to think a bit of sugar is fine

[missjersey]

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.

I love doughnuts! Have you got any left? I'll happily look after any spare ones

YANBU a bit of sugar is fine. There's far too much fuss about sugar at the moment. Like every type of food, it's fine to have it as a treat as long as you don't overdo it.

The real question is has anyone on Mumsnet managed to eat a jam doughnut without licking their lips? I haven't, despite practising for years.

It is the current "in" thing to publically refuse sugar.

A bit is fine.

yes before it was fat now it is sugar

I eat most things, and enjoy food, but there are a few things I just don't eat.

Donuts, sausage rolls and biscuits are just "not worth the calories" IMO. As in, not actually that nice despite being extremely fattening. (Crisps or cheese I cannot resist though!)

So I would have said no thanks too!

Every number of years there are new "fad foods" taking the limelight which are miraculous and cure all kinds of illness (spirulina was one of the last ones, coconut oil seems to be the miracle food these days) and "hated foods" which are the source of all evils (coconut oil was actually one of these not that long ago, now sugar is the fashionable one to hate). The margarine-butter war was another example of foods which go from "healthy and natural" to "unhealthy and bad" in a couple of years' time. People never seem to learn about these fads and keep getting tied in knots about it. It is just food. Every food has good and bad things. Every person is able to have a healthy diet by eating in moderation and exercising. But for some reason there are always a number of people who seem to need something to hate/revere in their life, in a way it is like adopting a new religion.

A doughnut is fine. Sugar is fine. Fat is fine. Protein is fine. Natural food is fine. Processed food is fine. Just don't eat too much of each of them, have a variety of foods, do a bit of exercise, enjoy your meals. Food is nutrition and enjoyment, don't turn it into an obsession.

I can't understand how they get so many calories into a donut. I look at a donut, start salivating, check the calories and then realise that I do to want to eat it.
I don't usually calorie count but donuts are a step to far. They are delicious though

Typo, I meant don't

I do understand that a bad diet it harmful i am not sitting here eating tubs of lard dipped in sugar or anything I just think people make to much of a issue of food and it can become a problem I think depriving yourself of something isn't good for you

I wouldn't eat a doughnut if you brought one in for me because I don't like them. I don't like sweet stuff much at all. Can you bring in some cheese, dips or crisps next time?

If you had brought in bananas, I think a different group of people would have raised their eyebrows!

It is all about how you define "a bit" of sugar surely?

I haven't checked, but I think the recommendation is that you do not exceed 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day. And I have a feeling that I read recently that actually, they think it should be 4 teaspoons. So, 20 -30grammes per day, approx.

Doughnuts are actually surprisingly low in sugar compared to other sweet things. I was looking at the nutritional info in McDonalds a while back, and there were only about 5g (1 teaspoon) or so in a doughnut, but around 20g (4 teaspoons) in a small ice cream cone and 80something (20 teaspoons) in a milkshake.

It is really, really, really easy to go over the recommended limit.

I changed medication last year which made me crave sugar like nothing I have ever experienced before. I ballooned by 3 stones in 4 months, (which was 40% ish of my bodyweight) and I have no doubts about how bad the excessive amounts of sugar made me feel, both physically and mentally. I had terrible withdrawal when I stopped eating it, but by breaking the cycle, I feel so much better.

I wouldn't have eaten one of your doughnuts in the office, and if that makes me in your eyes, then so be it. I don't actually care.

and there were only about 5g [sugar] or so in a doughnut

... and according to a quick search on Science Direct, about 12 g in a large banana. And fruit sugar still produces insulin spikes and promotes fat storage if that's what your colleagues were worried about, OP.

No-one has to eat anything.

But it is incredibly rude to criticise other people's food choices, either through suggesting the purchase of something else next time (like the banana) or eyerolling other peoples' choices (like the looks at the person who was taking the doughnuts home for the DCs).

So it's nowt to do with sugar. It's all to do with manners.

Which is good, cos I've just had two very chocolatey bites which aren't exactly sugar-free, apparently.

Whether they wanted to eat sugary foods or not isn't really the point though is it? Isn't the problem the disapproving looks and the 'oh, not I can't eat that' type comments.

If they'd said nothing and just eaten and enjoyed the bananas then other than some extra doughnuts left at the end it would be a non-issue. The problem is telling people what they should/shouldn't be eating or making others feel bad by pointing out that you are being more virtuous in some way than them. I can never understand why others feel they can comment on what someone is eating. I get it all the time and I think 'I'm not commenting on what you are eating, leave me alone to enjoy mine!'

"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."

I broadly agree with you, except that atoms being arranged slightly differently can make a huge difference to the properties of a molecule. There are loads of examples of this, none of which I can think of now! But even isomers (mirror image molecules) can have very different properties - for example thalidomide: one isomer is a sedative, the other is teratogenic as we all now know.

Where I agree with you is that processed sugar - sucrose - also occurs naturally. It is a disaccharide of fructose and glucose, both of which are naturally occurring also. It's the amounts concentrated in a particular food, and their rate of digestion and absorption, which are the problem. Complex carbs are just long chains of glucose, after all.

YANBU in thinking a little bit of sugar won't kill.

But YABU if you think sugar is not like booze and tobacco, re not needing it and re the dangers of consuming to much of it.

The problem with refined sugar is, (like re alcohol), the question of "what is moderation"? (And "what is too much"?)

No-one actually needs to have refined sugar in their diet at all, as long as there are 'better' foods available eg (mostly) unprocessed veg/meat/fruit/nuts/cereals & good fats.

So why shouldn't we all aim for a zero (refined) sugar target? (Hard to achieve as sugar lurks in bread and all kinds of not obviously sweet food goods.)

Alcohol & tobacco were probably much more heavily consumed per capita before refined sugar became so cheap and available. (Or am I wrong?) So, (cheap), sugar is a relatively new, (and insidious), arrival in our diet? Cos we have gone mad consuming it!

Refined sugars, (especially high fructose corn syrup, aka HFCS), can be considered (by biochemists & metabolsim experts) to be a poison/toxin. So that's why a lot of people are now trying to avoid refined sugars, as much as is possible.

Of course, small amounts of poison can be tolerated but there is a cumulative effect. (Habit forming and sustained exposure can easily lead to significant health problems. Also not so good for teeth.)

So if people do not want a free doughnut, it's like saying "no thanks" to an offer of a free ciggie or a free beer at work. And. maybe they eat at fixed times and are not hungry/don't want to take on empty calories?

So (next time) just smile and understand if some (or a lot of) people don't want a doughnut. They probably are just thinking of their health?

Majority of British people seem to struggle with maintaining a healthy weight and eating enough veg/fibre so offering round doughnuts is not really a kind thing to do? (Especially as some folks have a low threshold to temptation?)

So it's like giving a loved dog some chocolate? (They will like it but it isn't good for them!)

And why teach your kids that doughnuts are "a treat", thus setting up bad habits/associations for their future?

If sugar was really a rare treat then it wouldn't matter. But wouldnt be 'good' either. (Our sugar consumption has risen year on year. And we nearly all consume far too much of it.)

A banana is better (for your health) but too many bananas are also
bad (too much natural sugar) and too much of any type of food is bad as can lead to obesity.

So there is no perfect food to give away IMO. (Cos most of us eat too much anyhow.)

Overall, YABU to think people should always accept a free doughnut (or whatever you have to give away), however kindly it was offered.

They shouldn't be rude when they refuse an offer though. A simple "no thanks" will do, as long as you don't then say ... "Why? Are you on a diet?" and/or "Go on, just have one!" .... which is always VERY annoying!

I love the anti sugar MNers. There is one who ALWAYS used to post on sugar threads about having a small black crystal they kept in a locked cupboard "just in case we have builders in" as if poisoning them is ok coz they are common.
I like sugar and fat and, come to that alcohol and tobacco, now I am old I try to keep them all under control but still enjoy the joy if food and drink. Do you have Arby's there? The milkshake is to die for and you can chew the sugar granules.

rice burner why should I aim for zero something I want?
I really don't mind if you do, would always do my best to accommodate you and your children and would not undermine your choice but it doesn't mean I have to swap my food for bananas does it?

They could have just said "no thanks" without being holier than thou about it.

One thing to consider though, while humans may have consumed sugar for thousands of years, our lifestyles have changed beyond all recognition in a very short space of time. We sit on chairs all day then get in our cars to go home/sit on the bus or train etc.. then we watch tv on our sofa's. Basically I'm saying that our bodies haven't caught up to our modern lifestyle and it's not surprising that what we eat has a bigger impact on our bodies now.

Any doughnuts going spare, please send them my way. I love them, especially the sugary ones with jam in the middle. Not a big fan of glazed doughnuts but would never turn my nose up at one. Thing is as well, there so cheap 5 for less than a pound in tesco. Morrisons do the best ones though but tesco's is a close second. Sometimes I think I could be a doughnutaholic, maybe I am. If anyone says they would prefer a banana instead of a doughnut, maybe you should let them know that a banana flavored doughnut could be a good compromise. mmmmmm

Jeez, i mean if you brought in a crack pipe, sounds like you would have got the same response.....EAT THE DOUGHNUTS!!!

Eat the doughnuts and be proud of it

Yeah, it's the way they refuse that's annoying. Take one or don't; no need to make a THING out of it.