Such a refreshing take, Beth. Balanced, practical, and rooted in understanding rather than fear. I really appreciated how you explained that it's not about demonizing sugar, but about knowing how our bodies process it. Feels empowering, not punishing.
Thank you so much! Understanding how our bodies work with different foods feels so much more empowering than arbitrary rules. When you know why your energy crashes after certain meals or how to pair foods for stable blood sugar, you get to make informed choices rather than just following someone else's fear-based rules.
Food is meant to nourish us, not stress us out. I'm so glad this resonated with you—comments like this remind me why I love sharing this approach to nutrition!
Yes! The idea that it is a free for all and healthy because it is "natural" is a dangerous one. I have had soooo many clients become pre-diabetic after eating paleo for years and thinking honey, maple syrup, sweet potatoes, and the like were better for them.
Just found your page and I am really enjoying reading your posts!
My thoughts on this piece: I completely understand your heart behind “sugar is sugar,” but I think this mindset is not representative of the best nutritional science. When you say mangoes and white sugar are completely the same, I just think of all the incredible antioxidants that are found in mangoes and other fruit. Whereas, white sugar promotes oxidation.
Moreover, honey has been shown in a few studies to regulate blood glucose levels, making it totally distinct from refined sugar. Check this report out: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5817209/
Anyway, I enjoy your writing and I know we’re on the same team — trying to get people healthy 🙌🏼
Hi Vance! Thank you so much for the kind words and for taking the time to share your thoughts - I really appreciate the respectful dialogue!
You're absolutely right that mangoes contain valuable antioxidants, fiber, and nutrients that white sugar lacks, and I completely agree about the oxidative effects of refined sugar. In fact, I've personally avoided refined sugar for 23 years for exactly those reasons! I should have been clearer in my post - I wasn't suggesting these foods are nutritionally identical, but rather that when it comes to blood sugar impact, the glucose and fructose molecules themselves affect our metabolism similarly, regardless of their source.
The key point I was making is about metabolic response, especially for people with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, diabetes, or metabolic dysfunction. For someone whose glucose spikes sky high after eating a mango, the antioxidants don't negate that blood sugar response in the moment.
For my audience - many dealing with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or diabetes - even "better" sugars can still be problematic.
My approach focuses on helping people understand their individual responses to food through tools like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), because what works varies significantly from person to person. Someone with a healthy metabolism might handle fruit beautifully, while someone else might need to be more careful.
We're definitely on the same team! I think there's room for both perspectives in helping people find what works for their unique biology. Thanks for the thoughtful discussion!
Sugar is the villain, you need to be high protein, low carbs and sugar with lots of veggies or your going to struggle with your health and gaining weight
Hi Tom, it sounds like that is your personal experience, and it is mine as well now that I am 58 and in menopause. But my point is that not everyone needs to eat the same way. I personally feel my best and maintain muscle best when I eat high fat, moderate protein, and low carb. Not everyone struggles with their weight or their health or feels poorly when including sugar and grains now and then, but some of us certainly do🧡
Thanks for the feedback, maybe everyone can eat differently depending on how they handle certain foods, however if you are eating grains and sugars daily including fruits and smoothies I believe regardless of your weight fitness or health your body will be struggling processing it and detrimental to you in the long run, and if you throw in all the chemicals it’s even worse.
I do agree but metabolic flexibility allows some wiggle room. As an example, I recently traveled for 2 weeks in Thailand where there is a lot of rice, noodles, tropical fruit and sweet drinks. There is also a lot of diabetes and metabolic dysfunction, just like in the US. But, I was able to indulge in moderation the things that I don’t normally eat (minus the sweet drinks) and because I am metabolically flexible, I didn’t gain weight, I maintained muscle mass and my fasting blood sugar is still under 85. So to your point, if we exclude sugar and simple carbs from our diets and heal our metabolism, it is possible to occasionally enjoy those things without them being labeled “bad” but just know that they don’t support optimal health when eaten daily.
I’ve known skinny friends start to show pre diabetes markers. Just because you are skinny, does not mean you are healthy anymore than the overweight person.
Absolutely! I see it all the time. Visceral fat is the metabolically active and “dangerous” fat and people of all sizes can have visceral fat and show signs of metabolic dysfunction.
I appreciate your perspective, although I respectfully offer a different view based on archaeological and anthropological evidence.
Scientific evidence shows that humans evolved as hunter gatherers, eating primarily meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds for over 2 million years.
Grains only became a significant part of the human diet around 10,000 years ago with the beginning of agriculture, which is less than .5% of our evolutionary timeline. Archaeological evidence shows that our ancestors ate diets rich in animal proteins and wild plants, with very limited grain consumption until much later.
Regarding sugar, we actually agree on the harm of regular consumption - that's exactly what my post addressed. The difference is that I focus on the metabolic impact rather than the yin yang principles, using continuous glucose monitoring and nutritional science to help people understand how different foods affect their blood sugar levels.
My goal is to help people make informed choices based on their individual metabolic responses, especially the 88% of American adults who are currently metabolically unhealthy🧡
I appreciate the discussion, but I think there is some confusion about the timeline. The last ice age was 11,700 years ago, and the beginning of agriculture was 10,000 years ago.
I love this message! Beth, you work so hard to bring us great information, thank you! 🙏
I’m so glad, Dana and you are so welcome!🧡
Such a refreshing take, Beth. Balanced, practical, and rooted in understanding rather than fear. I really appreciated how you explained that it's not about demonizing sugar, but about knowing how our bodies process it. Feels empowering, not punishing.
Thank you so much! Understanding how our bodies work with different foods feels so much more empowering than arbitrary rules. When you know why your energy crashes after certain meals or how to pair foods for stable blood sugar, you get to make informed choices rather than just following someone else's fear-based rules.
Food is meant to nourish us, not stress us out. I'm so glad this resonated with you—comments like this remind me why I love sharing this approach to nutrition!
What a great breakdown, Beth!
thank you, Abby!🧡
Love it Beth!
Thank you, Harrison!🧡
💯👍
Love this! It’s driven me crazy for ages to see so many articles acting like replacing cane sugar with maple syrup or whatever is somehow healthier.
Yes! The idea that it is a free for all and healthy because it is "natural" is a dangerous one. I have had soooo many clients become pre-diabetic after eating paleo for years and thinking honey, maple syrup, sweet potatoes, and the like were better for them.
Hi Beth!
Just found your page and I am really enjoying reading your posts!
My thoughts on this piece: I completely understand your heart behind “sugar is sugar,” but I think this mindset is not representative of the best nutritional science. When you say mangoes and white sugar are completely the same, I just think of all the incredible antioxidants that are found in mangoes and other fruit. Whereas, white sugar promotes oxidation.
Moreover, honey has been shown in a few studies to regulate blood glucose levels, making it totally distinct from refined sugar. Check this report out: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5817209/
Anyway, I enjoy your writing and I know we’re on the same team — trying to get people healthy 🙌🏼
Hi Vance! Thank you so much for the kind words and for taking the time to share your thoughts - I really appreciate the respectful dialogue!
You're absolutely right that mangoes contain valuable antioxidants, fiber, and nutrients that white sugar lacks, and I completely agree about the oxidative effects of refined sugar. In fact, I've personally avoided refined sugar for 23 years for exactly those reasons! I should have been clearer in my post - I wasn't suggesting these foods are nutritionally identical, but rather that when it comes to blood sugar impact, the glucose and fructose molecules themselves affect our metabolism similarly, regardless of their source.
The key point I was making is about metabolic response, especially for people with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, diabetes, or metabolic dysfunction. For someone whose glucose spikes sky high after eating a mango, the antioxidants don't negate that blood sugar response in the moment.
For my audience - many dealing with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or diabetes - even "better" sugars can still be problematic.
My approach focuses on helping people understand their individual responses to food through tools like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), because what works varies significantly from person to person. Someone with a healthy metabolism might handle fruit beautifully, while someone else might need to be more careful.
We're definitely on the same team! I think there's room for both perspectives in helping people find what works for their unique biology. Thanks for the thoughtful discussion!
Thank you for this response! Very thoughtful and definitely gives me a better appreciation of your aim.
Blessings to you!
Vance
Sugar is the villain, you need to be high protein, low carbs and sugar with lots of veggies or your going to struggle with your health and gaining weight
Hi Tom, it sounds like that is your personal experience, and it is mine as well now that I am 58 and in menopause. But my point is that not everyone needs to eat the same way. I personally feel my best and maintain muscle best when I eat high fat, moderate protein, and low carb. Not everyone struggles with their weight or their health or feels poorly when including sugar and grains now and then, but some of us certainly do🧡
Hi Beth
Thanks for the feedback, maybe everyone can eat differently depending on how they handle certain foods, however if you are eating grains and sugars daily including fruits and smoothies I believe regardless of your weight fitness or health your body will be struggling processing it and detrimental to you in the long run, and if you throw in all the chemicals it’s even worse.
I do agree but metabolic flexibility allows some wiggle room. As an example, I recently traveled for 2 weeks in Thailand where there is a lot of rice, noodles, tropical fruit and sweet drinks. There is also a lot of diabetes and metabolic dysfunction, just like in the US. But, I was able to indulge in moderation the things that I don’t normally eat (minus the sweet drinks) and because I am metabolically flexible, I didn’t gain weight, I maintained muscle mass and my fasting blood sugar is still under 85. So to your point, if we exclude sugar and simple carbs from our diets and heal our metabolism, it is possible to occasionally enjoy those things without them being labeled “bad” but just know that they don’t support optimal health when eaten daily.
Yep I am happy with that 👍
I’ve known skinny friends start to show pre diabetes markers. Just because you are skinny, does not mean you are healthy anymore than the overweight person.
Absolutely! I see it all the time. Visceral fat is the metabolically active and “dangerous” fat and people of all sizes can have visceral fat and show signs of metabolic dysfunction.
I appreciate your perspective, although I respectfully offer a different view based on archaeological and anthropological evidence.
Scientific evidence shows that humans evolved as hunter gatherers, eating primarily meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds for over 2 million years.
Grains only became a significant part of the human diet around 10,000 years ago with the beginning of agriculture, which is less than .5% of our evolutionary timeline. Archaeological evidence shows that our ancestors ate diets rich in animal proteins and wild plants, with very limited grain consumption until much later.
Regarding sugar, we actually agree on the harm of regular consumption - that's exactly what my post addressed. The difference is that I focus on the metabolic impact rather than the yin yang principles, using continuous glucose monitoring and nutritional science to help people understand how different foods affect their blood sugar levels.
My goal is to help people make informed choices based on their individual metabolic responses, especially the 88% of American adults who are currently metabolically unhealthy🧡
I appreciate the discussion, but I think there is some confusion about the timeline. The last ice age was 11,700 years ago, and the beginning of agriculture was 10,000 years ago.