozen dinners, ketchup, pasta sauce, snacks of various kinds, soda, "juice drinks", granola bars, fiber one bars, salad dressing, boxed convenience foods (hamburger helper, rice a roni...) etc. etc. etc.Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.
Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
It's the irritating assumption that everyone eats lots of that stuff in the first place.
I'm assuming that the folks who post wanting to reduce or eliminate it believe they are eating "lots" of that stuff.
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yup. In cereals, in pastries, in bread, frozen dinners, ketchup, pasta sauce, snacks of various kinds, soda, "juice drinks", granola bars, fiber one bars, salad dressing, boxed convenience foods (hamburger helper, rice a roni...) etc. etc. etc.Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.
Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
It's the irritating assumption that everyone eats lots of that stuff in the first place.
I'm assuming that the folks who post wanting to reduce or eliminate it believe they are eating "lots" of that stuff.
I'm talking about the dire warnings that we are all eating lots of hidden sugars or are addicted to sugar, etc. Or the people who act like avoiding "added sugar" is super hard.
I also see no need to go from eating some insane amount (based on self-reporting, not being judgmental) to giving it up entirely. Why not just figure out what you are eating and cut down by focusing on other foods? Why is it necessary to decide that the problem is sugar and not one's own apparently excessive consumption of it and then make a production of giving it up and claim (rather obnoxiously, like a new convert who is compelled to evangelize) that that's the only healthy thing to do. Silliness.
As you know (I think, as I've said it often enough), I have nothing against even giving up added sugar for a time (or longer) if one thinks one has a reason to do so. I have myself and probably will again. I just don't understand the need to act like that's the essence of health or to make a big production or start a thread about sugar being the devil or nonsense like that.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yup. In cereals, in pastries, in bread, frozen dinners, ketchup, pasta sauce, snacks of various kinds, soda, "juice drinks", granola bars, fiber one bars, salad dressing, boxed convenience foods (hamburger helper, rice a roni...) etc. etc. etc.Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.
Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
It's the irritating assumption that everyone eats lots of that stuff in the first place.
I'm assuming that the folks who post wanting to reduce or eliminate it believe they are eating "lots" of that stuff.
I'm talking about the dire warnings that we are all eating lots of hidden sugars or are addicted to sugar, etc. Or the people who act like avoiding "added sugar" is super hard.
I also see no need to go from eating some insane amount (based on self-reporting, not being judgmental) to giving it up entirely. Why not just figure out what you are eating and cut down by focusing on other foods? Why is it necessary to decide that the problem is sugar and not one's own apparently excessive consumption of it and then make a production of giving it up and claim (rather obnoxiously, like a new convert who is compelled to evangelize) that that's the only healthy thing to do. Silliness.
I can go with that. Start with awareness of what you're eating and then make some positive changes.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yup. In cereals, in pastries, in bread, frozen dinners, ketchup, pasta sauce, snacks of various kinds, soda, "juice drinks", granola bars, fiber one bars, salad dressing, boxed convenience foods (hamburger helper, rice a roni...) etc. etc. etc.Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.
Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
It's the irritating assumption that everyone eats lots of that stuff in the first place.
I'm assuming that the folks who post wanting to reduce or eliminate it believe they are eating "lots" of that stuff.
I'm talking about the dire warnings that we are all eating lots of hidden sugars or are addicted to sugar, etc. Or the people who act like avoiding "added sugar" is super hard.
I also see no need to go from eating some insane amount (based on self-reporting, not being judgmental) to giving it up entirely. Why not just figure out what you are eating and cut down by focusing on other foods? Why is it necessary to decide that the problem is sugar and not one's own apparently excessive consumption of it and then make a production of giving it up and claim (rather obnoxiously, like a new convert who is compelled to evangelize) that that's the only healthy thing to do. Silliness.
I can go with that. Start with awareness of what you're eating and then make some positive changes.
Also depends on how many calories per day your body needs. Someone who maintains on 3000 calories per day will gave far more flexibility then someone who maintains on only 2000...
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Yup, of course. And the number of discretionary calories would then vary a lot based on the individual.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yup. In cereals, in pastries, in bread, frozen dinners, ketchup, pasta sauce, snacks of various kinds, soda, "juice drinks", granola bars, fiber one bars, salad dressing, boxed convenience foods (hamburger helper, rice a roni...) etc. etc. etc.Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.
Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
It's the irritating assumption that everyone eats lots of that stuff in the first place.
I'm assuming that the folks who post wanting to reduce or eliminate it believe they are eating "lots" of that stuff.
I'm talking about the dire warnings that we are all eating lots of hidden sugars or are addicted to sugar, etc. Or the people who act like avoiding "added sugar" is super hard.
I also see no need to go from eating some insane amount (based on self-reporting, not being judgmental) to giving it up entirely. Why not just figure out what you are eating and cut down by focusing on other foods? Why is it necessary to decide that the problem is sugar and not one's own apparently excessive consumption of it and then make a production of giving it up and claim (rather obnoxiously, like a new convert who is compelled to evangelize) that that's the only healthy thing to do. Silliness.
I can go with that. Start with awareness of what you're eating and then make some positive changes.
Also depends on how many calories per day your body needs. Someone who maintains on 3000 calories per day will gave far more flexibility then someone who maintains on only 2000...
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yup. In cereals, in pastries, in bread, frozen dinners, ketchup, pasta sauce, snacks of various kinds, soda, "juice drinks", granola bars, fiber one bars, salad dressing, boxed convenience foods (hamburger helper, rice a roni...) etc. etc. etc.Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.
Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
It's the irritating assumption that everyone eats lots of that stuff in the first place.
I'm assuming that the folks who post wanting to reduce or eliminate it believe they are eating "lots" of that stuff.
I'm talking about the dire warnings that we are all eating lots of hidden sugars or are addicted to sugar, etc. Or the people who act like avoiding "added sugar" is super hard.
I also see no need to go from eating some insane amount (based on self-reporting, not being judgmental) to giving it up entirely. Why not just figure out what you are eating and cut down by focusing on other foods? Why is it necessary to decide that the problem is sugar and not one's own apparently excessive consumption of it and then make a production of giving it up and claim (rather obnoxiously, like a new convert who is compelled to evangelize) that that's the only healthy thing to do. Silliness.
I can go with that. Start with awareness of what you're eating and then make some positive changes.
Also depends on how many calories per day your body needs. Someone who maintains on 3000 calories per day will gave far more flexibility then someone who maintains on only 2000...
Very true.0 -
Yes, I do. I'm not proud of it and don't brag about it, but there is some.
The only thing to which I add sugar is spaghetti sauce and that's only when I've messed it up. A small amount of sugar will cure every spaghetti sauce woe except burning it.
I eat so much fruit, though, that my diet is high in sugar. I'm such a fruit ho.0 -
I rarely add sugar to my foods or drinks but I do consume a lot of it overall.0
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I almost never eat refined sugar. The only sugar I eat on a daily basis is naturally occurring in fruits and vegetables. A few times a week I have half a serving of high cocoa dark chocolate (72% cocoa, lots of antioxidants, and a relatively small amount of sugar).
I drink my coffee black, eat plain yogurt, etc. If I want it sweeter I throw in some raspberries. I buy only natural peanut butter...no sugar. I don't buy any processed foods, breads, cereals, etc. I feel much better eating this way...no energy swings, no cravings, and it's much healthier.
So other than the occasional meal out or dessert on a holiday or special occasion, I eat very little refined sugar.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yup. In cereals, in pastries, in bread, frozen dinners, ketchup, pasta sauce, snacks of various kinds, soda, "juice drinks", granola bars, fiber one bars, salad dressing, boxed convenience foods (hamburger helper, rice a roni...) etc. etc. etc.Most people encounter it incorporated into food they buy as opposed to making from ingredients. Sugar sales are about 75% industrial 25% retail from memory.
Not sure why paying attention to that, and cutting out some of the unnecessary would be bad.
It's the irritating assumption that everyone eats lots of that stuff in the first place.
I'm assuming that the folks who post wanting to reduce or eliminate it believe they are eating "lots" of that stuff.
No. I look out for calories and in effect sugar.
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Yes I do. I like a couple teaspoons of sugar in my yogurt with cereal or fruit in the morning when I have that. Can't think of any other time I literally go to the sugar bowl though there probably are other foods I like a bit sweet. I also use it if a recipe calls for sugar.
I absolutely hate the taste of artificial sweeteners including diet pop. I wish I could get over that. Years ago I drank a lot of diet Root Beer but now I don't care for it at all.
I'd say salt is harder for me to "control" than sugar really.0 -
Yes I do. I like a couple teaspoons of sugar in my yogurt with cereal or fruit in the morning when I have that. Can't think of any other time I literally go to the sugar bowl though there probably are other foods I like a bit sweet. I also use it if a recipe calls for sugar.
I absolutely hate the taste of artificial sweeteners including diet pop. I wish I could get over that. Years ago I drank a lot of diet Root Beer but now I don't care for it at all.
I'd say salt is harder for me to "control" than sugar really.
Lucky me, I like Diet colas especially Coke Zero. Regular Colas seem to sweet to me now!0 -
I'd say salt is harder for me to "control" than sugar really.
I don't really try to control salt, but I'd find it FAR harder. I toss salt in when cooking routinely and I do think it makes a difference. It would be a huge bummer if for some reason I had to avoid salt, whereas I don't think it's that tough to avoid added sugar if you want and (as explained above) I almost never add it to anything myself and frequently go for long periods of time without owning any sugar. (I don't see any reason to give up added sugar completely, though, and thus I continue to eat various foods that have it and do use it in baking on occasion, etc.)
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I don't add sugar to anything unless it is something I am baking. Occasionally I will sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on my toast, but that's it. I don't have a problem with it, it just is not something I got into the habit of adding, just like salt. I have never been a big sweets eater but have had trouble controlling the starches in the past. Given a choice between a doughnut or a bagel, I will go for the bagel every time.0
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