Giving up sugar

[siousxiesue]

Has anyone else tried this? I know there are tons of hidden sugars in food, but if you have done this and have any tips/hints/recipes I would be grateful!

By sugar I mean honey etc too

[edcam]

It's another fad. Of course processed sugar is bad for you (as is too much fruit juice/smoothies etc.) but other than that it's daft to try avoid an entire food group that occurs naturally in many foods.

[PokerTime]

Yes, there are good sugars and bad sugars, just as there are good fats and bad fats. The human body needs good sugars as much as it needs good fats. Carrots are extremely healthy, and they also contain a lot of slow release sugar.

[siousxiesue]

Of course I'm not talking about the naturally occurring ones, but on the whole, as a member of a family that has diabetes in some of the older members I am trying to be careful. Maybe I should have asked for CONSTRUCTIVE help, from people who avoid sugar as far as they can.

[mako]

To be fair i think Edcam and Poker were trying to give constructive advice

[PokerTime]

In my experience, the best way to avoid the sugar of processed foods and drinks it to not buy them, but make your own equivalent. Make your own bread, make your own fruit juice and smoothies. Make your own pies and so on. A lot of stuff that is home made can be frozen too. Fizzy drinks can be replaced by carbonated water and fruit juice (that's a good one for kids as well).

[edcam]

I don't think suggesting avoiding fads is unconstructive.

[El Pibe]

Apparently sugar is sugar, there aren't good ones and bad ones, just sugar, but there are blatanlty bad sources and better ones; as edcam says, nice friendly fruit will still cause issues if you eat too much of it.

You can't cut out sugar entirely, but cutting down on the indulgences, avoiding sugar rich over processed foods, as well as cutting out sugar in your tea and so on is probably quite sensible given the enourmous increase in type 2 diabetes and various liver problems associated with our high sugar diets (you don't have to be a lard arse or even smoke/drink too much for this to affect you).

I'm certainly trying to cut down on the obvious stuff.

[Mustard]

You need to read the labels on everything, boring as it might be. If you want or need sugar in your tea etc. then sweeteners are better than sugar, or try stevia. Processed food has a lot of sugar in it, do you eat a lot of that? If you cook from scratch then you know exactly what is in your food, so make a batch of something and then freeze in portions. I never buy fruit or flavoured yoghurts, always have plain, with no additives, and then add bits of fruit in season. I actually prefer it it that way.

[El Pibe]

Of course, remember that we're only here once.

There's a reason why we eat too much sugar, it's nice and it makes you feel good, so remeber to try and balance health with actually enjoying life and stuff ;)

[DulwichFox]

I am type-2 diabetic...

Sugar is NOT the biggest problem...

Hi Glycemic Index food is the problem..

Food like White Bread, Short Grain Rice, Potatoes.

Brown Whole meal Bread is no better. White Bread GI:- 70+ Wholemeal GI:- 69 whilst Sugar GI:-65

A Crumpet contains 20+ Carbs. that is equivalent to 7 Sugar cubes. and is medium GI.

Potatoes have a GI of 80+ this means your blood glucose will spike. This causes your Pancreas to go into

overload to produce insulin to compensate. This causes nerves to be damaged especially in your extremities

like toes and also in your eyes.

This is called Insulin Resistance where the Carbs converted to glucose cannot reach the muscles and stays

in your blood. This is then Type-2 Diabetes.

You should eat slow release carbs like grains and seeds, nuts. Avoid cereals at breakfast. They are ALL

high GI with the exception of Porridge Oats and Albran.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

DulwichFox

[edcam]

That's interesting stuff there - thanks Foxy

[PokerTime]

I'm a big advocate of GI based diets.

[womanofdulwich]

I managed a day last month without sugar. It was tough, as I just ate cheese instead:(

Giving up either is very hard.

Moderation, and making your own cakes and biscuits etc is helpful. Once you have made elderflower cordial and realised how much sugar you need to make it put sit into perspective.

[PeckhamRose]

But another issue - apart from finding time to look at labels and avoiding obvious sugar, there is the tea and coffee issue. I have lost weight through only eating when I am definitely hungry, and trying to eat smaller portions. All well and good. I still get through two sugars in each coffee and tea and I drink a lot of tea and coffee. I have tried cutting it out altogether but I love my tea and coffee. I tried using sweeteners including those apparently made from sugar ( ? ) and They Tasted Absolutely Horrid.

So what can I do? I've lost weight anyway, but for the sake of my teeth it might be helpful!

[DulwichFox]

Caffeine can be a big problem. It reduces the bodies ability to process Blood Sugar.

It also reduces insulin sensitivity / increases insulin resistance.

It is a Mental Stimulant and is highly addictive.

Mixed with alcohol(Jaeger Bombs) it provides a short burst of energy and makes people think they

can dance and fight everyone. (Kicks Bar Stool Over. Raises hands and shouts. YEEEEEESSSSSSS)

Foxy :)

[PokerTime]

JagerBombs...now we're talking :D

[DulwichFox]

PokerTime Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> JagerBombs...now we're talking :D

Red Bull = 14 Tsp sugar... Nasty...

Foxy.

[PokerTime]

After 20 vodkas, the moer sugar the better ;)

I thought the really nasty stuff in red bull was the taurine?

[numbers]

The body cannot distinguish between added sugars and naturally occurring sugars.

And what El Pibe said. There's no such thing as bad and good sugars. I had a guided tour round a sugar factory's CHP plant, and was told precisely this. So it must be true ;-) It's also one of the most common questions asked by visitors as well as 'is brown sugar better for you than white' (nope).

There's an excellent sugar fact sheet (.pdf) at the bottom of this page from http://www.sugarnutrition.org.uk/what-is-sugar.aspx

(I couldn't paste it here, you'll be relieved to know)

[numbers]

Meant to also say I think all that sugar substitute stuff is disgusting and tastes so artificially sweet it must be doing something to change people's palates and make them immune to sickly sweet processed crap. Or something.

[edcam]

Fake sugar (for example aspartame) not only tastes awful, it's incredibly bad for you.

[Mustard]

There isn't any proof that sweeteners are bad for you. If you don't want to put sugar in your tea or coffee, and don't want sweeteners, then have it unsweetened. Your palate will adjust. It's worth trying stevia if you haven't already, some people don't like the taste and some don't notice it.

[El Pibe]

aspartame does taste disgusting but is the butt of a million internet hoaxes, and a ton of misinformation.

There is no evidence that it's bad for you

[Seabag]

It's a tough one but very doable. However, if you're tea with two sugars and a sticky bun at 11 am, then it might be somewhat harder. But if your instinct is for fresh and cooked from scratch, then you can adjust your menu/diet with a bit of practice

My brother in law has been on an anti sugar tip for what seems like forever, his fuelled by candida

http://www.nationalcandidacenter.com/candida-causes/