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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSugar kills
http://www.northjersey.com/news/health/Excess_sugar_may_double_heart_disease_risk_researchers_say.html<snip>
As sugar intake increased, risks climbed steeply.
Adults who got at least 25 percent of their calories from added sugar were almost three times more likely to die of heart problems than those who consumed the least less than 10 percent.
For those who got more than 15 percent or the equivalent of about two cans of sugary soda out of 2,000 calories daily the risk was almost 20 percent higher than the safest level.
Sugar calories quickly add up: One teaspoon has about 16 calories; one 12-ounce can of non-diet soda contains has about 9 teaspoons of sugar or about 140 calories; many cinnamon rolls have about 13 teaspoons of sugar; one scoop of chocolate ice cream has about 5 teaspoons of sugar.
liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)sugar. Today after my salad, half turkey sandwich and orange I had two chocolate chip cookies. So, so good.
malaise
(268,665 posts)We don't use sugar with coffee or tea, don't drink sodas, but we do eat dessert. Like mom I can't go to bed at night without having something sweet.
Warpy
(111,124 posts)I'll drink a beer instead of sugary soda.
Trying to drink that stuff with sugar in it is like trying to drink maple syrup. Gah!
I'm just completely used to either unsweetened flavored seltzer or diet sodas.
malaise
(268,665 posts)Lots of lemonade and lots of sorrel - we drink a lot of coconut water.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)My friend from Barbados makes Jamaica and it literally looks and tastes like a magic potion. It's also the very best mixer for alcoholic drinks I've ever had. She showed me how to make it, with about a pound of ginger in a large stock pot and the flowers. Oh, I'm drooling just thinking about it. Haven't made it yet though.
That said, thanks for pointing out the dangers of sugar. We've been so scared by saturated fats which are not harmful and loaded down with sugar which really, truly is bad.
malaise
(268,665 posts)Sorrel is one of the great drinks.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)Jealous
Warpy
(111,124 posts)It's the next to last step in the refining process. While brown sugar has the molasses added back in, turbinado sugar has been through the first centrifuge and still has it naturally. It's about halfway between light brown sugar and white sugar, not quite as strongly flavored and doesn't make my tea weird.
I save the wicked white granules for humming bird energy drink before and after breeding season.
malaise
(268,665 posts)Never heard of it before
mike_c
(36,267 posts)I seem to have escaped the human taste for sweets-- I rarely eat or drink them in any form (well, hangs head and thinks of ice cream...).
Brigid
(17,621 posts)It's the truest sign that there is a god and he loves us.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,939 posts)Major Nikon
(36,818 posts)whistler162
(11,155 posts)NOW THAT IS A REAL KILLER!
Timez Squarez
(262 posts)We're all gonna die and drown from dihydrogen monoxide!!!
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)MH1
(17,573 posts)Many of the big brands of yogurt have way too much sugar.
I recently discovered a brand called Siggi's which has about half the sugar of most yogurts. Also a trick is to get the plain yogurt and add your own agave - just enough, which will probably be half what Dannon or Yoplait think it should have.
2banon
(7,321 posts)makes an excellent replacement - I make up several small containers in advance. 1/2 cup of non-fat yogurt with a tablespoon of the chosen preserve . sweetens just enough but not too much.. very low cal, low sugar, low sodium. I eat it with my breakfast, or with my lunch and sometimes as a late night snack to replace ice cream.
adirondacker
(2,921 posts)It's the new Mother Nature taking over...
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)to carefree summer days of swimming at the municipal pool, which had a juke box (3 songs for a quarter).
Baclava
(12,047 posts)I think I heard that in a song
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,939 posts)Coyotl
(15,262 posts)next to the honey in bilk at my grocer. Of course, too much is a bad thing too.
"The fructose content of commercial agave syrups has been measured at between 59 and 90 percent, which is even more than high fructose corn syrup in its fructose content by weight" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agave_nectar
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)I only use Splenda.
And since I am an ice cream junkie, I buy ice cream with no sugar added.
lindysalsagal
(20,570 posts)A month later, I'm back down to the pre-gorge weight.
When I'm off it I feel better: No highs and lows, and no cravings. It's a huge relief . Easier, now that there are really great artificial sweeteners.
Off the wheat and all carbs, so much easier.
adirondacker
(2,921 posts)and low ldl. My doctor recommended getting off all sugar, carbs, and included many of the fruits I enjoy. My diet ended up consisting of protein and vegetables. I was riding a bike about 100 miles a week and I felt about 10 years younger. I fell into a rut with unemployment, but plan on going back to the routine as soon as I start work next week.
I was a sugar junkie when I was younger, but I carefully weigh the consequences now. I could take statins and partake, but I'd rather not at this point for both cost and side effects.
Awknid
(381 posts)That artificial sweeteners are worse for you than sugar. Is that no longer the case?
lindysalsagal
(20,570 posts)about them, otherwise.
But for me, there's no such thing as a few carbs or a little sugar: I'm a sugarholic, so I'm happier without any, no carbs except my green veggies.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)I'm a sugar junkie, but I try to restrict myself to fruit juice/iced tea and homemade baked goods as much as possible.
Major Nikon
(36,818 posts)Juice, sugar in tea, and most baked goods still contain a lot of simple carbohydrates. While they may not be as bad as refined sugar, the effect is still similar. The more complex the carbohydrate is, the less glycemic load on your body.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)But at least the juice has nutrients - i.e. isn't empty calories - so I justify it to myself that way.
Major Nikon
(36,818 posts)Sugar is still a nutrient, but certainly refined sugars have very little nutritional value when used as supplemental sweeteners. With certain juices you are getting considerably more vitamins and antioxidants, but the sugar content is still quite high relative to everything else. Many(if not most) nutritionists still have a dim view toward the excessive consumption of filtered juices for the same reason as soda. The content of sugar relative to everything else is still too high.
http://www.mcw.edu/NDTN/Overweight/DietInterventions/EliminationofJuiceEmptyCalories.htm
yawnmaster
(2,812 posts)two scoops after dinner will reduce my stress hormones, which are known killers.
AlbertCat
(17,505 posts)Hell yeah!
And the damn grocery store keep putting those mint-chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches on sale. It's their fault. They're trying to kill me!
yawnmaster
(2,812 posts)Awknid
(381 posts)"Don't bring flowers to my grave. Instead, bring ice cream and eat it with me in mind."
yawnmaster
(2,812 posts)PasadenaTrudy
(3,998 posts)Mr.Bill
(24,228 posts)any difference between sugar and high fructose corn syrup, which is what most sodas use for sweetener.
quakerboy
(13,915 posts)future research will find there's not a huge difference between either table sugar, or hfcs, or the carbohydrates we dont like to think of as sugar, in our pasta and bread and rice and whatnot, at least in terms of its implications for heart disease.
Evidence seems to be showing that our tolerance is actually fairly low, and that the excess causes inflammation, leading to heart disease. (and ironically that all the "low fat" diets recommended by various health groups are actually backfiring in a major way)
Vegetables. Green things probably ought to be the bulk of our diet. Meat or protein to round it out, and the bare minimum of carbohydrates to provide additional calories when needed based on the actual physical work our bodies do in a day.
Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)along with exercising daily and having a balanced diet. For those who are suggesting giving up sugar cold-turkey, that is not necessary. Having sweets is fine as long as one doesn't overindulge.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)Precisely. You'd almost think eating sweets was a sin or something.
TheDebbieDee
(11,119 posts)With cigarettes...
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)But that means making a lot of things from scratch that otherwise you would buy pre prepared.
If you asked me about cooking when I was 20 I would laugh. These days I just cook, we feel better too.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)Need a good alternative!
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)I don't go near most diet sodas - I'll take corn syrup over synthetic chemical shit any day.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)Ketchup, bread, hell, I'm surprised they haven't found a way to pump it into meat and cheese yet. That would be the most addictive sandwich ever created.
DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)They even use it in pastry products and cakes and such in place of some of the flour.
Again, because it's cheaper for Big Business.
There's more profit for Big Investment Bank.
And in the end, more death and disease.
- And so Big Pharma's there waiting in the wings with a stretcher for ya, to squeeze out what's left.......
Stuart G
(38,410 posts)It has not been perfect, but no ice cream, candy, cookies, doughnuts, cake or pie for over 3 years and 6 months. Occasionally, I have some diet soda or even regular soda, but not often. I feel better, but still have cravings and dreams about it. I am trying to get rid of extra salt in the diet, that is not easy..Here is a great book on this addiction
Salt, Sugar and Fat, How the Food Giants Hooked Us
Michael Moss...now in paper back.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/books/salt-sugar-fat-by-michael-moss.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/salt-sugar-fat-how-the-food-giants-hooked-us-by-michael-moss/2013/03/22/50d0dc06-8768-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394_story.html
Interview with above author
JI7
(89,239 posts)it's weird because i was more into hot spicy stuff when i was a kid and could not eat too many sweets.
it is the opposite now.
usually it's the other way around.
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)CoffeeCat
(24,411 posts)...because I had read how dangerous it is.
I don't eat sweets, cookies or packaged sweet stuff, nor do I drink soda/pop.
The sugar I tried to give up is the sugar you can't see. Sugar is in nearly everything people!
Many yogurts have just as much sugar as a Snickers Bar. Look on labels and packaging. Sugar is used to make things taste better. Ketchup is loaded with it. Even Campbell's Tomato Soup has a ton of sugar. Many packaged meals that you wouldn't think of as "sweet" are loaded up with sugar. Tomato sauces, salad dressings, bread and cereals. Many cereals that are positioned as "healthy" are loaded up with sugar.
I think the sugar addiction is fueled greatly by these hidden sugars. Anyone can give up cookies, candy, etc. and feel that they don't eat sugar. But TRY reading labels and avoiding sugars. You learn two things: It's nearly impossible to avoid sugar because they put it in EVERYTHING; 2.) You will experienced withdrawals when you try to give it up. I got foggy and I felt lethargic and almost sick.
We are addicted to this stuff, and food companies do this intentionally--to keep us buying and consuming their products.