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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think a bit of sugar is fine

55 replies

missjersey · 29/04/2014 08:51

Am I in the minority for not thinking sugar is as bad as booze and tobacco?

I mean its been consumed for thousands of years and is natural and found in most foods anyway.

Bought some doughnuts for the team yesterday, but quite a few turned their nose up and one said they would rather have bananas. One person wanted to take the last two back as a treat for the kids, but this did get a disapproving look from other mums.

OP posts:

sooperdooper · 29/04/2014 08:53

A bit of anything is fine, it's all about balance and some people take things to extremes

gordyslovesheep · 29/04/2014 08:53

maybe they aren't Doanut lovers?

sooperdooper · 29/04/2014 08:54

I didn't mean you had with the donoughts!! Silly people, I'd have had one :)

LordEmsworth · 29/04/2014 08:59

Hmmm... there is a massive difference though between naturally-occurring sugars found in foods, and processed sugar. And while naturally-occurring sugars have indeed been eaten for thousands of years, processed sugar was unusual up until only a few hundred years ago.

However, anyone who'd rather have a banana than a doughnut is wrong! And saying it was rude. If you were force-feeding them doughnuts all day, every day, that would be an ishoo - sugar should be a treat, the problem is when you act as though it isn't!

Shenanagins · 29/04/2014 09:00

Moderation is fine but the problem is that the amount of hidden sugars in food has increased hugely in the last 20 years we are now consuming far too much of it. Research is pointing to a link between this increase and the rising obesity problem.

Mrsjayy · 29/04/2014 09:00

people who are food haters are boring granted I am not keen on cake but rather have a banana no your fine ta I once had women at work on diets they had little lunch boxes with salad and bird seed in it the cook was making roast potatoes and they were naughty for stealing one BUGGER OFF

Gileswithachainsaw · 29/04/2014 09:00

Yanbu

Life's too short, let a kid have a frickin doughnut they aren't going to drop dead.

It's all about balance.

There's room for a doughnut in a healthy diet.

TheBookofRuth · 29/04/2014 09:02

I bet they all wanted one really

Whenever I've been to coffee mornings with nutty-granola mummies, I've brought cake or biscuits while they brought fruit or similar. After A LOT of "oh goodness no, I really shouldn't" (always met by me with a shrug and a "suit yourself" - I'm not a feeder), guess which ones actually get eaten?

Mrsjayy · 29/04/2014 09:04

a little bit of sugar is fine a lot healthier IMO than bloody sweetners

Xihha · 29/04/2014 09:11

People like that annoy me, so long as you generally eat healthily and exercise the odd donut won't do any harm.

As for the poor mum that got a disapproving look for taking the donuts back as a treat, children should have the occasional sweet treat, so long as she wasn't giving them that and a bag of skittles washed down by coke for dinner then whats the problem?

FraidyCat · 29/04/2014 09:26

there is a massive difference though between naturally-occurring sugars found in foods, and processed sugar

I don't know that there is any difference. I vaguely recall from organic chemistry (30 years ago) that different sugars have the same composition as each other, the atoms are just arranged slightly differently.

Is there any science behind this statement, or is this just an example of the fallacy that "natural" always means better?

SaucyJack · 29/04/2014 09:36

A bit of sugar is fine. I wouldn't eat a doughnut tho (unless they were fresh hot ones from the pier)- complete waste of calories IMO. Tasteless stodge.

MB34 · 29/04/2014 09:37

IMO it is rude to turn down donuts and even more so to say that they were taking them home for the kids! I bought some treats for everyone in work once (enough for one each) and one colleague said she'd take hers home for her daughter as she was on a diet. I was a bit as I'd bought it for her, not her daughter. Would have preferred if she'd just said she'd save it for later. Maybe that's just me though!

CogitoErgoSometimes · 29/04/2014 09:38

YANBU.. 'there are no bad foods, only bad diets'.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 29/04/2014 09:41

YANBU sugar in moderation is fine to me. I would have had a doughnut, I have had one for a long time

In our family we all eat healthily with lots of fruit and veg but we all like a treat now and again too.

Jesuisunepapillon · 29/04/2014 09:46

A bit of sugar is absolutely fine. But we don't generally just eat a bit. Historically we just didn't eat that much as it was either not available to us or was hugely expensive. If you look into how much the average person consumes, it is really quite shocking.

There has been so much in the press about it this year, and I think lots of people are now trying to cut down. I don't think that's anything other than a good thing I'm afraid. It's linked to so many health issues from diabetes to Alzheimer's. Nothing wrong with taking your health seriously, we've just gotten too used to people set siting vast quantities. If I'm offered a doughnut I would definitely say no these days unless it is a special occasion. Might be boring, but there's still lots of other nice foods to enjoy which don't have sugar in them.

LoonvanBoon · 29/04/2014 09:47

YANBU to think a bit of sugar is okay in the context of a healthy diet. Not sure about the comparison with booze & tobacco, though - don't think alcohol & tobacco are comparable for a start, as small amounts of alcohol can be good for you.

Agree with Shenanigans though that there are so many hidden sugars in processed food that it's harder just to have a small amount these days unless you cook absolutely everything from scratch.

Wouldn't eat a doughnut either - I hate them.

TulipOHare · 29/04/2014 09:47

YANBU, and I'm fairly anti-sugar on the whole. But would never ban it and do allow it for myself / the DC in moderation. Although I did draw the line at the horrid iced supermarket doughnuts DP wanted to get for the DC last week. Just seems a step too far . Plenty of better-quality treats out there that they'd be just as excited to get.

Hot fresh doughnuts with a dusting of sugar are food of the gods though! There is a stand at a shopping park near us. Thankfully I don't find myself there very often because when I do, I can easily put three or four of them away

Jesuisunepapillon · 29/04/2014 09:48

'there is a massive difference though between naturally-occurring sugars found in foods, and processed sugar

Is there any science behind this statement, or is this just an example of the fallacy that "natural" always means better?'

I think there is truth in this, simply because if you eat a piece of fruit with naturally occurring sugars, the fibre in the fruit changes how the sugar is processed in your body. Which is why fruit juice is considered unhealthy but whole fruit isn't. Also you're getting far more nutrients from, say, blueberries than from a piece of haribo.

HellonHeels · 29/04/2014 09:50

I wouldn't have had a doughnut as I'm working hard to lose weight and have real trouble eating sweet things moderately so it's easier just not to eat them for time being.

However I would not have made any mention of dieting or losing weight or the dangers of sugar (boring!) would not have turned my nose up at them and would have thanked you for them, just not eaten one. My office is full of cake and doughnut lovers, any left over would have been fallen upon swiftly.

You would only be unreasonable if you'd tried to force anyone to eat one which I am sure you did not.

LordEmsworth · 29/04/2014 09:53

FraidyCat - I know the science about whether different types of sugar have different effects on the body is unproven; I was actually meaning that naturally-occurring sugars and processed sugars are different because of how we consume them.

For example, fruit is fairly high in sugar, but there's a limit to how much fruit most of us can eat in one sitting. Whereas a doughnut - personally at least, I can easily eat considerably more doughnuts than I can apples, and they are maybe between 20 - 40% sugar. So it is much easier to consume a high amount of processed sugar than of "natural" sugars.

Shenanigans comment about hidden sugars then ties into this - i.e. if we have a doughnut on top of lots of other processed food, we might know about the sugar in the doughnut but think the jar of pasta sauce must be "healthy" because it's all tomatoes, when actually there's loads of sugar in there as well.

I am not under the impression that natural means healthy . Actually my point was kind of the opposite - that we can't look at history and say, "well humans have always done this and it's always been ok"

FraidyCat · 29/04/2014 09:56

if you eat a piece of fruit with naturally occurring sugars, the fibre in the fruit changes how the sugar is processed in your body

Sound like you're agreeing that there isn't anything intrinsically different about refined sugar. I assume it's the quantity of added sugars and possibly the context in which they are eaten that are the problem.

pizzachickenhotforyou · 29/04/2014 09:56

They could of just said no thanks.

Mrsjayy · 29/04/2014 09:58

yes they should have just said no thank you and not add the Id rather have a banana comments that is just smugness at its best

FraidyCat · 29/04/2014 10:00

There was some TV program recently (that I read about rather than saw) that apparently said from an obesity point of view, combining sugars with fats was terrible. Apparently your body know when you've eaten enough if you try to live on one or the other, but gets confused when you combine them, as the combination doesn't happen in nature. That's a plausible sounding reason why a doughnut is a much worse food than a banana.

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