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Sugar ...

American 'breakfast' is really dessert.

 
That was an interesting read Kenny, thanks for sharing.

Ironically today I got a frozen coffee at Dunkin Donuts, I should know better but I wasn't told there was any sweetener in it so I figured coffee blended with ice. How bad could it be?

Well a small with skim milk will set you back 63g of carbs! Get a large and you're at 125g. It is absolutely astonishing because it did not taste overly sweet, actually it was really good but I will not be getting it again.
 
I've long thought sugar to be one of the most addictive substances on earth. Regardless of what science proves or disproves about it, I know it changes me in negative ways -- it makes me edgy, moody, tired, depressed and it affects my sleep. When I detox and don't eat it at all or eat it in minute amounts, all of the negative stuff goes away. The thing I detest most is how it affects my moods so I avoid it as much as possible.
 
I have read Gary Taubes other two books where he talks about sugar. I totally agree with him. He advocates for a Ketogenic diet in which the body burns fat for fuel instead of glucose. Since starting this way of eating, I have never felt better in my life. I haven't had any sugar since January and I will never go back to sugar and carbs again. There is a lot of research being done on everything from cancer to alzheimers and everything in between. It is startling how many diseases sugar can be directly related to. Honestly, I could discuss this subject for hours. We have been fed a lot of information that is simply not true about the effect of fat and sugar on the body. Fat has been the culprit and sugar and carbs totally benign and it couldn't be farther from the truth.
 
I feel a bit diabetic-shamed reading that article, but maybe there is reason for further study. I agree with him that it's not just sugar, and that wheat/grain based foods also present issues. And for the record, no diet can cure diabetes if you already have it. Diabetes remains an incurable disease. For some, it can only be postponed, but for others it may be inevitable.

It's been a wild ride with food and ideas these last 50 years. My husband remembers his grandma making him sugar and butter sandwiches. I remember that too. And dipping rhubarb stalks in sugar during the summer. Simpler times, less refined sugar and HFCS products. It went downhill fast too.

I think it's just good sense to go back to simpler eating. Not including sugar sandwiches of course! It's something we're committed to in our house. Moderation in everything.
 
Lyra, there are many doctors who treat diabetes with a ketogenic diet. While diabetes can most certainly come back if you return to eating carbs and sugars, many people can reverse their diabetic markers and reduce or eliminate their need for medication by following this way of eating. While I cannot site all the studies here, you can find listings of them in Gary Taubes other two books ("Why we get fat, and what to do about it", and Good calories, Bad calories), as well as many other publications. Dr. Jason Fung is another physician in Canada who treats diabetics and has had amazing success in reversing diabetic markers with this treatment. He has written quite extensively about it as well, as well as Dr. Peter Attia in San Diego. There is much to learn on this subject still to be sure but as a treatment that can be used with little expense and medication it surely begs an attempt by anyone who is struggling with these issues.
 
This protocol has been most effective in cases of type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetics need to approach it under a doctors care but benefits can still be had in their case as well.
 
I am absolutely addicted to sugar (and carbs). I consume some type of sweets everyday sometimes multiple times a day. And that's not including things that contain sugar that you wouldn't consider sweets like dressing, pasta sauce etc. It's really a problem for me. The thought of cutting out sugar is so overwhelming to me that I never even try. :oops:
 
I've never regulated my sugar intake which is probably not a good thing, but I do not have a regular sweet tooth so I feel like it's not something I have to watch on a daily basis. I'm more likely to binge once every 2 months or so for maybe a day or 2 and it's usually chocolate.

My body has been doing some funny stuff over the last 12 months; I have gone from 220lb and tubby to 175lb and lean, 6 months ago I was 185lb but I had more muscle due to my last job. I'd have to say my sugar intake was probably at it's highest 6 months ago when I had more muscle, so who knows what is going on with me. My body is a medical anomaly :lol:
 
I have read another book about sugar, forgot name. I am referring to processed sugar and added sugar in so many foods we buy. It is so bad. For 2 months I drastically cut refined sugar and my life changed. Better skin. Felt like I had a face lift. Less lines. Even and higher energy and alertness levels all day. No afternoon crash. Less moodiness. Body temperature stayed more even throughout day. Not to mention I leaned out a lot, lost 4 pounds.

I just started today to cut out sweets, cake cookies dessert, white bread or pasta. I don't add sugar and don't drink soda. Anything with added sugar. I do eat fruit regularly but no more than three pieces a day. Can't cut out whole grain carbs or brown rice cause I run a lot. Day 1 almost over. Sugar is more addictive than cocaine.
 
My computer blocks this site. It is supposed to block only social media. Sometimes it gets carried away. From the context of the discussion I derive that someone or some group posted about the dangers of sugar. I love sugars and carbs, but have eaten very, very few in the past couple of years since I have been following the Atkins diet. I really, really miss yogurt and fruit.

AGBF
 
It is crazy how addictive sugar is. I was not one that ate a whole lot of sugar but decided to give whole30 a try since I was having other health issues. I was amazed at how many foods have added sugar, had no idea bacon, sausages, lunch meats, and seasonings had added sugar. I just finished my 30 days and found that most of my cravings have gone away. I look at meals more like a way to nourish my body instead of satisfying whatever I might be craving. I am down 10 lbs as well which I was not doing it to really lose any weight. I honestly think the crap that is in our processed foods is what is causing so many health problems and people need to get back to eating real food.
 
Sugar is poison but I also don't believe any extreme diets are healthy for our body. That is any diets that say no carbs/no fat/no sugar etc. Well balanced is best as long as you don't have any specific medical conditions that need to be taken into consideration. Like everyone else here who has shared I feel better when I don't eat crap so I don't (generally) eat crap. Listen to your body.

It is best to keep sugar and refined carbs and all processed food to a minimum- Yes. Sugar is an addicting drug for so many people and does a lot of damage to our bodies. But it is good to eat whole foods that have sugar (i.e. fruit) and also have fiber to slow down the processing of the sugar. A healthy well balanced diet is important and that is one that includes a whole variety of foods and different colored fruits and veggies. And IMO one that is low in red meat and animal meat in general. But I might be biased.::)

lknvbr4 good for you!!! I have been considering trying the Whole 30 because of a PSers rec. I dont remember who recommended this diet for me. I have been reluctant because I don't see it becoming a way of life for me and that is the caveat of any "diet". You have to be able to live with it as a life style. And I would so miss having my air popped popcorn as a snack...Glad the Whole 30 worked out so well for you!!!
 
lknvrb4 said:
It is crazy how addictive sugar is. I was not one that ate a whole lot of sugar but decided to give whole30 a try since I was having other health issues. I was amazed at how many foods have added sugar, had no idea bacon, sausages, lunch meats, and seasonings had added sugar. I just finished my 30 days and found that most of my cravings have gone away. I look at meals more like a way to nourish my body instead of satisfying whatever I might be craving. I am down 10 lbs as well which I was not doing it to really lose any weight. I honestly think the crap that is in our processed foods is what is causing so many health problems and people need to get back to eating real food.
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whole30 is the diet I had wanted to look up. I had lunch with my daughter and my brother's brother-in-law and mother-in-law one day and found that the brother-in-law had been doing this plan for quite a while. Neither he nor I were eating sugar, but our eating varied in other ways. What he was doing sounded wholesome, but I couldn't remember the name of what his plan was! Thank you for reminding me. I need to eat something that has relatively high protein and low carbs, I think. I'm not sure if whole30 does that. My weight is fine now. (I am between 116 and 119 pounds.) But I have kidney issues and my nephrologist liked what Atkins did for my numbers. He told me to eat a lot of protein. On the other hand, my internist told me that I shouldn't be on it all the time. I am going to look up whole30.

AGBF
 
HI:

I am one of the few people on PS who consume alcohol--but I am not prepared to give it up. Hence my sugar intake will continue.

cheers--Sharon
 
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ABGF, it literally floored me that what you miss the most is yogurt and fruit. I don't even consider that sugar. :whistle: I mean, I know it's sugar, but I pretty much consider yogurt and fruit health food.
 
Puppmom said:
ABGF, it literally floored me that what you miss the most is yogurt and fruit. I don't even consider that sugar. :whistle: I mean, I know it's sugar, but I pretty much consider yogurt and fruit health food.
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Yogurt and fruit IS health food.
I make my own yogurt and add fresh strawberries & bananas. :lickout:
Home made yogurt and fresh fruit, nothing else.
It's fantastic!

Few of us make our own food any more ... we don't have time.
Yet the average American watches, what?, five hours of TV a day.
Hmm.
It all comes down to priorities.

It took time, but now I've gotten used to foods with no/low sugar.
I can't even eat what most people eat any more; the sugar and salt just blow my head off.
Actually it's a bit of a problem socially.

The only place I really miss sweetness is in my coffee.
I won't use any of the artificial sweeteners, chock full of chemicals I can't pronounce.:knockout:
Glob only knows what they'll eventually determine that crap does to our bodies.
 
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luv2sparkle said:
I have read Gary Taubes other two books where he talks about sugar. I totally agree with him. He advocates for a Ketogenic diet in which the body burns fat for fuel instead of glucose. Since starting this way of eating, I have never felt better in my life. I haven't had any sugar since January and I will never go back to sugar and carbs again. There is a lot of research being done on everything from cancer to alzheimers and everything in between. It is startling how many diseases sugar can be directly related to. Honestly, I could discuss this subject for hours. We have been fed a lot of information that is simply not true about the effect of fat and sugar on the body. Fat has been the culprit and sugar and carbs totally benign and it couldn't be farther from the truth.
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I'm also a converted keto-er lol. I started doing it for weightloss (-20 lbs since feb), but I just genuinely feel better on it. I've been pretty strict, but have had 2 'cheat weekends' as we went on vacation. I have generally stopped craving sugar. When I eat adequate fat, I don't crave things. The fat (be it avocado or bacon), satisfies that nagging feeling without spiking insulin.

This author touches on what I found most interesting about this diet, regarding fruit. Your body breaks down the sugar in fruit the exact same way as it breaks down HFCS - it's all the same molecules with the same effect on your body. After starting to be more aware, it became mind boggling. Iced Tea (in Canada is sweetened) has more sugar than Coke. Yogurt has more sugar than a brownie. Bread - Oh my god the bread. So much sugar. Another thing I noticed was sodium. They have to balance out the sugar, so they add sodium (I'm referencing fast food mostly). One of my friends also doing a low carb diet said he noticed that food tasted a lot saltier when he cooks himself (adding salt per a recipe), and it's because theres no sugar to balance it out. You're eating LESS but tasting it more.

Once I get to my goal weight I'll probably go back to a more balanced approach, but I know I'll be doing it mindfully. It's been the only 'diet' I can actually sustain, because it doesn't feel like I'm depriving myself (okay, after the first week. Staying away from office donuts was hard the first week!). I don't believe that sugar is the root of all evil, but it's effecting us much more than most people are aware.
 
I refuse to demonize any food. I refuse to cast any food in vaguely moral terms (the currently popular phrase "eating clean" is a perfect example of this), or to see food as the enemy, or as simply a collection of good/evil nutrients to be tippy-toed amongst. The hyperbole of people like the author, insisting that you should never ever EVER eat sugar, (or insert evil nutrient of the decade), has a long and glorious and tiresome tradition in the US. When I was growing up the bad nutrient to avoid at all costs was fat, and eggs were declared evil (Johnson trying to drive down the price of eggs) along with butter. Be afraid! Be very afraid, of all those things! Now we've done the 180, and the dietary churn continues. Yeesh. And do not get me started on the current demonization of gluten.
http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2014/05/why-so-many-believe-theyre-gluten-sensitive.html

Having a condition that puts me on the receiving end of a lot of ignorant assumptions and unasked for and sketchy dietary advice makes me pretty fierce about these things. Diet is very important, but it is not a panacea, and doesn't cause, prevent, or cure all ills.

Rigidly controlling diet (and generally the more extreme and unpleasant the prescription, the more effective it is, right?) is really most about giving us the illusion that we are in control of the outcome. We are not. Nobody is getting out of this alive. IMO, life is way too short to always be wearing the latest dietary hair shirt. That illusion of control also underpins the idea that if you simply DO everything right, you won't get sick, and you'll be one of the poor put upon, deserving ones. This Alabama legislator revealed how that morphs into being OK with applying moralistic reasoning and dismissing the sick as indulgent - aka undeserving, ala "they didn't live right", you know, like all the people who are healthy due to their own morally heroic self denial and clean living. :roll:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats...ving-the-right-way?via=desktop&source=copyurl

I'm with Missy, anything extreme is not going to be adhered to long term, so why bother? Shop the edges, and do your own cooking for the bulk of your diet. Easier said than done for many, I know, but you really can avoid most stuff you're determined to avoid by simply doing your own cooking. And that would be my choice of culprit for most of our dietary ills if you were to ask me for a handy single cause: the fact that most people don't/can't/won't actually cook anymore.
 
Agree completely Ksinger!
 
HI:

If you eat too many carrots you turn orange.

Over consumption is the issue. Of sugar, carrots, whatever. OVER consumption.

cheers--Sharon
 
Yeah, everything you eat is the same.
Nothing's bad.
Science Schmience!

Whatever you believe deep down in your heart is true, equal rights ya know.

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Ironically, given that I do not eat bread, I have started to make my own bread in a bread machine again. I have always been a bread baker (since I was a teenager and did it all by hand). When bread machines first came out, I embraced them, but often just used the dough cycle then fashioned my own loaves to bake in the oven. When my daughter was small, I sometimes baked two different loaves a day in the same machine. I love the control over ingredients and flavors it gives me. I can make an Italian or crusty Cuban bread with just flour and water and have no eggs, sugar, butter or oil in it or I can make one full of protein and eggs and butter like a Sally Lunn. Not to mention whole grain breads with applesauce and raisins that little children will eat as a healthy snack!

Deb :wavey:
 
Eat and drink what I like when I like if it makes me feel happy, in moderation.

I avoid anything with 'diet' or 'low calorie' etc., as they do nothing for me taste wise.

DK :))
 
Pretty sure I've talked about it before, but I have reactive hypoglycemia. basically my blood sugar is always low, but after certain meals, I go on a roller coaster ride followed by one hell of a crash. I'm not diabetic and found out about this condition when I was in my teens. I don't do certain things that often...i.e., sugary stuff, and that also includes a heck of a lot of grains like rice (I will usually substitute barley as its easier for me to handle) . I tend to follow a ketonic diet most of the time which keeps me off the roller coaster.

I cook a lot at home because I kinda have to. When I can't because I'm traveling, I just follow the same guidelines....usually!

I will say that IMO stevia and coffee don't mix. Nope nope and Nope. I'm not adverse to using the yellow packet for coffee, just like I don't mind using a little 1% milk in it to get it down...lol.
 
May 1st I gave up sugar (and bread) for the month. I have already lost a few pounds (which is great, and which I expected) but I am surprised & pleased by how much better I feel physically and mentally without either. I am seriously contemplating making it a permanent thing.
 
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