# How much sugar per meal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184 "2011-07-24T16:45:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![anon11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@anon11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anon11)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/1 "2011-07-24T16:45:19Z")
I have read of sugar crashes but I’m still confused by the subject. A quarter serving of a cheesecake that I bought contains 40g of sugar. Is this too much for a healthy adult? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/2 "2011-07-24T17:25:17Z")
This question has no meaning without context. You say healthy adult, so I assume no diabetes or hypoglycemia. So no one food with sugar would do any harm. I looked up “sugar crash” and as I thought, it’s a scare term with no scientific backing. They just want to sell you something, whether its their diet or their low-carb food. But nobody eats just one food with sugar and nothing else. How much sugar are you eating in the rest of the meal, in the other meals that day, in the total you eat over the course of a week? What else are you eating? What is the ratio of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins? What is you current weight and age and state of exercise? Are you gaining weight long term? Are you trying to lose weight? If you stick to small portions, low sugars and fats, and lots of vegetables - you know, that sensible diet that nobody has to sell to you - you can treat yourself to an occasional desert. End of story. If you can’t finish a meal without cheesecake, then the amount of sugar in a quarter serving isn’t the problem. ---
**Author:** ![anon11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@anon11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anon11)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/3 "2011-07-24T17:40:52Z")
I don’t have dessert after every meal, just occasionally. I am healthy and do not have diabetes or hypoglycemia. I follow a good diet, in my humble opinion. So nothing happens to insulin or blood sugar, post dessert, in a healthy non diabetic person? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/4 "2011-07-24T17:42:36Z")
Nothing your body can’t handle perfectly well, just as it can handle all other foods. ---
**Author:** ![anon11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@anon11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anon11)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/5 "2011-07-24T17:43:36Z")
Great. Well that’s solved then. Thanks for the help. ---
**Author:** ![anon11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@anon11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anon11)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/6 "2011-07-26T18:34:57Z")
What about the glycemic index and low gi diets? Are these just people selling diets? It would be nice to eat a plate of food without worrying about the GI? ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/7 "2011-07-26T18:44:03Z")
Glycemic index is important for diabetics, since their body can’t process sugar correctly. Too much sugar, too quickly, can be very dangerous for a diabetic. But healthy adults can handle large quantities of sugar without any short-term problems. ---
**Author:** ![anon11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@anon11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anon11)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/8 "2011-07-26T18:52:12Z")
Thanks, it’s hard to not go down the path of being mislead when you read things on the internet, sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/9 "2011-07-26T18:58:26Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Glycemic index is important for diabetics, since their body can’t process sugar correctly. Too much sugar, too quickly, can be very dangerous for a diabetic. But healthy adults can handle large quantities of sugar without any short-term problems. Regulating your intake of carbohydrates is important for diabetics. Whether or not glycemic index matters is debated. Some health care professionals rely on it, others say it’s not at all important. More info [here](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes/AN00754). ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/10 "2011-07-26T19:03:17Z")
Fair enough, I was conflating the two. Are there low-GI, high-carb foods that diabetics have to be careful with? Aren’t all high-GI foods also high in simple carbohydrates? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/11 "2011-07-26T19:45:25Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Fair enough, I was conflating the two. Are there low-GI, high-carb foods that diabetics have to be careful with? Aren’t all high-GI foods also high in simple carbohydrates? I can’t speak for all diabetics, but looking at [this](http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm) chart, I can’t really say that GI really has much correlation with my own blood sugars. Fruit juices, for example, rate relatively low (41 for Apple Juice, 52 for orange juice). I pretty much never drink juice because even a tiny amount doesn’t seem worth the carbs for me. 12 ounces = 38 grams carbs. Given that I try to keep most meals below 50 grams of carbs, it’s simply not worth it to give up most of my carbs for a beverage. A baguette is rated a 97 (!) on the GI. I eat baguettes often enough, and, though I don’t have huge portions, I find them no worse than any other bread. 35-45 carbs worth of baguette make a decent-sized sandwich, and assuming I’m not stuffing them with carb-laden food (jam, for example) it’s a fine choice for lunch. Heck, croissants are rated 67, and those are downright low carb as far as bread is concerned - one croissant is around 25 or 30 carbs, and once again, makes a great sandwich. On the other side of the spectrum, dried apricots are rated a 31, and holy crap will those ever wreak havoc with my blood sugars. I pretty much stay away from dried fruit altogether - a tiny amount is a LOT of carbs. ---
**Author:** ![anon11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@anon11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anon11)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/12 "2011-08-18T13:58:11Z")
Apart from tooth decay, is sugar bad for you in any way then? ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/13 "2011-08-18T14:04:55Z")
I’m just wondering why the OP is thinking about only eating a quarter-serving of cheesecake. A quarter cheesecake I can understand. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/14 "2011-08-18T14:36:37Z")
> [@anon11](#): > > Apart from tooth decay, is sugar bad for you in any way then? No, not really. It is a source of calories. Most foods very high in sugar, are very low in nutrition. But the problem is the lack of nutrition, not the presence of sugar. The idea with low-GI diets is not that there is something evil about sugar. It’s that insulin reactions to high-GI foods can make you _feel hungry_. Obviously on a weight reducing diet, something that makes you hungry is bad. Avoiding those foods makes weight reduction easier. If you are of normal weight, eat a varied diet, are not attempting to reduce caloric intake, and don’t have a problem with being hungry all the time, it’s irrelevant. BTW, I read that as the serving is equivalent a quarter of the cheesecake. ---
**Author:** ![anon11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@anon11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anon11)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/15 "2011-08-18T16:08:05Z")
thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/16 "2011-08-18T16:21:13Z")
> [@anon11](#): > > I have read of sugar crashes but I’m still confused by the subject. A quarter serving of a cheesecake that I bought contains 40g of sugar. Is this too much for a healthy adult? That’s about as much sugar as your normal can of soda. (Which is why I don’t drink soda anymore, but that’s beside the point.) People guzzle down cans of soda every day with no noticeable immediate effects. Note that at least half the calories in your slice of cheesecake are going to be from fat. Dunno if you care about that, but the sugar isn’t the whole story. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/17 "2011-08-18T19:15:46Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > No, not really. It is a source of calories. Most foods very high in sugar, are very low in nutrition. But the problem is the lack of nutrition, not the presence of sugar. Wrong. Table sugar (sucrose) is a disaccharide of glucose + fructose, and fructose consumption has been linked to a number of diseases: [http://www.cruzmed.org/assets/documents/lustig-article1.pdf](http://www.cruzmed.org/assets/documents/lustig-article1.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/18 "2011-08-18T19:25:52Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Wrong. Table sugar (sucrose) is a disaccharide of glucose + fructose, and fructose consumption has been linked to a number of diseases: > > [http://www.cruzmed.org/assets/documents/lustig-article1.pdf](http://www.cruzmed.org/assets/documents/lustig-article1.pdf) High intakes of fat, protein, and even minerals are also linked to diseases. What’s your point? Should people quit everything? Or is it more accurate to say that everything is fine in moderation? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/19 "2011-08-18T19:41:51Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Wrong. Table sugar (sucrose) is a disaccharide of glucose + fructose, and fructose consumption has been linked to a number of diseases: > > [http://www.cruzmed.org/assets/documents/lustig-article1.pdf](http://www.cruzmed.org/assets/documents/lustig-article1.pdf) Written by Robert Lustig, who is the great anti-sugar crusader. He has a popular YouTube video in which he states that is “poison.” Many people would take issue with that extreme a stand, even those who advocate reducing your sugar intake. You can find easily refutations of his position by searching on his name. It is not a settled issue, even by consensus of the community. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-sugar-per-meal/590184/20 "2011-08-18T20:18:36Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > It’s that insulin reactions to high-GI foods can make you _feel hungry_. You also have this part wrong/backward. Insulin _reduces_ hunger and _promotes_ satiety. > **[Interrelationships among postprandial satiety, glucose and insulin responses...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8968699/?dopt=Abstract&holding=npg)** > > The total amount of carbohydrate consumed at a meal and subsequent insulinaemia may partly determine the degree of hunger arising within the next 2 h. > [@](#): > > RESULTS: Among the 38 test foods, there were no significant relationships between satiety and plasma glucose or insulin responses. **However, a negative correlation was found between insulin AUC responses and ad libitum food intake at 120 min which suggests that test foods producing a higher insulin response within 120 min were associated with less food intake and thus indirectly greater satiety.** This result is consistent with previous findings that carbohydrate-rich foods are more satiating than fat-rich foods. Thus, total carbohydrate content appears to have been a stronger determinant of short-term satiety, in conjunction with the foods structural characteristics, than the foods glycaemic impact.