alex3619
Senior Member
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- 13,810
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- Logan, Queensland, Australia
Sugar (sucrose) is a disaccharide, fructose plus glucose. Fructose is a known issue with increasing lactate production, though I only have only seen this as a scientific claim and not definitive evidence (I have had no reason to investigate this). We already have too much lactate during and after activity. In any case its empty energy .. no other nutritive value. At least honey has magnesium and other nutrients, though its otherwise basically broken down sugar. My pet hate though is refined starch. This is a sugar by another name (many glucose molecules end to end), with no nutrition again, but because its called starch its easy to ignore the issue. Some packet soups are loaded with the stuff.
Sugar consumption is linked to heart disease in large epidemiological studies. Its considered in more recent studies to be far more dangerous than saturated fat - in fact some of the epidemiology suggests saturated fat is actually mildly protective of the heart and vascular system. No such claim can be made about sugar.
Having said all that, while I do watch my sugar in diet I don't completely avoid it either. We have a natural craving for sweet things, and many foods that are sweet (including processed foods like chocolate) have some good nutritional properties. Its just empty sugar that is a big issue. If one can tolerate chocolate its loaded with good stuff ... in moderation of course.
Now if I cannot eat, I am too crashed to cook and just swallowing is a chore, then even fizzy soft drinks have value. They have their place. Even a little sugar (not a lot) is better for us than a complete fast.
Then there is this. We have so very little in our lives that is pleasurable. A little sugar treat now and again makes life more bearable.
PS One more thing - some sugars are essential. These are the pentose sugars, including ribose. Without them we will die. So not all sugars are without nutritional value.
Sugar consumption is linked to heart disease in large epidemiological studies. Its considered in more recent studies to be far more dangerous than saturated fat - in fact some of the epidemiology suggests saturated fat is actually mildly protective of the heart and vascular system. No such claim can be made about sugar.
Having said all that, while I do watch my sugar in diet I don't completely avoid it either. We have a natural craving for sweet things, and many foods that are sweet (including processed foods like chocolate) have some good nutritional properties. Its just empty sugar that is a big issue. If one can tolerate chocolate its loaded with good stuff ... in moderation of course.
Now if I cannot eat, I am too crashed to cook and just swallowing is a chore, then even fizzy soft drinks have value. They have their place. Even a little sugar (not a lot) is better for us than a complete fast.
Then there is this. We have so very little in our lives that is pleasurable. A little sugar treat now and again makes life more bearable.
PS One more thing - some sugars are essential. These are the pentose sugars, including ribose. Without them we will die. So not all sugars are without nutritional value.
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