"War Against Sugar": Thais eating nearly FIVE TIMES recommended daily sugar intake

[4737 Carlin]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

sugar was causing "silent harm" to the Thai people as many still did not realise its devastating effects when consumed to excess. 

I learned this as a child. It was what we used to call 'common sense'.

[Daithi85]

3 hours ago, aussie11950 said:

My wife bought 4 snacks for her 3y grandson, yoghurt, 125ml juice, Tomato flavoured crackers and corn chips. 

Total sugar 55grams. 

Recommended max for 1y to 18y=24g. 

There is no public awareness. 

Let's be fair that  happens in every country, grandparents buying sweets for there grandchildren. 

 

 

 

[Damrongsak]

I'll occasionally eat sweet stuff like a dessert or chocolate, but I dislike sugar in noodles, soup and other regular food dishes.  I had to learn quite a bit of Thai to order food years back.  No sugar, no MSG powder.  And being vegetarian, no broth, no pork oil, no fish sauce.  Hot and sour is my preference.

 

Salty, greasy fries are OK.  Hold the Coke.

Edited April 2, 2021 by Damrongsak

[Meat Pie 47]

8 hours ago, anchadian said:

It's not only sugar but also salt which is way above their daily RDA.

add MSG as well

[Meat Pie 47]

8 hours ago, rabas said:

 

30 odd years ago when I arrived, Thai people were almost universally slender. More so than many places. I doubt traditional Thai food is to blame, including their famous sweets.   Now search for images of Americans in the 50s and 60s, WW-II, etc.

 

Modern Western junk food and things like 7-11 are surely to blame.

 

nonsense

[rabas]

3 hours ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

11 hours ago, rabas said:

30 odd years ago when I arrived, Thai people were almost universally slender. More so than many places. I doubt traditional Thai food is to blame, including their famous sweets.   Now search for images of Americans in the 50s and 60s, WW-II, etc.

 

Modern Western junk food and things like 7-11 are surely to blame.

nonsense

You were here in the 80s living among ordinary Thai folks? Didn't think so.

 

Do you even know what your fellow countrymen looked like in the 50s and 60s? Some real data. China, Thailand, India, etc had almost no obese when I arrived here.

 

Blaming the recent wave of global extreme obesity on traditional Thai food, now thar's your nonsense.

 

(highlight area is minimal obesity)

[balo]

It's not sugar alone, it's the whole package.  Most Thais used to be slim, eating traditional food, also including sweet desserts.  But after 7 eleven and others invaded Thailand the unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks changed all that . 

So yes, last 20 years to blame for this disease , let's call it a disease, that's what it is.  

[realfunster]

17 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

Thai desserts, iced coffee, iced tea, and what passes for cake here are completely unpalatable to me, they are painfully sweet. So sweet in fact that they bring tears to my eyes.

 

A few years back, I watched my local tea lady when making my Thai iced tea. She put in 4 teaspoons of sugar, then added a shot glass of sweetened condensed milk. Preparation was completed with a drizzle of evaporated milk on top of the drink. I’m guessing a total of 6-8 teaspoons worth of sugar.

I tried ordering ‘waan noi’, she reduced to 2 teaspoons of sugar + condensed milk + evaporated milk.

I now order without sugar ‘mai Sai nam tan’ and just get the condensed milk + evaporated milk. I have a sweet tooth and that is still fine for me.

 

I think the worst drinks I have come across are the dispensing machines at 7’s that do iced coffee/Thai tea and ovaltine etc. Those drinks are off the charts sweet. 

 

I must confess to being delighted that since the sugar tax kicked-in, there are now a lot of no/low-sugar drinks on display in 7-11. Previously, I only ever saw Diet Coke/Pepsi, now we have diet 7-Up, diet Sprite, diet Fanta and Singha have launched a nice diet lemon soda (yellow can). They are also offering low sugar versions of the 3-in-1 coffee sachets.

 

Proof, if it were needed, that government regulation is occasionally required to nudge corporates in the right direction.

[jasonr3255]

Sugar alone does not cause obesity, while its calorie dense with little to no nutritional value it’s converted to glucose and the enzyme disburses into muscle tissue. Once mixed with saturated animal fats (intramyocellur lipids) the concoction only then becomes lethal, raising blood sugar levels as “insulin” (the gate keeper for glucose to enter the muscle) resistance starts, as glucose fails to enter the muscle to do its job, and a myriad of problems occur.

      Unfortunately processed animal fat is the real villain. The medical world is a wash with bad science.

[howbri]

Sugar is certainly not a healthy food but taken in moderation is relatively harmless. The battle against sugar is hiding the real culprit for diseases such as cancer, heart, and diabetes. It's THE FOOD we eat, primarily animal products of all kinds. Animal protein and saturated fat (which only comes from animals) is responsible for more than 80% of all diseases. The only healthy diet is plant-based one. Grains, potatoes, legumes (beans), rice, corn etc. and other veggies. We will never conquer disease until we eliminate meat, eggs, and dairy from our diet.

[phetphet]

I sometimes forget to tell them, "No sugar", then have to walk away leaving the food uneaten.

 

They put so much in. Often they  still put it in even when I tell them not to.

 

 

[Sticky Rice Balls]

Id be riding my bike around the city daily and pedal past the schools when they let out

 

All the vendors waiting for all the kids...sodas--fried donuts--cake--candy--french fries--milk tea--ice cream--like a carnival......feel bad for the fruit vendor...

[Ventenio]

being too thin is WAY worse than being too fat, especially if very young or very old.  

 

secondly, some countries get fat because they have enough money and leisure time.  in some countries being fat tells others you are rich.  

 

the problem here is the lack of diet.......it's all sugar, yes, and not balanced at all

in other countries it's too much fat, and usually overloaded with other vitamins

 

you can be productive being 5 kg overweight, sure.  and get rich, and be "strong"

 

sugar will destroy you .   no question.   brain, gone.    memory, gone.  everything, ruined.  which is why it's soo addictive....lol

 

bottom line:  don't judge on weight.  it's dumb.  i've seen 51 kg guys walking around in their 30's and they don't look very healthy.

 

blood test.  go from there.  

[NoshowJones]

22 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

It's so obvious what happened in this country.

Were people that obese some 20 or 30 years ago?

The tsunami of junk food and drinks has made them fat.

 

"battle against sugar"?

Who will fight the battle against the corporations that earn billions (of Dollars) with the cheap sugar loaded stuff?

 

Nothing will ever be done to stop these capitalists filling their greedy pockets. The whole world is money motivated, even more so now with this pandemic.

Governments, hospitals, certain hotels, insurance companies, food and drink manufacturers, the list goes on. Sorry for going a bit off topic.

[Kiujunn]

6 hours ago, howbri said:

Sugar is certainly not a healthy food but taken in moderation is relatively harmless. The battle against sugar is hiding the real culprit for diseases such as cancer, heart, and diabetes. It's THE FOOD we eat, primarily animal products of all kinds. Animal protein and saturated fat (which only comes from animals) is responsible for more than 80% of all diseases. The only healthy diet is plant-based one. Grains, potatoes, legumes (beans), rice, corn etc. and other veggies. We will never conquer disease until we eliminate meat, eggs, and dairy from our diet.

You are quite right but you choose the wrong name for THE PLASTIC we eat.

It's not food. 

Ultraprocessed plastics can be ingested through the human mouth  and the industry calls them "ultraprocessed food", but they are not food. They are not fit for human consumption. They are slow-acting poisons. 

[overherebc]

22 hours ago, CLW said:

Tell me a country that has plain milk with sugar in its supermarkets? Guess that says all.

Also I'm wondering that this hype with bubble and milk tea is never ending. It was years ago in my home when those drinks were popular and lasted only a few months until people found out how unhealthy those drinks are. At least they were made with real milk and not this palm oil sugar mixture, that's in almost every Thai sweet drink or desert. 

I can always remember being amazed in the USA the first visit I did to a supermarket. I lost count of the different kinds of milk on sale. So many had labels with xxx added or xxx reduced content.  

Plain bog standard milk with nothing added or enriched with something didn't seem to exist. Sweetend milk for breakfast cereal was there as well..

[Kiujunn]

After Yinglucks rice story, the new government wanted to diversify away from rice. They promoted and subsidized sugar.

That brought us the toxic dusts we're breathing (remember the times you would breathe air in Thailand?).

They can't export all this sugar.  Thailand has now become one of the biggest sugar producers in the world. Sho the government promoted sugar in bread, more sugar in beer, sugar in whatever.

[Cake Monster]

21 hours ago, superal said:

  3 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Sugar in bread...in butter in everything which is what the sugar moguls love. 

 

That Thai  Farmhouse bread is too sweet , way over the top with sugar . Try making your own , recipe has to have sugar but not to the extreme that Thais have .

I make my own Bread, and the recipe I use has Zero Sugar, and only 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt in 500 Gram.

Tastes superb and is a whole lot cheaper than the Supermarket Rubbish.

[candide]

I remember trying to explain to a Thai girl she should drink less soft drinks. I showed her the usual pictures of drinks with the amount of sugar cubes in them.

I told her it makes fat and is not good for health.

The answer I got was: "not in Thailand!" ????

[ParkerN]

This has been known knowledge for many years. So what have the Thai government actually done about it - apart from talking a good game?

 

I'll bet the answer is 'sod all that's useful'.

[balo]

8 hours ago, Ventenio said:

being too thin is WAY worse than being too fat, especially if very young or very old.  

That's not true at all, but what about not too thin and not too fat ?  

I know some 60 year olds that are as slim as a 20 year old.  It's possible if you work hard and do daily exercises.  And eat the right food of course. 


 

[madmen]

28 minutes ago, ParkerN said:

This has been known knowledge for many years. So what have the Thai government actually done about it - apart from talking a good game?

 

I'll bet the answer is 'sod all that's useful'.

Because your 1st world home is on the ball? Western population are obese because of sugar and carb addiction. 

Asians are light years ahead of the game.

 

[ThailandRyan]

50 minutes ago, candide said:

I remember trying to explain to a Thai girl she should drink less soft drinks. I showed her the usual pictures of drinks with the amount of sugar cubes in them.

I told her it makes fat and is not good for health.

The answer I got was: "not in Thailand!" ????

Same logic when using a Knife.  "Only eat half of that piece of cake son" "But dad I used a knife when I cut it so I cut the calories in half each time I cut the cake"

[ParkerN]

Just now, madmen said:

Because your 1st world home is on the ball? Western population are obese because of sugar and carb addiction. 

Asians are light years ahead of the game.

 

I don't gave a first world home. And from the article, it would seem that Asians aren't very far ahead of the game at all.

 

Still, we all see what we want to see...

 

[ParkerN]

Just now, candide said:

I remember trying to explain to a Thai girl she should drink less soft drinks. I showed her the usual pictures of drinks with the amount of sugar cubes in them.

I told her it makes fat and is not good for health.

The answer I got was: "not in Thailand!" ????

 

And therein lies the real problem. Not in Thailand.

 

Thailand has it's own set of rules. Maybe one day Thais will come to understand that they don't actually know best; if they did they wouldn't be in the 3rd world...

 

[ParkerN]

Just now, ParkerN said:

 

And therein lies the real problem. Not in Thailand.

 

Thailand has it's own set of rules. Maybe one day Thais will come to understand that they don't actually know best; if they did they wouldn't still be in the 3rd world relying upon other people's money. Still, it's an ill wind, Vietnam is doing just fine from Thailand's economic collapse.

 

It's a sad day when you have to buy China's obsolete submarines so you can puff out your national chest.

 

 

Edited April 3, 2021 by ParkerN

[kickstart]

On 4/2/2021 at 12:36 PM, rabas said:

 

30 odd years ago when I arrived, Thai people were almost universally slender. More so than many places. I doubt traditional Thai food is to blame, including their famous sweets.   Now search for images of Americans in the 50s and 60s, WW-II, etc.

 

Modern Western junk food and things like 7-11 are surely to blame.

 

When I go back to the UK now about every 2-2 1/2 years  I notice how fat the Brits are getting ,  a walk in our local town  and it seems that every other shop is a fast food outlet ,and they is always someone in them .

Here in LOS 20 years ago I drove past our local school at 4 pm as the kids are coming out most were slim .now a high percentage are well over weight .

We live in a rural area, not over busy  our busiest shop in town on the main  road opposite 2 schools is our 7-11 ,say no more .

 

[Stargeezr]

Salt is the worst, followed by sugar, then processed meats, processed food, how about too much cheese as well.

   Fried meat is not great, and too much booze of any kind.   It seems to be true that there are a lot more people 

who are not in as great of shape as they were, before getting lazy and not eating healthy.  Fast food places, and 

  those bubble tea or ice cream shops are not the places you should go to every day, but a lot of people do.

  If you think Thailand is in bad shape, go get super sized in the USA.  I am still shocked when I have been there

and seen so many fast food places in every city I visited.  It is good news that everyone knows that people in Thailand and

the rest of the world are eating too much sugar, too much salt, and other foods that are not healthy.

  Maybe in the future  some people will eat healthier, but I doubt it.  Big  shame, really.

Geezer

[madmen]

18 hours ago, ParkerN said:

I don't gave a first world home. And from the article, it would seem that Asians aren't very far ahead of the game at all.

 

Still, we all see what we want to see...

 

"Still, we all see what we want to see..." 

 

Oh the irony! Look at Asians. Look at westerners. Which race is OBESE? Which race is overdosing on sugar? 

Open your eyes dude and take a look for your self. 

 

[DavisH]

On 4/2/2021 at 11:27 AM, nikmar said:

I usually have to say "mai wan" when ordering. Some dishes, somtam thai for example, are like a dessert when they get put in front of you. it wasnt like this when I first arrived in Thailand - 16 years ago - so quite a recent thing. 

 

All those iced teas with bubbles that people give their kids. Dentists are going to be in demand in the near future.

I read a report of  woman in Singapore going into a diabetic coma after consuming too much bubble tea. Overly sweetened food is everywhere here. Better to cook oneself if at all possible.