Natural sugar is ok. Repeat. It's OK...isn't it?!

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ummlovelovesyou
ummlovelovesyou Posts: 1,024 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I feel guilty every time I eat a banana or apples or blueberries....seriously. I don't enjoy eating fruit as much anymore because i know when i log in my sugar column will go over! :frown:


Natural sugar is OK, right?

I suppose it's better than having cookies or something......

Replies

  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
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    My views are not shared by all, but here there are anyway.

    The health benefits of fruit far outweigh any negative impact the natural sugars may have. There are no bad fruits. Eat up. . . . and I would stop tracking sugar in your diary, too.
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,887 Member
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    This is what my doctor told me, and since I've shed over 100 pounds, cut my body fat % by well over half, and have a tiny waist (thereby dispelling the myth that bananas lead to belly fat), I'm going to say that she is right, at least in my case:

    Unless you are diabetic or pre-diabetic or have some sort of health issue that is made worse by sugar consumption, natural sugars in fruits, veggies, etc. are perfectly ok.

    Fruits and veggies provide important nutrients that you CAN NOT GET from any other source, so eat up. Don't drink up, though, as fruit juices are stripped of many of the nutrients (like fiber) that make real fruit so good for you.

    If you want to track sugar anyway, manually subtract your "natural" fruit/veggie/dairy sugars from your total sugars to see if you are staying within your goals.
  • MochaMixAZ
    MochaMixAZ Posts: 844 Member
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    The important question is WHY are you counting sugars?

    For example, if it's because you're diabetic, you have to account for all sugars, no matter the source.

    If it's because you're counting calories, then a sugar, especially, paired with a lot of fiber and less 'other' (like in fruit vs. donuts) is simply calories.

    The body DOES process certain sugars differently. Sugars are a form of carbohydrates, and there are complex and simple carbs. As a general rule, complex carbs are more nutritious since they contain other nutrients and not a lot of fat. They are broken into glucose fuel and take longer to digest than simple sugars.

    So - it goes back to . . . why are you tracking sugars and how should you apply the out-of-the-box estimated mfp provides to your specific goals

    I track it as an fyi only. I figure the closer I eat to nature, the better. And if I can go over on sugar because I'm eating unrefined fruits and veggies - hooray me!
  • ummlovelovesyou
    ummlovelovesyou Posts: 1,024 Member
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    Okay. Yeah, I def. DON'T drink fruit juice anymore since I've learned how to properly read labels haha!
  • sjcply
    sjcply Posts: 817 Member
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    I deleted my sugar column just for that reason. Sugar in fruit is different than sugar in a candy bar or ice cream!
  • TakeOne
    TakeOne Posts: 345 Member
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    The important question is WHY are you counting sugars?

    I track it as an fyi only. I figure the closer I eat to nature, the better. And if I can go over on sugar because I'm eating unrefined fruits and veggies - hooray me!

    I track sugar as well. I eat a TON of sugar and not just the natural kind.. So I just use the notes section at the bottom of the diary to seperate natural and artifical sugar. Its helped me eat less of the bad kind, while still enjoying good stuff like fruit :)
  • Sul3i
    Sul3i Posts: 553 Member
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    fruit is good for u!! soo much better than cookies & other treats!! plus they have vitamins ur body needs!! just dont go over board enjoy ur fruits! :)
  • it_be_asin
    it_be_asin Posts: 562 Member
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    You need to watch fructose, sucrose (table sugar) and High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

    The closer you can eat to zero added sugars from sucrose and HFCS, the better (breakfast cereals and muesli bars hide so much sugar - cut them out or watch the ones you eat very closely).

    Eating too much fruit or honey isn't that great either. They are heavy in fructose. 1 serve a day of fruit is what I aim for. Vegetables are mostly very low in sugar, so it's better to eat those rather than fruit.

    Lactose in dairy products is not so bad for you if you can tolerate it, as it doesn't have a fructose molecule included in it.
  • poustotah
    poustotah Posts: 1,121 Member
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    I track my sugars when I'm trying to lean out. At that point, paying attention to them really does help. Outside of that, I pretty much ignore that column. That being said, I've always been told no more than 2 servings of fruit a day because sugar is still sugar and too much of anything is a bad thing.
  • RangerSteve
    RangerSteve Posts: 437
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    Look at it this way:

    -If you're to the point where you feel guilty for eating HEALTHY fruit because of some arbitrary sugar number then you're taking your diet too far.


    Hell, I don't understand why people cut all junk food out of their diet since it usually just leads to cravings anyway.....but to cut fruit out of your diet and feel guilty for eating it? Wow, I'm not a doctor so I can't diagnose but I'd consider that borderline eating disorder. It's fruit. It's full of vitamins, minerals, water, goodness. You should never feel guilty for eating some fruit.
  • ummlovelovesyou
    ummlovelovesyou Posts: 1,024 Member
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    I'm not on a diet lol trust me i just ate some chocolate chip cookies. I pretty much eat whatever I want in moderation. I DON'T have an eating disorder! I love food. Anyway...I did eat a banana this morning...I use to eat them all the time.

    i keep track of my sugar BECAUSE I'm not all crazy about cutting junk food out and I do snack sometimes and i make sure i don't want to go over...But I guess I'll just subtract the sugars from fruits then.

    Thanks guys,

    Olivia :flowerforyou:


    P.S. I'm not crazy. lol :smile:
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    I don't really watch the fruit sugar too much.. I do watch the sugar though that is from my iced mocha coffee from Dunkin Donuts that I love oh so much!

    My sugar column is almost always over, but yet I've lost 26 pounds and am tinier then ever.. so go figure.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Yes, it's OK! That's my opinion anyway.

    I know that I eat way too much crappy food with processed sugars (lollies, chocolate, cake etc) so I'm making a big effort this month to cut right back on these foods - they are just energy but with so little nutrition, I need to reduce them.

    I'm still eating fruit - but I try to stick around 2 serves a day (the Australian guidelines suggest 2 fruit and 5 veg every day which makes sense to me).
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    . . . . and I would stop tracking sugar in your diary, too.

    That is what I do. I only pay attention to the macros and fiber.

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