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The sweet danger of sugar (2017)

health.harvard.edu

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Re: The sweet danger of sugar (2017)

#11

Post by worik »

gotem wrote: post #2

I don’t eat sugar anymore but I noticed that after dropping soda and sweets I still eat a lot sugar. It’s in everything. Even tomato sauce and stuff that you’d think is healthy. I’m not sure it’s even possible to have a full diet without any sugar at all. You can do sugar-free waffles but then it’s for nothing if they’re doused in syrup (very sugary)

I have pretty much stopped eating processed foods.

I am also a avid reader of nutrition labels.

Not sure it has made much difference to me, but it lowered my food bill.

The advice I follow, not sure where it si from: Eat food. Mostly plants. As unprocessed as convenient.

Re: The sweet danger of sugar (2017)

#12

Post by dumpsterdiver »

m463 wrote: post #8

I stopped drinking soda, and switched to coffee. Then I found myself putting sweeteners in coffee so I switched to black coffee. Drinking coffee black is a completely different experience than cream and/or sugar added. Now coffees that were formerly indistinguishable from each other have become starkly different. light roast, medium roast and dark/french roast are really important to your experience (and some dark ro…

To anyone who is still craving sweetness in their coffee, I would humbly suggest brewing your own cold brew coffee (buy a coffee sock and a giant glass mason jar - you could probably upgrade this to a pillow case and a wooden barrel if you drink enough coffee). A pure cold brew process (use frigid water, and then move the brew cask directly into a refrigerator) eliminates the bitterness of a traditional brew, leaving a cleaner, almost sweet taste. For a pure cold brew process I would suggest an 18-24 hour brew. Be careful though, even though it goes down easy it still packs a punch!

Edit: And if you really want to get it proper, rough grind the beans. Don't grind them into a fine grain, make sure you see plenty of half chopped beans in there.

Re: The sweet danger of sugar (2017)

#13

Post by hobby-coder-guy »

gotem wrote: post #2

I don’t eat sugar anymore but I noticed that after dropping soda and sweets I still eat a lot sugar. It’s in everything. Even tomato sauce and stuff that you’d think is healthy. I’m not sure it’s even possible to have a full diet without any sugar at all. You can do sugar-free waffles but then it’s for nothing if they’re doused in syrup (very sugary)

Syrup is sugary. Lol

Re: The sweet danger of sugar (2017)

#14

Post by knicknic »

criddell wrote: post #9
gotem wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too. You can even go faster by sealing the food with some insulator (e.g. plastic or tinfoil) to make it retain heat and cook faster in the microwave.

Tinfoil in the microwave? Doesn’t it arc?

That’s what the government wants you to believe.

Re: The sweet danger of sugar (2017)

#15

Post by brianush1 »

worik wrote: post #11
gotem wrote: post #2

I don’t eat sugar anymore but I noticed that after dropping soda and sweets I still eat a lot sugar. It’s in everything. Even tomato sauce and stuff that you’d think is healthy. I’m not sure it’s even possible to have a full diet without any sugar at all. You can do sugar-free waffles but then it’s for nothing if they’re doused in syrup (very sugary)

I have pretty much stopped eating processed foods. I am also a avid reader of nutrition labels. Not sure it has made much difference to me, but it lowered my food bill. The advice I follow, not sure where it si from: Eat food. Mostly plants. As unprocessed as convenient.

> The advice I follow, not sure where it si from

Michael Pollan famously said, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Re: The sweet danger of sugar (2017)

#16

Post by AtlasBarfed »

Sugar is such a powerful taste that it actually "drowns out" the flavors of other food. So you lose appreciation for the various flavors of foods.

Thus if you pair soda with other foods, those foods need flavor enhancers (lots of salt, fat, etc) to compete for recognition on your palate's sensory neurons.

Since I cyclically try to do this elimination, I get routinely reminded of this as I try to cycle out soda and excess sugar.

It's strangely similar to the difference between commuting by bicycle and commuting by car, with the car mirroring sugar: a rush of power and convenience that appeals to your id, but all your natural surroundings drowned out inside a car cabin with the radio blasting. Not just visual and sensory separation from your surroundings, social separation.

It's one of the major insights I had into the nature of America. Car entitlement is everywhere.

Anyway, I still drink way too much soda. At least now I have transitioned to 1/3 regular 2/3s diet.

Re: The sweet danger of sugar (2017)

#17

Post by Geezus_42 »

criddell wrote: post #9
gotem wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too. You can even go faster by sealing the food with some insulator (e.g. plastic or tinfoil) to make it retain heat and cook faster in the microwave.

Tinfoil in the microwave? Doesn’t it arc?

I believe that depends whether it's actually tin or instead aluminum.

Re: The sweet danger of sugar (2017)

#18

Post by inglor_cz »

AtlasBarfed wrote: post #16

Sugar is such a powerful taste that it actually "drowns out" the flavors of other food. So you lose appreciation for the various flavors of foods. Thus if you pair soda with other foods, those foods need flavor enhancers (lots of salt, fat, etc) to compete for recognition on your palate's sensory neurons. Since I cyclically try to do this elimination, I get routinely reminded of this as I try to cycle out soda and ex…

Absolutely true. Whenever someone says "how can you drink your coffee black and without sugar", I reply "because it actually has its own taste like that".

Sweetened beverages lose their original taste and cluster around a common taste that feels like glue in your mouth - at least once you wean yourself off sugar. The spectrum of tastes of sweetened beverages is very narrow.

Re: The sweet danger of sugar (2017)

#19

Post by 11235813213455 »

worik wrote: post #11
gotem wrote: post #2

I don’t eat sugar anymore but I noticed that after dropping soda and sweets I still eat a lot sugar. It’s in everything. Even tomato sauce and stuff that you’d think is healthy. I’m not sure it’s even possible to have a full diet without any sugar at all. You can do sugar-free waffles but then it’s for nothing if they’re doused in syrup (very sugary)

I have pretty much stopped eating processed foods. I am also a avid reader of nutrition labels. Not sure it has made much difference to me, but it lowered my food bill. The advice I follow, not sure where it si from: Eat food. Mostly plants. As unprocessed as convenient.

exactly, I eat a lot raw leeks (the green parts are the best raw of course, for the white part, I let it a few days so it gets less 'spicy'), raw spinach, raw onion leaves, raw green cabbages or kale cabbages and a lot of fruits (clementines, oranges, pears, persimmons, and figs/medlars when it's the season). I find this food either in the nature (you gotta search a bit) or at local farm

I used to eat a lot of honey, completely stopped, not even talking about other stuff like chocolate, or other processed products/meals, I stopped a long time ago, the cooking is done is my belly, no need for fanciness!

Re: The sweet danger of sugar (2017)

#20

Post by 5tefan »

I'm in the process to get my sugar intake down. It fuels inflammation. I can see already improvements in the condition of my skin. So I will go on. A piece of cake every now and then is fine for me.
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