Are You Eating Dessert?

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 2:07 pm

In her book What To Eat, Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition at NYU and blogger at Food Politics suggests that any food that contains more than 15 grams of sugar per serving is closer to dessert than anything else.

Check out this and this. They are including sugar from all sources, including naturally occurring sugars, but nonetheless, some are really shocking!

Elspeth · Post by **Elspeth** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 3:13 pm

Shocking indeed, wosnes. I never would have imagined that Thai chicken salad could have 49 grams of sugar.

In No S terms, I would certainly differentiate between items with added sugar vs. real food with naturally occurring sugar. An apple or a bunch of grapes may have twice as much sugar as a Krispy Kreme doughnut, but the latter is still a "sweet" while the former items can be part of a healthy meal.

I nearly always include a fruit of some kind on my plate, which I eat at the end of the meal. I just like ending a meal with something sweet. It's just that nowadays I have an pear or banana instead of a bowl of ice cream or a handful of cookies.

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 3:53 pm

When I had my most success with the No S Diet, I read the labels and would not buy anything that wasn't very low in sugar and sodium. I really think it made a difference because I lost a lot of weight fairly quickly.

But No S is not no sugar, it's no sweets. If you can opt for lower sugar options, from my own experience it can make a difference. It would be equally as interesting to see the amount of salt that are in each of those foods. A lot of times you lower the sugar... the salt and other additives like whacky sounding oils are added to the ingredient list.

Gia · Post by **Gia** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:32 pm

Shocking!!!! Thank you for posting this. Really unbelievable that

a) donut is so little relative to the salad
b) starbucks is so much

techapb · Post by **techapb** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:46 pm

freaky !! my faves are all here..

Nichole · Post by **Nichole** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 11:58 am

Do people really buy and eat Marie Calendar's pies for Thanksgiving? And eat stuffing from a box on this great holiday?? Shocking!!! Homemade pumpkin pie is so much fun to make

And my mom's homemade stuffing is to die for..! Mmmmmm!

And the other link, I don't eat most of that stuff. Only the occasional (like maybe 3 times a year) Subway Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki.

But that's just me. I guess there are other people eating this stuff on a daily basis, which is not good.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 1:05 pm

Nichole wrote:Do people really buy and eat Marie Calendar's pies for Thanksgiving? And eat stuffing from a box on this great holiday?? Shocking!!! Homemade pumpkin pie is so much fun to make And my mom's homemade stuffing is to die for..! Mmmmmm!

Yes, indeed they do. It's called the "Nothing Homemade Thanksgiving." For a couple of years we spent Thanksgiving with a family like that, although they did make mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. Other than those dishes, the only homemade things were dishes I took.

Apparently one year the mother of the family made homemade stuffing and her son (in his 30s) told her she had ruined Thanksgiving.

Nichole · Post by **Nichole** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 1:58 pm

LOL!!!

My husband is like that. I made mac and cheese from scratch and I loved it and he was disapointed that it didn't taste like Velveeta. I can't remember the last time I had Stove Top or Velveeta or Kraft Mac and Cheese ...

I wil admit, however, that about once a week (or every other week) I make rice pilaf from a box - East India brand. I made homemade brown rice once and it was nasty. I'm not sure what I did wrong.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:30 pm

Nichole wrote:I made homemade brown rice once and it was nasty. I'm not sure what I did wrong.

I think brown rice is nasty, but I'm not at all fond of whole grains except in bread. I can take them in small amounts in mixed dishes

I will admit to using Velveeta as one of the cheeses when I make macaroni and cheese.

DaveMc · Post by **DaveMc** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:55 pm

Number 9 on the first list disturbs me: Tropicana orange juice, 25 g of sugar in 8 oz. OK, that's a surprising amount of sugar, but I'm still not going to consider orange juice to be a dessert! It makes me think that their boundary of 15 g, in addition to being arbitrary, may be somewhat too low.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 3:58 pm

DaveMc wrote:Number 9 on the first list disturbs me: Tropicana orange juice, 25 g of sugar in 8 oz. OK, that's a surprising amount of sugar, but I'm still not going to consider orange juice to be a dessert! It makes me think that their boundary of 15 g, in addition to being arbitrary, may be somewhat too low.

Maybe not a dessert, but about the caloric and sugar equivalent of a Coke or other soda. There are a number of "experts" who don't consider juice to be a healthy drink because you're getting all of the sugar in fruit without the protective benefits of the fiber. I rarely drink juice anymore.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:39 pm

There are 20-25 grams of sugar in most pieces of fruit. I think it depends on what is in the rest of the meal and in the volume of the food item. Do most people drink 8 oz. of orange juice at a time, anyway? We always had a little juice glass when I was growing up.

But, I'd rather chew anyway, so I rarely drink fruit juice. It's also too easy to take in what would represent a lot more food than I could eat comfortably, especially if I'm very thirsty, in which case, plain water is a better choice.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:51 pm

oolala53 wrote:There are 20-25 grams of sugar in most pieces of fruit. I think it depends on what is in the rest of the meal and in the volume of the food item. Do most people drink 8 oz. of orange juice at a time, anyway? We always had a little juice glass when I was growing up.

I think most people drink more than 8 ounces of juice at a time -- probably about 12 ounces. I own small juice glasses, but I don't think many people do.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 11:59 pm

I agree they might have more apple juice or grape juice at a time, but I wonder about orange juice. I fraternize with a lot of health food nuts and vegetarians, yet truthfully, I rarely see them drink a whole glass of juice, unless it's the liquid for a smoothie. But the average American may be very different.

Anyway, I know what the point is. People are used to thinking of liquids as beverages to be drunk along with food and not to regard them as a food. Water is really the only beverage that shouldn't be thought of as a food, or at least a potential form of nutrition or calories. I think it's the only one that it makes sense to use to quench thirst. Everything else is a form of food or entertainment, IMHO.

But the sugar issue is still important for the unknowing masses.

ShannahR · Post by **ShannahR** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 1:42 pm

I know it's a bit extreme, but I actually consider juice an "S" and it works quite well. I drink only water during the week--which I think is good for me, I definately drink more water when my body isn't confused by diet Coke (which I gave up) and orange juice. I used to drink OJ everymorning (approx 8 oz) but I decided it probably wasn't good when I started waking up craving it. On the weekend I have juice with breakfast in a wine glass to make it a "special" event.
I think one of the best benefits of this method is I don't have to worry about drinking too many calories and interfering with my weight loss!

vmsurbat · Post by **vmsurbat** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 4:12 pm

ShannahR wrote:I I used to drink OJ everymorning (approx 8 oz) but I decided it probably wasn't good when I started waking up craving it. On the weekend I have juice with breakfast in a wine glass to make it a "special" event.

I think it is wonderful how *easy* it is to personalize the NoS diet.

Ever since starting NoS (18 months ago), I've finally allowed myself to enjoy a small (4 oz) glass of OJ most mornings. I've found that for breakfast (not other meals), I do very well with "drinking my calories"--my body appreciates the extra boost of liquid after a whole night w/o any (small glass of water on waking, followed by breakfast an hour later with a small glass of juice, small glass of milk, and cup of coffee in addition to toast or muffin.) and I am getting much needed calcium and vitamins. I know that the children's grandfather (in his 70s now) grew up with a glass of juice every morning, especially in winter, as a source of vit. C....