Sugar grams - How much is really ok?

Shandajh
Shandajh Posts: 57 Member
Is there anyone out there who actually stays under the sugar grams recommendations, which are - Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons). - Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons). - I'm finding this part of logging my food, to be very frustrating, because the only added sugar I do is 3/4 tsp of honey. The rest comes from salad dressing and fruit and I also only eat 1/2 the salad dressing packet. Even at that, I'm then already over the sugar grams and then feel like I can't even add in 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries for dinner, even though my calories allow it - it would be adding another 7 grams! This sugar thing is just about impossible and so annoying. I hate all artificial sweeteners, so not going there.
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Replies

  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    As long as you do not need to restrict sugar due to a medical condition, there is no need to worry about it.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    edited May 2015
    the sugar recommendations on MFP are for added sugar and the recomendations you suggested above are also for added sugars.

    how much is actually "ok" for someone is going to be a pretty individual thing and there are a lot of things to consider...medical conditions, any insulin sensitivities, how active you are, etc...
  • Calli1616
    Calli1616 Posts: 1,855 Member
    I had the same frustration! So I went and read the American Heart Association recommendations. They have the sugar recommendation as 24 grams or 6 teaspoons of "added" sugar - so they don't count in the fruit (or dairy) sugars. For me, the good that comes from fruit - nutrients and fiber - sets off the sugar amounts. I'm completely with you on the artificial sweeteners too!
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
    I don't worry about sugar from honey, fruits and that type of thing.
  • pita7317
    pita7317 Posts: 1,437 Member
    Same as others comments...24 grams "added" sugar.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
    mkakids wrote: »
    As long as you do not need to restrict sugar due to a medical condition, there is no need to worry about it.

    I agree.

    In my case age lowered my ability to handle sugar/all carbs starting around age 25. Now at 64 I have to stay very low carb (<50 grams daily) to prevent high level of pain and just feeling plain bad.

  • kuriakos_chris
    kuriakos_chris Posts: 48 Member
    Dont get so serious about this, just do this:
    1. Drink your coffy without sugar or with 1 tablespoon .
    2. Limit to 2 fruits per day.
    3. Stay away from beverages with sugar, sweets and foods with added sugar or much elaboration(hope this word is right cause i google-translated it :D)
    Ofc all those depend on your goals so you can be more or less strict.!
  • Shandajh
    Shandajh Posts: 57 Member
    I have similar goals to GaleHawkins, in trying to reduce back pain from having extremely high inflammation and auto-immune disease. I have heard that sugar can raise inflammation and even cause your skin to age faster. I've read a lot too that the 25 grams recommended, or what some of you are saying is 24, actually does include sugar that comes from fruit. I definitely avoid sugared beverages and sweets - except on cheat days. I never fall under the 25 grams though and am getting ready to give up trying for that, because to remove something as healthy as blueberries or kiwi, just can't be beneficial!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    Shandajh wrote: »
    I have similar goals to GaleHawkins, in trying to reduce back pain from having extremely high inflammation and auto-immune disease. I have heard that sugar can raise inflammation and even cause your skin to age faster. I've read a lot too that the 25 grams recommended, or what some of you are saying is 24, actually does include sugar that comes from fruit. I definitely avoid sugared beverages and sweets - except on cheat days. I never fall under the 25 grams though and am getting ready to give up trying for that, because to remove something as healthy as blueberries or kiwi, just can't be beneficial!

    then whatever it is that you are reading is incorrect or is applicable to people with certain medical conditions or something. An otherwise healthy individual is going to be fine consuming more than 25 grams of sugar. On average I consume 80-100 grams and I am very healthy and fit...

    http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/

    ^^^right here, they're talking about "free" sugars or "added" sugars....
  • kuriakos_chris
    kuriakos_chris Posts: 48 Member
    I am pretty sure fruits are healthy in normal quantities. Personaly i eat about 15-60 grams of sugar per day including fruits.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
    Shandajh wrote: »
    I have similar goals to GaleHawkins, in trying to reduce back pain from having extremely high inflammation and auto-immune disease. I have heard that sugar can raise inflammation and even cause your skin to age faster. I've read a lot too that the 25 grams recommended, or what some of you are saying is 24, actually does include sugar that comes from fruit. I definitely avoid sugared beverages and sweets - except on cheat days. I never fall under the 25 grams though and am getting ready to give up trying for that, because to remove something as healthy as blueberries or kiwi, just can't be beneficial!

    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

    This group has been helpful for me. I have lost about 25 pounds but my only initial objective was to cut my joint pain so I did not start Enbrel injections and wind up with cancer.

    In 30 days after cutting out sugar even from fruit my joint pain dropped from 7-8 to 2-3 on a 1-10 scale. It was two months in before I lost any weight but I was losing inches while the scales did not move. LCHF is weird as to how it works in my case but it is a 'good' weird. :)

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited May 2015
    Shandajh wrote: »
    Is there anyone out there who actually stays under the sugar grams recommendations, which are - Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons). - Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons). - I'm finding this part of logging my food, to be very frustrating, because the only added sugar I do is 3/4 tsp of honey. The rest comes from salad dressing and fruit and I also only eat 1/2 the salad dressing packet. Even at that, I'm then already over the sugar grams and then feel like I can't even add in 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries for dinner, even though my calories allow it - it would be adding another 7 grams! This sugar thing is just about impossible and so annoying. I hate all artificial sweeteners, so not going there.

    I do, easily. The WHO recommendations refer to free (added) sugars, not the sugars naturally occurring in fruits and dairy. So staying under 9 teaspoons of free (added) sugars is pretty easy, as long as I read labels.

    http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/
  • Sugar 5gm to 10gm. After that our body spike insulin which order liver to use excess sugar and this prevents burning of fatty acids in our body which results in fat later on. So I would suggest intake short carbs like table sugar for instant energy one else stay away from sugar.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Shandajh wrote: »
    Is there anyone out there who actually stays under the sugar grams recommendations, which are - Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons). - Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons). - I'm finding this part of logging my food, to be very frustrating, because the only added sugar I do is 3/4 tsp of honey. The rest comes from salad dressing and fruit and I also only eat 1/2 the salad dressing packet. Even at that, I'm then already over the sugar grams and then feel like I can't even add in 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries for dinner, even though my calories allow it - it would be adding another 7 grams! This sugar thing is just about impossible and so annoying. I hate all artificial sweeteners, so not going there.

    This is the added sugar recommendation (i.e., they aren't including fruit and such in it), which is not what MFP measures.

    MFP's recommendation is 15% of calories, which I think is fine when I'm at the calorie limit I've generally been at lately (1700 or so), even with fruit and dairy, but which I think is ridiculously low if you have a very low calorie limit, and is really not necessary. I hit 45 grams of sugar all the time with just fruit, dairy, and veggies and I don't even eat an especially large amount of fruit.

    What I think makes more sense is measuring your carbs and your fiber. If you get enough fiber and don't go over your carbs, you must be getting a good percentage of your carbs from nutrient-rich sources and not tons of sugary treats.

    Or just look at your sugar sources rather than worrying about the specific numbers, as I think you can see if you are getting lots of your sugar from things you wouldn't want it from. (It would be easy to eliminate the dressing as a source, but if it's only a bit and you like it, I don't see why that would be important to do.)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Shandajh wrote: »
    I've read a lot too that the 25 grams recommended, or what some of you are saying is 24, actually does include sugar that comes from fruit.

    The WHO recommendation definitely does not. I am not aware of any recommendation from a reputable organization that is so low and includes sugars from veggies, fruit, and dairy. Before deciding that you need to keep it that low, wouldn't you want to be informed about the source of the recommendation and reason for it?

    If you remember where you read this, please post.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,097 Member
    Sugar 5gm to 10gm. After that our body spike insulin which order liver to use excess sugar and this prevents burning of fatty acids in our body which results in fat later on. So I would suggest intake short carbs like table sugar for instant energy one else stay away from sugar.

    I read 5gm to 10gm as 5pm to 10pm.

    Anyway...are you speaking of added sugar or all sugars. If it is all sugars you have fairly well eliminated most fruits and dairy.

  • Shandajh
    Shandajh Posts: 57 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Shandajh wrote: »
    I've read a lot too that the 25 grams recommended, or what some of you are saying is 24, actually does include sugar that comes from fruit.

    The WHO recommendation definitely does not. I am not aware of any recommendation from a reputable organization that is so low and includes sugars from veggies, fruit, and dairy. Before deciding that you need to keep it that low, wouldn't you want to be informed about the source of the recommendation and reason for it?

    If you remember where you read this, please post.

    Here's the link that gave me that information about sugar. It seems like it's legit from The American Heart Association:

    http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyEating/Sugar-101_UCM_306024_Article.jsp

    Anyway, I usually fall within the 45 gram range myself too, and I'm not going crazy, adding table sugar or eating candy or fruit juices. It's very easy to hit that with just two pieces of fruit, salad dressing, and less than a tsp of honey, which was what concerned me. I'm sure the salad dressing is probably putting me over (prepared salads from Trader Joe's), so I may need to just rethink that and try to start liking those nasty artificially sweetened dressings. blech.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    the sugar recommendations on MFP are for added sugar and the recomendations you suggested above are also for added sugars..

    the MFP number is total sugar. As per food labels.