Sugar

sharoniballoni · July 2011

I know that sugar is generally unhealthy and that most of us eat too much of it. I hear that sugar causes inflammation, cancer, yeast, belly fat due to insulin spikes... the list goes on.

I love sugar. But that's not what this post is about.

I don't understand how to keep my sugar down while maintaining a healthy diet full of produce. All my veggies are loaded with sugar. MFP doesn't distinguish between glucose and fructose. It just says I'm over my sugar allowance EVERY day. This is even now (during a detox that doesn't allow me to eat sugar... only as many veggies as I want).

Should I stop worrying about it? Anyone having this same issue?

mgmlap · July 2011

I think its more processed sugars you need to worry about.

ak_in_ak · July 2011

what veggies are you eating?

mea9 · July 2011

I have decided that, for myself, food sugar is fine, sugar/honey/maple syrope is OK in moderation. Glucose/glucose-fructose syrup/high fructose corn syrope (anything fake or man created) is not food and I have no business eating it. They are the cheap foods manufaturers have created to replace real foods to increase profit margins. I don't support that.

My sugar number is always over just with breakfast fruit. It's one number and does not represent the entire picture.

mwhitel · July 2011

Yes! I'm wayy over on sugar every day too! I posted about it a couple days ago and most people said they don't count the sugar from fruits or vegetables? Or maybe just not from the veggies. My biggest sugar issue is with yogurt which I love and don't want to cut out

One woman said to avoid any food with sugar or a sugar product listed in the first 5 ingredients.

Jdine · July 2011

Every carbohydrate is a sugar.. Some more complex than others. Sugar gets a bad rap. Your brain runs exclusively on sugar, it is its only source of energy. When you cut out all sugar you will feel mentally sluggish. Dont worry about your sugar intake worry about your total calories for the day. As long as you stay away from processed foods high in sugar and calories you should be fine. I have been a personal trainer for 13 yrs and body fat reduction is my specialty.

kvonborn · July 2011

I try to avoid all "bad" or "fake" sugar. I don't even buy anything with High Fructose Corn Syrup anymore and I only have a diet soda once every few days. I eat a lot of fruit with yogurt or cottage cheese and usually by the end of breakfast i'm halfway to my daily limit. I try to be as close to the goals as possible but I figure as long as i'm cutting out all the bad and fake stuff, it's OK.

sharoniballoni · July 2011

what veggies are you eating?

I'm trying to get as wide a variety of veggies as possible... eating my colors.

My diary is open if you want to look.

Thanks, everyone for your insight! It's helpful. Maybe I'll stop tracking my sugar after all.

neurochamp · July 2011

Every carbohydrate is a sugar.. Some more complex than others. Sugar gets a bad rap. Your brain runs exclusively on sugar, it is its only source of energy. When you cut out all sugar you will feel mentally sluggish. Dont worry about your sugar intake worry about your total calories for the day. As long as you stay away from processed foods high in sugar and calories you should be fine. I have been a personal trainer for 13 yrs and body fat reduction is my specialty.

I second this! I'm a neuroscientist - I study the brain - and what you said about our brains being fueled by sugar (specifically glucose) is 100% true. For what it's worth, our brains also require plenty of sodium and potassium to work, too, so salts are a MUST...just goes to show that balance and moderation are key.

My sugars are also completely blown every day, sometimes by lunchtime, and almost always because I'm eating a lot of veggies (for example, I had organic red pepper & tomato soup today...destroyed my sugars). I pretty much ignore it and shoot for a reasonable net calorie goal, and I opt for whole grains, lots of veggies, and try (sometimes with a lot of difficulty) to limit the number of processed and artificial foods I eat.

DahnaLane · July 2011

Hi, darling!

One thing you can add to your nutrition tracking is Fiber. If you look at my diary, you can see that I put Carbs first followed by fiber. That's because I eat low carb, so I subtract my fiber from my carbs to get my Net Carb amount.

With that in mind, I do stay away from the starchy high carb veggies & fruits.

I tend to stick with green beans, onions, tomato, cucumber, celery, lettuce, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, green/yellow/orange/red peppers, anaheim peppers, cauliflower, brocoli, ... :happy:

sharoniballoni · July 2011

Thanks, Dahna, my lovely. I do track fiber. It's VERY important to me because I have colon cancer running in my family. I always make sure to go over my fiber goal.

bennettsd · July 2011

I'm glad you posted this topic! I was just about to ask the same question. Very informative responses!

tracikearns · July 2011

I have a nutritionist/healthy life coach that says I should limit my sugars to 25 per day...however dairy (not ice cream of course lol) and fruit/veggies do not count in that 25...

Twasney · July 2011

I know that sugar is generally unhealthy and that most of us eat too much of it. I hear that sugar causes inflammation, cancer, yeast, belly fat due to insulin spikes... the list goes on.

I love sugar. But that's not what this post is about.

I don't understand how to keep my sugar down while maintaining a healthy diet full of produce. All my veggies are loaded with sugar. MFP doesn't distinguish between glucose and fructose. It just says I'm over my sugar allowance EVERY day. This is even now (during a detox that doesn't allow me to eat sugar... only as many veggies as I want).

Should I stop worrying about it? Anyone having this same issue?

I stopped worry about it...I look more at what types of sugar I am getting. If I ate great and had some fruit and cut cup carrots and some lemonade well then as far as I am concerned that is acceptable sugar intake even thought its higher on their scale.

If I ate 2 cupcakes, a pop and an apple....well then, thats a whole other story! I still watch it so I can see, but I am more concerned about protein, fiber and sodium!

Sugar

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