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Giving up sugar for good
Ty_Floyd
Posts: 102 Member
in Debate Club
Interesting long read by Gary Taubes in The Guardian today about sugar's addictive effects and the futility of trying to "moderate" its consumption. He also makes the interesting observation that people tend to define moderation as "whatever works for them". Anyway, it's all enough to convince me...
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/05/is-sugar-worlds-most-popular-drug
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/05/is-sugar-worlds-most-popular-drug
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Replies
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Incoming.32
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Nope.8
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Chef_Barbell wrote: »Nope.
Hey, you must be a speed reader if you read that piece in four minutes! (;-)3 -
Sorry - I lost interest when he calls sugar a drug. It's not a drug and it's not addictive. People may LIKE the taste of sugar and thus want to consume more but it's no more addictive than cheese is (which is something I have problems moderating but I'm not addicted to it).
I really wish people would stop listening to this kind of low intellect fear-mongering.
/rant45 -
Repeat after me:
Sugar is not a drug.
Sugar is not addictive.
Sugar does not cause weight gain unless eaten in excess.
There is nothing wrong with sugar.48 -
Chef_Barbell wrote: »Nope.
Hey, you must be a speed reader if you read that piece in four minutes! (;-)
Because I stopped reading when it said sugar is a drug. Nope!13 -
Sorry - I lost interest when he calls sugar a drug. It's not a drug and it's not addictive. People may LIKE the taste of sugar and thus want to consume more but it's no more addictive than cheese is (which is something I have problems moderating but I'm not addicted to it).
I really wish people would stop listening to this kind of low intellect fear-mongering.
/rant
All of this6 -
They even put sugar in Camel cigarettes apparently! Never knew that. Glad I quit smoking...5
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Sorry - I lost interest when he calls sugar a drug. It's not a drug and it's not addictive. People may LIKE the taste of sugar and thus want to consume more but it's no more addictive than cheese is (which is something I have problems moderating but I'm not addicted to it).
I really wish people would stop listening to this kind of low intellect fear-mongering.
/rant
Define "drug". A psychoactive substance with some addictive characteristics? Yes sugar is a drug, as well as being a nutrient.7 -
MonkeyMel21 wrote: »
That was my little joke.5 -
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I really must be a special freak snowflake then because I can eat sugar in moderation no problem. OP-if you feel that you need to eliminate it and actually think that it will be sustainable for you, for the rest of your life, then you got to do what you got to do. But, I've figured out how to continue eating all the foods I like while hitting my health and weight goals. This is what's sustainable for me, for the next 40+ years.23
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Sorry, it's Taubes. He thrives on fear-mongering with poor science. We've seen his *kitten* spewed all over this site for years now, and it gets old. We've beaten the "sugar is addictive!!!1!" dead horse for way too long now. Could I recommend you do a search or browse some threads in the debate section?30 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »I really must be a special freak snowflake then because I can eat sugar in moderation no problem. OP-if you feel that you need to eliminate it and actually think that it will be sustainable for you, for the rest of your life then you got to do what you got to do. But, I've figured out how to continue eating all the foods I like while hitting my health and weight goals. This is what's sustainable for me, for the next 40+ years.
Or perhaps the ill-effects may be so insidious that you won't notice them until it's too late. I sincerely hope that is not the case, obviously.
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chocolate_owl wrote: »
Sorry, it's Taubes. He thrives on fear-mongering with poor science. We've seen his *kitten* spewed all over this site for years now, and it gets old. We've beaten the "sugar is addictive!!!1!" dead horse for way too long now. Could I recommend you do a search or browse some threads in the debate section?
This. Taubes ranks right up their with Dr. Oz and has Zero credibility as far as I'm concerned. He's making money off of fear-mongering and I refuse to read any more of his garbage.21 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »I really must be a special freak snowflake then because I can eat sugar in moderation no problem. OP-if you feel that you need to eliminate it and actually think that it will be sustainable for you, for the rest of your life then you got to do what you got to do. But, I've figured out how to continue eating all the foods I like while hitting my health and weight goals. This is what's sustainable for me, for the next 40+ years.
Or perhaps the ill-effects may be so insidious that you won't notice them until it's too late. I sincerely hope that is not the case, obviously.
None of us come out of this alive.28 -
This debate seems like the Global Warming debate - but only in reverse. Makes me realize how this site truly models real life. Where the strongest over-power the weak.2
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Taubes is generally considered a quack.13
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It means that there are many, (probably hundreds)of posts about the horrors of sugar addiction and here is this proof. This Gary Taubes is frequently cited, but my understanding is that he is not an expert and more of a fear mongerer when it comes to sugar.
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I have to admit i never knew the part about "As for tobacco, sugar was, and still is, a critical ingredient in the American blended-tobacco cigarette, the first of which was Camel. It’s this “marriage of tobacco and sugar”, as a sugar-industry report described it in 1950, that makes for the “mild” experience of smoking cigarettes as compared with cigars and, perhaps more important, makes it possible for most of us to inhale cigarette smoke and draw it deep into our lungs." Interesting article, but yes, you will get slammed on this site talking about sugar being a drug or addictive. I also have a hard time eating sugar in moderation and find natural sugars in fruit to be enough in my diet. to keep my blood work levels "good" i limit all added sugar so i see/understand your point. Not many people are going to be positive towards this though.8
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I read it this morning and found it worthwhile - I'm a fan of Taubes in general though and always appreciate his research/take on things. He's done a tremendous amount of good for the field of nutrition, IMO.
I wouldn't say I've given up sugar (because I haven't) but someone might think that if they were to look at my food diary. My approach to sugar is as little as possible for an enjoyable diet/life which is a lot lower than others judging by MFP but it works for me. I think any prudent person would do the same (eat as little sugar as needed to be happy with your diet) but that's just me.11 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »I really must be a special freak snowflake then because I can eat sugar in moderation no problem. OP-if you feel that you need to eliminate it and actually think that it will be sustainable for you, for the rest of your life then you got to do what you got to do. But, I've figured out how to continue eating all the foods I like while hitting my health and weight goals. This is what's sustainable for me, for the next 40+ years.
Or perhaps the ill-effects may be so insidious that you won't notice them until it's too late. I sincerely hope that is not the case, obviously.
-I've lost 50lb
-I've successfully maintained the loss for almost 4 years
-I've improved all my health markers-great blood pressure, bmi of around 21, waist circumference of 25 etc etc
-all of my blood work panels have improved-including getting a pre-diabetic glucose number down into the normal range
-I'm the only one in my family who's reversed the progression of pre-diabetes and the only one in my family who's sustained weight loss for any length of time
-I no longer have any medical conditions
-I take no medications
And I eat sugar every.single.day.
eta: I refuse to live my life in fear of the countless 'what ifs/maybes' in life. I now have a healthy relationship with food and I'm in excellent health by every marker my doctor uses. That's good enough for me
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chocolate_owl wrote: »
Sorry, it's Taubes. He thrives on fear-mongering with poor science. We've seen his *kitten* spewed all over this site for years now, and it gets old. We've beaten the "sugar is addictive!!!1!" dead horse for way too long now. Could I recommend you do a search or browse some threads in the debate section?
This. I've read enough of Taubes to know what it says without reading that whole article.7 -
janicelo1971 wrote: »Interesting article, but yes, you will get slammed on this site talking about sugar being a drug or addictive. I also have a hard time eating sugar in moderation and find natural sugars in fruit to be enough in my diet. to keep my blood work levels "good" i limit all added sugar so i see/understand your point. Not many people are going to be positive towards this though.
This.
There is very little tolerance here for anyone that suggests anything bad about sugar. When I eat meals that are too sugar intensive, I get hungry earlier and don't tend to feel good. That's pretty much all the data I need. If it is somehow "all in my head" or some sort of placebo effect, I really don't care. I know the kind of diet that works best for me; and it is sustainable.
I would never go so far as to ban it outright. I like to cook Asian dishes from time-to-time; and they often call for sugar.
I don't think any of the fear mongers have come close to proving their case. But for some people, attachment to food can work something like an addictive process. The Yale department of psychiatry is in the process of developing a food addiction assessment tool; so there are at least some in the professional world who find this concept helpful.
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I've given up sugar (or mostly given it up) not for weight loss purposes but for gout purposes. I've read some scientific articles that say fructose is way bad for gout. I believe it!3
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All these people making jokes have obviously never walked into a club bathroom to find their friend passed out with a spoon sticky with sugar and a lighter. It's something you never forget
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Sorry - I lost interest when he calls sugar a drug. It's not a drug and it's not addictive. People may LIKE the taste of sugar and thus want to consume more but it's no more addictive than cheese is (which is something I have problems moderating but I'm not addicted to it).
I really wish people would stop listening to this kind of low intellect fear-mongering.
/rant
Define "drug". A psychoactive substance with some addictive characteristics? Yes sugar is a drug, as well as being a nutrient.
Yep!
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