Sugar questions

This may sound stupid, but I really don't know a lot on nutrition. SO please be gentle! LOL!  Ok so outside of dumping what are the issues with us having sugars? I am petrified of using too much artificial sweetner. I have read one too many of DR. Mercolas blogs ;)  And how much sugar is too much.  I found a protein bar that I LOVE!!! BUT it has 15 grams of sugar. Is that too much? BTW- They are called twisted. They are really yummy. I get them at Target. $1 each. They come in Peanut butter or chocolate.

I think you will find that every surgeon and nut is different.    We were always told nothing more than 5g of sugar or fat per serving and sugar (or any of the ...itols) should be no higher than 4th in the list of ingredients.    I will go as high as 7gs  depending on the amount of protein in something, but I always look for low sugar/low fat first. 15 seems pretty high to me.

Thank you Dave, I kinda in my head thought it was too high- but it was oh so yummy!  I was having half of it at a time, because I have one time mildly dumped ( at least I think that is what it was) and I don't want to go there.  MMMMM have to read and see where on the list sugar falls.

Bandsters don't dump, but we're advised not to eat much sugar either.  The issue is the blood sugar bounce.  Too many simple carbs will cause your blood sugar to spike, then it'll drop off fast and you'll be hungry again -- usually before mealtime. I found back in the bad old days when I was diabetic and testing my blood often that eating sugar in a protein meal wasn't the problem that a sugary snack was.  So perhaps sugar in a protein bar may not be that bad.  They told us to have no more than 15 grams of carbs in a snack. Another thing about sugar is that it's addictive for some.  I had real trouble with soft drinks.  I've been a pop junkie since college.  My mother never bought it, but my undergrad school had an alum that was high up in Pepsico and we got cheap or free Pepsi.  I could never break the habit until I had WLS.  I had my last soda at 11:45 p.m. the night before surgery! Edie

Thanks Edie,        OH how I miss my PEPSI's!!! But getting on that scale and it saying what it says..... well I can do with out.   I have to admit that Pepsi was my last thing too! At around the same time.  I never checked the carbs- Are we supposed to not do those too?

The nuts at Bayview tell us that we only need to worry about protein grams (getting enough) and water, as long as we're getting the protein in first and keeping our carbs complex.  The band takes care of the quantities.  I asked about carbs and calories and they said not to worry too much, that if we were following the other rules, the carbs would come out right.  They did say, however, to avoid food items where sugar was in the first 3 ingredients. When I was in diabetes education classes a couple of years ago at Anne Arundel MC, they told us about the 15-gram rule.  That was just to keep our blood sugar steady. Edie

edie, are u from the eastern shore maryland?  sweetheart59

No, I live in Millersville (Anne Arundel County near Severna Park and Glen Burnie).  I changed my city to "the Land of Pleasant Living" because (1) I think it's a great slogan, and (2) I was trying to disguise my identity when I sent my Secret Santa present to the recipient in the lap-band forum. Edie 

I'm only 7 months out, so I'm no expert, but from all that I have read, I don't see sugar as a problem, unless you dump.     Obviously, in order to eat a well balanced diet and get in all the other essentials, sugary things don't often make the cut.  And too much sugar, even in non-WLS people, can cause weight gain.  So, there is concern, but I haven't figured out or heard of an "effect" or negative "thing" that sugar will "do" to us. I don't dump from sugar (or anything else it appears), so although I don't eat large amounts of sugar regularly, I do have some when the feeling strikes me.  One of my favorite snacks is the Nature Valley Sweet and Salty Peanut Granola Bars (11g sugar, 4g protein). I'm interested to hear how others respond to this question.  This is just my opinion.

MMMMM I love the sweet and salty bars! Yum.  Balancing never was easy for me- I think I need to take a whole nutrition course or something.