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Is Sugar Really Toxic?

blogs.scientificamerican.com

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Re: Is Sugar Really Toxic?

#41

Post by pvnick »

Everytime a nutrition-related article gets posted, people always submit stories regarding their own personal unscientific weight-loss successes. Most of the time I don't even think they've read the article.

That being said, I found the article interesting, but, as a biochem major, fairly unsurprising. Fructose and glucose are fundamental elements of our body's metabolism, and metabolism is a fundamental element to life. It's what gives your cells energy to do every single thing they do. That sucrose, a compound made up of a single fructose molecule bonded to a glucose molecule, is not detrimental to your health given reasonable consumption reaches "duh" levels of obviousness. Same is true of high fructose corn syrup, which actually just contains 55% fructose and 42% glucose, a negligible difference. So it seems the only detriment to your health posed by HFCS over sucrose is the anxiety you'll get by worrying about it.

Like someone else said "TL;DR: stop eating so much, fatty." In more practical terms, eat reasonably and lift weights and you'll be fine.

Edit:

Here's some science for you:

Energy in = Energy out + Change in Body Stores (fat or muscle)

Where "energy" is measured in calories. Laws of thermodynamics ain't nothin' to f with! [1]

[1] http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-energy-balance...

Re: Is Sugar Really Toxic?

#42

Post by sillysaurus »

greghinch wrote: post #28

The article takes the long winded approach to point out the rational argument about how to combat obesity that's been obvious all along: moderation. Laying the blame on sugar in general is a panacea; the problem more has to do with how efficiently sugar delivery has been engineered. Processed foods have made it so that you can eat a relatively small quantity of matter and get a huge amount of sugar (and fat). Want to…

Cut the processed foods. If it comes in a box, don't buy it. If there are ingredients you have trouble pronouncing, don't buy it.

I've reduced my diet to the following: apples, canned pineapple, pork steaks, canned corn, and tap water.

The advantage is that none of those contain anything artificial (except the tap water). The disadvantage is that probably no one else would be content eating only those things. But I've been forcing myself, because the alternative is empirically worse.

It's likely I'm just fooling myself. But even still, it's a huge stress relief to not feel bad about we eat.

Re: Is Sugar Really Toxic?

#43

Post by patrickg_zill »

I have found that reduced-carb and reduced-sugar diets are the best way to lose weight. I have been on "6 small servings with lots of lean protein and yogurt" and on keto-style diets (lots of animal fats, butter, and, almost 0 carbs). Both have resulted in significant loss of weight. I find that the keto-style diet gives me a very even energy throughout the day (probably because the body is slowly burning fat and there are no insulin spikes).

Re: Is Sugar Really Toxic?

#44

Post by gohrt »

sillysaurus wrote: post #42
greghinch wrote: post #28

The article takes the long winded approach to point out the rational argument about how to combat obesity that's been obvious all along: moderation. Laying the blame on sugar in general is a panacea; the problem more has to do with how efficiently sugar delivery has been engineered. Processed foods have made it so that you can eat a relatively small quantity of matter and get a huge amount of sugar (and fat). Want to…

Cut the processed foods. If it comes in a box, don't buy it. If there are ingredients you have trouble pronouncing, don't buy it. I've reduced my diet to the following: apples, canned pineapple, pork steaks, canned corn, and tap water. The advantage is that none of those contain anything artificial (except the tap water). The disadvantage is that probably no one else would be content eating only those things. But I'v…

Where do you get your pork steaks? There's plenty to feel bad about in there.

Re: Is Sugar Really Toxic?

#45

Post by gilgoomesh »

Betteridge's Law of Headlines at work.

> any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word "no."

The article directly answers the headline in the negative.

> our cells depend on sugar for energy

The rest of the article is more intelligent but it's undermined by the link-baiting headline.

Re: Is Sugar Really Toxic?

#46

Post by throwit1979 »

Fargren wrote: post #30
hristov wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with refined fructose is that it contributes to you eating more because the liver cannot process it properly and does not send the "i am full" signals to the brain. Thus, it is in fact the reason why people have higher net caloric intake. US style food is being exported all over the world. Sodas are sold all over the world. Obesity around the world is generally correlated to the level at which US style fo…

Fortunately, in most of the world sodas use sugar instead of syrup. So it's not as bad as it could be.

Except it takes about 5 seconds for sucrase in your small intestine to hydrolyze sugar into exactly the same substances present in HFCS. So it doesn't matter. At all.

Re: Is Sugar Really Toxic?

#47

Post by sillysaurus »

gohrt wrote: post #44
sillysaurus wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cut the processed foods. If it comes in a box, don't buy it. If there are ingredients you have trouble pronouncing, don't buy it. I've reduced my diet to the following: apples, canned pineapple, pork steaks, canned corn, and tap water. The advantage is that none of those contain anything artificial (except the tap water). The disadvantage is that probably no one else would be content eating only those things. But I'v…

Where do you get your pork steaks? There's plenty to feel bad about in there.

Where do you get your pork steaks?

Walmart, actually. $1.99/lb. It's all I can afford.

There's plenty to feel bad about in there.

Yeah, I feel bad that an animal had to die for me to live. But genetically my body freaks out if I don't eat meat, and the animal's already dead anyway.

Regarding fat in the pork steak, I'm not so worried about it. I try not to eat the fat, but even still, it seems like there's a decent chance that it's better for you than the additives present in almost all other food. We've been eating meat for millions of years, so I'm betting on evolution to take care of me.

Re: Is Sugar Really Toxic?

#48

Post by pvnick »

mullingitover wrote: post #2

Sola dosis facit venenum. I didn't pay attention to my weight for a couple years, ate a lot of sweets and drank a lot of beer. Before I knew it I'd gained 30 pounds, and had a minor freakout. I decided to do three things--weigh myself every morning, stop eating sugar except for from fruit, and stop drinking. I ended up shedding 30 pounds in 90 days, and have kept it off for a full year. I didn't exercise or count cal…

>I ended up shedding 30 pounds in 90 days, and have kept it off for a full year

>I probably upped my overall calorie consumption but I replaced the sugars with more complex energy sources like nuts

Unless you started exercising, these two statements are incompatible with one another (violates the first law of thermodynamics). What's more likely is you felt "fuller" from eating healthy foods and therefore consumed less calories.

Re: Is Sugar Really Toxic?

#49

Post by greghinch »

sillysaurus wrote: post #42
greghinch wrote: post #28

The article takes the long winded approach to point out the rational argument about how to combat obesity that's been obvious all along: moderation. Laying the blame on sugar in general is a panacea; the problem more has to do with how efficiently sugar delivery has been engineered. Processed foods have made it so that you can eat a relatively small quantity of matter and get a huge amount of sugar (and fat). Want to…

Cut the processed foods. If it comes in a box, don't buy it. If there are ingredients you have trouble pronouncing, don't buy it. I've reduced my diet to the following: apples, canned pineapple, pork steaks, canned corn, and tap water. The advantage is that none of those contain anything artificial (except the tap water). The disadvantage is that probably no one else would be content eating only those things. But I'v…

Personally I would be cautious of anything in a can as well. By it's nature, the act of food preservation usually requires a massive increase in either sugar or salt.

You're right you shouldn't stress about what you eat too much; what's the point of eating healthy if it makes you miserable. But it's worth thinking about why taking the time to eat healthy stresses you out. If it's a matter of not having time, consider what you could do to make time. Your entire existence subsists on the stuff you ingest. I find that fact reason enough to make time to find healthier meals.

This is all just my 2 cents based on personal experience. Certainly don't mean to be telling you exactly what to do. Just want to encourage thoughtful consideration. It's not a switch you flip, it's a journey

Re: Is Sugar Really Toxic?

#50

Post by philwelch »

saryant wrote: post #7
mullingitover wrote: post #2

Sola dosis facit venenum. I didn't pay attention to my weight for a couple years, ate a lot of sweets and drank a lot of beer. Before I knew it I'd gained 30 pounds, and had a minor freakout. I decided to do three things--weigh myself every morning, stop eating sugar except for from fruit, and stop drinking. I ended up shedding 30 pounds in 90 days, and have kept it off for a full year. I didn't exercise or count cal…

I did something similar during my semester in France. Stopped eating all bread and processed carbs. Vegetables, fruit and meat plus Greek yogurt. I didn't cut out alcohol though, nor was my weight loss as drastic as yours. Lost about thirty pounds over four months (which was terrific, my girlfriend of four years dumped me the night I flew home so at least I was ready for singles' life). I won't go so far as to call s…

You stopped eating bread while in France?
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