Sugar or Junk Food

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Here's a funny question, another mom broke out this thing called Pirate's Booty. Basically it's organic cheetos. She began to pass it out and I said "it's junk food like a cheeto". She was insulted and said that I feed my kid processed sugar which I do. My kid eats anything I eat but we don't eat a lot of junk food.

So I said why is Sugar worse than Junk Food/Processed foods? Because sugar makes you obese and diabetic. My argument was so does junk food and processed foods.

Why should a kid be drinking juice because it's "all natural 100% fruit" but can't eat anything with sugar? Including cake, cupcakes, etc?

I pointed out that I cook more from scratch and we used to make our own pasta, ice cream, cakes, bread, and still do sometime. But I don't buy potato chips, granola bars, goldfish crackers for snacks which are all "organic".

Seriously want to sell something in the US? Slap organic on it and it'll sell. I mean an organic chocolate chip is still chocolate chip.

When did something "organic" become the only thing to look at? No wonder we're so fat in this country.

[disneysteve]

You are correct that "organic" has absolutely nothing to do with health or weight or obesity. Organic strictly refers to how the food is grown and whether or not it is treated with pesticides. So an organic apple and a non-organic apple have the exact same nutritional breakdowns. An apple is an apple.

As for sugar, that's a totally different question. We eat way, way, way too much processed sugar and carbs and that is behind a lot of our obesity problems. People should be cutting back on white sugar and simple carbs (white bread, white rice, white pasta, potatoes, etc.) and eating more complex carbs (whole grain breads, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, fruits and vegetables).

[bjl584]

The more processed a sugar is the worse it is for you. Natural sugars like the kinds found in fruits usually aren't that bad. But, processed sugars like white sugar and like high fructous corn syrups cause problems with your pancreas and cause cavities. Your body can't process those types of sugars properly.

I see what you're saying though. Just cause something is labeled organic or natural, it doesn't make it healthy.

[zetta]

My current favorite is a snack called "veggie sticks". My neighbor is convinced it's healthy -- I looked at the ingredients, and it's basically the same as potato chips colored with dye made from carrots and spinach. We eat them, but treat them like the potato chips they are.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by zetta

My current favorite is a snack called "veggie sticks". My neighbor is convinced it's healthy -- I looked at the ingredients, and it's basically the same as potato chips colored with dye made from carrots and spinach.

I prefer Terra chips. They are like potato chips but rather than being made from potatoes, they are made from various other vegetables like carrots, squash, yuca, sweet potato, taro, parsnip and more.
Terra Chips Home Page

[Gary Barzel]

A common mistake many people tend to make is to substitute brown sugar for white sugar thinking it is much healthier for you. It does contain slightly fewer calories compared to refined white sugar, so it is more effective in preventing obesity. However white sugar is actually 99.9% pure sucrose, while brown sugar is 97% sucrose, 2% water and 1% other substances.