Is sugar evil?

[smalltalk]

As far I understood it, it refers to refined sugar.

Zero percent sugar is fine with me. But I guess it's hard to do for most people. You would need a quite radical change of diet, 'cause refined sugar is hidden everywere:

Marmelade and jams, beverages, sauces, ketchup, canned food - in fact it's in almost any industry processed food.

 

[The Last Conformist]

It still makes a huge difference if it's by weight or by calories ...

I doubt, btw, that the industrially processed food I eat have an average refined sugar content of 10% by either. And I actively avoid low-cal foods.

 

[Narz]

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.

Hmm, I'm not certain about the exact way the body handles starch but I have heard it's hard on the digestive system and I've felt better since eliminated it (specifically grain).

Honestly I don't know the specifics of the WHO's view. I don't care much really. I know people who get about 85% of their calories from simple carbohydrates from fruit and they seem mostly pretty healthy. Certainly more so than my buddy who "lives" on candy bars, milk, beer, Marlboro Lights and Seraquil (psych drug) with an occasional cheesburger.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Sounds healthier than the diet of a guy I met, who lived on cola and table sugar ...

(I seriously doubt the veracity of his claim to have lived solely on that for over a year, but he certainly didn't consume anything else during the four days we stayed at the same place.)

 

[Loaf Warden]

Atkins' was right in that he tells people to aviod refined sugar and startch (bread, potatos, etc.)

Avoid bread and potatoes? Good heavens, why would anybody do that? I'd give up candy and soda forever before I would give up bread and potatoes for even a year! Life without bread is no life at all!

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.

Too true. For most of my life, I've hated fruit. It's only in the past couple of years (and I'm 23, how sad is that?) that I've started to develop a taste for it. Not that I know much about it. I know a few kinds that I like, but for most fruits, I have no idea what they even taste like. I don't even know how to buy the stuff.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Avoid bread and potatoes? Good heavens, why would anybody do that?

Because Atkins believed that starch was bad for you.

I'd give up candy and soda forever before I would give up bread and potatoes for even a year! Life without bread is no life at all!

I'd tend to agree. OTOH, if I wanted to cut down my intake of carbohydrates, giving up bread would be much more effective than giving up candy and soda.

 

[smalltalk]

It still makes a huge difference if it's by weight or by calories ...

Calories, I guess.

Carbohydrates, the report suggests, should provide the bulk of energy requirements ? between 55 and 75 percent of daily intake and free sugars should remain beneath 10 percent. Protein should make up a further 10-15 percent of calorie intake and salt should be restricted to less than 5 grams a day. Intake of fruit and vegetables should be plumped up to reach at least 400 grams a day.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2003/pr20/en/

I doubt, btw, that the industrially processed food I eat have an average refined sugar content of 10% by either. And I actively avoid low-cal foods.

Depends on the food. Corned-beef or canned tunafish won't.

Here is an admittedly extreme example - some marmalade recipes:

Seville oranges, Sugar, Water.

For every 2 lb of oranges, use 5 lb of sugar and 5 (Imperial) pints of water. (USA readers may need to know that 5 Imperial pints are pretty close to 6 US pints).

Metric equivalents would be 1 kg oranges, 2.5 kg sugar, and 3 ltr water.

http://ppewww.ph.gla.ac.uk/~flavell/marmalade.html

1 medium grapefruit
2 lemons
1 sweet orange
8 cups water 2 L
3 lb granulated sugar 1,5 kg

http://www.ourbestrecipes.com/REC1065149073.html

 

[shadowdude]

Sugar is your friend,you can't survive without it.(its best to have sugary products in moderation though)

 

[Tassadar]

Actually it's a class of chemicals.

Yep , and they are needed by the human body, they are our fuel.

What is ''evil'' is refined sugar, it countain no more vitamin, neither mineral which act in a synergystic action with sugar.

So simply put, fruits and vegetable countain ''natural sugar'' like fructose and are very good to you.


But the damn industrious soft drink call Coke , for exemple, is very bad, it have nothing else then refined sucrose.

A comparaison ? its like if you run your car with Fromula one super fuel, but you forgot oil and anti-friction additive.

The industrious use of refines sucrose in food have create many modern disease, like rotten teeth, ''diabet'', obesity, bad hearth condition. thanks to our money lover capitalist which doesnt care at all about population wealth.

We are acting like little baby, the capitalist buisness give us a sweeten candy and we give them our money.

 

[CIVPhilzilla]

It's okay, I'll take it but I don't want it in bulk. Soda's have too much IMO, so I go with diet soda.