Am I Wrong about "Added" Sugar?

[dixonge]

Not sure what you are saying. Fermenting turns sugars into alcohols, and often, almost all the sugar is converted (as in a dry wine).

Unless you are talking about the weight gain effect of the alcohol itself. But, but, but... many studies indicate that 1-2 drinks daily is healthy for men, ~ 1 /day for women (assuming no alcohol related issues with the individual). So I assume any included sugars and alcohol are part of what is good.

And of course, I automatically consider any studies to the contrary to be flawed, biased, statistically insignificant, etc.

-ERD50

First, screw you for making me look all this up! LOL

So 'things I learned' - there are *four* macronutrients! Each has their own level of calories per gram:

Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories
Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories
Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories
Alcohol: 1 gram = 7 calories

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I also read that alcohol is not considered a macronutrient because it does not provide any form of nutrition, but screw that too! I'm keeping it. It's definitely part of my regular diet, and I definitely need to count those calories as well...


[/FONT]

 

[zinger1457]

An apple is four-to-six teaspoons of sugar, water, a tiny amount of fiber, and a tinier amount of vitamins.

When it comes to apples, and most fruits and vegetables, the good stuff isn't usually listed on any labels.

In the laboratory, apples have been found to have very strong antioxidant activity, inhibit cancer cell proliferation, decrease lipid oxidation, and lower cholesterol. Apples contain a variety of phytochemicals, including quercetin, catechin, phloridzin and chlorogenic acid, all of which are strong antioxidants.

 

[LOL!]

Well, fructose is not "sugar" the food ingredient even though it is a type of sugar. The "sugar" specified as a food ingredient is sucrose.

I like how some companies have changed their ingredients to divide up all the different kinds of sugars in their products to hide the amount of sweeteners in them. You've read them yourself:

sugar, sucrose, dextrose, glucose, fructose, lactose (aka milk sugar), maltose, maltodextrin, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, maple syrup, honey, .....

And just because Homo sapiens may not have the enzymes to digest sucralose, xylitol, sorbitol, and so on does not mean that the bacteria in your gut do not have the enzymes to convert these molecules into something else.

 

[tmm99]

Added sugar seems to be getting more attention, and they even plan to call it out on nutrition labels.

Here is fructose from a grape or an apple:


My point is, that there's no difference, so why act as if added sugar is worse than regular sugar? Am I missing something? Adding sugar is bad, I get that, but all sugar is bad for you.

A recent report on NBC almost got it right. It said "So, a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice may be loaded with sugar." Can't figure out why they said "may be" instead of "is"--there's no mystery.

I agree. A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice IS loaded with sugar, not the granulated sugar cubes melted, but sugar nonetheless.

An apple is four-to-six teaspoons of sugar, water, a tiny amount of fiber, and a tinier amount of vitamins.


The idea that whole fruits are magically better than their component parts is based on faulty reasoning.

I could be wrong, but my body may react differently to eating a whole apple from consuming just 4-6 tablespoons of sugar. (This is something I can experiment, but I am not sure if I want to.) One thing I can speculate - I could probably drink a glass of water with say, 20 teaspoons of sugar in it in one sitting fairly easily, but I couldn't eat 4 apples in one sitting. I could do one. Two would be pushing it.

 

[RetireAge50]

Here's what I do when selecting ANY product with sugar, from any source.

ONE TEASPOON of sugar equals @ 4 grams. (Look at your sugar bag label).

I just look at any label, take the sugar in grams per serving, divide by 4, and ask myself if I would scoop that many teaspoons of sugar out of a sugar bowl and eat it.

Example: 8 oz of skim milk (healthy, right?) has 12 grams of sugar (3 teaspoons!!)

8 oz. orange juice....24-30 grams of sugar (YIKES!!!) 6-8 teaspoons!!!!!!

So a nice glass of skim milk and a glass of OJ for breakfast....9-11 teaspoons of sugar!!! Scoop that out of the sugar bowl onto your counter and say would I EAT all that sugar?!?!?!!?!? And you haven't even added your cereal yet!!!

Regular Pepsi: ONE 12oz can.....41 grams of sugar (TEN plus teaspoons!!!)

This method will REALLY make you think!!!!

Look at items in your cupboards and use this calculation per serving.

It's frightening to think just how much sugar one does consume, naturally occurring or added.

This is interesting thanks. MyFitnessPal says my daily sugar goal is 86 grams. I guess I am eating 21.5 sugar packets a day.

 

[GravitySucks]

Grapes and apples processed into alcoholic beverages can develop a really high sugar content, yet I seldom see ER forum posters talking about cutting out those things. No, it's always about cutting out bread, potatoes, doughnuts, and limiting fruit, because of the terrible CARBS!

Just messin' with you all...can't help myself ;^>

There was a nutritionist on NPR a few years ago who claimed we'd be better of giving our kids wine instead of grape juice as the sugar is worse for them than the alcohol. Easier to put them down for naps too.

Here in the lovely People's Republic of NY State the debate is on again over a sugar tax on soda. Guarantee it won't be applied to grape or apple juice. (NY is a large producer of apples and juice grapes.)

 

[MRG]

This is interesting thanks. MyFitnessPal says my daily sugar goal is 86 grams. I guess I am eating 21.5 sugar packets a day.

MFP currently uses 15% of your daily calories as your grams of sugar. When it gets changed pretty much requires the new food labels to break out added sugar from naturally occurring sugar.

I seldom stay under their sugar goal just because of the amount of fruits I eat. Add in Ben and Jerry’s and I'm always over.

 

[harley]

There was a nutritionist on NPR a few years ago who claimed we'd be better of giving our kids wine instead of grape juice as the sugar is worse for them than the alcohol. Easier to put them down for naps too.

Here in the lovely People's Republic of NY State the debate is on again over a sugar tax on soda. Guarantee it won't be applied to grape or apple juice. (NY is a large producer of apples and juice grapes.)

The City of Brotherly Love is going to beat you to it. Novel Strategy Puts Big Soda Tax Within Philadelphia’s Reach. They are pushing it as a way to raise money, instead of merely an attempt by gov't to encourage behavior they approve of. Acknowledging the fact that a soda tax is extremely regressive, they are also taxing diet soda since that's what wealthier people drink.

Because the measure was cast as a revenue-raiser, the final deal is not exactly what public health experts might prefer. Council members, in negotiations, altered the spectrum of taxed products to hit budget targets. The measure that passed Wednesday taxes not just sugary drinks but also diet drinks. It exempts juice drinks from the tax as long as they have 50 percent juice, even if they also have added sugar. Minutes before the final vote at 8 p.m., the city’s finance department revealed that some soda-tax revenue would also be used to plug a budget shortfall.

 

[Chuckanut]

IMHO, the biggest danger of the anti sugar movement is that it will be hijacked by Big Food and used to sell us more processed junk.

Just as the glutton and low fat became ends in themselves to the point that many people were eating glutton free food loaded with high arsenic contained in rice. And eating low fat foods loaded with sugar. Don't get me started on all the HIGH TRANSFAT margarine I ate because it was healthier than real butter. :-O

What is comes down to Is eating real food as close to how they came out of the ground or stood on the ground as is reasonable. And avoiding extremes including food marketed as "healthy" because of what they don't contain. Rubbish!


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[harley]

I hope you're talking about gluten. Otherwise I might take offense.

 

[Walt34]

Grapes and apples processed into alcoholic beverages can develop a really high sugar content, yet I seldom see ER forum posters talking about cutting out those things. No, it's always about cutting out bread, potatoes, doughnuts, and limiting fruit, because of the terrible CARBS!

Well now, wait a minute here and let's not get carried away about doing away with the essentials of life. Cutting out bread, potatoes, doughnuts, etc. is one thing. Alcohol is quite another.

A nurse told me the four essential food groups were sugar, salt, fat, and alcohol.

 

[Amethyst]

I've long suspected that a good deal of the popularity of low-carbohydrate diets is not that their fervent supporters really believe carbohydrates are all that bad. They just like fatty foods better. :

Well now, wait a minute here and let's not get carried away about doing away with the essentials of life. Cutting out bread, potatoes, doughnuts, etc. is one thing. Alcohol is quite another.

A nurse told me the four essential food groups were sugar, salt, fat, and alcohol.

 

[rodi]

Not to be argumentative. But if you eat an apple - sure you get fructose - but you also get the fiber/bulk etc that is in the apple. I've never been big on giving kids fruit juice - but instead giving them a piece of fruit.

 

[audreyh1]

Not to be argumentative. But if you eat an apple - sure you get fructose - but you also get the fiber/bulk etc that is in the apple. I've never been big on giving kids fruit juice - but instead giving them a piece of fruit.

That's correct. And various things in the apple including fiber and pectin act to slow down the release of the sugars into the bloodstream as well as it takes a lot longer to eat and apple than to swallow 5 lumps of sugar or whatever.

That's why apples aren't super high on the glycemic index. The index is 39 compared to 64 for sucrose (those lumps of sugar) compared to glucose = 100.

In other words, the glycemic load of an apple is quite low.

 

[ERD50]

Not to be argumentative. But if you eat an apple - sure you get fructose - but you also get the fiber/bulk etc that is in the apple. ...

And a whole lot more!

Naturally Occurring Mutagens and Carcinogens Found in Foods and Beverages | Heartlander Magazine

Acetaldehyde (apples, bread, coffee, tomatoes)—mutagen and potent rodent carcinogen

Benzaldehyde (apples, coffee, tomatoes)—rodent carcinogen

Caffeic acid (apples, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, coffee, grapes, lettuce, mangos, pears, potatoes)—rodent carcinogen

Estragole (apples, basil)—rodent carcinogen

Methyl eugenol (basil, cinnamon and nutmeg in apple and pumpkin pies)—rodent carcinogen

Quercetin glycosides (apples, onions, tea, tomatoes)—mutagens and rodent carcinogens

Safrole (nutmeg in apple and pumpkin pies, black pepper)—rodent carcinogen

-ERD50

 

[mpeirce]

So a nice glass of skim milk and a glass of OJ for breakfast....9-11 teaspoons of sugar!!! Scoop that out of the sugar bowl onto your counter and say would I EAT all that sugar?!?!?!!?!? And you haven't even added your cereal yet!!!

Ah that brings back memories.

Anyone else as a kid eat cereal as a medium for lots and lots of spoonfuls of sugar?

To eat shredded wheat I'd basically ladle sugar on to each bite. Otherwise it wasn't really edible (to my very refined 8 year old palate).

And when I ate Cheerios, the best part was the slightly gritty sludge on the bottom composed of milk and sugar.

And what about sugar bread? To white bread add some butter so that the thick layer of sugar wouldn't fall off quite so quickly as it's eaten.

Did I mention I had very little adult supervision?

 

[RetireAge50]

Ah that brings back memories.



Anyone else as a kid eat cereal as a medium for lots and lots of spoonfuls of sugar?



To eat shredded wheat I'd basically ladle sugar on to each bite. Otherwise it wasn't really edible (to my very refined 8 year old palate).



And when I ate Cheerios, the best part was the slightly gritty sludge on the bottom composed of milk and sugar.



And what about sugar bread? To white bread add some butter so that the thick layer of sugar wouldn't fall off quite so quickly as it's eaten.



Did I mention I had very little adult supervision?

Yes! Exactly what I would do with the shredded wheat. The big biscuit kind then add lots of sugar. Much easier now to just buy frosted mini shredded wheat.

Another staple growing up was bread with butter, sugar, and cinnamon then put in oven on broil heat setting.

And ice tea we had with lots of sugar.

 

[ziggy29]

Ah that brings back memories.

Anyone else as a kid eat cereal as a medium for lots and lots of spoonfuls of sugar?

And back then, "sugar" wasn't a bad word. It was openly and proudly part of the cereal's name. Super Sugar Crisp. Sugar Pops. Sugar Smacks. All of these, of course, changed their names to remove the "Sugar". (Of course, that was the only place the sugar was removed.)

 

[Sojourner]

Anyone else as a kid eat cereal as a medium for lots and lots of spoonfuls of sugar?

To eat shredded wheat I'd basically ladle sugar on to each bite. Otherwise it wasn't really edible (to my very refined 8 year old palate).

Yeah, totally did this just like all the other kids I knew. I think plain Corn Flakes were the ones I dumped the most sugar on.

 

[Sojourner]

Back to the original question, I think they decided to break out "added sugars" on nutrition labels because the foods highest in added sugars are typically the ones that contribute most to the public's excess sugar consumption. Things like sodas, sweetened fruit juices, donuts and pastries, sweet cereals, candy, etc. I'm guessing the hope is that people will see the whopping amounts of "added sugars" in these foods on the new labels and maybe reach for something more natural and healthy instead.

 

[mpeirce]

Back to the original question...

To meld the two.

Another staple of my childhood was Kool Aid. You'd buy the packet cheap (simply artificial flavor and color I believe) and add 1 cup of sugar along with two quarts of water.

No one was hiding the sugar there either - and it was clearly "added sugar."

 

[Walt34]

Anyone else as a kid eat cereal as a medium for lots and lots of spoonfuls of sugar?

Oh yes! I thought the sugar and butter sandwich a bit strange but it would do in a pinch. We didn't bother to put it in the oven though.

And I'd pour it (sometimes literally) on the Rice Crispies or any other cereal that didn't already have sugar on it. But in an era when "free range parenting" was not only allowed but encouraged and expected we ran it all off. No one in our neighborhood was overweight.

 

[MRG]

Ah that brings back memories.

Anyone else as a kid eat cereal as a medium for lots and lots of spoonfuls of sugar?

To eat shredded wheat I'd basically ladle sugar on to each bite. Otherwise it wasn't really edible (to my very refined 8 year old palate).

And when I ate Cheerios, the best part was the slightly gritty sludge on the bottom composed of milk and sugar.

And what about sugar bread? To white bread add some butter so that the thick layer of sugar wouldn't fall off quite so quickly as it's eaten.

Did I mention I had very little adult supervision?

Oh yes. Isn't that what cereal is used for? I didn't have enough sugar on cereal until I had a slurry of milk sugar sludge.

As far as adult supervision my DF taught me how to make cinnamon toast as he called it. Butter, sugar, and cinnamon. I know he said it was a depression favorite.

 

[NW-Bound]

Naturally Occurring Mutagens and Carcinogens Found in Foods and Beverages | Heartlander Magazine

Acetaldehyde (apples, bread, coffee, tomatoes)—mutagen and potent rodent carcinogen

Benzaldehyde (apples, coffee, tomatoes)—rodent carcinogen

Caffeic acid (apples, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, coffee, grapes, lettuce, mangos, pears, potatoes)—rodent carcinogen

Estragole (apples, basil)—rodent carcinogen

Methyl eugenol (basil, cinnamon and nutmeg in apple and pumpkin pies)—rodent carcinogen

Quercetin glycosides (apples, onions, tea, tomatoes)—mutagens and rodent carcinogens

Safrole (nutmeg in apple and pumpkin pies, black pepper)—rodent carcinogen

Don't know about people, but if rodents are so susceptible to cancer, how do they multiply and thrive despite our extermination attempt? What do they eat?

 

[samclem]

Another staple of my childhood was Kool Aid. You'd buy the packet cheap (simply artificial flavor and color I believe) and add 1 cup of sugar along with two quarts of water.

No one was hiding the sugar there either - and it was clearly "added sugar."

And, even with all that sugar (and I remember pouring it into the jug), Kool-Aid has less sugar than a Coke (8oz serving: Kool-Aid=16g sugar, Coke = 26g sugar). A veritable health food! And with Vitamin C!. Ooops, dang, lost another tooth.

Don't know about people, but if rodents are so susceptible to cancer, how do they multiply and thrive despite our extermination attempt? What do they eat?

Somebody needs to write a new human longevity diet book. Few rats die of cancer or heart attacks (probably--historically few people lived long enough to die of these either). "The Breakthrough Rodent Diet." You can eat anything you find under your fridge, in your garage, or inside a cardboard container (but you've got to chew through it first).