Sugar in food

I agree Mollie, my issue would be that we do not know how much sugar is in processed food. I have no wish to evangelise and ask others to look at the sugar in their diet but I would like to be able to understand my own.

I do agree that packaged food has too much sugar. You can really taste it in low fat yogurt - makes me shudder.

You are so right. Virtually all packaged food seems to have some sugar added, even very savoury things. I have made a concerted effort to cut down on sugar as there is Diabetes in my family. I have a very sweet tooth but I have found that the less I eat of it, the less I crave it. i eat fruit but try to avoid it in unnecessary things like bought sauces, ketchup etc. When i have a sweet treat I really enjoy it but now it is the exception rather than the rule!

Thanks for the tip, Silverfoxette.

My point in raising this issue was concern over how much hidden extra unnecessary sugar goes into everyday foods, usually processed or packaged and ready made things like bottled sauces, ready meals, breakfast cereals, cakes and biscuits, sweets, snacks and cans of drink etc. This has come about since the last war and post rationing (noticeably sugar and sweet rationing) and you only have to see the rise in obesity, diabetes and other related diseases to make a sensible connection. I'm not suggesting everyone give up on the simple pleasures of life but wouldn't it be sensible to be aware of what we are putting into our mouths?

Maple syrup is a great natural sweetener for porridge and many other things! Expensive (make sure it's pure maple syrup, not maple flavoured syrup) but truly scrumptious!

I think I agree with jingles - enjoy a balanced diet which includes some sugary pleasures but don't overdo it. If you get to 72 you must be doing something right. The trouble with all this diet advice is that it seems to change with alarming speed. It seems like common sense to eat everything in moderation.

I am very thankful I have neither diabetes or obesity.

Actually jane the paragraph you have posted agrees totally with my posts! When did I say anything about eating sugar to excess?

(changed my mind about brekker btw. Had Waitrose Essential Marmalade with Ginger on seedy bread toast. Sooo delicious!!! ) It has broken my nighttime fast beautifully and I can feel the old blood sugar regaining a lovely level.

I would just say - don't cut out all the harmless little pleasures in life.

Moderation is the keyword.

I'm sure you know best jane. Forgive me if I don't read all your scholarly articles and, no doubt lengthy, posts. The sun is shining and my porridge (with a tiny bit of golden syrup ) awaits.

Off to a nice country pub later where we will all have a hopefully well balanced roast dinner, which will definitely include a pud!

It's amazing how common sense has so far seen me through to a healthy seventytwo years of age.

Cancer is a multi-factorial disease jingl, and not eating excessive amount of refined carbohydrates is just one way of modifying your risk.

This is a digest rather than a scholarly article, but it is of a higher standard than the average newspaper or magazine article.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130201100149.htm

In case you can't be bothered to read it, this is the first paragraph:
Sugars are needed to provide us with energy and in moderate amounts contribute to our well-being. Sustained high levels of sugars, as is found in diabetics, damages our cells and now is shown that can also increase our chance to get cancer: The dose makes the poison as Paracelsus said.

The last sentence is particularly apposite I think.

And here is another quote:
Colin Goding, Professor of Oncology at the University of Oxford, UK said 'Previously we were unsure about how increased blood sugar found in diabetes and obesity could increase cancer risk. This study identifies a key molecular mechanism through which high blood glucose would predispose to cancer.

Oh good grief I have just seen all your other posts now jingl
I'll read them and if I still have the will to live will comment further.

You don't need the instant energy to 'get you going' unless you're a poorly managed diabetic and have become hypoglycaemic.
If you're not diabetic, your body is pretty good at maintaining blood sugar levels by burning your fat stores when necessary

And we, each of us, think we know more than everyone else. Because we have all been suckers and bought the books.

Yes. I know about the glyceamic index. Grapes are better than grape juice as they release energy at a slower rate.

And so all the codswallop advice goes on coming. Ad infinitum. What would we do without the experts.

What you are talking about, Jingle, is the glycaemic load of a meal. Even diabetics need fast acting carbohydrate if they are having a hypo.
Most of the research into fructose has been undertaken in the USA, where they eat nearly 25kg. of added high fructose corn syrup per person per year. In this country we eat less than 0.5kg. per person per year.
Fructose gets broken down into glucose in the liver. It only gets converted to triglycerides, or fat, if you are fructose intolerant. Most people are not. Diabetesuk.org will tell you all about this.

I do not believe that a reasonable intake of sugar will give you cancer or arthritis. Both those diseases are likely to be due to genetics, or more harmful substances such as tobacco and alcohol. And ageing.

If you eat a high protein meal of egg and bacon and toast and marmalade, the marmalade will give you a quick boost, whilst the protein will sustain you for longer.

Nothing wrong with that. Especially if the bread is wholemeal to give you complex carbs and fibre.

Nothing wrong with that..

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.

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.

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

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 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'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?

Thanks, Nightowl...now I understand