Are natural sugars good or bad
therousehouse38
Posts: 48 Member
Hi help...!! Confused.. Do you add to your daily sugar intake.. Natural sugars found in fruit as well as sugars you say have in tea/ coffee.. ..???
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You're only supposed to track the added sugars, not naturally occurring sugars. Eating fruit and other naturally sugary stuff is different from eating foods with added refined sugar, even though the body doesn't differentiate between sugars. With fruit you also have the benefit of eating the fiber, which lessens the blood sugar impact naturally.
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I used to have sugar in coffee, not no more, I cut sugar out, only natural, in fruits, I feel the best I have ever felt before.0
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All "short carbohydrates" are collectively referred to as sugar. That includes both "table sugar" and "fruit sugar", which (if I'm not mistaken!) both contain much of the same sugar molecules, just in different ratios. To your body, these are very similar. It might be just a bit simplifying, but "sugar is sugar is sugar".
So, to answer your question: "natural" sugar in fruits are logged in the same way as table sugar you (should not) add to your coffee. It's all just "sugar".0 -
Don't even bother tracking these here.
First, of all they aren't particularly important IF you are generally tracking calories and focusing on getting variety in food - lots of veggies and fruit, etc... If you are hitting your macros and eating variety, tracking sugar serves no particular purpose. The recommendations given on sugar maximums are intended to limit overall calorie intake.
Second, the actual sugars reported in the database are really off - most user entries do not list sugar; people create the entries focusing on calories and macros (carbs, protein and fat).
If you are diabetic and do need to track sugars, that is a totally different point - but then, please discuss that with your doctor.0 -
MFP counts all sugar the same it cannot distinguish between the source. As I eat a lot of fruit and veg and very little packaged or refined food I ignore the number MFP tracks. All my sugars come with fibre or protein that I need . I Think it is not so much that "natural " sugar is "good" it is more about the other nutritional components of the foods that include it . Added sugar is often found it foods with a lower nutritional value , As I want most of my calories to be good bang for my buck I eat the ones with lots of nutrition included. They sometimes have a fairly high sugar count meh eating my banana and pear , I need my fibre0
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Minimize fruit (small amount of blueberries ok). Use Stevia in place of sugar. Keep carbs below 100 grams/day.0
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therousehouse38 wrote: »Hi help...!! Confused.. Do you add to your daily sugar intake.. Natural sugars found in fruit as well as sugars you say have in tea/ coffee.. ..???
Sugar is sugar, the labels and MFP and the target are all expressed in total sugars. You should have a bare minimum of 45 grams allocated if you have a 1200 cal goal.
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EvgeniZyntx wrote: »Don't even bother tracking these here.
First, of all they aren't particularly important IF you are generally tracking calories and focusing on getting variety in food - lots of veggies and fruit, etc... If you are hitting your macros and eating variety, tracking sugar serves no particular purpose. The recommendations given on sugar maximums are intended to limit overall calorie intake.
Second, the actual sugars reported in the database are really off - most user entries do not list sugar; people create the entries focusing on calories and macros (carbs, protein and fat).
If you are diabetic and do need to track sugars, that is a totally different point - but then, please discuss that with your doctor.
/end thread0 -
All "short carbohydrates" are collectively referred to as sugar. That includes both "table sugar" and "fruit sugar", which (if I'm not mistaken!) both contain much of the same sugar molecules, just in different ratios. To your body, these are very similar. It might be just a bit simplifying, but "sugar is sugar is sugar".
So, to answer your question: "natural" sugar in fruits are logged in the same way as table sugar you (should not) add to your coffee. It's all just "sugar".
Added sugars include glucose, sucrose and fructose (a molecular combination of the other two). Interestingly, fruits contain glucose, sucrose and fructose.
There's not an iota of difference between one and the other. The sugar in fruit isn't different than added sugars in other foods.
There may be less of it in some fruits (or more perhaps) or there may be more fiber in the fruit than in other snacks (or maybe not) but the sugars are not different.
Besides, the amount of carbs derived from simple sugars is immaterial unless you have a medical reason for tracking it (diabetes), in which case you should consult your doctor.0 -
Okay so you need to know that the body reacts to and digests sugar occurring in whole fruit and veg very differently from refined sugar or honey. Refined includes all brown sugars too. Sugar in whole fruit (and veg) is tied in with a lot of fibre and therefore does not cause the blood sugar "spike" immediately after eating. It is digested slowly and utilised better by the body. If you want to avoid pure sugar then great, that's more healthy but that means all refined sugars glucose, fructose everything if it comes as granules or syrup. Also smoothies and juices have removed or blitzed the bejesus out of the food fibre and you lose the fibre benefit in the way the sugar is absorbed.
If you log your fruit and veg on MFP it will record the amount of sugar in those foods and these are reflected in the calorie value of the food. So if you are simply wanting to lose weight the calories is all you need to concern yourself with.
If you are being uber healthy then avoid all refined and added sugars.0 -
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And when you track carbs, subtract the fiber from that food to get the net carbs. Unless it's listed in net carbs where that's already been done.0
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GuitarJerry wrote: »cafeaulait7 wrote: »And when you track carbs, subtract the fiber from that food to get the net carbs. Unless it's listed in net carbs where that's already been done.
Lol. No. Don't do this. Defeats the purpose.
Well, it does depend on your purpose, it's true. It depends on why and how you are tracking carbs.0 -
Are natural sugars good or bad?
for fat loss sugar is sugar
for health its a little different
natural sugars contain stuff besides sugar like micro-nutrients, which is good.
everything in moderation and you will be okay0 -
Added sugar still comes from sugarcane, and unless I'm unaware we're importing from little green men, that's still "natural".0
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natural is nonrefined, from the earth.Added sugar still comes from sugarcane, and unless I'm unaware we're importing from little green men, that's still "natural".
in your line of logic anything is natural.
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. - Carl Sagan0 -
AnabolicKyle wrote: »Are natural sugars good or bad?
for fat loss sugar is sugar
for health its a little different
natural sugars contain stuff besides sugar like micro-nutrients, which is good.
everything in moderation and you will be okay
Well no, the sugar only contains sugar. The foods that contain the sugar also contain micro-nutrients. Slight difference.0 -
cafeaulait7 wrote: »GuitarJerry wrote: »cafeaulait7 wrote: »And when you track carbs, subtract the fiber from that food to get the net carbs. Unless it's listed in net carbs where that's already been done.
Lol. No. Don't do this. Defeats the purpose.
Well, it does depend on your purpose, it's true. It depends on why and how you are tracking carbs.
It also depends where you are / where the data came from, as North America is somewhat unique in including fiber in "Total carbohydrates".
In many places carbohydrate minus fibre can have a negative result.
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Okay so you need to know that the body reacts to and digests sugar occurring in whole fruit and veg very differently from refined sugar or honey.
No it doesn't
Refined includes all brown sugars too. Sugar in whole fruit (and veg) is tied in with a lot of fibre and therefore does not cause the blood sugar "spike" immediately after eating.
are you talking about an insulin response? which in a healthy individual spikes after ingesting anything, including protein
It is digested slowly and utilised better by the body. If you want to avoid pure sugar then great, that's more healthy but that means all refined sugars glucose, fructose everything if it comes as granules or syrup. Also smoothies and juices have removed or blitzed the bejesus out of the food fibre and you lose the fibre benefit in the way the sugar is absorbed.
fibre is good
If you log your fruit and veg on MFP it will record the amount of sugar in those foods and these are reflected in the calorie value of the food. So if you are simply wanting to lose weight the calories is all you need to concern yourself with.
If you are being uber healthy then avoid all refined and added sugars.
I am uber healthy I do not avoid sugars, I ensure my diet is nutritiously sound and I hit my macros and micro nutrient requirements without even tracking sugar
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Can someone explain to me, bearing in mind I live outside the US and I believe that our nutritional analysis is slightly different, what the whole subtracting fibre from carbs thing is about?
I'm puzzled0 -
Can someone explain to me, bearing in mind I live outside the US and I believe that our nutritional analysis is slightly different, what the whole subtracting fibre from carbs thing is about?
I'm puzzled
In the UK we measure carbohydrates (sugars and starches) and put them on the label, we declare sugars as part of that. Separately we measure fibre and put that on the label.
The US does not measure carbohydrates, but has this "total carbohydrate" concept which is what is left after measuring the moisture, ash, protein and fat. So it includes fibre, and the errors. They measure sugars and fibre and declare these as part of "total carbohydrate" so on the labels the layout is that sugar and fibre are indented and sub-components of total carbohydrate.
The idea of "net carbs" is to get to the "digestible carbohydrate" (what in the UK is measured as carbohydrates) by subtracting out the fiber from the total carbs.
Given their labelling, it makes sense if for examle a diabetic wants to know how much of the total carbohydrate will impact blood sugar.
Example :-
UK - 50 grams carbohydrate, of which 20 are sugar. Fibre 3 grams.
US - 53 grams total carbohydrate, of which 20 are sugar and 3 are fiber. Net carbs 53 - 3 = 50
(there are differences in analytical methods etc that mean this is a bit of a simplification).0 -
Can someone explain to me, bearing in mind I live outside the US and I believe that our nutritional analysis is slightly different, what the whole subtracting fibre from carbs thing is about?
I'm puzzled
As you know, fiber is technically a carbohydrate, but cannot be digested by humans. Despite this, Americans include fiber in the carb figures, so people have to subtract it, if they want to know their "net" carb intake. I think the difference is important only for people trying to be in ketosis.
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Can someone explain to me, bearing in mind I live outside the US and I believe that our nutritional analysis is slightly different, what the whole subtracting fibre from carbs thing is about?
I'm puzzled
In the UK we measure carbohydrates (sugars and starches) and put them on the label, we declare sugars as part of that. Separately we measure fibre and put that on the label.
The US does not measure carbohydrates, but has this "total carbohydrate" concept which is what is left after measuring the moisture, ash, protein and fat. So it includes fibre, and the errors. They measure sugars and fibre and declare these as part of "total carbohydrate" so on the labels the layout is that sugar and fibre are indented and sub-components of total carbohydrate.
The idea of "net carbs" is to get to the "digestible carbohydrate" (what in the UK is measured as carbohydrates) by subtracting out the fiber from the total carbs.
Given their labelling, it makes sense if for examle a diabetic wants to know how much of the total carbohydrate will impact blood sugar.
Example :-
UK - 50 grams carbohydrate, of which 20 are sugar. Fibre 3 grams.
US - 53 grams total carbohydrate, of which 20 are sugar and 3 are fiber. Net carbs 53 - 3 = 50
(there are differences in analytical methods etc that mean this is a bit of a simplification).
thank you @yarwell and @Gianfranco_R
I now understand0 -
Yeah, I just figured someone asking about sugar might want to eat as many carbs as they can without the 'bad' effects people might think of (outside of calorie count). Since you don't digest the fiber (and it has no calories), I figured it might be helpful to know that anyone (in countries that don't already do it) can feel fine about subtracting it out of that food's carbs. Most countries do it anyway, as was brought up in the helpful posts later.
If you (general you) feel like counting something indigestible because it's traditional in the US to do so, knock yourself out, though
I do watch my 'net carbs' for blood sugar reasons, so it definitely has real utility for some folks. I'm nowhere near ketosis, though --I want as many carbs as I can manage with my condition, lol.0 -
AnabolicKyle wrote: »Are natural sugars good or bad?
for fat loss sugar is sugar
for health its a little different
natural sugars contain stuff besides sugar like micro-nutrients, which is good.
everything in moderation and you will be okay
for health, sugar is also sugar....
natural sugars are just sugars...the particular food item is what contains the other micro-nutrients. so yes, eating an apple is going to provide you with a number of micro-nutrients as well as some good fiber, particularly soluble fiber...and also sugar.
similarly, i can eat my oats in the morning which are going to provide me with quite a bit of micro nutrition as well as fiber...and add some honey...but of course, some would say that I've now created something that is not nutritious by adding...gasp...sugar...even though it's a bit of honey into a food product that contains a *kitten* ton of nutrition and fiber.
it's all pretty friggin' silly.0 -
Okay so you need to know that the body reacts to and digests sugar occurring in whole fruit and veg very differently from refined sugar or honey. Refined includes all brown sugars too. Sugar in whole fruit (and veg) is tied in with a lot of fibre and therefore does not cause the blood sugar "spike" immediately after eating. It is digested slowly and utilised better by the body.
So say one person makes apple sauce and doesn't add any sugar (there's a lot in the apples). Another makes a rhubarb sauce and adds a bit of sugar. Are you claiming the body would react differently?
Sugar can be added to all kinds of food, and doesn't make them bad. The food itself may be a high cal item (often due to the fat it also contains) that isn't particularly high in nutrients, and, yes, you'd want to eat it in reasonable amounts and not overdo, as that might be easy to do.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »similarly, i can eat my oats in the morning which are going to provide me with quite a bit of micro nutrition as well as fiber...and add some honey...but of course, some would say that I've now created something that is not nutritious by adding...gasp...sugar...even though it's a bit of honey into a food product that contains a *kitten* ton of nutrition and fiber.
it's all pretty friggin' silly.
I agree!
Food is only nutritious if you'll eat it. One of the reasons we put sugar in things is to make it palatable. I cannot stand the taste of plain oatmeal, and cutting pieces of fruit into it doesn't do it for me either.. I'll eat the fruit out and ignore the awful oats. A heaping teaspoon of brown sugar and another of butter, on the other hand, and I'm all over that in the best way!
Same for grape nuts. I love eating grape nuts. With sugar. Without it? I'd just as soon eat a cardboard box mixed with fine gravel, it'd have the same flavor and consistency.0
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