Okay, so I am not supposed to have any sugar as a beaner. What's the deal, then, when I see a product that has some sort of sugar in the ingredient list, but it still has no or mminimal carbs. If there are very few or no carbs, does it matter about the sugar?

Hi there: Sugar is bad because it causes your insulin level to spike - which in turn causes your body to store fat.

I believe that carbs are better than sugar, provided that they are complex (i.e. whole wheat breads, brown rice, yams, etc.) and are eaten with proteins and healthy fats to create a balance - which in turn, provides decreased levels of fat storage.


Hope this helps,
Rene

is it sugar alcohol on the lables? That doesn't spike my insulin levels at all - can eat with no problems - although I know this isn't true for some people

Sugar is a carbohydrate.

In general, the rule is to avoid simple sugars, which can spike insulin levels. However, when they are used in a product and the content is very low in comparison to fats and proteins, the insulin effect is minimized. It's best to look at the carb/protein/fat per serving content then the ingredients and use your best judgement.

This is not to say sugar is OK. I think you'll find that after a while of not eating sweetened foods, you won't want them any more. I've gotten to the point where I have to make my own salad dressings and some other condiments because the store-bought varieties are way too sweet -- they're being made for a populaton that is addicted to sweets and becoming more and more desensitized, so they keep adding more and more sugar to satisfy their ever-devolving sweet tooth. HTH

Hi Cryer:

I hope I didn't create confusion for you on the other thread. Anyone starting the program should be eliminating all artificial sweeteners cold turkey and striving to eliminate sugar. If you MUST have sweetener, Dr. S. says honey is better than refined sugar or AS. The best sweetener, of course, is stevia.

But you'll find people are at various levels in the program. My adrenals are healthy and I'm insulin sensitive. This means that I can have occassional small amounts of sugar without destroying my health as long as I'm eating real, healthy foods, managing stress, sleeping enough and cross-training (I'm doing BFL).

But three months ago, I was insane with sugar cravings. Dr. S. is absolutely correct in her belief that as your hormones heal, your cravings for sugar will go away.

Hope this clears up the confusion.

Wanda

--edit--
Sorry Deb, it took me forever to post so I didn't see your post. Well put!

Consider the glycemic index of major sources of carbs. Some complex carbs (WHEAT products!) are worse than table sugar for spiking blood glucose.

The numbers below are often averages from several studies. I wrote them down from a website. Sorry I forgot the address, but it was easy to find with Google.

Barley (pot barley)- 25
Rye bread - 48
Rice, brown=white!!! - 55
Sweet potato - 57
Soda pop - 63
Oatmeal, cooked - 65
Table sugar - 65
Wheat bread, brown=white!!! - 71
Gatorade - 83
Baked potato - 85
Glucose - 100 (by definition)

I try to eat high on this list. Oatmeal is about the cutoff for me.