Is sugar evil?

[The Last Conformist]

The problem wrt to dental health isn't so much eating much sugar as eating it continuously. Snacking sweets the whole day is worse than eating a pound of sugar for breakfast on that count, even if the sweets contain much less sugar in total.

 

[Tomoyo]

It depends. Sugar as an adjective is good. Sugar not as an adjective is good. Sugar is not good.

EDIT: My schizophrenic mouse clicked the post button by mistake! I'm leaving this like this though.

 

[Gainy]

Sugar is good. Alot of the time when I wake up, i'm not hungry at all, but i'm about to cycle a few (hilly) miles. I'll pour some sugar onto a plate, and just eat it straight. This gives me a burst of energy, which is useful

 

[roadrunner23]

I'll pour some sugar onto a plate, and just eat it straight.

Try a tablespoon of honey instead, better for you and easier for your body to use. Lot's of differnt kinds/flavors too.

 

[Mapache]

It's the root of all evil.

 

[GenMarshall]

I am on the Atkins Diet, though I am not a fanatic about it. I still have my potatos from rime to time. I personaly dont think sugar is evil.

 

[Shadylookin]

It should be possible to get all ones carbohydrates from starch.

That said, you're gonna end up with a messed up diet if you want to avoid sugar. No fruit, to begin with.


Needless to say, I'm much in favour of sugar, fat and calories in general.

starch is a long sugar molecule and is unusable to the body until it has been broken down into glucose(pure sugar)

 

[The Last Conformist]

True, but when people speak of cutting down on sugar in their diets, they're not talking about polysaccharides.

 

[Shadylookin]

True, but when people speak of cutting down on sugar in their diets, they're not talking about polysaccharides.

yes at least on the atkins diet they do. they want you to all but eliminate carbs from your diet because carbs are the main sources for starch or if you want to get scientific polysaccharids.

 

[The Last Conformist]

yes at least on the atkins diet they do. they want you to all but eliminate carbs from your diet because carbs are the main sources for starch or if you want to get scientific polysaccharids.

That does not agree with my experience. Atkinsists usually talk about lowering carbs or starch, not sugar.

 

[Narz]

I found this online a few years back. The website has since gone down but fortunatly I copied and pasted it into a word doc. It is too long to copy and paste on this forum but I put it on my site for your knowledge and pleasure : Yes My Friends Refined Sugar is Indeed Most Evil!!!

Note : If you want to read this whole thing (it's quite informative and even humourous in parts) it's best to print it out.

Spreading the word.

- Narz

 

[Comraddict]

And what about aspartam?
Aspartam vs sugar vs Devil .. who wins?

 

[Narz]

And what about aspartam?
Aspartam vs sugar vs Devil .. who wins?

Good question. I'm sure you could find much supporting evidence that NutraSweet is pretty toxic too. I aviod both. If you're thirsty and craving energy why not just get a fat hunk of watermelon? "but.. my clothes, I might spill watermelon juice on them... and it's more socially acceptable to walk down the street with a coke can than a fat juicy seeded watermlon! "

 

[Manverulin]

I like sugar. Sugar is friend. I LIKE SUGAR! SUGAR IS FRIEND! SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR!!!! Lots of sugar is good for me...

No, sugar is not evil. Personally, I like it because it makes me feel happy.

 

[Syterion]

Without sugar not much life would exist on Earth. Plus, it tastes good.

 

[Narz]

Without sugar not much life would exist on Earth. Plus, it tastes good.

Fructose is indeed the sweet nectar of life. Comparing fruit sugar to table sugar is like comparing spring water to sewage water. Atkins' was right in that he tells people to aviod refined sugar and startch (bread, potatos, etc.) which are hard for the body to break down. However to lump all carbs together and aviod fruit and vegatble carbohydrates as well is not a good idea. The problem is many people (myself, as a child, included) don't even like fruit anymore because our taste buds are so mutilated by the refined chemically sweetened garbage we've been eating our whole lives. Probably similar to the herion addict who can no longer enjoy a sunset or a basbeall game after coming off his artificial high.

 

[Plexus]

And what about aspartam?
Aspartam vs sugar vs Devil .. who wins?

Who the hell's ever heard of an aspertame high?

 

[smalltalk]

The sugar industry tried to blackmail WHO last year.

In a letter to Gro Harlem Brundtland, the WHO's director general, the Sugar Association says it will "exercise every avenue available to expose the dubious nature" of the WHO's report on diet and nutrition, including challenging its $406m (£260m) funding from the US.

The industry is furious at the guidelines, which say that sugar should account for no more than 10% of a healthy diet. It claims that the review by international experts which decided on the 10% limit is scientifically flawed, insisting that other evidence indicates that a quarter of our food and drink intake can safely consist of sugar.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,940287,00.html

 

[Narz]

I'd say the WHO is pretty generous giving them 10%. IMO, 0% of a healthy person's diet consists of refined sugar.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Atkins' was right in that he tells people to aviod refined sugar and startch (bread, potatos, etc.) which are hard for the body to break down.

Hard for the body to break down? The claim I'm used to hearing is that they're, particularly starch, are too easy to metabolize, resulting in blood sugar spikes and too little exercise for the digestive apparatus.

Does that WHO limit refer to all sugar or only to refined, and to percentage of weight or of calories? If all sugars and of calories, it might be kinda tough without avoiding fruit.