Sugar!!

  • I was listening to Inside Out Weight Loss podcast last night and she was talking about food. You know - don't eat HFCS or Trans Fats or processed foods. All of which have been big focuses already for me this year. She also talked about sugar. How eating some sugar can make you want more sugar. And I was like "I am NOT cutting sugar out of my diet". Having a reaction like that made me realized... maybe I DO need to think about sugar and how to cut back a little... perhaps?

    So... how? sugar and carbs are listed separate on nutrition labels... what's the difference? What kinds of sugar should I cut out? I eat fruit and I know that is "healthy" sugars. I have noticed the yogurts I like are loaded with sugar... so i am going to look into buying plain chobani/stoneyfield and adding agave or honey or kashi cereal. Where else does sugar hide?

    It is just about halloween... and to tell you the truth - the candy isn't calling my name at all. If I want chocolate, I prefer dark, higher quality chocolate. (and lately it isn't sweets calling my name, but crunchy salty things) And pumpkin lattes... mmm... they wisper sweet nothings in my ear... but talk about high sugar.
  • I have also heard people say using sweetener can lead to you craving sugar. I think that is for people who are prone to sugar binges. I use Truvia or Stavia if I need to sweetened something. I would guess that eating 'healthy' sugars (sugars that naturally occur in foods) are better as opposed to refined (?) sugars. I think sugar also hides in milk. Not sure, i will check my label later.

    THis is a page from Livestrong.com on sugar intake, it has some pretty helpful info

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/47...-sugar-intake/
  • I don't have a big problem with sugar myself, but I'm aware of many of the surprising ways food producers use it in their products, because it's a cheap substitute for ingredients with actual flavor that they want to remove either for marketing reasons (like fat) or for cost reasons (like real flavorful quality fruit in yogurt, for example). As a result of this, the American palate (possibly other nations as well) has become so accustomed to sweetness in food that food producers find the more sugar they put in, the better it sells.

    Yogurt is a very good catch - many of the big-label commercial flavored yogurts are loaded with sugar. Much better to buy plain and flavor it and sweeten it with your own controlled amounts of whatever you like to put in it.

    In fact, lots of "low-fat" substitutes for regular things - not just yogurt, but salad dressings, mayonnaise, breads, even cheese - these often have lots of added sugar. This is because if they remove the fat, they have to add something to boost the flavor. (They also often have gelatin added, to provide some structure and thickness that they lose removing the fat.)

    Sugar hides in Kashi cereal too. I just checked the ingredients of the box in my office. It lists "evaporated cane juice" - which might be one of the stupider euphemisms I've ever heard. That said, there's not a ton of sugar in it, and it's got a lot of protein and fiber as well that it might not be such a bad choice. It might be similar to fruit - it seems that many people who have sugar problems can eat fruit without triggering cravings, presumably because fruit is full of other nutrients.

    Anything you buy in bottles or cans or boxes - tomato sauce, fruit juice, yogurt, cereal, condiments, seasoning mixtures - is a place where sugar can be hiding. Read the ingredients, not just the nutrition info, because the latter doesn't separate out added sugars. Look for sneaky ingredients like evaporated cane juice, corn syrup, fructose, sucrose - all different forms of sugar that can get added to things. Agave nectar is one that you are starting to see - people like it, it sounds natural and good and it's sold at health food stores, but it's still sugar.
  • Quote: I have also heard people say using sweetener can lead to you craving sugar. I think that is for people who are prone to sugar binges. I use Truvia or Stavia if I need to sweetened something. I would guess that eating 'healthy' sugars (sugars that naturally occur in foods) are better as opposed to refined (?) sugars. I think sugar also hides in milk. Not sure, i will check my label later.

    THis is a page from Livestrong.com on sugar intake, it has some pretty helpful info

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/47...-sugar-intake/
    Thanks for the link! There is some interesting stuff on that site!
  • Quote: Anything you buy in bottles or cans or boxes - tomato sauce, fruit juice, yogurt, cereal, condiments, seasoning mixtures - is a place where sugar can be hiding.
    omg - yes! I have been making my own spaghetti sauce... I add a pureed sweet potatoe and a bit of orange juice to sweeten it. Those jars just have SO much sugar in them. And I have recently been opening my eyes to those sneaky condiments... like ketchup is about 98% HFCS. I am going to send my hubby to Trader Joes to see if I can find a better option. And I am going to try making my own seasoned sauces for veggies, chicken, etc.

    I was so pi$$ed. A while ago, I bought "no sugar added" fruit cups. I keep fruit cups on hand for my toddler and on occassionly for me and I ALWAYS drain the "light syrup" they put them in. But the "no sugar added" has Splenda in it... ~gag~ WHY would they ruin perfectly good, sweet fruit with artificial crap?? I returned the fruit cups as soon as I realized.
  • I don't eat a lot of sugar anymore, mostly because I don't eat dairy often at all. I prefer chocolate if I'm going to eat something candy-like, and chocolate is dairy, so that's mostly out (except for treats!). Same with cheese, yogurt, etc. I'm also low carb, so sweet breads or anything are a rare treat.

    But I do love sweet things once in a while! One of my favorite treats is 1-2 cups iced coffee with half a cup of light soy milk (I like plain, but vanilla will add more flavor) and a packet of sweetener. I get it reeeally cold and it's delicious! Only about 30-40 calories, max. One of my favorites. That's sweet enough for me, now; my definition of "sweet" has changed somewhat. You could always add more sweetener to it.

    You can cut out a lot of sugar easily. Like, cut things that have HFCS. I cut out almost all sugary drinks, but I never had them much anyway. Maybe limit the amount of juice, pop, and other sugary things you drink? That seems to help people a lot.
  • I am a recovering sugarholic.
    A whole foods, low glycemic plan and exercise have been key in me not having sugar in almost 10 years.
    Instead of focusing on what I can't have (sugars and flours) I try to focus on the huge number of great things I can have and try to move as much as possible.
    Also, I shop the perimeter of the grocery store; I rarely go in the aisles unless I need to pick up something for someone else. I usually know what I'm going to buy before I walk in the door.

    p.s. Have you read about L-glutamine and chromium picolinate? I've read great reviews on these supps helping with people's sugar cravings. HTH