Sugar addiction

The Agrarian

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Honey is a natural antibiotic, isn't it? And... iirc, it doesn't really 'go bad.'

Then again, I could be wrong. :p
If you replaced just a moderate amount of processed sugar with honey I'll bet your body will thank you later.

Just remember to buy local! Hobby bee-keepers are everywhere and would appreciate your business:cool:
 

billy t

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Sugar IS the energy source.
Yes, the body uses glucose for exercise that requires explosiveness. However, the idea that glucose is the bodies "preferred energy source" is debatable. Besides exercise that requires lots of glycogen I can't think of any reason why someone "needs" dietary glucose. The body can produce enough itself if your protein and fat intake are sufficient. It is not an essential nutrient. Now, the body uses GLUCOSE for short bursts of energy during exercise but table sugar is not the same. Table sugar is sucrose which has one fructose molecule and one glucose molecule. Fructose is toxic to the body and the liver must convert it to glucose so it is not used immediately at all. Only the glucose molecule is. Therefore it is far more efficient to fuel using sources of sugar which are glucose based. For example, dextrose mixed in water, or rice, potatoes and other starches a few hours before a race.

Most people think they need a lot more carbohydrates than they really do. If you do less than 1 hour of exercise a day then I highly doubt you need more than 150 grams a day. The typical government recommendations of 350 grams a day even for sedentary people is absolute insanity.

The whole idea about regularly eating sugar to maintain blood sugar is nonsense too. I am currently fasting in ramadan and have had stable blood sugar throughout the day and tons of energy. The body has other fuel sources besides glucose and can still make glucose easily on demand. When I broke my fast today I just ate salmon because I knew if I ate a carb heavy meal it would make me more tired and I had to deliver a speech. Hence I delayed my carb heavy meal until later on.

I read today that one college professor advised his students to eat a snickers bar and drink a bottle of coke for an exam to "keep blood sugar steady". This advise is only true when you are ADDICTED to sugar. The body gets used to a constant influx of sugar so you are tired if you don't have it. Anyway, much more could be said.
 

billy t

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If you replaced just a moderate amount of processed sugar with honey I'll bet your body will thank you later.

Just remember to buy local! Hobby bee-keepers are everywhere and would appreciate your business:cool:
Fructose is harmful in large amounts. This is why table sugar should be avoided. If someone was able to control their intake to like a couple of teaspoons then yeah it would be no big deal. The issue is that its not easy. The reality is, fructose in large quantities (more than 50 grams according to some studies) is harmful regardless of where it came from. 100 grams of fructose from fruit and honey has an identical impact on the body to fructose from table sugar. The molecule is identical and the body does not care if it came on its own or with other compounds. Some people argue "oh well fruit has fiber that mitigates the impact of sugar". Sure, it does. So, does 10 teaspoons of sugar in oatmeal become OK now because there is sugar and other compounds to buffer the insulin response?

Fruit is great for health and so is honey. I am not saying to avoid them. My point is, some people who are addicted to fructose replace it with fruit juices etc, and think because it is "natural sugar" that it is somehow different. If table sugar (sucrose) did not have a fructose molecule then it wouldn't be unhealthy. Its the fructose molecule that makes it bad in large amounts.

Health conscious people should probably restrict fructose to like 30 grams max a day except in summer when fruit is supposed to be eaten in larger amounts. Fruit grows in summer for a REASON.
 

manama

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Yes, the body uses glucose for exercise that requires explosiveness. However, the idea that glucose is the bodies "preferred energy source" is debatable. Besides exercise that requires lots of glycogen I can't think of any reason why someone "needs" dietary glucose. The body can produce enough itself if your protein and fat intake are sufficient. It is not an essential nutrient. Now, the body uses GLUCOSE for short bursts of energy during exercise but table sugar is not the same. Table sugar is sucrose which has one fructose molecule and one glucose molecule. Fructose is toxic to the body and the liver must convert it to glucose so it is not used immediately at all. Only the glucose molecule is. Therefore it is far more efficient to fuel using sources of sugar which are glucose based. For example, dextrose mixed in water, or rice, potatoes and other starches a few hours before a race.

Most people think they need a lot more carbohydrates than they really do. If you do less than 1 hour of exercise a day then I highly doubt you need more than 150 grams a day. The typical government recommendations of 350 grams a day even for sedentary people is absolute insanity.

The whole idea about regularly eating sugar to maintain blood sugar is nonsense too. I am currently fasting in ramadan and have had stable blood sugar throughout the day and tons of energy. The body has other fuel sources besides glucose and can still make glucose easily on demand. When I broke my fast today I just ate salmon because I knew if I ate a carb heavy meal it would make me more tired and I had to deliver a speech. Hence I delayed my carb heavy meal until later on.

I read today that one college professor advised his students to eat a snickers bar and drink a bottle of coke for an exam to "keep blood sugar steady". This advise is only true when you are ADDICTED to sugar. The body gets used to a constant influx of sugar so you are tired if you don't have it. Anyway, much more could be said.
Uh what? There is so much wrong with this, I don't even know where to start.
 

Lil axe

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i feel i have sufficient energy, i work 6 days a week, full days and exercise, i only have 1 teasoop of raw sugar a day, (1/2 tsp, morning,1/2 tsp afternoon coffee) my diet is, oatmeal with hemp, and flax seeds, morning break, raisens, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, a turkey, spinach ,cheese sandwich at lunch on multigrain, baby carrots, orange, apple, and then bare toast, cottage cheese, for after work meal, i drink mostly water, one cup of apple juice , not from concentrate, in the evening. i also take vitamin d3, vitamin c, zinc, evening primrose, cod liver oil, raw apple cider (pill extract), blueberry extract, guess im getting my energy from the natural sugars, i'm not sure
 

Daze

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i feel i have sufficient energy, i work 6 days a week, full days and exercise, i only have 1 teasoop of raw sugar a day, (1/2 tsp, morning,1/2 tsp afternoon coffee) my diet is, oatmeal with hemp, and flax seeds, morning break, raisens, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, a turkey, spinach ,cheese sandwich at lunch on multigrain, baby carrots, orange, apple, and then bare toast, cottage cheese, for after work meal, i drink mostly water, one cup of apple juice , not from concentrate, in the evening. i also take vitamin d3, vitamin c, zinc, evening primrose, cod liver oil, raw apple cider (pill extract), blueberry extract, guess im getting my energy from the natural sugars, i'm not sure
Flaxseed gets alot of good reviews for its protein and omega 3 content, but tests show it lowers testosterone. You might want to consider dropping it from your diet.
 

billy t

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Flaxseed gets alot of good reviews for its protein and omega 3 content, but tests show it lowers testosterone. You might want to consider dropping it from your diet.
Also it doesn't really have omega 3 but ALA which needs to be converted to DHA to have any use. I used to eat flax seeds in my younger days like many do when they start trying to be more health concious. Its commonly said that flax seeds are good but they are a terrible food. Very prone to oxidation.
 

The Agrarian

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Flaxseed gets alot of good reviews for its protein and omega 3 content, but tests show it lowers testosterone. You might want to consider dropping it from your diet.
Good looking out.
Remembering this for tonight's grocery run.
 

Maldarker

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Big difference between sugar of today that is highly processed compared to cane sugar not processed is good.
"KEY WORD IS PROCESSED"
 

Aero

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I read about how large amounts of sugar can fuck with your hormones. DHT is like super testosterone, which has its uses, but the side effects suck. Unless you want to lose your hair, then go for it.

Needless to say, I cut back on my sugar intake by 80% three days ago. It feels like I'm walking on air, but I'd rather be walking on sunshine.
 

billy t

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Big difference between sugar of today that is highly processed compared to cane sugar not processed is good.
"KEY WORD IS PROCESSED"
How does the body differentiate between glucose/fructose from table sugar and glucose/fructose from cane sugar? Answer: it can't. They have an identical molecular structure.

Liver speaking to brain: "Is this fructose from table sugar or did it come from a natural source?" Brain: "It came from natural orange juice". Liver: "OK, great, I will not store it as body fat".

Table sugar is bad because it is added to everything and leads to consuming excessive amounts of fructose which taxes the liver NOT because it is processed. Excessive amounts of honey will also tax the liver as will blending up multiple bananas and oranges and drinking them. If you doubt this then get a glucometer and measure your blood glucose after drinking a can of coke and after drinking a fruit smoothie with bananas and oranges in it. Both will spike your blood sugar. Yes, the fruit smoothie is superior because it has nutrition in it but if it has too much sugar it still has negative consequences from a health standpoint. Sugar needs to be limited, period, regardless of where it came from. Table sugar should be avoided because it has no nutritional value. Unprocessed fruit is still harmful if it is OVERCONSUMED. 3 bananas a day is probably fine but 10 may be harmful despite the fact that they are "unprocessed". Cane sugar is better, yes but it is still processed.

"Processed" is also a bit of a misnomer. If it is referring to McDonalds then yeah, that type of processed is bad because there are many harmful additives and preservatives added to it. However, some foods are better processed. A strong argument can be made that white rice is better than brown even though brown is less processed. Beans are not healthy in general but processed beans are healthier than unprocessed. Some people have died eating raw beans even though they were unprocessed.
 
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Maldarker

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How does the body differentiate between glucose/fructose from table sugar and glucose/fructose from cane sugar? Answer: it can't. They have an identical molecular structure.

Liver speaking to brain: "Is this fructose from table sugar or did it come from a natural source?" Brain: "It came from natural orange juice". Liver: "OK, great, I will not store it as body fat".

Table sugar is bad because it is added to everything and leads to consuming excessive amounts of fructose which taxes the liver NOT because it is processed. Excessive amounts of honey will also tax the liver as will blending up multiple bananas and oranges and drinking them. If you doubt this then get a glucometer and measure your blood glucose after drinking a can of coke and after drinking a fruit smoothie with bananas and oranges in it. Both will spike your blood sugar. Yes, the fruit smoothie is superior because it has nutrition in it but if it has too much sugar it still has negative consequences from a health standpoint. Sugar needs to be limited, period, regardless of where it came from. Table sugar should be avoided because it has no nutritional value. Unprocessed fruit is still harmful if it is OVERCONSUMED. 3 bananas a day is probably fine but 10 may be harmful despite the fact that they are "unprocessed". Cane sugar is better, yes but it is still processed.

"Processed" is also a bit of a misnomer. If it is referring to McDonalds then yeah, that type of processed is bad because there are many harmful additives and preservatives added to it. However, some foods are better processed. A strong argument can be made that white rice is better than brown even though brown is less processed. Beans are not healthy in general but processed beans are healthier than unprocessed. Some people have died eating raw beans even though they were unprocessed.
I know this thank you for the info anyway. What i am saying if your going to use sugar then use the not "PROCESSED" white sugar. Sugar is in general not great if used all time (again moderation of all things helps more then people think "aka constraint") but the chemically modified "preserved" stuff is the worse.
 

polymoog

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i feel i have sufficient energy, i work 6 days a week, full days and exercise, i only have 1 teasoop of raw sugar a day, (1/2 tsp, morning,1/2 tsp afternoon coffee) my diet is, oatmeal with hemp, and flax seeds, morning break, raisens, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, a turkey, spinach ,cheese sandwich at lunch on multigrain, baby carrots, orange, apple, and then bare toast, cottage cheese, for after work meal, i drink mostly water, one cup of apple juice , not from concentrate, in the evening. i also take vitamin d3, vitamin c, zinc, evening primrose, cod liver oil, raw apple cider (pill extract), blueberry extract, guess im getting my energy from the natural sugars, i'm not sure
thats pretty good.

to nitpick:
cheese should be from organic, raw milk.
turkey should definitely be organic. conventional turkeys are fed the worst garbage.
the multigrain bread is fine if it is from sprouted flour.
consider a magnesium citrate supplement.
 

Lil axe

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thats pretty good.

to nitpick:
cheese should be from organic, raw milk.
turkey should definitely be organic. conventional turkeys are fed the worst garbage.
the multigrain bread is fine if it is from sprouted flour.
consider a magnesium citrate supplement.
thanks,
i'll change the cheese
the claim on the turkey, was raised humanely, no antibiotics
 

billy t

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I know this thank you for the info anyway. What i am saying if your going to use sugar then use the not "PROCESSED" white sugar. Sugar is in general not great if used all time (again moderation of all things helps more then people think "aka constraint") but the chemically modified "preserved" stuff is the worse.
How has it been chemically modified though? As far as I understand table sugar has just been stripped down of the other compounds. This doesn't mean the chemical structure has been altered.
 

Maldarker

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How has it been chemically modified though? As far as I understand table sugar has just been stripped down of the other compounds. This doesn't mean the chemical structure has been altered.
This sounds like a big problem with refined processed sugar to me: The body breaks down refined sugar rapidly, causing insulin and blood sugar levels to skyrocket. Because refined sugar is digested quickly, you don't feel full after you're done eating, no matter how many calories you consumed.

Sugars not processed "refined" take longer to break down and are more of a benefit to the body then the refined that spikes your blood sugar levels.
 
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