Sugar in food

Have you noticed any difference yet? I am interested in this - and also to know if there is a daily/ weekly amount of sugar we need - or do we get enough from fruit and veg?

It is difficult to give up sugar - as you say it is added to so many foods that you wouldn't expect to contain sugar. I gave up sugar in tea and coffee years ago and try not to eat much processed food but I think I still take in more sugar than I should. There is the same problem with salt, which we are told is bad for us yet is added to just about everything!

Corn syrup, another form of sugar, is another to watch out for. Also most things ending in 'ose' such as sucrose, dextrose, maltose, fructose, pantyose, etc..

Aka my pantyose contain more fat than sugar

I have - the literature says added sugar is addictive (don't we all crave chocolate or biscuits?) so by cutting it out (either going cold turkey or gradually) you will lose the taste for sweet things. In this first week I've found that to be true and it has been easy to reduce or avoid eating the wrong things. I've lost 2lb this week without missing out.

The shocking point about the added sugar (mostly fructose) is that the body isn't designed to deal with it so rather than processing it like it does with glucose (turning it into energy), the fructose sugar goes straight to body fat. So when you see a high figure of sugar on the list of ingredients (usually as a percentage of carbohydrate) bear in mind that HALF that will be fructose and will go straight onto your hips! When you think about that it makes it easy to avoid the really sugary, sweet stuff doesn't it?

sunseeker!

I have a cousin in the US that uses stevia which is calorie free and agave nectar in cooking.

I found this online
"The agave nectars I have seen in the stores near me have 4 grams of sugar per teaspoon, which is exactly the same as table sugar, corn syrup, or molasses. Since they are almost completely carbohydrate, the calories are also equivalent."

I use stevia - in fact I have just mentioned it on the low carbs thread. the problem is that lack of real sugar in cooking cakes alters the texture. Initially I just cut the quantities in half - no-one noticed! It really does depend on the recipe, but for things that just need a touch of sweetness stevia is ideal.

That's not what I learnt about fructose, Mollie.
My husband was type 1 diabetic from 11 years old, so all our married life I read labels, needing to know how much carbohydrate there was in everything.
My husband ate lots of fructose, in the form of bananas, grapes, apples, etc., and never had an ounce of spare flesh on him. Can't say the same for me, but my spare flesh is pure alcohol.
Glycaemic load and index are interesting ways to look at fructose.
A banana, whether ripe or underripe has the same number of calories and amount of fibre. However, the underripe one has half the glycaemic index as the ripe one. This means it takes much longer for your body to convert the fructose to glucose, keeping your bloodsugar more stable.
I thought that much added sugar was in the form of cornsyrup. Fructose has the lowest glycaemic index of any added sugar.
I use agave nectar, Fairhair. It's a vegan substitute for honey in recipes.

The amounts in fruit are natural and relatively low, it's the added fructose that I'm referring to Durhamjen.

Yes, the corn syrup I was talking about I have discovered is High Fructose Corn Syrup. That's what most manufacturers use in the USA instead of sugar as it's sweeter and cheaper.
I try to ensure I never buy anything with it in, as usually it's from GM corn. I always look for non-GM products.

Isn't agave nectar made from the same cactus as tequila?

I'm being dense, I know, but what's the vegetarian objection to honey?

Mollie thanks for posting this, I'm in complete agreement with you.
I'm convinced that added sugar does more harm from a public health point of view, and an individual point of view, than alcohol.
Durhamjen the reason fructose within whole fruits is not harmful is that it is contained within the cells of the fruit, and is not broken down in the stomach and small intestine, unlike fruit juices which are very quickly absorbed. Fructose, unlike other sugars, is also converted into fat and stored in the liver.
Someone asked about the RDA - it's 90grams per day, or about 3 tablespoons.
From a personal point of view, I've tried to eradicate added sugar as much as possible, but I still consume about 30 grams/day from fruit and milk, which contains lactose.
The benefits are that I've lost over a stone in weight, without trying to reduce my intake of fats (I love butter and olive oil), but most importantly a lot if the pain I was getting in various joints has completely gone.

I agree too, though when i talk about carbs, I'm including all the simple sugars since that's what they are: carbohydrates.

mollie you're not being dense. durhamjen mentioned that agave nectar is a vegan substitute for honey. Vegans don't eat or use any animal products at all, so honey would be out. Most vegetarians would not object to honey.

Thanks, Nightowl...now I understand

I'm lost. Is fructose in fruit as problematic as refined sugar. Do they both have the same end result of sugar addiction and fat thighs?

I have been saying for years that sugar is more of a problem than fat and my son sent me a book last year called Sweet Poison by David Gillespie.

The biggest problem is the added sugar in processed foods. While the government pussyfoots round the food processing companies they will do as little as possible.

I've just read the Gillespie book too and it was an eye-opener. Obviously the processed/ready food industry is big business but making us fat for profit is obscene! Not to mention the effects on our health and the demands on the NHS - could this be worse than smoking?

As a newbie to the anti-sugar campaign I'm still trying to find substitutes for some of my usual/favourite things. Any idea what I could add to porridge instead of the usual sugar? I'd normally say honey but ...

I will never believe that sugar is n't a useful nutrient. Quick energy boost. Nothing wrong with that.

Yes there is jingle
Eating something that consists of just sucrose has no nutritive value - no vitamins, minerals or protein.
Sugar produces a spike of inflammation in the body and this has been implicated in chronic inflammatory diseases like arthritis and also cancer.
It's better to get energy from complex carbohydrates, protein and fats.

If you eat a bowl of whole grain cereal with some added sugar, the sugar gives you quick energy to get you going, while the complex carbs go on to give slow release energy to sustain you.

Good all round.