Sugar

[Carolina Girl]

If you are eating clean, how much sugar (meaning refined sugar) do you allow yourself to eat...none at all? I am hearing lately that sugar is the enemy.

[gonnabea5]

I've heard the same thing about sugar. You might get more activity on your question by posting this on Open Chatter forum.....

[DixieGirl]

That's right, no refined sugar. You can have Sucanat, agave nectar, stevia, raw honey, maple syrup, etc. Just not refined sugar. It's hard to avoid refined sugar 100% like if you go to a friend's house for dinner & they serve dessert or to a birthday party. But you should avoid it as much as possible if you are eating clean.

[mrsprincess07]

Originally Posted by Carolina Girl

If you are eating clean, how much sugar (meaning refined sugar) do you allow yourself to eat...none at all? I am hearing lately that sugar is the enemy.

I eat clean and eat sugar. I don't follow nor do I promote Tosca Reno's version of clean eating. I explained what I do in this thread:

Is eating clean the same as just eating healthy?

Some people swear sugar is the devil. Some of us- not so much.

[JodelleFitzh20]

Sugar is needed for good brain function and for energy but most of us don't realize that even broccoli has sugar. Most all foods contain some form of sugar except for some meats and fats. An active individual needs no more than 35-40 grams per day and that includes fruit, vegetables, and grains with natural sugars and if u think about a banana and how it has 27 grams of sugar, that doesn't leave a whole lot of room for cookies, cakes and other processed sugar. But a once a week treat won't hurt u, nor will a piece of 80% or higher dark chocolate just so long as the rest of the food you eat the rest of the day is void of too much sugar. Life has to have its indulgences because gramma's cookies can b good for u too in a heart warming way (just try to stick with only one cookie)
Natural or unnatural the body breaks down sugar the same so even too much fruit is too much sugar and can lead to weight gain or stall weight loss. But finding the balance of the good foods you eat outweighing the "not so good" foods in your diet will keep u on track.
But if I had my option to only pick splenda or sugar, I would pick sugar. You must know that research has been avidly showing that splenda is inhibiting thyroid function and leading to hypothyroidism in many. My favorite is Stevia or raw coconut crystals. Research is showing that agave is just as processed as high fructose corn syrup.
I better stop now, I could go on and on about sugars and sweeteners for eons!

[ricklyk1]

Hi Jodelle!

Thanks for all the good info on sugar. I know sugar has developed a bad rep lately but I firmly believe that sugar isn't the enemy, in strict moderation of course.

Quesiton - do you have any thoughts on other artifical sweeteners besides Splenda? In particular, what do you think of "natural sweeteners" such as Pure Via? I'm a coffee drinker (only one cup per day but I look forward to it every morning) and for the past 6 months i've been using Pure Via in place of sugar and other sugar substitutes. Does Pure Via cause the same harming effects as Splenda? If it does, would it be better just to use a small amount of regular sugar instead? I'm hoping to eventually drink my coffee black but i'm not quite to that point yet.

Thanks soooo much!
Katie

[JodelleFitzh20]

Pure via is made by pepsi co in response to coca cola co making truvia. Both are extracted from the rebaudioside (rebiana) from the Stevia leaf plant. The only study I've found about anything extracted from Stevia is that it did not have a blood sugar response in the body, it had no genotoxin effect on the body and actually can help with blood pressure. The only complaint I have about these brands is that they r made from two companies who obviously don't really focus on nutrition as much as they do making soda, so bottom line: while they made b extracted from Stevia and generally safe, I would use as little as possilbe and use a more natural form such as the now foods Better Stevia brand when u can.