Day 26: Sugar: The Bitter Truth
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
8:45 am
I discuss Robert Lustig’s book “Fat Chance” and his YouTube video “Sugar: The Bitter Truth.”
Video Summary:
Drink has 2.5 tsp or 10 grams of sugar. It’s still a little bit sweet but tastes mostly like water. Everything is going according to schedule with no withdrawal symptoms. My weight is still going down, but I’ve been stuck at 191.5 for a while, which is a loss of 6 pounds or 1.5-2 pounds a week which is what I want. My energy levels are good and I haven’t really felt hungry during this program.
I finished Robert Lustig’s book “Fat Chance” yesterday. (He’s the guy with the semi-viral video “Sugar the Bitter Truth” on YouTube) He is one of the main proponents of the idea that one of the main causes of the obesity epidemic is sugar, and more specifically fructose which is found in table sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
I believe he’s on to something, and that is one reason I’m trying to cut back on sugar. Quote from the book “In a nutshell your body fat is your biggest long term risk for infirmity. Nothing correlations with diabetes, heart disease and cancer better than your fat” In the book he talks about how sugar creates fat. I agree with that, and so I’m basically trying to lose some weight.
One of the plagues of the modern world is obesity and something called “metabolic syndrome” which is a precursor to insulin resistance and diabetes. Its a cluster of symptoms that include high body fat, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar. The easiest way to look at someone and see if they (or you) may have it is by the amount of body fat they are carrying, particularly the fat around the stomach (visceral fat). For men one guideline is if you have a waistline greater than 40 inches. My waistline is 38 inches so I’m getting close, although I’m losing a few inches on this diet.
He then talks about how in the 1960s and 70s scientists highlighted dietary fat (rather than sugar) as one of the major causes of obesity and heart disease. This theory was so influential it affected public policy. This is the whole idea where you buy low-fat ice cream thinking your doing something good for yourself. The Atkins diet in the 70s (or 80s) then challenged the notion that fat was the problem and highlighted carbohydrates at the main villain. Now were in the third wave where its thought that, within carbohydrates, its actually sugar (and fructose in particular) that is the problem. I consider myself in this third camp and am supporting that view.
The T Minus 30 program is not anywhere near as extreme as the Atkins diet, and I didn’t even bother checking with my doctor about cutting sugar from my diet. I believe all three major food groups: fats, proteins and carbohydrates are important. I’m not going to cut out carbohydrates (which produces glucose – the basic fuel of the cell). I’m just cutting out sugar and HFCS which appear to be the biggest problem. It appears to be working since I’m losing weight and do not have much hunger.
Lustig talks about how fructose is the real toxin. When I first heart this I thought “How can fructose, which is found in fruit, be dangerous? That is one of the most healthy and natural foods available.” First the concentration of sugar in fruit is not that high. Second, he argues that in fruit nature has coupled the poison with the antidote: The fiber in fruit slows the absorption of fructose into our system.
Also back in the Stone Age in Europe there wouldn’t be that much fruit around except at certain times of the year. So I could see how, from an evolutionary point of view, fruit could fatten us up in the summer to prepare us for a long winter. Now that we have fruit all year long, and concentrated fructose in sucrose and HFCS, it makes sense that fructose could be causing obesity.
If sugar really is a main cause of diabetes and obesity, he then talks about two possible solutions. The first is personal responsibility, which is sort of what I’m doing. If people get this information, and this information is true, then one solution would be to just follow the T Minus 30 method to get off sugar. I don’t need any govt. policy. I got the information, devised a way to get off sugar, and thats the end of it. I have a libertarian streak in me and I think that’s probably the way to go.
There’s a secondary approach where the state gets involved. He outlines a variety of state solutions including taxation, tariffs, cutting grain subsidies, changing the marketing to children, age limits for soda consumption, etc.
I have my own policy idea which is related to the intersection of caffeine and sugar which I will present tomorrow. I think this is where the biggest bang for the buck is.
Lustig’s YouTube video is what first got me interested in the sugar story, after hearing about it second hand from other websites. I think its an important story. I’m pretty much sold on it. In any case its a pretty easy way to lose weight in a way thats easy and not as extreme as the Atkins Diet. I would like to stay off sugar until the end of the year and reexamine the situation at that point.