Big Sugar Versus Your Body • Hacker News Board

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#31

Post by c12 » Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 8:04 PM UTC

notheguyouthink wrote: post #3

The article mentions Stevia, but are fake sugars proven to be bad? What about as bad as Sugar? I'm curious because that's my wife's lifeblood for a life without sugar. Without fake sugars.. I don't know what she'd do.

Apparently artificial sweeteners can stimulate a large insulin response through the sweet taste receptors even though they don't increase the blood sugar - this over time can cause weight gain and reduce the effectiveness of insulin leading to Type 2 diabetes.

I say apparently because its been passed on to me in conversation with friends who medical staff. However that was a number of years ago and I haven't done the research myself to confirm; so as with every thing on the internet, take it with a grain of salt.

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#32

Post by alisson » Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 8:04 PM UTC

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…

Stevia is not artificial, its an extract from a plant like sugar is from cane or sweet potato. I think its always a good idea to don't encourage people to eat processed stuff, even fructose can have bad side effects, but when eaten the whole plant its not bad, the body process sucrose differently when eating a cane for example.

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#33

Post by AdmiralAsshat » Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 8:05 PM UTC

I'm currently two weeks into a no-Coke month (I guess it would be "no soda" but truly that's the only one I drink). I have a couple reasons for trying it:

- 1) Coca-Cola is an objectively evil corporation that I would like to support less.

- 2) I don't know exactly what's in it, and thanks to the corruption at the FDA, Coca-Cola doesn't have to tell me. I worry about what other additives might be lurking about, in addition to the 12 teaspoons of sugar per can.

- 3) I'd simply like to see if I can.

I'm not sure if I necessarily want to wean myself off it completely so much as seek out other sources.

One thing I'm investigating at the moment is Open Soda, which was a list of ingredients for Coke based on a leaked, older version of the recipe. A vendor in the UK sells a pre-made mixture of the oils, which I have debated ordering [0]. It would in theory let me make a batch of my own Coke with less sugar or whatever I feel like using.

Other things I've tried have included just sipping club soda or sparkling mineral water in its place. If I want a bit of flavor, I mix in a shot of Balsamic Vinegar. It's surprisingly decent. Remembering that it comes from fermented grapes (assuming you're getting some decent quality stuff and not the low-end BV from the grocery store), you get enough sweetness to carry it through.

[0] http://cube-cola.org/

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#34

Post by watwut » Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 8:05 PM UTC

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…

Pro-tip: if you make it rule to never buy sweet treats (or only sunday or whatever), they will get used to it and it will be easier. If you buy them randomly, they will see hope of getting them all the time. If you occasionally cave, they will be more likely to negotiate.

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#35

Post by manmal » Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 8:05 PM UTC

esterly wrote: post #7

'Redo your pantry' is an important section in the linked article. My wife is really good about finding pointing out sugar in sauces that seem healthy [1], tomato sauce, catsup, etc., and finding sure free alternatives [1] https://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/10-hidde...

The solution I‘ve found most effective is to cook everything from scratch, and not use any preprocessed foods. Once you start using healthy sauces, you open the door to the less healthy ones, and soon you‘ll end up mixing ketchup with mayonnaise :D

Recently I‘ve started making myself rice flakes with coconut milk, or a few steamed veggies (brokkoli, carrot strips) with some coconut milk and seasoning. Both are easily done within minutes, and free from artificial colors and flavors, and of course sugar. I basically throw chunks of brokkoli in a little bit of water, put the lid on and let it cook gently for 10m or so.. didn’t expect that to be so easy. Then add a few sips of coconut milk, salt and some fancy spices - done. We need self-made dishes to be simple, quick and tasty, or the convenience of preprocessed foods will catch up on us. Whenever I‘m hungry and in danger of making some fries or other abominations, I go for the rice flakes instead. Those take 5m to make, are cheap, and super tasty (ok I might have a coconut milk fetish).

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#36

Post by saint_fiasco » Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 8:05 PM UTC

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…

Fake sugar might be the reason you find sweet treats tempting. Cut that and you will yourself unaccustomed to overly sweet things.

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#37

Post by beggi » Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 8:05 PM UTC

ascagnel_ wrote: post #11

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…

The article is specifically talking about added sugars, and their net effect. > Big Sugar has paid researchers to conduct misleading — if not false — studies about the health effects of added sweeteners. The core issue is not the type of sugar, but the nature of it being basically everywhere in packaged foods. The author also mentions that it's not worth trying to quantify the amount of sugar: > Don’t agonize over th…

In general I agree - if you're happy eating just fresh food like meat and veggies I'm happy for you - but I cannot, for practicality reasons. I just tend to keep my processed food very low carb - for some examples: I eat a lot of Quest bars (usually 5g net carbs), Lily's has some great stevia sweetened chocolate (http://lilyssweets.com/), and Fat Snax cookies are amazing (https://fatsnax.com/products/cookies).

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#38

Post by mbrumlow » Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 8:07 PM UTC

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 can't remember where I read it. But there apparently is a link between something tasting sweet and your bodies insulin response. The study seemed to suggest that our upper intestines have similar cells as our tongue and can actually taste food. The result is that eating sweet tasting things that are not sweet cause a insulin serge, which the body then registers was not needed due to the lack of actual glucose increase. The bodies intenral feedback loop is adjusted for this and over time you end up getting little to no response to eating sweet tasting stuff regardless if it had glucose in it or not.

You also have to step back and ask your self why so many people who avoid sugar but use artificial sweeteners are having problems with diabetes.

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#39

Post by jimjimjim » Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 8:09 PM UTC

matte_black wrote: post #8

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 p…

yep, that's it.

5 years ago I went on a diet where the only thing I did was to look at all the ingredients and nutritional values in everything and if they wern't there I didn't buy it (most burger places will supply it if you ask).

It is APPALLING what gets added to everything in order to be just-a-bit-better-tasting than the competition. Your brain doesn't know why brandA is better than brandB. And it's not just sugar, salt and fat are also adjusted.

But you don't NEED those flavors. You have to wean your body off the flavor. Foods have subtle and delicate flavors that get masked by the assault.

You can't hear the sounds of a bird chirping or a trickling stream if you are next to a rock concert.

Re: Big Sugar Versus Your Body

#40

Post by jackhack » Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 8:09 PM UTC

matte_black wrote: post #8

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 p…

You're quite right. I have a friend who moved to the US from a small european village. He commented that the food here is very intense -- all of the flavors are exaggerated and nothing tastes real. Too much salt, too much sugar, too much artificial... everything. Even the beef, he said, is intense in its flavor (a consequence of corn fed vs grass-fed cattle?) but ironically, the chicken is quite bland.

It is my own observation that supermarket/farm vegetables are often bland compared to "backyard" varieties. Most people have no idea how flavorful a simple tomato can be until they've had an "ugly" heirloom tomato left on the vine until ripe.