I'm trying to stay away from refined sugars

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iamlisakong
iamlisakong Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm trying to stay away from refined sugars.
I was wondering if anyone has any tips and tricks and or if they eat as snacks!

Thanks!
«13

Replies

  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    Any specific reason?
  • Annamarie3404
    Annamarie3404 Posts: 319 Member
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    The sugars I eat are generally fruits. Occasionally, I'll have the junky sugary foods, but in moderation. Snacks are usually cheese, fruit, some avocado.
  • SOOZIE429
    SOOZIE429 Posts: 638 Member
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    Cut up veggies with salsa, berries, hard boiled eggs, string cheese, nuts, plain greek yogurt, lean proteins, olives, pickles.....
  • brighteststitcher
    brighteststitcher Posts: 62 Member
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    I've found success with doing a whole30 to kick the sugar habit - it's a pretty strict thirty day anti-inflammation elimination diet, however, and not for everyone.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited July 2016
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    No tips -- if you don't want to eat foods with refined sugars, just don't eat them. I tend to eat cheese (good cheese) in place of dessert if I'm doing that (or just not really in the mood for sweet). I don't snack, but plain greek yogurt with fruit, cottage cheese, and nuts seem like options I'd use if I did.

    Are you having difficulty in some way?
  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
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    kendahlj wrote: »
    Awesome goal...I wish you the best! Go cold turkey for 3-4 days and the sugar cravings will go away.

    This!
    And fruits and for example... Strawberry preserves w no added sugar or berries.. add a spoonful to plain Greek yogurt and it is surprisingly sweet.

    Honey also.
    Whipped cream in the can is low in sugar and really good.
    Dried fruit like ; dried apricots, dried peaches, dried mangos are really good.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    What if I told you that your body can't tell the difference?

    Fruit and refined sugar don't have the same glycemic load though... do they? So yeah, the body could tell the difference... if you're diabetic or have hypoglycemia.
  • meganlc0
    meganlc0 Posts: 34 Member
    edited July 2016
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    Your body can tell the difference between processed foods with sugar added and whole foods that contain naturally occurring sugars. I don't know why anyone would make it seem like cutting out refined sugar is silly. If you cut out refined sugar you cut out a whole lot of unhealthy crud by default.

    With that said, I love PB stuffed medjool dates for a sweet snack, so good.
  • blopmiyers
    blopmiyers Posts: 195 Member
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    Whenever I'm in the mood for something sugary I toss some bananas in a blender along with almond butter and some vanilla protein powder. Delicious.
  • richln
    richln Posts: 809 Member
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    kendahlj wrote: »
    Awesome goal...I wish you the best! Go cold turkey for 3-4 days and the sugar cravings will go away.

    What about the sugar in cold turkey?
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    What if I told you that your body can't tell the difference?

    Fruit and refined sugar don't have the same glycemic load though... do they? So yeah, the body could tell the difference... if you're diabetic or have hypoglycemia.

    But who eats straight sugar? The glycemic load of just sugar is irrelevant when you're eating a fat laden cookie.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    meganlc0 wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    meganlc0 wrote: »
    Your body can tell the difference between processed foods with sugar added and whole foods that contain naturally occurring sugars. I don't know why anyone would make it seem like cutting out refined sugar is silly. If you cut out refined sugar you cut out a whole lot of unhealthy crud by default.

    With that said, I love PB stuffed medjool dates for a sweet snack, so good.

    Actually, it can't. It breaks both down into their components. The sugar component in both sources is sucrose, glucose and fructose (sucrose is one glucose molecule combined with one fructose molecule and breaks apart into the other two within a matter of seconds after entering the intestine).
    Your body doesn't say, "oh this is natural sugar. That's good." or "uh oh, this is added sugar. That's bad."
    Your body says "Oh hey! Glucose!"

    I didn't say it could tell the difference between the sugars themselves. I was just pointing out that processed foods that have added sugars in them are fundamentally different than whole foods that do not. In turn avoiding refined sugars IS very beneficial.

    I also was really not trying to highjack this thread! Sorry!

    I'm all for cutting out added sugar (I don't use the term refined sugar, because that has nothing to do with anything) if one wants. I cut it out for a while, didn't find it beneficial to me (suagr isn't especially my weakness), but I limit it by making sure my diet has various other things that leave not that much room for sweets. I also don't tend to buy products that contain it. I've never craved it, not even when I cut it out, so I find the assumption in some of the posts above that everyone will kind of odd.

    But anyway, remember that although there's of course a difference between a cookie and a piece of fruit (mostly fat, fiber, and micros, not sugar), added sugar is in other things too. I am not sure why a rhubarb sauce with a bit of added sugar would be less beneficial than a no sugar added apple sauce. Similarly, if one likes oatmeal with a bit of sugar, what's the harm? My main food with added sugar (beyond things that obviously have sugar, like ice cream) is smoked salmon, which is typically made with a bit of sugar. Are you really claiming that makes smoked salmon unhealthy?

    Again, not saying that cutting out added sugar is a bad thing to do if one wants to, but taking issue with the blanket assertion that foods with added sugar are fundamentally different than those with intrinsic sugar.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    meganlc0 wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    meganlc0 wrote: »
    Your body can tell the difference between processed foods with sugar added and whole foods that contain naturally occurring sugars. I don't know why anyone would make it seem like cutting out refined sugar is silly. If you cut out refined sugar you cut out a whole lot of unhealthy crud by default.

    With that said, I love PB stuffed medjool dates for a sweet snack, so good.

    Actually, it can't. It breaks both down into their components. The sugar component in both sources is sucrose, glucose and fructose (sucrose is one glucose molecule combined with one fructose molecule and breaks apart into the other two within a matter of seconds after entering the intestine).
    Your body doesn't say, "oh this is natural sugar. That's good." or "uh oh, this is added sugar. That's bad."
    Your body says "Oh hey! Glucose!"

    I didn't say it could tell the difference between the sugars themselves. I was just pointing out that processed foods that have added sugars in them are fundamentally different than whole foods that do not. In turn avoiding refined sugars IS very beneficial.

    I also was really not trying to highjack this thread! Sorry!

    I'm all for cutting out added sugar (I don't use the term refined sugar, because that has nothing to do with anything) if one wants. I cut it out for a while, didn't find it beneficial to me (suagr isn't especially my weakness), but I limit it by making sure my diet has various other things that leave not that much room for sweets. I also don't tend to buy products that contain it. I've never craved it, not even when I cut it out, so I find the assumption in some of the posts above that everyone will kind of odd.

    But anyway, remember that although there's of course a difference between a cookie and a piece of fruit (mostly fat, fiber, and micros, not sugar), added sugar is in other things too. I am not sure why a rhubarb sauce with a bit of added sugar would be less beneficial than a no sugar added apple sauce. Similarly, if one likes oatmeal with a bit of sugar, what's the harm? My main food with added sugar (beyond things that obviously have sugar, like ice cream) is smoked salmon, which is typically made with a bit of sugar. Are you really claiming that makes smoked salmon unhealthy?

    Again, not saying that cutting out added sugar is a bad thing to do if one wants to, but taking issue with the blanket assertion that foods with added sugar are fundamentally different than those with intrinsic sugar.

    Exactly.
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
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    iamlisakong wrote: »
    I'm trying to stay away from refined sugars.
    I was wondering if anyone has any tips and tricks and or if they eat as snacks!

    Thanks!

    Read ingredient labels. If you eat any packaged foods, read the label for added sugar. For me it sugar is high up on the ingredient list I don't have it. Try making your meals from scratch rather than buying ready made as things like soups etc can have added sugar. I make some sweet snacks with just dates, cashew nuts and cacao powder blended and shape into balls, leave in the fridge over night. YUM.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    Snacks without refined sugar?

    hummus and veggies
    natural peanut butter and veggies
    jerky
    string cheese
    fruit
    nuts
    sunflower seeds
    popcorn
    tortilla chips and salsa, bean dip or guacamole
    boiled or deviled eggs

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