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Cutting Sugar From my Diet entirely
Replies
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paperpudding wrote: »If you have a can of soda (coke) a day, in a year you will be 1kg heavier. Take 20 years and wonder why you are 50lbs overweight.
Lots of people could have a can of soda a day and not gain weight - as long as it fits in their calorie level...
That's fine if that's actually true, but those empty soda calories usually don't fit into the average person's already bloated caloric intake. "Lots of people" could probably drink a soda every day, no problem, but I don't think most can. It's no mystery that people who have a major soda habit end up losing weight when they quit drinking sugar beverages. Even if they make no other changes. So why wouldn't people also gain weight by drinking the excess calories in sugary beverages?
Most of the people I know who drink soda every day drink multiple servings of it. And I don't actually know any regular soda drinkers (I mean people who drink it every single day) past the age of 25 who aren't also weight-challenged and/or pre-diabetic. Of course, you might be one of those people, but I don't actually know you, so I can't really comment on that. But I do know several people who dropped a bunch of weight simply by quitting their daily sugar-soda habit. I know that's not "scientific," but real-life trends among people I actually know are something I do pay attention to...
I myself will have the rare soda on certain occasions, but not very often. It seems like a complete waste of calories to me. Even if I earned a bunch of extra calories doing a long run, I'd like to spend them on things that will help me recover and get stronger. And then there's cake. I'd rather eat cake than drink fizzy sugar-water.
Sure, you will gain weight if you eat anything that brings you over your calorie limits. But at least when somebody's eating "a grilled steak" they're getting some protein and vitamins with it. It's probably smarter to ditch the empty, useless sugar soda calories first, if you're looking for something to cut back on. Maybe that's the point some people are trying to make? If you have a limited calorie budget, it's not smart to spend it all on soda. Because in order to fit soda in, you may have to eliminate something else - like good nutrition.
But everybody's different, so more power to the people who happily drink soda every day and make it work. That's cool, too.
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Heinz Tomato Ketchup (UK) label.
Ingredients: Tomatoes, Spirit Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Spice & Herb Extracts, Spice.
How disgraceful to hide an ingredient right there in the list of ingredients in third place!
And then they tell you how many calories by weight and by suggested serving size.
Isn't that awful? It's almost like they are giving people the information to take personal responsibility for how many calories they eat.
/sarcasm
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So you know everything that is in your food? It's trial and error, people learn through mistakes and exploring food labelsAlatariel75 wrote: »
My point is that people are so divorced from what goes in their food these days that they don't seem to have any idea that there is sugar in things like ketchup, and bread and all sports of foods that aren't commonly thought of as sugary, but then are made out to have "hidden" sugar, when really it's just a lack of food knowledge on the part of the consumer.
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strawberrysnap wrote: »So you know everything that is in your food? It's trial and error, people learn through mistakes and exploring food labels
I can't speak for everyone here, but I've been reading labels for 30+ years ... ever since labels have started appearing on food! So yeah, I've got a reasonable idea what's in there. Even as a kid, I read the ingredients lists on cereal boxes in both English and French.
I've also been counting calories for 30+ years. When there weren't helpful sites like this, I went to the library and researched how many calories were in things ... and what was in things.
Fortunately, my mother was a nurse and she had numerous medical texts some of which also assisted me in finding out what was in the food I ate.11 -
Heinz Tomato Ketchup (UK) label.
Ingredients: Tomatoes, Spirit Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Spice & Herb Extracts, Spice.
How disgraceful to hide an ingredient right there in the list of ingredients in third place!
And then they tell you how many calories by weight and by suggested serving size.
Isn't that awful? It's almost like they are giving people the information to take personal responsibility for how many calories they eat.
/sarcasm
So if I am craving something sweet I will just eat a spoon of ketchup
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strawberrysnap wrote: »
You could!! It is that sweet to the taste. When I'm in NA, if I actually use ketchup on anything (very rare), I will salt it to try to cut the syrupy sweet taste.1 -
Guys I get everyone's point but I was trying to state sugar isn't normally what someone thinks of when they think of sugar-idk about you guys but personally one tablespoon of ketchup is not satisfactory for me when eating meat for example so it adds up without realising1
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* I mean ketchup typo sorry0
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strawberrysnap wrote: »Guys I get everyone's point but I was trying to state sugar isn't normally what someone thinks of when they think of ketchup-idk about you guys but personally one tablespoon of ketchup is not satisfactory for me when eating meat for example so it adds up without realising
But some of us do think "sugar" the moment a tiny drop of that stuff touches our tongues. It's one of the reasons I don't like it.
When it comes to meat, I'd rather just salt it or add spices like garlic, chili, or curry ... or several others depending on what I'm making.
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People are here for different reasons and one is to learn but there is a difference openly exposing people and simply informing2
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NOT a peer reviewed article and written by a guy that SUPPORTS and sells Paleo books. FAIL.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Given. But he is simply summarising peer reviewed studies that are published on PubMed and are referenced within his article via hyperlinks. It's up to you if you want to ignore the actual studies he's referencing simply because this news reporter as it were is not an expert and has personal views you don't agree with. Me, I don't really dig into the personal background of reporters, I just skip to the scientific studies behind it. You're never going to find an article without bias one way or another. But it seems you'd only actually consider articles by people with the same bias as yourself, which is a bit narrow minded imho. I'm not a Paleo advocate myself simply because there is no one Paleo Diet that ever existed in human history so the name itself and its whole theory is based on a nonexistent premise. But that said, doesn't mean I'm not going to be open to information from all sources. I'd be happy to review any articles or studies you may wish to post on the subject. Saying you don't agree because of the credential of a reporter isn't really presenting additional information so much as criticising a spokespersons personal views...somewhat irrelevant. Cheers.1 -
Different opinions I guess, I personally eat ketchup with virtually everything and avoid salt but I appreciate the clarity thank you
But some of us do think "sugar" the moment a tiny drop of that stuff touches our tongues. It's one of the reasons I don't like it.
When it comes to meat, I'd rather just salt it or add spices like garlic, chili, or curry ... or several others depending on what I'm making.
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strawberrysnap wrote: »People are here for different reasons and one is to learn but there is a difference openly exposing people and simply informing
Well, there you go ... now you know.
Now ... about tins of chicken and tuna ... and cans of soup ... and bread & butter pickles ... and pretty much all cereals ...
One of the things I've recommended on several occasions in this forum is to spend some time wandering the aisles of a grocery store and reading the labels. You can find some great low calorie stuff that way, but it can also be an eye-opening experience.5 -
strawberrysnap wrote: »Different opinions I guess, I personally eat ketchup with virtually everything and avoid salt but I appreciate the clarity thank you
For what it's worth I thought ketchup was a good example not because it has sugar in it, but because over time the amount of sugar added to it has increased substantially. You see once HFCS became widely available, they started using it as well as sugar. So today's ketchup from a Heinz and other brands is much sweeter than it used to be.2 -
For what it's worth I thought ketchup was a good example not because it has sugar in it, but because over time the amount of sugar added to it has increased substantially. You see once HFCS became widely available, they started using it as well as sugar. So today's ketchup from a Heinz and other brands is much sweeter than it used to be.
http://www.heinzketchup.com/Products/Heinz Ketchup 32oz
No sugar in it, only hfcs, a tiny bit more total sugars than the one I calculated the amount of added sugar for where it was below 1 gram per serving.1 -
stevencloser wrote: »
http://www.heinzketchup.com/Products/Heinz Ketchup 32oz
No sugar in it, only hfcs, a tiny bit more total sugars than the one I calculated the amount of added sugar for where it was below 1 gram per serving.
Ah, but that's only one line of Heinz ketchup and it's recipe today. I was talking about the recipe overvtime and all their ketchups. If you look. You'll see that today their simply ketchup and organic ketchup lines use sugar not HFCS. Too, Heinz doubled the sugar content in all their ketchups in 1970. They later switched to adding HFCS in various levels over the years...as HFCS got cheaper than sugar the amount of HFCS vs sugar ratio increased until recently earlier THIS year they made their regular line of ketchup sweetened entirely with HFCS.0 -
I loooooooooove ketchup! If you see me eating ketchup, you would say, "Would you like some fries with your ketchup?"
I try to keep my sodium levels down, and ketchup, sadly, has a lot of sodium.0 -
Ah, but that's only one line of Heinz ketchup and it's recipe today. I was talking about the recipe overvtime and all their ketchups. If you look. You'll see that today their simply ketchup and organic ketchup lines use sugar not HFCS. Too, Heinz doubled the sugar content in all their ketchups in 1970. They later switched to adding HFCS in various levels over the years...as HFCS got cheaper than sugar the amount of HFCS vs sugar ratio increased until recently earlier THIS year they made their regular line of ketchup sweetened entirely with HFCS.
Ah, but that's only one line of Heinz ketchup and it's recipe today. I was talking about the recipe overvtime and all their ketchups. If you look. You'll see that today their simply ketchup and organic ketchup lines use sugar not HFCS. Too, Heinz doubled the sugar content in all their ketchups in 1970. They later switched to adding HFCS in various levels over the years...as HFCS got cheaper than sugar the amount of HFCS vs sugar ratio increased until recently earlier THIS year they made their regular line of ketchup sweetened entirely with HFCS.
Does it really matter if they doubled their added sugar in 1970 if it went from half a gram per serving to one gram per serving?10 -
strawberrysnap wrote: »Guys I get everyone's point but I was trying to state sugar isn't normally what someone thinks of when they think of sugar-idk about you guys but personally one tablespoon of ketchup is not satisfactory for me when eating meat for example so it adds up without realising
I really don't think it's common to put enormous amounts of ketchup on meat (ketchup isn't really my sauce of choice for meat anyway, although I guess the current US president is a fan of that combination). But I admit I dislike ketchup. In any case, it IS sweet, and even if someone didn't read the label (and I always have read labels), they'd probably check the calories. I used to have a friend who would go on about how ketchup is great, because low cal--and it is pretty low cal--and presumably she paid attention to serving size if her reason for liking it was that it was lower calorie (this friend was extremely thin).
Like ketchup, BBQ is another that normally has added sugar and pretty obviously so.
The claims about sugar in those foods are misleading, though, because they ignore the fact that some is inherent sugar (anything with tomatoes is going to have a certain amount of sugar--I have a homemade pasta sauce in my recipe box with 7 grams of sugar even though it's a meat sauce, because I also use tomatoes and lots of vegetables, no added sugar).
I found a breakdown of sources of sugar in the diet in the UK (looks very similar to what it would be in the US), and the percentage from savory items (the so-called hidden sugars) is quite low.
Interestingly I find that when most people "want something sweet" as you mentioned, they don't go to items where sugar alone is the main ingredient (unless they want fruit or a drink). They go to sugar/fat combinations. The current obsession with sugar as the one and only villain is way over the top (and I say this even though I eat very little added sugar personally).6 -
strawberrysnap wrote: »Different opinions I guess, I personally eat ketchup with virtually everything and avoid salt but I appreciate the clarity thank you
Normal ketchup has salt in it.6 -
Historically, btw, tomato ketchup was just one kind of ketchup. You can make your own if you don't want added sugar or want to control the amount. I know a guy who makes his own just because it's something to do with extra tomatoes. Here's a fun article I read ages ago (I love the internet -- I just knew I'd be able to find it) about how even though artisan mustard took off, ketchup seems resistant: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/09/06/the-ketchup-conundrum
Also, here are some older recipes for tomato ketchup:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchup#History- Get [the tomatoes] quite ripe on a dry day, squeeze them with your hands till reduced to a pulp, then put half a pound of fine salt to one hundred tomatoes, and boil them for two hours.
- Stir them to prevent burning.
- While hot press them through a fine sieve, with a silver spoon till nought but the skin remains, then add a little mace, 3 nutmegs, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and pepper to taste.
- Boil over a slow fire till quite thick, stir all the time.
- Bottle when cold.
One hundred tomatoes will make four or five bottles and keep good for two or three years.
This early recipe for "Tomata Catsup" from 1817 still has the anchovies that betray its fish-sauce ancestry:- Gather a gallon of fine, red, and full ripe tomatas; mash them with one pound of salt.
- Let them rest for three days, press off the juice, and to each quart add a quarter of a pound of anchovies, two ounces of shallots, and an ounce of ground black pepper.
- Boil up together for half an hour, strain through a sieve, and put to it the following spices; a quarter of an ounce of mace, the same of allspice and ginger, half an ounce of nutmeg, a drachm of coriander seed, and half a drachm of cochineal.
- Pound all together; let them simmer gently for twenty minutes, and strain through a bag: when cold, bottle it, adding to each bottle a wineglass of brandy. It will keep for seven years.
From the same source: "In 1824, a ketchup recipe using tomatoes appeared in The Virginia Housewife (an influential 19th-century cookbook written by Mary Randolph, Thomas Jefferson's cousin). American cooks also began to sweeten ketchup in the 19th century.[17]
As the century progressed, tomato ketchup began its ascent in popularity in the United States. Ketchup was popular long before fresh tomatoes were.[18] Many Americans[who?] continued to question whether it was safe to eat raw tomatoes. However, they were much less hesitant to eat tomatoes as part of a highly processed product that had been cooked and infused with vinegar and spices.[18]"7 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »
Normal ketchup has salt in it.
Yes, and that's another reason I don't use it. I figure if I've got to salt it to cut the sweetness and make it taste OK, and it already has lots of salt in it ... what's the point?2 -
Yes, and that's another reason I don't use it. I figure if I've got to salt it to cut the sweetness and make it taste OK, and it already has lots of salt in it ... what's the point?
I do wonder about this claim that HFCS was added and it became sweeter in the '70s, as that may be consistent with my memories. I was into salty foods as a kid (would add salt liberally--the idea of doing it to the extent I did seems disgusting now) but never had a huge sweet tooth and HATED when things were sweeter than I thought they should be (I still think sweet salad dressings are weird and an abomination, loathe honey mustard, etc.). We'd do fast food on rare occasion, usually as a group thing, and I remember preferring McD's to BK because the ketchup (which I put on my fries and which came on the burger) at BK's was noticeably sweeter to my palate and ruined everything with it's awful taste. Maybe the brand BK used was just slightly ahead, as this was when I was pretty young, probably between 1975 and 1978 based on where I'm thinking we were living. Hmm.
Or the McD's brand just had more salt to balance the sugar!
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lemurcat12 wrote: »
... and HATED when things were sweeter than I thought they should be (I still think sweet salad dressings are weird and an abomination, loathe honey mustard, etc.). ...
I'm right there with you. I have never been a fan of sweet and sour anything ... or pineapple on pizza ... or here in Australia a big thing is "sweet chili". That's a big NO for me.
Seems to me McD's in Canada, back in the late 1980s, used to offer a selection of dipping sauces for their McNuggets. I didn't like the McNuggets but I had a friend who really did and he tried all the dipping sauces, so I'd have one McNugget and try a sauce ... dislike them all. Haven't touched McNuggets or dipping sauces since.
And it also seems to me that perhaps McD's either added more salt to their ketchup than other places, or maybe the fries were just that salty.
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strawberrysnap wrote: »Guys I get everyone's point but I was trying to state sugar isn't normally what someone thinks of when they think of sugar-idk about you guys but personally one tablespoon of ketchup is not satisfactory for me when eating meat for example so it adds up without realising
I like to eat a lot of ketchup. I buy the reduced sugar so that I can have a lot for 20 calories instead of 1000 -
+1paperpudding wrote: »If you have a can of soda (coke) a day, in a year you will be 1kg heavier. Take 20 years and wonder why you are 50lbs overweight.
Lots of people could have a can of soda a day and not gain weight - as long as it fits in their calorie level.
Or conversely they could eat ,say, 2 apples a day for a year and gain 1kg if takes them over their calorie level.
Silly comment is really silly.
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I don't disagree because of a "personal view". I disagree because that's just not how biology works. Look up the digestive system and there is NO DISPUTE by any Journal of SCIENCE, PHYSIOLOGY or BIOLOGY on how the body digests any saccharide. As with all of them, they get broken down to their simplest forms (usually glucose or fructose) then digested. That's pretty much it.
Given. But he is simply summarising peer reviewed studies that are published on PubMed and are referenced within his article via hyperlinks. It's up to you if you want to ignore the actual studies he's referencing simply because this news reporter as it were is not an expert and has personal views you don't agree with. Me, I don't really dig into the personal background of reporters, I just skip to the scientific studies behind it. You're never going to find an article without bias one way or another. But it seems you'd only actually consider articles by people with the same bias as yourself, which is a bit narrow minded imho. I'm not a Paleo advocate myself simply because there is no one Paleo Diet that ever existed in human history so the name itself and its whole theory is based on a nonexistent premise. But that said, doesn't mean I'm not going to be open to information from all sources. I'd be happy to review any articles or studies you may wish to post on the subject. Saying you don't agree because of the credential of a reporter isn't really presenting additional information so much as criticising a spokespersons personal views...somewhat irrelevant. Cheers.
People here look for information. But they also look for information that's accurate and not just written to fill a blog. I remember having to write articles for my Wellness Center. You LOOKED for stuff to write just to fill space.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I can't speak for everyone here, but I've been reading labels for 30+ years ... ever since labels have started appearing on food! So yeah, I've got a reasonable idea what's in there. Even as a kid, I read the ingredients lists on cereal boxes in both English and French.
I've also been counting calories for 30+ years. When there weren't helpful sites like this, I went to the library and researched how many calories were in things ... and what was in things.
Fortunately, my mother was a nurse and she had numerous medical texts some of which also assisted me in finding out what was in the food I ate.
I have celiac disease, and my kids had various food issues. So I read labels like a hawk, but I seem to remember reading labels long before that. I vaguely remember twigging onto the habit as part of getting my cooking badge as a Girl Scout back when I was 10 years old. Part of that involved planning and shopping for the ingredients for a meal.2 -
I like to eat a lot of ketchup. I buy the reduced sugar so that I can have a lot for 20 calories instead of 100
Same. For me, the products taste the same and I save calories where I can.1 -
I don't disagree because of a "personal view". I disagree because that's just not how biology works. Look up the digestive system and there is NO DISPUTE by any Journal of SCIENCE, PHYSIOLOGY or BIOLOGY on how the body digests any saccharide. As with all of them, they get broken down to their simplest forms (usually glucose or fructose) then digested. That's pretty much it.
People here look for information. But they also look for information that's accurate and not just written to fill a blog. I remember having to write articles for my Wellness Center. You LOOKED for stuff to write just to fill space.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Ok, well then if every journal of biology, physiology and science supports you opinion, then why haven't you posted any links to any studies supporting your viewpoint? And I've posted an article that references a dozen studies on PubMed that do support my viewpoint. Hmmmm, could it be because you can't find any? Obviously telling me to "look it up" isn't working because I have gone and looked it up and it all repeats what I posted...so yeah...right now I have the words of a lot of specialised Drs in lab coats versus a, what are you? Oh yeah a "certified personal trainer" who says otherwise. So, please bring on some guys in lab coats with doctorates that agree with you and I'd be happy to listen to you then.1
This discussion has been closed.
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