Sugar consumption and health issues

People like drama, seems like. Something is always being demonized: Fats, then sugar and carbs, dairy, seed oils, animal-sourced foods, blah blah blah. Sometimes there's a reasonable issue at the foundation, but it gets overblown. I don't see a reason to buy into the drama, though I do try to explore the reasonable foundation (if there is one).

I go over the MFP default total sugar goal every day. I did that all through losing from obese to a healthy weight, have done it for 7+ years maintaining a healthy weight since. My blood work is good. My overall health is decent, especially given my age (67) and my history of overweight/obesity, plus being quite inactive until my late 40s after cancer treatment. My athletic performance these days is good, in age group terms. (I can keep up with others much younger in most of the activities I do.)

I don't eat lots of added sugar, but I do eat some daily - often a chocolate or two, always blackstrap molasses in my oatmeal (because it tastes great, has good micronutrients, and I like my oatmeal a little sweeter than the berries make it). The rest of the sugar is from fruits, veggies, no-sugar-added dairy. I'm a vegetarian, but that's not for weight loss or health. It's a complete tangent to weight loss or health, IMO.

I was a fat unhealthy vegetarian for 30+ years, have been a thin relatively healthy one for 7+ years now, no change in the range of foods I eat - just changes in portion sizes, proportions on the plate, frequency of some calorie-dense choices. I still eat pizza, desserts, occasionally drink alcohol.

I believe in moderation, enjoying food, getting overall good nutrition without overdramatizing individual foods or ingredients, moving in fun ways. A healthy life isn't just about diet, but about balance of nutrition, psychological factors, social connection, creative expression and more.

Couple of comments interspersed below:

vm007 wrote: »

I keep coming across posts/videos/short reels etc which demonize sugar. Is it because now everyone knows about CICO so they do not even talk about it and go to the secondary items?

IME, some of the blogosphere that demonizes sugar will argue that calories don't matter, because sugar is just that evil. Some portions of the fitness blogosphere will be motivated to deprecate CICO because it implies that we don't need to buy the special diet or exercise program they market. They make less money if we don't need them in order to succeed.

My question is why does Mother Nature hate us so much that we evolved in a way that we did optimally with carbs than with high fat? or am I mis-understanding this whole sugar being evil thing?

Mother Nature doesn't hate us. Kind of the opposite.

Humans evolved through many generations where food scarcity was common. Hard physical work was the norm. Carbs are fuel. In a lot of situations, carbs were more accessible than protein or fats. People in many societies ate lots of things like potatoes, grains, root veg, other veg - high in carbs. People who were able to survive through hard work and famine passed along their genes to us.

Now, a bunch of lucky developed-world folks like me find ourselves in circumstances of food surplus, so many choices, 24-hour fast food, food delivery, social expectations that it's normal to go around all day with a giant cup/bottle of some sugary drink in hand. Mother Nature (natural selection) didn't shape us for these circumstances.

Even since the 1970s-80s (when I was already adult), there's less physical movement in the average person's daily life (not just job but leisure activities), portion sizes (even bowls/plates) noticeably bigger, prepared food ubiquitously available (even drive-up), . . . .

When they talk about sugar maybe they mean things that are sweet and not necessarily about carbs? or things that have added sugar and not naturally occurring like fruits and veggies?

Well, I'm cautious about "they" statements. Which specific "they"?

Mainstream authorities like WHO, NHS, USDA do recommend that we limit added sugar. If you read the details behind their bullet-point recommendations, the reasons are that eating a lot of added sugar:

* Makes it hard to get adequate nutrition if staying within reasonable calories,
* Makes it easy to get too many calories when in pursuit of adequate nutrition, and
* Tends to lead to dental decay.

Then again I have seen posts which talk about carbs being bad, period. I have done keto for a long time and I had to be constantly vigilant of what I consumed because of my social circle, society, life in general.

What we see posts about doesn't matter much, without considering the source, does it?

There are posts sincerely arguing that the earth is flat, that humans have never landed on the moon, all kinds of silly stuff.

People with certain health conditions (diabetes, insulin resistance, etc.) need to manage carbs somewhat carefully.

People who find carbs spike their appetite may do better if they limit carbs. Sometimes, when you ask people who experience that what carbs they mean, they'll say things like cookies, pizza . . . which actually have more calories from fats, typically, than from carbs. Things that are high in both fats and refined carbs tend to be found very tasty by most people, and also tend not to be very filling. They're easy to over-eat.

What is the consensus here? people who have experienced it, do you think it's about sugar that is "sweet" , added afterwards like coca cola, chocolates, ice cream etc or carbs in general?
If a person's goal is just to stay healthy (maintaining appropriate body weight for their size/age/height etc) -how should they live?

To be honest it was super hard being on Keto, however, reducing sugar that is "sweet" or that comes from snacking is fairly okay for me.

Balance. I believe in balance. Overall good nutrition, staying active, eating my fruits and veggies, getting enough protein and healthy fats, that sort of thing. Once nutrition is dialed in, I see no harm in having some chocolate or the like. Cookies don't cancel out broccoli.

I don't do hard things without a good reason. I'm a hedonistic aging hippie, so I only want to do things that are fun and feel good.

If keto has good outcomes for you, that would be a good reason to do it.

I can't imagine eating keto, especially as a vegetarian. It would limit way too many foods I consider delicious, nutritious, and filling. Yes, I know you get some veggies and fruits on keto. Me, I like eating 800g+ of fruits and veggies most days, usually 3+ fruit servings, plus lots of my protein sources (such as beans) come with carbs attached. My specific personal eating preferences and keto are not very compatible.

Back in the day, I tried low carb. It made me miserable. I don't like miserable. YMMV.