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Big Sugar Versus Your Body

nytimes.com

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Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#5

Post by beggi »

The author conflates sugar/honey etc (pure carbs - glucose, fructose) and artificial sweeteners like stevia and erythritol which don't have any effect on your blood glucose and really are completely different. I fully agree with the premise of minimizing sugar consumption but I don't think encouraging people to avoid certain artificial sweeteners like stevia etc is helpful - and in fact it's hurting because certain products with these non blood glucose contributing substitutes help people avoid sugar.

Note that although artificial sweeteners like stevia and erythritol don't raise the blood glucose at all and have GI index of zero or near zero - some artificial sweeteners actually do raise blood glucose, like maltitol etc, and these sweeteners are unfortunately often found in sugar-free candy. You can try a web search for "GI index artificial sweeteners" to see a list of sweeteners that have low GI score.

Something else to keep in mind is that over consumption of very carb heavy products like bread or pasta will have the exact same effect on your blood glucose as just eating sugar.

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#6

Post by itpragmatik »

Also would like to know if the author had any younger kids at home. Being a parent I find it difficult and almost impossible to deny my kids of sweet treats few times a week. We end up buying things that kids like but then temptation is very strong and I end up eating some of those treats as well!

Also I am addicted to fake sugar (Truvia/Stevia etc). I use them almost everyday. Are they bad than natural sugar or worst or same?

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#8

Post by matte_black »

beggi wrote: post #5

The author conflates sugar/honey etc (pure carbs - glucose, fructose) and artificial sweeteners like stevia and erythritol which don't have any effect on your blood glucose and really are completely different. I fully agree with the premise of minimizing sugar consumption but I don't think encouraging people to avoid certain artificial sweeteners like stevia etc is helpful - and in fact it's hurting because certain p…

I couldn’t read the article, so I will only go off what I imagine the article might say (like pretty much every other nytimes article).

The problem with making food taste more sugary, with or without artificial sweeteners, is that as a society we are growing too accustomed to hyper-stimulating foods. Why can’t people just live with the fact that every food doesn’t need to be loaded with sugar and instead open their palates to the notes that come from natural flavors?

It’s like people want their hair to be blown back every time the fork goes in their mouth.

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#9

Post by seanmcdirmid »

itpragmatik wrote: post #6

Also would like to know if the author had any younger kids at home. Being a parent I find it difficult and almost impossible to deny my kids of sweet treats few times a week. We end up buying things that kids like but then temptation is very strong and I end up eating some of those treats as well! Also I am addicted to fake sugar (Truvia/Stevia etc). I use them almost everyday. Are they bad than natural sugar or wors…

They are often coupled with sugar alcohol, which can cause constipation and perhaps a stomach ache.

I've been off sugar (well, below 20 grams a day) for a few months now. I also have a 14 month old son but I think we can just exclude sugary treats while he's at home, he seems to be OK with fruit (not juice, the real kind).

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