So now sugar is the boogeyman, before it was carbs, and prior to that was fat (supplement, system)
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The problem is that companies have been sneaking more and more sugar into food and drinks. We consume more sugar without realizing it. My shocker was when I started to pay attention to how much sugar is in yogurt or so called healthy drinks. Some yogurts have Six teaspoons of sugar in them.
So now sugar is the boogeyman, and before it was carbs, and prior to that was fat in the 80s I think.
But if sugar is so bad, then why do we have a condition called hypoglycemia, meaning too little sugar? And arent carbs actually sugars?
Apparently there was a big scandal in which the sugar companies paid for false research pointing the finger at another culprit.
But how we know this time its not another industry firing back with their own false research?
I tried a low carb diet once for a long time, and I always felt really anxious, and uneasy. I felt that for literally a long time. Then I took a sip of soda (which I hardly ever drink ever), and I notice a great improvement in mood.
So is it really more about the quantity of whatever you ingest (as long as it has nutritional value)?
low-carb actually isn't for everyone, but of course not stuffing ourselves with tons of simple carbs is. Sugar is a real bad thing. Our food was flooded with it during the war on fat. I am 'pre-diabetic' at 48, not overweight, and I don't even have a sweet tooth. I had an individual sized cake last me three nights for dessert.
So let me ask you is white rice, white bread, and white pasta they serve in italian restaurants all pretty much bad for you?
Maybe some of these restaurants should get on the health gravy train and start serving whole grains instead.
All carbohydrates get converted into glucose inside the body. Whole grains, white bread, pasta, brown rice, pink rice all get converted into glucose. The body uses glucose for energy first. Unused or excess glucose is turned into fat. The problem with sugar/carbs is that most people crave it and eat too much of it. They get fat because their body never has a chance to burn off the fat because there is always sugar to use.
Take me for example. For many years I bought into the high carbs/low fat diet mantra. I ate no fat and lots of pasta and rice. The only sources of protein I ate came from egg whites and white chicken. I also snacked on fruits between meals. My diet without fat seemed super healthy, right? I also worked out 2hrs a day five days a week. As long as I could work out like that, I was able to stay fit.
Whenever I got injured or burned out and stopped working out, I got fat despite eating the same no fat diet. With the knowledge I that I have now, it is easy to why I got fat when I stopped working out. When I was working out, I was burning off the carbs and some fat. Without working out, my body turned unused carbs into fat.
Fast forward to a month ago when I started a lifestyle change to lose fat. I have lost 20 lbs in a month without going to the gym. The only exercise I have done is walking. How is this possible? There is no magic pill. It's just biochemistry and nutrition. This time I give my body a chance to burn off the fat by not feeding it excessive carbs. Without carbs my body has no choice but to use fat for energy. And no this has nothing to do with the keto diet.
The problem is that companies have been sneaking more and more sugar into food and drinks. We consume more sugar without realizing it. My shocker was when I started to pay attention to how much sugar is in yogurt or so called healthy drinks. Some yogurts have Six teaspoons of sugar in them.
granola bars may as well be candy bars. And they put corn syrup in everything.
So let me ask you is white rice, white bread, and white pasta they serve in italian restaurants all pretty much bad for you?
Maybe some of these restaurants should get on the health gravy train and start serving whole grains instead.
You have to factor quantity and variety into the equation. How big a portion of impoverished wheat and rice? What else in the meal? How often?
And those context questions are still important in the case of whole grain cereals or anything else.
Personally, I avoid almost completely impoverished cereals and processed sugar, and try to eat moderate quantities of whole grain cereals, which I prepare myself, including the yeast, in some cases buying the raw grain and grinding it myself, a lower quantity of legumes, all dry in a bag, no canned stuff, sometimes frozen, and lots of vegetables and some fruits. As for fats, I avoid all dairy based (e.g. butter) and even "vegetable" oils, and focus instead on tree-based oils and fruits (olive, avocado) and nuts. For me that works. For now.
One could eat a balanced, moderate omnivore diet, or skewed in favor of this or that food group, or skewed away from this or that food group, but in any case of good quality, and that could work. One could also overdose on certain meats, even seafood, and come away with high cholesterol or the gout, for example.
Point is, it can be deceiving to focus on one single factor. Context is important. Moderation is key.
Still, why not avoid poor quality food - like impoverished grains or gratuitously sugar-loaded processed products which even include yogurt, so-called breakfast cereals and granola bars - and focus instead on high quality food in whatever combination suits the individual best in moderate quantities?
I eat small portion of carbs. I even lose weight on carbs like I had pizza the other night. But the key thing is very small portion, not a huge plate. A small piece of pizza, not the whole small pizza. That’s 3 meals for me. I fill up on salad in the day or steam vegs at night. If I don’t have any veg, I end up with a crunchy fruit like apple, or pear, or crunchy persimmon. I have donut once in a blue moon, my birthday for example. My husband and I are not diabetics but we eat like we are. You never know, his mom did have gangrene in her late 80s.
Whenever I got injured or burned out and stopped working out, I got fat despite eating the same no fat diet. With the knowledge I that I have now, it is easy to why I got fat when I stopped working out. When I was working out, I was burning off the carbs and some fat. Without working out, my body turned unused carbs into fat.
Fast forward to a month ago when I started a lifestyle change to lose fat. I have lost 20 lbs in a month without going to the gym. The only exercise I have done is walking. How is this possible? There is no magic pill. It's just biochemistry and nutrition. This time I give my body a chance to burn off the fat by not feeding it excessive carbs. Without carbs my body has no choice but to use fat for energy. And no this has nothing to do with the keto diet.
I've had similar experiences. When I was eating a "healthy" high-carb low-fat diet, I gained weight even with exercise. Once I switched to low-carb I was able to lose weight even without exercise.
I would avoid eating sugar as much as possible because sugar is addictive. It releases dopamine which gives you that release or soothing or calming effect then make you crave more. Which is why very few people who eats sugar regularly can put a limit on themselves. Most people just indulge on it and get fat doing so and it leads to just about every bad thing with your health if you can't control your sugar tooth.
This is the main reason why sugar is a problem. Naturally occurring carbs, and naturally occurring fats are calorically dense, but don't have the addiction potential of refined sugar.
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