OT - Added sugar in your diet

[Louis]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/w...sultPosition=1

Earlier today I read the story at the link above, which motivated me to at least check the amount of added sugar in the packaged food I eat. OMG, it's unbelievable! Three or four items, and you've already blown by the 100% RDA level. Normally when I buy something I check the sodium, but don't even bother looking at the added sugar, but it looks like I need to change that pronto.

Example: Belvita Breakfast Crackers have 46% of your allowable added sugars in just one serving.

https://www.fooducate.com/product/be...E-A06D31710E22

It's going to take some effort for me to bring this under control, but I'm going to try...

[texbike]

I came to this realization about 5 years ago. The amount of sugar that I was eating on a daily basis with foods marketed or billed as "healthy" was staggering.

Texbike

[dgauthier]

Years ago I remember reading (in the "Cyclist's Training Bible," if I recall correctly) about a handy rule of thumb for buying healthy food in any grocery store: "Only buy food that's along the outside walls."

The outside walls are where all the fresh meat, fish, and produce are. Once you venture into the aisles, that's where all the packaged food and cartons are, and all of it is relative crap. Certainly a loaf of bread or a can of soup ain't gonna kill ya, but buy most of your food along the outside walls, and as little as possible from the aisles.

[tuscanyswe]

Im surprised people are surprised by this in 2020. But im happy its found out if thats the case. Suger is everywhere, be aware

[oliver1850]

Never payed attention until I had to start taking insulin, then had to read a lot of labels. Some Clif and Nature Valley bars have lots more sugar vs. some of the WalMart house brand bars. Point being you have to check the labels if you're concerned about sugars.

[Louis]

I'm not terribly concerned health-wise, but interested primarily because I've been trying to loose a few pounds, and given that all that extra sugar is totally useless (and possibly harmful) it will help if I can eliminate at least some of it from my diet.

[oldpotatoe]

Same with salt.
We check some of the things we buy for added sodium..some as high as 1000-1200 mg....PER SERVING...

[nesteel]

As a diabetic with high blood pressure, the supermarket is just a mine field.

[AngryScientist]

yea, sugar is the magic flavor enhancer.

its also quite bad in many cases in prepared food at restaurants, fast food, etc. most times you really have no way of knowing how much sugar has been added.

it may have changed, but i remember watching a documentary on this topic in which the claim was that at McDonalds, the only thing on the menu you could get that they didnt add sugar to was the coffee. the amount of sugar that they added to the burger "meat" was startling if i remember right. at that time i remember having had no idea that adding sugar to meat was even a thing.

good reminder, unless you prepare the food or snack yourself from scratch, you have to read the label to know what's in there.

[jamesdak]

Yep and for all us old folks with achy joints. Sugar is an imflammatory. Eating sugar for me makes all the old worn out parts of the body start hurting bad. Reason enough to avoid it.

[marciero]

Originally Posted by Louis

...
Three or four items, and you've already blown by the 100% RDA level. ...

Am thinking you mean the max amount. I dont think there is an RDA for sugar. That would be laughable. Even listing a max amount sends the message that that amount has no deleterious effects, which is likely not the case. Refined sugar is just bad.

There's lots of politics behind sugar, including corn-based sweeteners, in food. Also a rather fascinating history with far-reaching impacts. The book "Sugar Blues" is the seminal classic. Since that time, lots of other writings on the topic.

[OtayBW]

Sugar is da debil.
Seriously.

[htwoopup]

What is interesting (I have to watch as I have an intolerance for fructose and some other -ose ingredients) is that it is also added to things you wouldn’t think about.

For instance, a cheeseburger at McD’s (the single patty kind) has 2 teaspoons. If you buy hash browns instead of making them from scratch...it’s potatoes sautéed in a pan right?...I noticed one brand of frozen in the store which you reheat has potatoes and oil and sugar and dextrose which is another sugar.

You have to be careful too as sugar goes under many names. In fact, some of the artificial sweeteners include sugars that can be in “non-sugar” or “diet” drinks because your body supposedly absorbs them differently but, for me at least, it doesn’t and they are actually sugars.

It is also, as has been noted in other posts above, in a LOT of “exercise/ protein/ good for you” bars and such.


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[fmradio516]

Yup... and what most people dont realize.... Milk.

[htwoopup]

I'll give you another one....it is good to eat things that are natural like fruits. One of the things with sugar is if it also has fiber it is not as bad.

But a lot of fruits have now been bred to have a higher sugar content. That is how grapes went from being good for you (or at least not bad for you) to basically being equivalent to just popping M&M's into your mouth.

When you get into it, you can get really worried about the food supply particularly in the US.