What To Do About Sugar?

Read the whole thing.  Very informative, especially Dr. Laidler's explanation about the relative merits and demerits of high-fructose corn syrup and good ol' sugar.

"For people who are worried about their health or their children’s health — and who isn’t, these days — the data suggest that the best choice is to reduce intake of all sweeteners containing fructose. That includes not only the evil HFCS, but also natural cane sugar, molasses (which is just impure cane sugar), brown sugar (ditto) and honey. Even 'unsweetened' (no added sugar) fruit juices need to be considered when limiting your family’s fructose intake."

Right on.  But then he has to go write this:

"Finally, the best nutritional advice is to eat everything in moderation — and that includes sweets."

Not really.  You don't need "moderate" amounts of sweets in your diet.  Moderate amounts of fruit, fine.  But most sweets don't even have the minimal nutritional advantages of fruit. 

Sweets ought to be a treat, not a regular part of your diet.  This is even more the case if you are sensitive to carbohydrates.  As Dr. Laidler explains so well, a low-carbohydrate diet is a low-sugar diet.  You just don't need moderate amounts of sugar each day.  Advocating eating moderate amounts of sugar is no different than advocating moderate amounts of alcohol.  Worse, even.  I've never heard of any health benefits to eating sugar, it's all downside.

After nearly six months on a primal/paleo diet, I've gotten to the point where a dose of sugar, whether it's from rice or sugar, makes me feel lousy for an hour or two.  Why would I want a moderate amount of feeling lousy in my day?