Sugar intake

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hey Jordan.

I’ve read your latest IG post and have some follow-up questions.

  1. Should we limit added sugar (less than 5% of daily calories) because of consuming too many calories and not enough fiber or is it that sugar per se has some negative health outcomes?

  2. What is your statement on mediterranean diet?

Thanks in advance

2

Jobo,

  1. Typically there’s a knock-on effect of eating too many calories, too little fiber, and too few servings of fruits and vegetables. It does look like substituting saturated fat for sugar results in worse lipid panels compare to replacing them with MUFAs, PUFAs, or whole grains, but that’s about as far as I’d go there.

  2. I think it is one of many health promoting diets.

-Jordan

3

Nah, but thanks for joining the forum!

1 Like
4

Hey Jordan. Thanks for reply.

I really love to eat cereals as my main carb source. Should I worry about my sugar intake (600g daily carb intake, 200g sugar)? Is eating sugar bad for us? Like are there any health problems it could cause?
I usually eat >50g fiber and 1000g vegetables a day.

Thanks

5

Again, added sugar is the main thing here. I do not know what kind of cereal you eat and what’s in it, but I wouldn’t be having a lot of added sugar in the diet if you could help it. I don’t think it’s useful to think of foods as good or bad outside of rare instances, e.g. trans fats, but rather we should be thinking about better or worse choices.

6

Quick clarification–is the upper limit 5% or 10% of total calories from added sugars? Was 10% here which is typical of what I’ve seen elsewhere. Is 5% for a special population or 5 vs 10% is murky?

Carb/Sugar intake - Nutrition Q/A with Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum - Barbell Medicine Forum

7

Hi. Thanks again

  1. I generally stick to kids/ breakfast cereals. Multi Grain Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, Honey Smacks, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Krispies, Cookie Crisp, Corn Pops, …

What can I use to replace kids/ breakfast cereals in my diet? Do you have any ideas what to eat for carbs? What is your main source of carbs?

  1. How bad does poor mental health affect recovery?

Thanks in advance

8

The official recommendation is 5% for maximal risk reduction with 10% for general guidelines.

9
  1. What ways do you think you can limit your added sugar intake in favor of whole grains and/or carbohydrates with little to no added sugar?
    2)What do you mean by poor mental health and recovery? This is unrelated to nutrition so I’ll choose to not answer it here. You can start another thread in another section of our forum.
10

Consider non-flavored oatmeal. You can purchase ‘Stevia’ which is an artificial sweetener with no health risks that I’m aware of. Mix a little bit of stevia and cinnamon into your oats and they will taste great. If you want to go for a cheap and quick option, regular quaker oats heat in the microwave in two minutes.