Healthy Eating

By Perkle

April 16, 2007 11:34 AM | Link to this

Yum…sugar….delicious! Yes, most foods you would not suspect of having sugar in fact do. There really isn’t anything you can do about it if you choose to eat out. You can only control what you choose to fix in your own home. As with anything else, you need to shoot for moderation. I will not give up my sweet tea for anything. I eat only desserts that I make at home. No store bought processed junk. It helps.

By Jones

April 16, 2007 11:52 AM | Link to this

I very rarely dine out, prefer to cook my own meals. I will not give up sugar, especially to an artifical sweetner. I don’t even like Splenda.
However,I hardly use sugar, except for my morning coffee fix…..and candy is not allowed in my home. Nor is junk food.

By Cletus Snow

April 16, 2007 1:02 PM | Link to this

sugar is not the only bad thing your likly to find in restaurant food,MSG,salt and things you’d never dream of can be discovered. I spent my college years working in one of Atlantas finest restaurants ” it has a Blue Dome” the knowledge gained there has made me very careful about where I eat,even now 40 years later,if I can’t see the kitchen,with a few exceptions I don’t eat there. I went to a business lunch at one of Buckheads finest a few days ago, I ask for a quick look at the kitchen and was told that customers weren’t allowed in the kitchen, I had a salad and a beverage and left. Sugar,salt and other unpronounceables give me cause for concern.

By Jen

April 16, 2007 1:59 PM | Link to this

Since diabetes runs rampant in my family (obese or not) I’ve been very sensitive to my sugar intake, switching over to artificial sweeteners way back in college.

However, I’ve noticed that I can’t consume them anymore except in diet soda. I can have them in coffee or tea or in baked goods. It tastes like chemicals to me! I guess I can take it in Diet Coke because that entire drink is a chemical experience.

But, I’ve switched to dehydrated cane juice (succanat) for my coffee. And since I drink no more than 2 cups a day I don’t think I am raising my risk of developing diabetes.

At the same time…I don’t have a sweet tooth. I generally don’t consume sweets at all, unless it’s a taste of something others swear on. And a taste is more than enough because if I eat it all I will feel sick to my stomach!

By Scott Case

April 16, 2007 2:04 PM | Link to this

who cares. Eat less fried food, don’t drink as much, and excercise 3 times a week. Also, Quit being babies

By Ella

April 16, 2007 2:10 PM | Link to this

I buy mostly natural or organic foods. I avoid most processed foods. That makes it easier to avoid sugar, MSG, salt and other additives. And truthfully, it’s not the sugar that concerns me the most. It’s the high fructose corn syrup which trains our tastes to ULTRA sweetness and fools the body’s satiety cues into overeating.

By Greg

April 16, 2007 2:23 PM | Link to this

Bad rap, nope. If it was twice as much per teaspoon we’d still take it like candy…hold it…..! As Americans, we are used to doing what we want, when we want, especially at our own expense. It’s a strange blatantly ignorant profile we seem to warmly embrace. Regardless, compared to nicoteine addiction, and alcoholism, its communially safe. Sugar impares our own life, and not others….. until they tear out the side of your mobile home and carry you away on a flat bed on national TV.

By Jen

April 16, 2007 3:32 PM | Link to this

I agree with Ella that we train our tastes. I mean, who starts out life really liking the taste of beer or pepper? You learn to like these things.

Now, humans are evolved to prefer sweet tastes because, in nature, it indicates a higher quality nutrition in the food (think fruits and veggies).

But modern humans don’t need that evolutionary trigger because we get our food off the grocery store shelf. And most of that is highly processed and empty of nutritional balance.

Perhaps I used to have a sweet tooth. But now I find things like blueberries and strawberries to be very sweet all on their own. I can’t believe my eyes when I see people ADDING sugar to them!

So, sugar’s bad rap is only partially deserved. If we all ate a more whole food diet then consuming desserts, putting sugar in coffee, etc, would not cause us any ill health effects.

By Thrash

April 16, 2007 4:47 PM | Link to this

I’m indulging in my yearly sugar intake with some “passover” Coke, made with Sucrose (from sugar beets), not high fructose corn syrup. If you miss the taste of real Coca-Cola, go get some at Kroger (look for yellow caps on 2 liter bottles).

By Sugar Lover

April 16, 2007 5:18 PM | Link to this

Greg:

Go eat a Snickers and a Mounds bar and leave the rest of us alone will ya?

By DJ

April 17, 2007 8:20 AM | Link to this

before you all beet up on sugar, realize that most people don’t actually eat much sugar., everything is made these days with CORN SWEETENER. CORN SWEETENER is poison - much much worse for your body then natural sugar, and is the prime culprit when it comes to empty calories which cause an increased appetite response, leading to over-eating of more and more crappy food. and why is CORN SWEETENER in everything instead of natural sugar? because natural sugar is mostly an imported product and CORN SWEETENER is a domestic product that is improperly supported by FARM SUBSIDIES TO GIANT AGRA BUSINESSES and then used by PROCESSED FOOD MANUFACTURERS BECAUSE IT IS CHEAP, regardless of the consequences.

ELIMINATE CORN SWEETENER FROM YOUR DIET AS THE #1 STEP TOWARDS RECLAIMING OUR WAISTLINES AND OUR HEALTH.

By Elaine

April 17, 2007 8:36 AM | Link to this

I have to echo dj’s comments above.

Not all sugars are alike. High Fructose Corn Syrup is like mega sugar. To put it in SAT terms, High Fructose Corn Syrup is to sugar, what Crack Cocaine is to Poppy Seeds.

If I let either of my kids have any of that red fruit punch stuff they serve in fountains at some fast food places, I can set my watch by the psycho freak out that will happen in 3 minutes and the crash that will happen in 45. It really messes them up. I’m not a health food nut by any means; they get a cookie at the bakery, or a small lollipop from the bank every now and then, but even with that, the jolt they get from the HFCS in that punch is palpable. So I can only imagine how small amounts of it might be effecting them in smaller, not as obvious ways.

I have begun a crusade of sorts to get the stuff out of my house. You really have to watch out for it. They put it in YOGURT, for crying out loud! Yes, it’s cheap and it has a long shelf life. It is also extremely easy to manufacture with, as it doesn’t crystalize like cane sugar or beet sugar. It stays fluid. Chemistry stuff… After watching my own kids, I am really starting to wonder how much it may have to do with the rising number of kids with ADD that seems to be occurring. So many of the “convenience” foods they make for kids are full of it—the drinks in the pouches, the “fruit” snacks in individual serving packets, kids’ yogurts, kids’ cereals, sports drinks… And it’s not just regular sugar, people. It’s some really potent stuff.

By Gemini1

April 17, 2007 9:08 AM | Link to this

After reading Elaine’s response, I’m totally freaked out! I know that I need to watch my sugar intake as well as my seven year old son’s who is addicted to the Danimal yogurt. Diabetes does not run in my family, but with my super-induced addition to sweets, especially candy (gas stations have huge assortments), I am afraid that I will one day become a diabetic. It certainly makes you stop and think about the junk you’re putting in your body as well as your children’s and make changes.

By steve-o

April 17, 2007 9:24 AM | Link to this

First they tell us fat is the culprit, then they tell us that carbs are the culprit, and now sugar. Expect people go on another insane Atkins-esque diets, depriving themselves of essential nutrients. In reality, our body needs all three or those nutrients.

The key is MODERATION. Also, EXCERCISE is essential. Go for a walk when you get home, go to the gym, stop circling the parking lot numerous times in order to find a spot near the store entrance and walk instead, walk your dog, play with your kids, etc.

By i love chocolate

April 17, 2007 9:47 AM | Link to this

I agree with Ella. High Fructose Corn Syrup is the real culprit. There are many medical articles about this stuff. It’s dangerous!

Everything in moderation (fried foods, alcohol, sugar/sweets, etc..). Exercise regularly! It’s not brain surgery.

By a little common sense

April 19, 2007 4:37 PM | Link to this

I limit my consumption of overtly sugary foods such as desserts, candy and pastries. But unless I have a medical condition which could make sugar dangerous for me, I am not going to stress over a little sugar in a tablespoon of salad dressing or occasionally using flavored coffee creamer. Sugar is an ingredient in so many everyday foods, even organic and natural, such as cereals, pancake mixes, breads, and sauces. Even milk and fruits contain natural sugar. I do watch my ingredients and use common sense, but I don’t get obsessive about it.

By Europeans have healthier lifestyle

April 19, 2007 4:46 PM | Link to this

As someone said above, look at the French, they eat small portions of massively fatty (and satisfying) foods and they seem to survive just fine. Europeans also don’t snack all day long and then eat a big dinner like (some) Americans. Their lifestyle is also more laid back and healthier in regard to emotions management and movement. So many Europeans ride bikes and walk to get around. And I’m pretty sure they don’t stress about what they’re eating like we do.

By people cause obesity, not sugar

April 19, 2007 4:50 PM | Link to this

To paraphrase the gun control slogan, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” - “Sugar doesn’t cause obesity, people (consuming too much of it) cause obesity.”