Anyone else sick of sugar paranoia?

[Larkspur]

So, it seems like SUGAR is the new anti-Christ, haha. Everywhere I look on social media, people are posting articles or updates about "quitting sugar" "going Paleo", why "sugar is toxic" blah blah blah.

It seems like sugar is just the latest evil bandwagon that everyone is jumping on, just like fats in the 80s and carbs in the 90s.

Don't get me wrong, I think that a lot of people could benefit from reducing sugar intake. But does anyone else get tired of the way so many people feel the need to be extreme about demonising and totally eliminating entire foodstuffs or food groups from their diets?

Today a friend invited me to like her new "Sugar Free Kids" page. A quick read revealed one post disapproving of "kids eating lollies after school" and another asking "How do you tell your kids no when they beg for icecream?" (this was in reference to going out to dinner). I had to stop myself from posting "I wouldn't tell my kid no if they begged for icecream when we went out for dinner. I just wouldn't give it to them five nights a week."

I mean, is it so hard? Save soda, sweets and icecreams for special occasions, cook at home as much as possible, limit biscuits and cakes, otherwise, don't freak the hell out.

I ate sweets when I was a kid; not every day, but we would have a biscuit most days, icecream once or twice a week, and cake/sweets/soda at parties. I have a BMI under 20, and have never had a filling.

Or am I wrong here, and some of you are convinced sugar is toxic and shouldn't be consumed at all?

 

[Wannabe Mommy]

Yup! I really hate that full sugar fizzy drinks have started sneaking in aspartame in a bid to cut the sugar levels. Aspartame gives my hubby migraines so we've had to start ingredient checking everything which is really annoying because he's super healthy, only drinks water but liked a Dr Pepper as a treat every now and again and now he can't have it.

I wouldn't give my little girl squash, chocolate, ice cream...... Every day but if we're out for a meal or it's a special occasion then of course she can have ice cream or a couple of choccie buttons.

Everything in moderation.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I don't think its the end of the world really and yes we love a good ice cream!

 

[lindseymw]

I don't really limit anything. The kids generally have something sweet everyday, could be cake, yoghurt, biscuits or chocolate. Could be as a snack, could be as a treat after tea.

Some days everything is homecooked, some days it's something out of the freezer. Some days it's a takeaway!

I'd rather have a 'everything in moderation' and a 'it's ok to eat crap every now & again' attitude towards food.

 

[CormacksGirl]

I don't really limit anything. The kids generally have something sweet everyday, could be cake, yoghurt, biscuits or chocolate. Could be as a snack, could be as a treat after tea.

Some days everything is homecooked, some days it's something out of the freezer. Some days it's a takeaway!

I'd rather have a 'everything in moderation' and a 'it's ok to eat crap every now & again' attitude towards food.

^^^exactly this!

 

[summer rain]

I haven't posted on here for a long time but wandered into news and debates. I agree completely with what you're saying. I personally feel sugar is way preferable to artificial sweeteners. My seven year old has a friend who weighs twice as much as the average weight for his age but his mother is convinced it is sugar that has caused his weight gain and she has switched to no added sugar everything yet they eat a lot of greasy and fatty foods which I'm sure are a big factor as well. I personally follow the teachings of Dr John McDougall, and eat a high carb plant based diet with no added oils or fats, and sugar in moderation. I don't limit the kids' sugar intake but have found they limit it themselves after a while and none of them have a particularly sweet tooth. They are all on the 50th centile in weight. We used to eat a fair bit of sugar as kids and it didn't personally do me any harm either xx

 

[Larkspur]

Thanks for chipping in everyone!

I think I'm particularly narked by this at the moment as several people I know are doing "Junk-Free June" and keep posting updates about the kale smoothie they're having for breakfast or HOW HARD it is to eliminate all sugar. Like DUH, of course it is. So don't eliminate all sugar!

Maybe I should invent a social media campaign where people raise money by promising not to post anything about how "clean" their diet is for a whole month. Sanctimony-Free September?

 

[Quartz]

I think everything in moderation (although I am not a big fan of soda I must say and dont really let my children drink it) and allow them to have sweet treats.

Eliminating all sugar is pretty much hard to achieved given that its in one way or another a lot of food in its natural form (i happen to notice that paleo diet does not allow peas as it contains too much sugar and carbs). Limiting glucose and glucose syrup yeah that makes sense.

I also truly believe children if you allow them to self regulate from an early age listen to their bodies (its us as adults who overrule them) and generally can be sensible. We went on holiday and DS took a disliking to the food and lived off ice cream and chips the entire time we were there. Since being home he has not stopped eating fruit, veg, chicken rice and pasta (all the foods he would not eat when there) and no a single ice cream or biscuit at all.

One time my Dad picked DD up from school and let her have an ice cream. As he was walking home there was another mum whose child noticed and was very snooty about DD having an ice cream

I watched a programme where two families switched meal plans. One had a snack drawer that teh kids could go into anytime they wanted and they went once every couple of days. This was passed to the other family who never allowed chocolate or crisps or sweets at home. And predicitably the two boys as soon as they did for the programme gorged on chocolate and sweets until they felt ill!

 

[katherinegrey]

I read somewhere an experiment was conducted with toddlers where every day they were given buffet style meals, with everything on the table including healthy food and rubbish, predictably each child stuffed themselves on junk at first, but by the end of the experiment each child had an almost perfect balanced diet, I guess the moral is feeding a child sugary food doesn't mean they can't also eat healthy and make healthy choices. Sugar can have a place in a balanced and healthy diet.
If I told myself I couldn't have sugar I'd find it hard. As it is I have chocolate in the cupboard and ice cream in the freezer and I never eat it. Could if I wanted, but it's my choice, I don't feel like I'm not allowed because I'd immediately want it so for me a diet of cutting something out would never work. When I got pregnant all I wanted was a runny egg!

 

[Pearls18]

I personally do think sugar is the anti-Christ lol, I am SO addicted, it is a drug for me and I definitely eat way more than I should and think we wildly underestimate how much sugar we get in our diets so I'm not really against the demonisation of it perse.

BUT I also don't believe in fad diets or extreme food choices, I totally believe in everything in moderation, I think if we've learned anything from these food scares over the years is that we should eat whole foods as much as possible and to eat in moderation, so I do agree with you too, but for me it's the addictive nature of it and where it's hidden that makes it so bad for me, but I think life is too short for me to deny it I wish I had more will power but just because I have issues with it doesn't mean I am going to overhaul my family's diet, I just try to be sensible, I restrict it where I can (e.g. Weetabix instead of frosties) and I do allow chocolate and biscuits but these are now and then rather than weekly shopping staples.

 

[minties]

I don't limit what my family eat when it comes to carbs, but for ME they aren't kind to my body. I'm not going into all the boring details because I don't think anyone actually gives a hoot what someone who doesn't like sugar much actually says - but it works for me to cut sugar out.

I don't think of sugar as some evil demon. It's an energy source. It's just one I don't like.

The standard American diet encourages an insane amount of carbohydrate intake which to me seems crazy. Have you seen their nutrition labels? Sugar has no reccomended percentage next to it. Fat does. Protein does. What is with that?

"I did it and it didn't hurt me" isn't exactly the pinnacle of a winning argument either. I would have had a similar upbringing to you in regards to food and ended up obese with binge eating disorder, pre-diabetes and an addiction to whittakers chocolate. Trying to moderate myself didn't work for me at all.

I try to limit my carb intake to under 20g per day and probably 5g of that end up from sugars. I still have chocolate!

My kids still have sugar and I don't "eat clean" or "go paleo", I eat lots of delicious meat, eggs, dark choc, mushrooms, cream etc etc. I don't feel like I'm heavily restricted or missing out and I don't push my ideas onto other people.

I've lost 30kg this year and my blood sugars are finally stable and normal. I don't care how you eat and I never talk about low carb unless asked, the crazy obsessed people would annoy me also (regarding facebook). People using someone elses genuine struggle with food as a fashionable statement pisses me off. I'm not low carb to be cool or modern, it's to actually save me from myself!

 

[Larkspur]

I personally do think sugar is the anti-Christ lol, I am SO addicted, it is a drug for me and I definitely eat way more than I should and think we wildly underestimate how much sugar we get in our diets so I'm not really against the demonisation of it perse.

Thanks for giving a different perspective... do you mind if I ask what you would guess your daily sugar intake would be?

I have no real idea of mine... like, today I have eaten:

Scrambled eggs on kumara sourdough toast with butter
3 x cups instant coffee with half a teaspoon of sugar
1 slice of gluten-free chocolate cake (on Mondays and Thursdays our nanny brings in baking)
Leftover eggplant, kale and pumpkin lasagne with ricotta cheese
Mandarin for a snack
Dinner will be tofu and salad burgers with polenta or kumara chips
I will probably have a couple of squares of dark chocolate as well.

That would be a fairly typical day, except for the cake, which is about twice weekly. Most common other breakfast is porridge with unsweetened yoghurt, nuts and stewed fruit (again, unsweetened), lunch is usually leftovers from previous night's dinner, dinner is usually protein+carb+3veg or salad. Occasionally we have icecream for dessert.

There's definitely added sugar in there, but it doesn't seem extreme to me.

 

[Larkspur]

"I did it and it didn't hurt me" isn't exactly the pinnacle of a winning argument either. I would have had a similar upbringing to you in regards to food and ended up obese with binge eating disorder, pre-diabetes and an addiction to whittakers chocolate. Trying to moderate myself didn't work for me at all.

That's true; I am interested in how much of a role is played by genetics. I mean, I would have Whittakers chocolate every day! But I will have one or two squares and that's all I want.

Congrats on losing 30kg though! What do you think most helped you lose the weight?

 

[Pearls18]

I think the problem with sugar is how it is hidden in seemingly healthy foods, such a cereal bars and the worst contenders fruit juices and smoothies, it is also added to so many “savoury” foods as well such as cooking sauces and pre-made soups, so people may be thinking they’re making good choices such as having a smoothie to drink and processed soup for lunch on top of their more obvious sugary choices like a slice of cake which they probably already know to restrict but perhaps not the former. I think it’s just important to highlight how much it is being used by food manufacturers, but if someone is mostly cooking from scratch then it isn’t going to be such a big deal and it is just as you say- moderation, sugar isn’t evil it’s just being sensible. I know my main sugar sources are in my drinks (I love fruit juices, energy drinks and soda.....I know!) and chocolate, I eat chocolate everyday. I should say I am not overweight, I am a normal healthy weight but I don’t think my figure reflects my diet, I eat worse than I look. However, I generally cook from scratch (especially when we eat as a family) and what we eat is balanced, it’s my snacking in the evenings where I know I go overboard, and blame the addictive nature of sugar....! I think if I did eradicate it to stop those initial cravings I would feel so much better for it, but I choose not to restrict myself because I enjoy treats, I’m not over weight and I know I’m giving my children a healthy diet so it isn’t much of an issue atm. But to answer your question a normal day for me will depend on whether I am at work or home: work is banana for breakfast, carrots and hummus for lunch with grapes and a cereal bar (notice most of these things are sweet lol) and for dinner it’ll usually be jacket potato and tuna, or home made spag bol, or it could be a premade sweet and sour jar sauce with chicken and rice something along those lines (my boys eat at nursery on a work day). On a non work day I have toast and juice, ham baguette, and something from scratch for dinner usually some kind of meat with veggies or salad and potatoes. So perhaps not all that bad, lots of carbs lol, but around that I snack with chocolate and will have an energy drink every day although I’ve just started drinking fruit infused water at work, but usually have coke in the house (not for my children!!). I think if I could curb the snacks and drinks I would be pretty healthy, but I genuinely crave it!

I think it's sugar use in food manufacturing that is mostly being chastised, not those who are using it at home.

 

[.Mrs.B.]

I believe the best way forward is to eat fresh/frozen natural food in the right quantities and keep treats to once a day. I never limit my fat/sugar intake and I don't believe that natural fats/sugars are bad for you. I always go for butter over margerine and full fat yoghurts over fat free because the hidden nasties in the 'diet' options do your body a whole lot worse than natural fat/sugar does.

I do eat chocolate every day because I just cant resist but with the balance of everything else I justify it, lol.

Also, I agree with MarineWag I think that the sugar thing came about because of all the hidden sugars. I mean, if you eat a lolly you know you're having sugar, but most people don't expect to find so much of it in their salad sauces etc.

 

[minties]

"I did it and it didn't hurt me" isn't exactly the pinnacle of a winning argument either. I would have had a similar upbringing to you in regards to food and ended up obese with binge eating disorder, pre-diabetes and an addiction to whittakers chocolate. Trying to moderate myself didn't work for me at all.

That's true; I am interested in how much of a role is played by genetics. I mean, I would have Whittakers chocolate every day! But I will have one or two squares and that's all I want.

Congrats on losing 30kg though! What do you think most helped you lose the weight?

I would have to attribute it mostly to the myfitnesspal app on my phone. Secondly to discovering a ketogenic way of eating that works for me.

 

[Tiff]

I think as always it is always in moderation.

I was deprived of sugar as a kid, I guess my mother was ahead of her times? (I'm 36 ) But I can tell you to completely deprive a kid is almost as bad as overindulging. At least it was for me.

Because I was never allowed to have it, I binged on it any chance I got. My parents used to go mental because I'd spend all money I earned on sweets and bad food, but it was the only way I could get it!

When I moved out on my own it was even worse, I think my first proper grocery shop on my own was full of CRAP. Probably not one healthy thing in there. I am just one person though, and my experiences aren't those of everyone else of course. But I believe in letting our daughter have treats, sweets on occasion. So far it has worked out for us, there was quite awhile where she'd choose cherry tomatoes over a cupcake!

I personally believe in balance and teaching her healthy food options while allowing her to have some "fun" once in awhile

 

[Larkspur]

I would have to attribute it mostly to the myfitnesspal app on my phone. Secondly to discovering a ketogenic way of eating that works for me.

Interesting, I've heard several people attribute their sustained weight loss to that app!

 

[oceania]

Kids are different. Everything in moderation- approach might work for some or most but I should have had almost a ban on sugar or really tight rules because I have always had a sugar tooth and I've battled obesity from childhood. My brother who lived on the same rules is thin however. My parents never had a sweet tooth so didnt understand my struggles.

 

[Eve]

Everything in moderation here! This morning my daughter had scrambled eggs, toast, blueberries and a glass of water for breakfast and tomorrow it may be a granola bar with chocolate chips in it lol she loves healthy food and gets her treats too!