ScreamingTrees Posted February 8, 2012 Posted February 8, 2012 There's 20g of sugar in this 6 oz container of organic yogurt - Thing is, it has fruit in it. Would this make this somewhat high dosage of sugar acceptable? It's not an unhealthy choice, right? Just making sure. I've been consciously trying to keep my sugar intake down, or at least limit it to the healthy foods that contain them like dairy and maybe peanut butter and fruits, if that sounds good.
tman666 Posted February 8, 2012 Posted February 8, 2012 To answer this question, it's good to know how carbohydrates are broken down and used in the body. A carbohydrate (or saccharide) describes four different types of molecules: monosaccharides, dissaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. As you can guess from the mono- and di- prefixes, those two molecules are considered "simple" sugars, while the oligo- and poly- prefixes describe more complex carbohydrates. The "simple" and "complex" terms refer to the amount of hydrogen bonds that are present in the molecule. Another key point is understanding that the body only uses one form of these molecules for fuel: glucose, which is a monosaccharide. When you ingest carbohydrates, your body must break down each molecule, whether simple or complex, to its base form, glucose. As your body breaks down these sugars into glucose, your blood glucose rises. Since your blood glucose (or blood sugar) can only rise so much before poisoning you, insulin is released to shuttle glucose into various areas of storage (muscle cells, fat cells, or your liver). Your body gives priority to filling up your liver glycogen stores and your muscle glycogen before storing it as fat. However, when we ingest more energy than we have "room" for in our muscles or liver, it is stored in fat cells. Muscle and liver glycogen can be depleted after exercise or a period without food, such as first thing in the morning when you wake up. For this reason, prevailing knowledge says that it's best to eat carbohydrates around (right before and after) exercise, or during your first meal of the day. That being said, there are also some very reputable people on the subject that say that timing is of less importance than overall quantity. In general, you want to limit simple sugars in your diet. Sugars found in fruit tend to be simple sugars. These types of foods are quickly broken down in the body and absorbed. Unless you have storage space in your muscle and liver glycogen stores, these sugars will be stored in your fat cells. Don't get me wrong, fruit should be part of EVERYONE'S diet for the abundance of nutritional good that they possess (fiber, antioxidants, etc.). However, if fat loss is a priority goal, it's good to limit fruit intake to times when glycogen stores are depleted (after a fasting period or concentrated around exercise). At other times, try to get your carbohydrates from more complex sources, such as sweet potatoes, quinoa, and brown rice. These carbohydrate sources take longer to break down to glucose in the body, which gives your body more time to use the glucose in your blood stream before causing a large insulin spike and storing a bunch of energy as fat. TL;DR: If fat loss is your goal, it would be best to limit this type of carb. intake in your diet to first thing in the morning or after a workout. Try to focus your carb. intake more on complex carbs such as sweet potatoes, veggies, quinoa, and brown rice. A better alternative to the highly-sugared yogurt that you're buying would be to get some plain, fat free greek yogurt (Fage is my favorite), and spice it up with some cinnamon, dark chocolate shavings, and perhaps a lower-calorie sweetener such as stevia.
FitChick Posted February 8, 2012 Posted February 8, 2012 I find presweetened fruit yogurts to be too sweet for me with not enough protein. I buy 0% fat Greek yogurt and add a spoonful of reduced sugar (not artificially sweetened) jam. It's as good as ice cream! I am totally addicted to sugar myself and have been struggling. Some people seem to be genetically programmed to crave it. My dad was a sugar junkie and lost most of his teeth as a result when he was younger.
Author ScreamingTrees Posted February 8, 2012 Author Posted February 8, 2012 Thanks, Tman, very informative and I've taken note. I'll make sure to only consume it after working out or first thing in the morning. Honestly, I'm likely on the lower side of healthy when it comes to weight, so I'm certainly not doing it because I have to. It's a conscientious decision to not take my seemingly naturally healthy body for granted.. I also want to maximize growth in regards to work outs and whatnot and I know that insulin is released - which suppresses growth hormones when you exercise.. So I work out two hours after eating.
tman666 Posted February 8, 2012 Posted February 8, 2012 ScreamingTrees: if you're looking to gain muscle (versus losing fat), these rules can still be used to maximize muscle gain while minimizing fat gain. However, you will need to be in a caloric surplus to gain muscle, which likely means gaining some fat as well. Doesn't mean you have to get sloppy greasy, but if your goal is to get big and strong, you need to eat and train for it. What does your training and diet look like right now?
Chocolat Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 I find presweetened fruit yogurts to be too sweet for me with not enough protein. I buy 0% fat Greek yogurt and add a spoonful of reduced sugar (not artificially sweetened) jam. It's as good as ice cream! Hey FitChick, what brand of jam have you found that is reduced sugar without the addition of artificial sweeteners?
Chocolat Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 A better alternative to the highly-sugared yogurt that you're buying would be to get some plain, fat free greek yogurt (Fage is my favorite), and spice it up with some cinnamon, dark chocolate shavings, and perhaps a lower-calorie sweetener such as stevia. This is what I do, too, although Oikos organic is my current favorite. What's nice about it is that you can mix in whatever you want, such as the combination Tman mentioned or whatever floats your boat. I sometimes do strawberries, other times nuts and some dates or raisins, and occasionally (usually earlier in the day) granola (homemade without sugar), etc.
Author ScreamingTrees Posted February 10, 2012 Author Posted February 10, 2012 To be honest, although I enjoy the fruit as it's clearly better than candy or junk food and tastes better to me, I enjoy the yogurt just as much and I never mix it, I'd rather eat the yogurt first and dig my way to the fruit at the bottom. I'd have no problems with switching to plain greek organic yogurt.
D-Lish Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) Sugar is not healthy- Carbs are not healthy. Carbs manifest as sugar in your body. Want to maintain a heathy weight and keep the pounds off? Slow down on sugar (carbs). You'll see a difference. I take in no sugar (candy) and limit my carbs... The pounds are melting off. Watch a documentary called "Fathead"... Your eyes will be opened. Edited February 10, 2012 by D-Lish
Author ScreamingTrees Posted February 10, 2012 Author Posted February 10, 2012 Sugar is not healthy- Carbs are not healthy. Carbs manifest as sugar in your body. Want to maintain a heathy weight and keep the pounds off? Slow down on sugar (carbs). You'll see a difference. I take in no sugar (candy) and limit my carbs... The pounds are melting off. Watch a documentary called "Fathead"... Your eyes will be opened. If anything, I personally need to gain weight, but I'm ecstatic about my body. I simply was worried about too much sugar affecting the overall growth of my body and exercise efforts. Tman set me straight via PM anyway. Thanks, though, I'll check out "Fathead" out of curiosity regardless. I couldn't gain weight if I tried, honestly. If I gain weight, it's muscle or weight gained through eating healthy foods. I'd say there's a difference between sugars in fruit and sugars in candy or processed crap, no? There has to be SOME sort of difference, considering eating fruits won't leave you obese in the same way that the latter would.. Never heard of someone gaining weight because they started eating bananas, strawberries, blueberries, apples, ect.. Just doesn't make sense to me.
spookie Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 If anything, I personally need to gain weight, but I'm ecstatic about my body. I simply was worried about too much sugar affecting the overall growth of my body and exercise efforts. Tman set me straight via PM anyway. Thanks, though, I'll check out "Fathead" out of curiosity regardless. I couldn't gain weight if I tried, honestly. If I gain weight, it's muscle or weight gained through eating healthy foods. I'd say there's a difference between sugars in fruit and sugars in candy or processed crap, no? There has to be SOME sort of difference, considering eating fruits won't leave you obese in the same way that the latter would.. Never heard of someone gaining weight because they started eating bananas, strawberries, blueberries, apples, ect.. Just doesn't make sense to me. sugar is sugar. candy just has more of it, without any of the nutritional value (vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, etc.) you can definitely get fat eating fruit if you eat enough of it.
Author ScreamingTrees Posted February 11, 2012 Author Posted February 11, 2012 sugar is sugar. candy just has more of it, without any of the nutritional value (vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, etc.) you can definitely get fat eating fruit if you eat enough of it. Well, I haven't gained a single lb since I've incorporated fruits into my diet.. I know each individual varies. I also don't eat candy or junk food. I've basically got my answers. Thanks, guys. Especially Tman.
marycorbitt Posted February 20, 2012 Posted February 20, 2012 I love yogurts and I didn't bother about the calorie content. As long as it isn't too much for a day. It's good for me.
Recommended Posts