Sugar Free People - what does it mean?

[Jean in Newcastle]

This thread was prompted by a diabetes challenge I'm doing which included a suggestion to move to sugar substitutes.  Most of the sugar substitutes listed were artificial sugars but some were things like Stevia and Monk's fruit.  (I thought that the article was bad advice, btw.)  But it got me wondering.  If you are sugar free, is it just cane or beet sugar that you are eliminating?  Do you substitute things like applesauce for sweetners (which is the kind of thing I do instead of what the article suggested)? 

[ktgrok]

2 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

This thread was prompted by a diabetes challenge I'm doing which included a suggestion to move to sugar substitutes.  Most of the sugar substitutes listed were artificial sugars but some were things like Stevia and Monk's fruit.  (I thought that the article was bad advice, btw.)  But it got me wondering.  If you are sugar free, is it just cane or beet sugar that you are eliminating?  Do you substitute things like applesauce for sweetners (which is the kind of thing I do instead of what the article suggested)? 

I try to reduce sugar, and when I'm doing that, I look at sugar no matter the source. So I've never understood the push to substitute honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc for regular sugar. It ends up just as much sugar in the end. Apple sauce would be at least some fiber, and unlikely to have as much sugar as if you used actual table sugar, but it is still going to have fructose. So it would depend how much, etc, for me. For my kids, who don't have my issues, sure, I've sweetened things with apple sauce. But I'm not going to say, grind up huge number of dates and put that in a recipe and call it sugar free or even low sugar, which I see people doing. 

[ktgrok]

Just now, Arctic Mama said:

Sugar free means no sugar of any kind, and avoiding foods primarily or heavily composed of even natural sugars, for 90% of my diet. I can have up to a teaspoon of sugar in a sauce, and 1/2 cup of fruit per day. Otherwise no grains, fruits, starch and sugar rich veggies twice weekly or less, etc.

This substituting in different types of sugar from sucrose is idiotic, frankly. Your body metabolizes them all, and especially someone with T2 diabetes, just adjusting insulin to deal with dietary issues instead of controlling the dietary input leads to so many more health complications down the road. Exercising and keeping the diet free of those foods is where real control is with blood sugar, in my experience. But a lot of people don’t want to live their lives like that, so they take the tradeoff and tell themselves it is worth it 😞

And often they eat more of it, thinking it is better. And sometimes it has MORE fructose, which is harder on the liver. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm sure that they want to kick me off of the diabetes challenge because I keep pointing out things like how they suggest way too many carbs per meal etc. . . .  And now I am raining on their "let's just use Aspartame" advice! 

[PrincessMommy]

43 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

This thread was prompted by a diabetes challenge I'm doing which included a suggestion to move to sugar substitutes.  Most of the sugar substitutes listed were artificial sugars but some were things like Stevia and Monk's fruit.  (I thought that the article was bad advice, btw.)  But it got me wondering.  If you are sugar free, is it just cane or beet sugar that you are eliminating?  Do you substitute things like applesauce for sweetners (which is the kind of thing I do instead of what the article suggested)? 

I would say it is anything that raises my blood glucose level - such as cane sugar, honey, maple syrup.   There's several YT videos where they test several different types of sweeteners and how it changes the glucose levels.  They are worth checking out.   I don't consider stevia or monkfruit to be artificial.

I like both powder and liquid stevia and I'm thinking of adding monkfruit to my baking recipes based on one of the YT videos testing different sweeteners. 

[gardenmom5]

I've done sugar free - and it was the best I've ever felt. tons of energy too.   Sugar also changes how the brain recognizes satiation - so I also ate less.

No added sugars - of ANY kind.  No honey, no stevia, etc. etc. etc. - artificial sugar wrecks havoc with the brain's ability to recognize satiation - so those are verboten.  I read labels - so many processed foods have a lot of added sugars.  I did use canned tomatoes (sugar added) - but they were ingredients and I wasn't going to pulverize fresh tomatoes to make spaghetti sauce.  (someone gave me bottled spaghetti sauce from costco.  I was shocked how sweet it was - then I looked at the label. . . back to making my own.)

I even stayed away from milk (lactosse) and fruit (fructose.)  even veggies have sugar -   I was eating a lot of them.  I'm trying to find a balance I can live with.

I once saw a cookbook from woman who did a "sugar free year" . . . . her recipes were LOADED with fructose, and she called them sugar free.   fructose is sugar.

eta: - I was also avoiding all yeast raised breads.  I did eat pasta.  I learned I'm sensitive to yeast.  I put my tuna or chicken salad on a rice cake. (or wrap it in a lettuce leaf.)

 instead of sugar on oatmeal - I did chopped nuts and cinnamon. and maybe some butter.

  peanut butter on celery - sprinkled with cinnamon.

Edited July 10, 2020 by gardenmom5

[prairiewindmomma]

Dh is sugar free....no sweeteners (artificial or otherwise). He has a handful of berries a couple of times a week, but that is about it. He doesn’t eat grains at all, sticks to low carb veg generally, and has beans only a couple of times a week. His body is happiest on meat and veg. (Mine can’t tolerate that much meat.)

[Violet Crown]

I've been on the "No-S" eating plan for a long time, and interpret "no sugar" very simply as "no sweets": not having desserts, candy, sugared soda, or fruit juice, and no adding straight sugar to tea or other foods. I drink diet soda with no compunction because I disbelieve the claim that one's body thinks it's consuming sugar, and don't worry about sugar in condiments (salad dressing, mustard, salsa, etc.) because part of the No-S approach is not obsessing over food details.

My great-aunt, back in the day, wrote a "No sugar" cookbook that sold pretty well; it was recipes for familiar things using honey, corn syrup, or molasses because you didn't have enough ration stamps for real sugar. Not quite the same thing!

[Jean in Newcastle]

25 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Dh is sugar free....no sweeteners (artificial or otherwise). He has a handful of berries a couple of times a week, but that is about it. He doesn’t eat grains at all, sticks to low carb veg generally, and has beans only a couple of times a week. His body is happiest on meat and veg. (Mine can’t tolerate that much meat.)

I don't eat grains most of the time.  I might have something gf once or twice a month but that's cuz I have both celiac and diabetes.  So I'm not actually baking with anything where I could substitute a cup of Stevia (or Nutrasweet or whatever) but it made me curious.

My bloodsugars do go up with too much fruit, or starchy veggies or beans so I definitely ration those.  My body too is happiest on meat (or nuts or cheese or eggs) and veg. 

Edited July 10, 2020 by Jean in Newcastle
grammar is important. So is spelling.

[prairiewindmomma]

3 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I don't eat grains most of the time.  I might have something gf once or twice a month but that's cuz I have both celiac and diabetes.  So I'm not actually baking with anything where I could substitute a cup of Stevia (or Nutrasweet or whatever) but it made me curious.

My bloodsugars do go up with too much fruit, or starchy veggies or beans so I definitely ration those.  My body too is happiest on meat (or nuts or cheese or eggs) and veg. 

Dh is not diabetic, but his family has very strong genetics for type 1 and type 2. He has lost a lot of tolerance in the last decade or so, so he really has cracked down on his diet. I have largely given up baking except for pizza on Friday nights for the kids, bread during a pandemic, and a rare treat for the kids. I don’t think substituting applesauce for sugar really changes the dynamics of an unhealthy diet psychologically for people—-and for most people, the mind issues of what to eat, how much and when are a harder problem to fix than the actual what to eat. We all should be eating a lot of veg but we seem to spend a lot more mental energy on treats.

 

[Pen]

I was completely “added” sugar free for awhile and would like to get back to it.  

For me it meant no added sweeteners.  Fruits as whole fruits, or even a smoothie, but not used as a sugar substitute.  

 

[ScoutTN]

I agree, subbing other forms of sugar is not eating sugar-free. Blood sugar numbers don't lie.

I am T2 diabetic and eat low carb. No sweets and very little grain or milk. I do ok with starchy or sweet veggies in moderate amounts a few times a week. And with fruit as a snack, in small portions. No artificial sweeteners, blech. I don't use many processed food items so don't have to worry about added sugars. I have a bag of monk fruit sweetener in my pantry, but haven't used it yet. I tried Swerve in a couple of things, but found it had an unpleasant aftertaste.

I do add a bit of honey to homemade vinegarette dressing, a little sugar or honey to stir fry sauce. I do occasionally use a dab of maple syrup on my plain yogurt or have a small piece of dark chocolate. I'd rather have an occasional real treat than fake food. My blood sugar would  be way too high if I ate as the article suggested. 

 

[aaplank]

i've used brown rice syrup as a low fructose sweetener, but it hardly sweetens things enough for me.

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

I agree, subbing other forms of sugar is not eating sugar-free. Blood sugar numbers don't lie.

I am T2 diabetic and eat low carb. No sweets and very little grain or milk. I do ok with starchy or sweet veggies in moderate amounts a few times a week. And with fruit as a snack, in small portions. No artificial sweeteners, blech. I don't use many processed food items so don't have to worry about added sugars. I have a bag of monk fruit sweetener in my pantry, but haven't used it yet. I tried Swerve in a couple of things, but found it had an unpleasant aftertaste.

I do add a bit of honey to homemade vinegarette dressing, a little sugar or honey to stir fry sauce. I do occasionally use a dab of maple syrup on my plain yogurt or have a small piece of dark chocolate. I'd rather have an occasional real treat than fake food. My blood sugar would  be way too high if I ate as the article suggested. 

 

to me, a sweetener that is added to a condiment that is used in a recipe isn't the same as substituting sugar.

I added some of my sweet pickles to things - they had sugar . . . but they were a condiment.

high fructose corn syrup is one of the worse things you can ingest.  I was stunned when my son was drinking soda (with corn syrup) while having a blood draw and his ND said:  "I hope it doesn't affect his mercury readings"?  - say what???   Caustic soda is used to extract sugar from corn. it contains mercury, and traces are left behind.  My son's mercury level from that blood draw was the equivalent of having swallowed ALL of the mercury in an old-style thermometer.

[Jean in Newcastle]

We have long cut out HFCS.  And I can't remember the last time I've added even a tablespoon of granulated sugar to a recipe.  That doesn't mean that there might not be some sugar in something I bought but I don't tend to add it to my recipes.  Very occasionally I will put in a spoon of honey but I feel (rightly or wrongly) that that has a bit of extra nutrition to it that regular sugar doesn't have. 

[ScoutTN]

No HFCS here either. 

We get local wildflower honey and it tastes so good. A little goes a long way! 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Also I have a salty tooth, not a sweet tooth, so that probably helps me out.  I have always had my iced tea with no sweetener, for example.  I just don't feel like I especially need sweet things so much.  Except for a square of good quality dark chocolate.  I do love that. 

[ScoutTN]

9 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Also I have a salty tooth, not a sweet tooth, so that probably helps me out.  I have always had my iced tea with no sweetener, for example.  I just don't feel like I especially need sweet things so much.  Except for a square of good quality dark chocolate.  I do love that. 

When I was in college, many decades ago when the food pyramid was still a thing, I took a nutrition class. We were assigned to make a pyramid reflecting how we actually ate. I made the base of my pyramid brown for chocolate and said that it was an essential food group, especially for women. I got an A. 😉

Edited July 11, 2020 by ScoutTN

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

We have long cut out HFCS.  And I can't remember the last time I've added even a tablespoon of granulated sugar to a recipe.  That doesn't mean that there might not be some sugar in something I bought but I don't tend to add it to my recipes.  Very occasionally I will put in a spoon of honey but I feel (rightly or wrongly) that that has a bit of extra nutrition to it that regular sugar doesn't have. 

raw, unfiltered honey, is the most beneficial. 

1 hour ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Also I have a salty tooth, not a sweet tooth, so that probably helps me out.  I have always had my iced tea with no sweetener, for example.  I just don't feel like I especially need sweet things so much.  Except for a square of good quality dark chocolate.  I do love that. 

salt cravings can be a sign of adrenal issues.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I have known adrenal problems. In fact, this afternoon I had a big crash. 

[Ausmumof3]

I’m not sugar free but I think some Substitutes are known for being better for blood sugar levels than others.  If I needed an extreme fix I’d go off fruit as well, for a moderate change I’d just go of processed sugar.  I hate artificial sweeteners with a passion because I believe they contributed to my mums cancer.

[Ausmumof3]

2 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

No HFCS here either. 

We get local wildflower honey and it tastes so good. A little goes a long way! 

I think this is the trick with most natural sugar sources.  They have a a strong taste and satisfy the sugar craving quite quickly versus processed cane sugar that you can take quite a lot of.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I ate sugar free following the keto diet for many months this past year (began in August 2019 and made it through May 2020). I was desperate to find an eating plan that would allow me to lose weight and feel balanced and healthy. I don't have diabetes but I have tested multiple times for low blood sugar. I also have celiac and have been gluten free for 10 years.

When I was strictly sugar free I did not eat any carbs (no pasta, breads, rice, carrots, green beans, beans, bananas, oranges, honey, apples, etc).  No artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes like applesauce, honey, syrup.  Keto allows stevia and monkfruit as sweeteners so, once I became less strict about eating, I looked for products that contained those.  Lily's chocolate is a wonderful sugar free chocolate (sweetened with Stevia) and I used it as my occasional treat. All of my condiments were sugar free as well. There are some great brands out there which are either made with stevia or have no sugar at all. They are a bit more expensive but I found the benefits outweigh the cost. Primal is one with the greatest variety for dressings and sauces. 

Being SF/GF is a lot of work and my time researching, shopping, and preparing recipes and meals doubled.

I did use Skinny Syrups in my coffee. I cannot drink coffee without doctoring it and Skinny Syrups allowed me to do that. Skinny Syrups are sweetened with something called acesulfame potassium which is an artificial sweetener. It is Keto approved because it doesn't effect blood sugars/insulin but there have been studies that indicate it is linked to certain types of cancer.

[Soror]

I try to avoid processed sugar. I use some honey from my own hives and maple syrup, nutritionally speaking they do have some value above that of refined sugar although not a lot so I limit them greatly. I find my honey helpful for allergies. I aim to sweeten things with fruits, which have beneficial fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. I do not limit fruit or vegetables or grains. 

Of course, looking at blood sugar it all depends on how a person reacts personally. I had done low carb and very low carb for a decade and come from the paleo movement, reading more on veg*n eating I'm surprised to find all the info about those who have brought blood sugar levels under control following a high carb but low fat diet, as of course that is ignored in the lc movement.

For wfpb there is a big push for no sugar, the only allowed is that from fruit or dried fruits but even that is curtailed. I've been trying different recipes of mine with less and less sugar (honey or maple syrup) and when I eat things like oatmeal I don't use any sweetener but just eat it with blueberries. I have a few different recipes that I make with no sweetener other than fruit that work well for me for breakfast. I've only used apple sauce to replace oil, I've not heard of it being used to replace sweetener.

[ktgrok]

1 minute ago, The Accidental Coach said:

I ate sugar free following the keto diet for many months this past year (began in August 2019 and made it through May 2020). I was desperate to find an eating plan that would allow me to lose weight and feel balanced and healthy. I don't have diabetes but I have tested multiple times for low blood sugar. I also have celiac and have been gluten free for 10 years.

When I was strictly sugar free I did not eat any carbs (no pasta, breads, rice, carrots, green beans, beans, bananas, oranges, honey, apples, etc).  No artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes like applesauce, honey, syrup.  Keto allows stevia and monkfruit as sweeteners so, once I became less strict about eating, I looked for products that contained those.  Lily's chocolate is a wonderful sugar free chocolate (sweetened with Stevia) and I used it as my occasional treat. All of my condiments were sugar free as well. There are some great brands out there which are either made with stevia or have no sugar at all. They are a bit more expensive but I found the benefits outweigh the cost. Primal is one with the greatest variety for dressings and sauces. 

Being SF/GF is a lot of work and my time researching, shopping, and preparing recipes and meals doubled.

I did use Skinny Syrups in my coffee. I cannot drink coffee without doctoring it and Skinny Syrups allowed me to do that. Skinny Syrups are sweetened with something called acesulfame potassium which is an artificial sweetener. It is Keto approved because it doesn't effect blood sugars/insulin but there have been studies that indicate it is linked to certain types of cancer.

Similar when very low, although I did eat carrots and green beans in moderation. 

And I use splenda in my coffee. I have periods where I do or don't drink diet soda, which has acesulfame potassium in it - I will say that the acesulfame potassium seems addictive, and I currently am just not thinking about it because I cannot deal with the withdrawals at the same time as I deal with a pandemic. And I do get withdrawals from it. (not from other artificial sweeteners...just that one, it seems)

[Granny_Weatherwax]

8 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

Similar when very low, although I did eat carrots and green beans in moderation. 

And I use splenda in my coffee. I have periods where I do or don't drink diet soda, which has acesulfame potassium in it - I will say that the acesulfame potassium seems addictive, and I currently am just not thinking about it because I cannot deal with the withdrawals at the same time as I deal with a pandemic. And I do get withdrawals from it. (not from other artificial sweeteners...just that one, it seems)

Yes, I think Ace K is addictive as well. I thought the caffeine in the coffee was the problem as I had increased coffee consumption to 3-4 cups per day. I was even drinking coffee in the afternoon or right before bed. I switched to instant decaf (I know some people don't call that coffee) and still had the cravings. When I ran out of Vanilla Skinny Syrups during the pandemic and couldn't sweeten or flavor my coffee, my craving for coffee practically disappeared. I still need one in the morning but I'm good after that.

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, Fifiruth said:

My take on No Sugar is to avoid anything that is obviously sugary.

I don’t limit fruits and vegetables because the natural sugar and vitamins found in them are very beneficial. 

I don’t have diabetes, but I’m trying to avoid it, and fatty liver disease as well. 

That's subjective - and will vary with what one is used to eating.

when I was no-sugar (incl. no fruit, zero sugar subs of any kind.) - graham crackers were incredibly sweet.

 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

2 hours ago, The Accidental Coach said:

.  Lily's chocolate is a wonderful sugar free chocolate (sweetened with Stevia) and I used it as my occasional treat. 

Yes, I have used Lily’s chocolate. I have only seen and gotten their chocolate chips. Are there other products?

[Granny_Weatherwax]

51 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Yes, I have used Lily’s chocolate. I have only seen and gotten their chocolate chips. Are there other products?

Yes, they have a line of chocolate bars. My favorite is the salted caramel milk chocolate but the salted almond milk chocolate is great too.

https://thrivemarket.com/p/lilys-sweets-choose-your-own-chocolate-bars?utm_source=google&utm_medium=pla_smart&utm_campaign=Shopping_Engagement_Smart_Members&utm_content=choose_lilys6&utm_term=na&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqIHzycvF6gIVUPDACh1ZKgMzEAQYASABEgI2dPD_BwE

[Caraway]

For me it means no sugar, no fruit, no honey, no artificial sweeteners, nothing that tastes "sweet".  I also eat below 20 g of carbs, so no rice, grains, etc, but I don't normally refer to those as sugars.  

Edited July 11, 2020 by Caraway

[Liz CA]

On 7/10/2020 at 10:50 AM, Jean in Newcastle said:

I'm sure that they want to kick me off of the diabetes challenge because I keep pointing out things like how they suggest way too many carbs per meal etc. . . .  And now I am raining on their "let's just use Aspartame" advice! 

 

Don't touch aspartame with a ten foot pole...lots of studies on this subject. Who is suggesting such nonsense?

[Jean in Newcastle]

1 hour ago, Liz CA said:

 

Don't touch aspartame with a ten foot pole...lots of studies on this subject. Who is suggesting such nonsense?

SparkPeople. But it was one suggestion in a list that also included Stevia and Monk fruit. So not all suggestions were equally bad. But it was definitely slanted towards the artificial. 

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

SparkPeople. But it was one suggestion in a list that also included Stevia and Monk fruit. So not all suggestions were equally bad. But it was definitely slanted towards the artificial. 

is that the 'Advocare" stuff that doesn't tell you what it is on the package?  loaded with caffeine?  dh has a business group colleague that sells it.  I was able to track down the ingredients (no small feat).  I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

[Liz CA]

9 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

I like aspartame in small amounts, it’s one of my better tolerated artificial sweeteners 😂 They ALL need to be used in significant moderation, and the best flavor is generally yielded by mixing a few together. So not just stevia, but stevia, erythritol, and sucralose. That sort of thing. 

 

I have to say I have not read any recent findings on aspartame but some years ago, they was lots of peer reviewed research that didn't look very good for aspartame. Perhaps be careful. I have heard of monk fruit but haven't tried it yet. I try to reduce sugar, I still eat a little fruit - okay right now, middle of summer quite a bit of blueberries and raspberries but no sodas at all. I also try to use mainly Rapadura instead of commercially / conventionally processed  sugar. It's still a form of sugar but it's not supposed to spike in your system like the other sugars. 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Liz CA

[Jean in Newcastle]

42 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

is that the 'Advocare" stuff that doesn't tell you what it is on the package?  loaded with caffeine?  dh has a business group colleague that sells it.  I was able to track down the ingredients (no small feat).  I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

SparkPeople is a weight-loss, healthy habits website. They have various challenges. Some of them have been very encouraging. But I don’t agree with a lot of their diabetes advice. But it’s not just them. They tend to follow advice from the American Diabetic Association. I think that many Americans stay diabetic because of the advice from the ADA. ;)

[ktgrok]

7 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

is that the 'Advocare" stuff that doesn't tell you what it is on the package?  loaded with caffeine?  dh has a business group colleague that sells it.  I was able to track down the ingredients (no small feat).  I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

No, but I know what you are talking about. Someone was trying to sell it, because the b vitamins gave them so much energy. i was like...I think that's all the caffiene, lol. 

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

No, but I know what you are talking about. Someone was trying to sell it, because the b vitamins gave them so much energy. i was like...I think that's all the caffiene, lol. 

that sounds like advocare, they make a line of products called spark..  lots of caffeine.  the quality of their b-vitamins were lousy.  I have to have specific forms, and avoid others so I chased down the ingredients.  they didn't make it easy.

[ScoutTN]

13 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

  They tend to follow advice from the American Diabetic Association. I think that many Americans stay diabetic because of the advice from the ADA. 😉

Yes, I was surprised at how poor the nutritional advice/education that I was given in January, when I was diagnosed, was. Growing up with a type 1 family member, eating low carb for years, and being a person who enjoys cookingand gardening, I already knew what I needed for the dietary part of my type 2. Much of the information in those documents was problematic at best.

[gardenmom5]

13 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

 I think that many Americans stay diabetic because of the advice from the ADA. 😉

This.   

Do need to differentiate between type 1 and type 2 as the cause is not the same.   dd had to interview a diabetic as part of her doctoral program - she was thrilled to get a type 1 to interview.  Type 2 is much more common, and it can be reversed if the person is willing to change their diet.  I've been surprised to see otherwise conscientious people with type 2 still eating a lot of sugar.