How to keep sugar in check and include fruit in diet?

tonyjomalley
tonyjomalley Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm trying to keep my sugar down but also consume fruits.

According to recommendations, 37.5 grams is the maximum amount a man my age should eat per day.

Even if I just include a banana and an apple in my diet, that's 22 grams.

Throw in some yogurt, cereal, brown bread, sweet potato, and all the other foods I eat per day and it's almost impossible for me to remain under this limit.

Any thoughts?

Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited June 2016
    This content has been removed.
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
    Is there a particular reason you're trying to keep your sugar down?
  • RainaProske
    RainaProske Posts: 636 Member
    In order to get your fruits, what about considering fruit that's not so sweet, like tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, and avocadoes? These are wonderful fruits with many advantages.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    tonyjomalley wrote: »
    I'm trying to keep my sugar down but also consume fruits.

    According to recommendations, 37.5 grams is the maximum amount a man my age should eat per day.

    Even if I just include a banana and an apple in my diet, that's 22 grams.

    Throw in some yogurt, cereal, brown bread, sweet potato, and all the other foods I eat per day and it's almost impossible for me to remain under this limit.

    Any thoughts?


    I think this is a false dilemma. First, have your doctor told you to watch/limit sugar intake? If not, and you're only aiming to lose/maintain weight and maintain/improve health, you can most likely disregard the whole sugar "business". Don't track sugar unless you need/want to.

    Recommendations are for ADDED sugar. So you don't have to think about sugar from fruit and naturally occurring in dairy. BUT: Food labels and MFP don't distinguish between added and naturally occurring sugar, because sugar is sugar, no matter where it comes from, it's chemically the same, and is treated the same way by your body - so, if you choose to put some sugar on your porridge, or whatever, you aren't eradicating the health benefits of your meal. BUT: Too much added sugar means that you are eating a nutritionally poor diet - cookies, cake, chocolate and ice cream taste great and provide calories, but that's almost everything they do. Fruit, dairy and vegetables provide nutrients that are good for health and makes you feel full and satisfied. You'll want to balance taste and nutrition, so that you feel great mentally AND physically. What and how much to eat of anything, is up to you to decide.
  • RainaProske
    RainaProske Posts: 636 Member
    Some of us have to limit our sugars. I do.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    As sugar is just a subset of carbs and I don't have any medical reason to track sugar separately I switched to tracking fibre instead.

    I just focus on a healthy and varied diet at or around my calorie goal.
    I put some effort into reaching a minimum protein goal, my fat minimum goal is met automatically by the food choices I normally make and carbs fall wherever they fall.

    Only exception I make is on a big cycling day when I turn into a carb monster. :)
  • tonyjomalley
    tonyjomalley Posts: 3 Member
    edited June 2016
    I don't have any particular medical reasons to limit my sugar intake such as diabetes, I've just been reading a little about the potential long-term effects on one's health.

    Looking at my food diary, I generally consume about 100g-150g per day, which puts me over the recommended intake quite considerably.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    tonyjomalley wrote: »
    I'm trying to keep my sugar down but also consume fruits.

    According to recommendations, 37.5 grams is the maximum amount a man my age should eat per day.

    Even if I just include a banana and an apple in my diet, that's 22 grams.

    Throw in some yogurt, cereal, brown bread, sweet potato, and all the other foods I eat per day and it's almost impossible for me to remain under this limit.

    Any thoughts?


    I think this is a false dilemma. First, have your doctor told you to watch/limit sugar intake? If not, and you're only aiming to lose/maintain weight and maintain/improve health, you can most likely disregard the whole sugar "business". Don't track sugar unless you need/want to.

    Recommendations are for ADDED sugar. So you don't have to think about sugar from fruit and naturally occurring in dairy. BUT: Food labels and MFP don't distinguish between added and naturally occurring sugar, because sugar is sugar, no matter where it comes from, it's chemically the same, and is treated the same way by your body - so, if you choose to put some sugar on your porridge, or whatever, you aren't eradicating the health benefits of your meal. BUT: Too much added sugar means that you are eating a nutritionally poor diet - cookies, cake, chocolate and ice cream taste great and provide calories, but that's almost everything they do. Fruit, dairy and vegetables provide nutrients that are good for health and makes you feel full and satisfied. You'll want to balance taste and nutrition, so that you feel great mentally AND physically. What and how much to eat of anything, is up to you to decide.

    So much all of this...
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    edited June 2016
    tonyjomalley wrote: »
    I don't have any particular medical reasons to limit my sugar intake such as diabetes, I've just been reading a little about the potential long-term effects on one's health.

    Looking at my food diary, I generally consume about 100g-150g per day, which puts me over the recommended intake quite considerably.

    The restriction is supposed to be put on added sugars, not sugars from fruits, veggies or whole grains (which is is mainly a carb, not sugar). Unfortunately, since there isn't a law yet to mandate the breakout of added and natural sugar, MFP can't account for it.

    So if you are getting your sugar from fruit, just ignore it. Personally, I concentrate on getting adequate protein and getting my calories from whole food sources.

    edit to add: I eat the same amount of grams of sugar you do, but that is because I eat 5-6 servings a day. I love fruit, especially this time of year. And no one will tell you fruit will cause any type of health issue.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    RainaProske wrote: »
    Some of us have to limit our sugars. I do.

    We do recognize that. But if you don't a condition like PCOS, diabetes, etc... then it's personal preference. But even with those, you need to watch all carbs (no specifically sugars).
  • RainaProske
    RainaProske Posts: 636 Member
    I am not yet educated enough on either nutrition or diabetes to know, so I use this site to watch for me. :smile:
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
    An easy simple way to include fruit but limit sugar is to have small portion sizes (2-4 ounces) of berries. Most, though not all, berries tend to be relatively low in sugar as compared to other fruit.

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