Sugar - friend or foe?

[nogutsnoglory]

I was going to post in the food section about how I think all the natural sugar from fruit and fruit juice may be aggravating my condition by feeding the bad bacteria. I have a sweet tooth and wanted to hear if others felt better by eliminating natural sugar. I also wanted to know how to curb my cravings.

Interestingly while googling I found an article about research saying sugar may be an IBD solution.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/61787.php

So my question stands but also like to hear thoughts on the article.

 

[Jennifer]

Natural sugar from fruits etc. is by far more healthy than any processed sugar. I haven't read anything thus far about how artificial sweeteners are superior in any way. I've also never experienced sugar having any sort of negative affect on me but that may very well be a personal thing. Have you had your blood sugar tested recently?.

Also I doubt that one bacteria out of a trillion or so is going to heal faster than the gut gets damaged nor will it be able to do localized healing.

 

[David]

Interestingly while googling I found an article about research saying sugar may be an IBD solution.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/61787.php

I'm sure you realized this but for others that don't bother to click through and read the article, sugar, at present, it NOT a treatment for IBD. What is proposed is using modified bacteria to treat the IBD and using sugar as a way to turn on or off those bacteria. So don't take a spoonful of sugar a day thinking you're doing yourself good

 

[helena101]

I am following Prof Hunter's elimination diet, and I have strict limits on how much fructose (natural fruit sugar) to consume per day... I am to have two small pieces of fruit plus (if I want) 1 small glass of juice max per day. The limit on the fruit is because of both the fiber and the fructose, the limit on the juice is only because of the fructose. I was also told to avoid anything which lists fructose as an added ingredient (they actually prefer regular sugar, sucrose). Anyway, it seems there are different theories out there regarding who the food-villains are for crohn's. I definitely do see a difference if I have more fruit/juice than my allowed amount, in terms of more gas, softer BMs etc... honey is allowed however (and I think honey is mostly fructose?), and I don't seem to have any problems with that, which is a little confusing....

 

[Niklovely]

Natural sugar doesn't bother me but sugar substitutes made my flare up worse, particularly aspartame and sorbitol.

 

[kiny]

He is using a specific sugar in the article, that only that bacteria can use, he is not using just sugar, regular sugar can be exploited by many bacteria in our gut, they can use them all, glucose, fructose, polysaccarids like inulin, they can use them all. I think it depends on what your gut flora is like. If you have an infection, feeding it might make it much worse. If you have a normal gut flora, sugar might help make butyric acid, which is good. But I don't think sugar for crohn to try right now because of the link with certain E coli and yeast, all those bacteria can ferment it and grow very fast thanks to sugar, I think it can make it worse so I'm not willing to try it, even when I read the inulin studies, it helped in some people, but the ones where it doesn't help might be much worse off if they have spcific E Coli or yeast overgrowth. It's like suggesting you take something and there is a tiny chance you get a tiny bit better if you happen to have the right flora, and if you don't, you will get far worse. I'm not willing to take a chance like that because I don't know what my gut flora is like, I think no one does.

Article is not suggesting to take sugar, he is using a specific type of sugar that 1 specific bacteria he modified can use, he is not saying to use sugar.

Sugar is foe for me atm.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Currently I think sugar is a big foe for me. I am on zero carbs and sugars. Not sure the body really needs either. Hope I don't pass out lol.

 

[Jennifer]

Currently I think sugar is a big foe for me. I am on zero carbs and sugars. Not sure the body really needs either. Hope I don't pass out lol.

You might want to reconsider.

"Unhealthy metabolic state (ketosis). Low-carb diets can cause the body to go into a dangerous metabolic state called ketosis since your body burns fat instead of glucose for energy. During ketosis, the body forms substances known as ketones, which can cause organs to fail and result in gout, kidney stones, or kidney failure. Ketones can also dull a person's appetite, cause nausea and bad breath. Ketosis can be prevented by eating at least 100 grams of carbohydrates a day." http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/high-protein-low-carbohydrate-diets

It can cause a lot of health problems. Check out the link. Our bodies do need carbs.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Crabby the low carb diets like paleo actually encourage a ketogenic diet and argue that the medical establishment is wrong on this.

One thing I think of is the cavemen in the winter. They didn't have access to fruits and veg, they certainly weren't eating grains so they likely ate meat only for months which has no carbs. This is why im reluctant to believe we need carbs or sugar.

 

[Jennifer]

It's not always winter.

 

[sfmreb2]

Maybe that is why there are no cavemen left. :cheerss:

 

[Jennifer]

Not to mention their life expectancy was really short and not just because of injury, disease and being killed by wildlife but also because of malnutrition.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Can you provide evidence for their shorter life span due to malnutrition? Paleo advocates just argue that they were healthy and didn't face the diseases we do today. They died because of wild animal attacks and simple things they didn't know how to cure.

 

[Jennifer]

I'm gonna start with this and get back to you on the rest later today. Don't have time right now.

"Residues on the working edges and sharp tips of these tools show that they were used to process both plants and animals, including waterfowl."

"Cereal grains have been found stuck between the teeth of several Neandertals. Some of those grains appear to have been cooked. All of this evidence is important because it shows that Neandertals were more capable and flexible in tool making and food acquisition than had generally been thought." http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_3.htm

It was not a meat only diet for sure. Hunter gatherers. They gathered fruits, nuts, roots etc.