See the thing is, sugar as we already know it; yes that granular, glistening white stuff being derided as poison IS NATURAL, just as natural as the honey, molasses, coconut sugar or any other so-called natural sugar alternative celebrities are promoting in their books. Jennifer x, Your email address will not be published. Sugar is everywhere, whether we know it or not. Despite those efforts, some progress to curb sugar consumption has been made. Ultimately, metabolic syndrome can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and even death. We get enough sugar from fruits and other sources to make up for any nutritional need our bodies may have for it. The reason it drives me up the wall is because there’s no evidence to back up what they’re saying.  If they were advertising that same book during the commercial break they couldn’t say most of what they’d just claimed during the TV programme they were just advertising their book on.  In similar circumstances researchers making such claims would have to declare a conflict of interest which would taint and diminish the findings of their published work. If you’re one of the many making clean eating cakes and brownies and wondering why on earth you’re weight isn’t coming down, this information may give you some clues………… There’s been lots of information in recent times about the changes to guidelines about the limits around the amounts of free-sugars we should all be consuming. Highlights. All Rights Reserved. . An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body’s blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Sugar can seem so fundamental to our diets that we rarely think about how it actually functions in the body. And make it a special one. In the YouTube video, Lustig argues that the current obesity epidemic can be blamed on a marked increase in the consumption of a type of sugar called fructose over the last 30 years.Fructose is a component of the two most popular sugars: sucrose or table sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup, which has become ubiquitous in soft drinks and many processed foods. For men, it’s 36 grams, 150 calories or about nine teaspoons of sugar per day. Added sugar can put you at a high risk of several heart diseases Replace added sugar some healthy alternatives like fruits and dates “I think it takes a revolution, and hopefully a bloodless one.”, Nestle stresses that sugar, when consumed in moderation, isn’t harmful. And don’t beat yourself up over the occasional cookie, cupcake or ice cream scoop. Described as "white poison", this additive is often incorporated into our diet without our knowledge. When there’s too much fructose, your liver also stores the excess for later, but this time as fat. At the same time many celebrities, with no relevant qualification in food and nutrition, have been describing sugar as poison and advocating and actively promoting recipes on that very subject where they’ve replaced sugar with ‘so called’ natural, raw, clean sugar alternative ingredients………..  Oh and by the way, now that they’ve told you about these other ‘natural alternatives’ to sugar they’re introducing you to their latest book which, just so happens to be available to buy at your local book store. Glucose is the body’s main energy source and can be metabolized by all organs in the body. Even Beyoncé swore off sugar to prepare for her celebrated Coachella performance. Zoe Williams. Our economy is entirely built on hedonic pleasures, which is why we’re going to hell in a handbasket.”. Items which are made “low-fat” have dangerous levels of added sugar to make them palatable. I always said to myself “I’ll only have one bite of this (insert junk food here)”. Then, there’s “added sugar,” the type that most nutritionists and physicians are more concerned about. A child consumes roughly 32. Sugar: Toxic to Digestion Much like pouring sugar into the gas tank of a car will gum up the engine, sugar has a negative effect on digestion and nutrient absorption. Much of the sugar from fibrous food is absorbed by bacteria in the intestine, supporting healthy gut function, and doesn’t actually cause an insulin response. “When you drink fruit juice, you’re overwhelming your liver and that liver then makes fat and you drive up the insulin levels.”, Nestle puts it simply: “Everybody would be better off eating less of it.”. There are three major players in the U.S. sugar industry: The Sugar Association, Corn Refiners Association, and American Beverage Association all invest staggering financial resources towards shaping public and scientific perception of sugar. I could agree that white table sugar is a poison, as well as being highly addictive, and probably should be banned. Added sugar is like a sweet poison! There are two types of sugars in the American diet: naturally-occurring sugars and added sugars. Insulin, a naturally occurring hormone, helps cells use glucose for energy. Various cities across the US and Mexico have implemented so-called “soda taxes” aimed to make it more expensive, and less appealing to guzzle Pepsi, Fanta and other sweet fizzy drinks. By Smitha Suresh • 8 min read The journey from Bengaluru to Mysore in Karnataka is one of the most scenic in the country. Marion Nestle, Ph.D., the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, at New York University and author of Food Politics and Unsavory Truth has been studying the food system since 1985 and takes a more measured approach. "The vehicle is processed food.The payload is sugar. But you probably don't know that you're getting a lot of sugar from bologna, catsup, chicken noodle soup, mayonnaise, biscuit mix, medicine, and … It’s easy to hit that number. The body cannot utilize this refined starch and carbohydrate unless the depleted proteins, vitamins and minerals are present. “If your caloric intake is regulated and you’re not gaining weight and you eat a healthy diet, a little sugar doesn’t hurt at all,” she says. You know about the sugar in your coffee, and you know it's in snacks like marsh-mallows, chocolate bars, gum and soda pop. Dessert should be safe and rare. We support reducing sugar in the human diet and educating people on how to do it. Lustig says he realized insulin was “the bad guy in the story” in 1999. Dr Martin classified refined sugar as a poison because it has been depleted of its life forces, vitamins and minerals. The dead dogs in Professor Magendie’s laboratory alerted the sugar industry to the hazards of free scientific inquiry. I’ve displayed it in what I hope is an easy to read and understand table below. Like abortion. “For a lot of people, that’s going to help them lose or maintain weight, and it’s not gonna mess up their metabolism. “I do not believe it’s a poison unless it is consumed in very, very large amounts.”. If you need further convincing that sugar is poison, read this book. “What we realized was that the gluttony and sloth that we were seeing in the obese population and the fact that everyone was getting obese was not the primary problem. So I think it’s a great place to start,” she says. Sugar is NOT poison, we just need to be mindful about how much of it we consume, which is nothing new. But to pass soda taxes, legislators must face a formidable adversary: the soda industry. The difference? A 2015 survey published in The Lancet found that 68% of all packaged foods and beverages in the United States food supply contain “caloric sweeteners” — another way of saying sugar. Learn more about the risks today. Of course Dr. Lustig has had quite some pushback on that. But determining how much sugar is too much, and what types are good or bad, requires navigating a complicated food landscape. Where, over the last 2 years, several public health campaigns from Change4Life, in particular, have been hammering home the message. Is sugar toxic? “Sugar is the marker for food processing,” Robert Lustig, M.D., professor emeritus of pediatric endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco and author of The Hacking of the American Mind, tells Inverse. Here’s to your nourishment; body, mind and spirit. This article helps us discover if sugar is a poison, but if you haven’t read the other previous article (Obesity isn’t the problem – click here to read) then I recommend you read it first.Otherwise, let’s crack on and discuss the truth behind sugar, and if we can go as far as calling sugar a poison. It naturally occurs in fruits and vegetables, and we’ve learned to extract it in the form of sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup, which are then added to soda and fruit-flavored drinks in high concentrations. by admin | Apr 14, 2018 | Uncategorized | 0 comments. Sweet Poison. Copyright © 2018 WeighBetter. The “natural sugar” producers can point at the corn growers, and vice versa, without really confronting the jugular question. “I wouldn’t say that it’s a poison; It’s not,” she tells Inverse. They’re associated with obesity, cholesterol abnormalities, and high blood pressure, a trifecta called metabolic syndrome. Sugar is poison. It was a secondary problem from the biochemical rise in insulin. So it turns out, if you peel and eat an orange or nibble on corn on the cob, less sugar enters your bloodstream directly. Sugar is an integral part of our daily diet but it's also called the white poison because of its harmful side effects. Other strategies to limit sugar intake include cooking at home; watching out for sneaky, sugary foods like salad dressings, pasta sauce, and breakfast cereal; avoiding soda, juice and other sweetened beverages; and opting for foods as close to their natural state as possible. Research shows such financial interventions work, and lead to less soda consumption. So is it? Sugar isn’t poison, but it definitely isn’t good for you. Lustig and Nestle, who have studied sugar for decades, can help clear up the confusion. Make it a really spectacular, worthwhile dessert. “Insulin, when it’s high, is basically depriving your heart, your liver, your muscles, your bones, your kidneys, your brain, your lean body mass, of energy,” he says. Chronically high insulin levels are dangerous. Just like the rules of the road when it comes to speed, the figures listed below are limits not targets, so feel free to consume less!!! Let’s find out if sugar is good for the human body or if it should be eliminated from the diet altogether. As such, fructose can only be processed by the liver. What sugar is really doing to your body – Why sugar is poison! They know what they’re doing. This triumvirate of nutrients is what drives craving and overeating. For most American women, the AHA recommends consuming no more than 25 grams of sugar per day, which equals about 100 calories or six teaspoons. They do put caffeine in the food, that’s not illegal and they put sugar in the food because it’s not illegal. You better stabilize your blood sugar and prevent the scary consequences of high insulin levels. They recommend limiting the amount of added sugars you consume to no more than half of your daily allowance of discretionary calories (these are the “excess” calories we consume after eating all required nutrients for the day and can include foods like chips, energy drinks, or an ice cream scoop). Sugar is called the “white death” as it is believed to be the cause of various health issues. Fiber is a matrix with the sugars inside and takes longer to break down, Lustig explains. The sugar industry is … One researcher in particular, Robert Lustig, M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, is spreading the message that "fructose is poison." So there seems to be no limit to the amount of money that they’re willing to spend to stop it.”. Sugar isn’t poison, but it definitely isn’t good for you. It has no nutritional value and lacks any essential proteins, minerals and vitamins. “It’s their hook because sugar’s addictive,” Lustig explains. So off my soap box now and back to sugar! Humans [and animals] are “unable to subsist on a diet of sugar”. But if there’s too much glucose in the body, insulin stores the excess in liver or muscle cells as glycogen, which can be broken down and used in the future. Added sugar is one of the worst and most toxic ingredients in the Western diet. He suggests incorporating nutritional curriculum into public education, emphasizing what he calls “real food” — food that’s low sugar and high fiber. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, irritability, mood-swings, persistent migraines, and even episodes of seizures – all linked to high sugar consumption. The Poison Squad | Article The Great Electric Sugar Con ... As sugar historian Deborah Warner puts it, “Wiley was generally considered the leading sugar expert on the federal payroll. As glucose floods the bloodstream, insulin spikes. Added sugar goes straight into the bloodstream after being digested by enzymes in the small intestine. Eat a bowl of breakfast cereal and a glass of orange juice and you’ve almost reached the daily limit, Lustig says. “Therefore, you have to eat more and you feel lousy doing it.”, In a study Lustig published in 2004 in the International Journal of Obesity, he found that when obese participants’ insulin levels were lowered with medicine, people had more energy and even started exercising spontaneously and voluntarily. “Naturally occurring” sugar in fruits, vegetables, or milk is packaged alongside components like fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that, crucially, help the body process the sugar slowly. Few simple substances stir up as much controversy as sugar. Practical Wisdom - Interesting Ideas 42,442 views. To complicate the situation, it also has over fifty aliases: high-fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, brown rice syrup, muscovado… the list goes on and on. If you are among the few who have missed it, you have perhaps caught Gary Taubes’ “what he said” article in the New York Times Magazine. Taken from Joe Rogan Experience #1230 w/Killer Mike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7HMOsRUFS8 “You can make dog poop taste good with enough sugar,” he says. “The payload is sugar, and it’s killing people just like any nuclear bomb would. “What does it take to fix the sugar problem?” Lustig asks. Added sugars are calories without nutrients, she says. This type of sugar triggers a flood of insulin to process it. well, one bite leads into another and then another and before you know it, the whole container is empty and the viscous cycle continues. Then, there’s “added sugar,” the type that most nutritionists and physicians are more concerned about. And metabolic syndrome isn’t rare. Your email address will not be published. Robert Lustig: the man who believes sugar is poison. Both of these groups (sugar and corn) downplay research on pure fructose (which is pretty rare in nature and even our current environment), which is a … “I am for dessert,” Lustig says. So even if a nutrition label seems sugar-free, look closer: Sugar might just be dressed up in a different way. When blood sugar is chronically high, which leads to too much fat storage, the liver can get overloaded, contributing to fatty liver disease, increased risk of diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.Â. And, as ever, if you think this article may be useful to someone else please do feel free to share it with them.  And maybe come over and join the conversation in The Steps To Health Facebook Group, you’ll be most welcome. Sugar is poison, and it's everywhere. “So, our kids are getting poisoned at school.”. Sugar, natural or added, is in almost everything: ice cream, cake, fruit, milk, vegetables, pasta sauce, white bread — any food that contains carbohydrates. And it's killing people.". "What is left consists of pure, refined carbohydrates. Obesity, which is especially dire in Western countries, is now considered an all-out pandemic — people are fatter, sicker, and dying younger. The term sugar refers to sucrose or table sugar made from sugar cane or sugar beet. You may have seen a YouTube video in which Dr. Robert Lustig of UCSF opines that calories are irrelevant and that sugar is, in essence, the root of all dietary evil. They could’ve put heroin in the food, but that’s illegal. “When you eat a piece of fruit, you’re feeding your bacteria,” Lustig says. “They could have put cocaine in the food, but that’s illegal. But too much insulin, he learned, causes problems. “When starches and complex sugars (like those in honey and fruits) are digested, they break down into simple sugars called "monosaccharides," which are usable substances-nutrients. From that day to this, the sugar industry has invested millions of dollars in behind-the-scenes, subsidized science. Lustig also plans to release a new book later this year called The Case for Real Food and helped start the“Eat Real” educational and food certification movement. I do hope that this has been useful for you.  Do you think you’re health would benefit from cutting back on your sugar intake a little bit?  Please do share in the comments below.  I always love to hear from you. 4 Sugar Alternatives That Won’t Poison You. Though it’s important to help fuel our cells or store energy sources for later, insulin isn’t always the good guy. But doctors keep reminding us that sugar is responsible for many diseases that affect Western societies. Lustig believes industrial food companies are majorly responsible for inventing new forms of sugar and hiding it in places it shouldn’t be. And while the lobbying groups are sometimes at war over their individual cuts of the market, they all work towards the same goal, says Nestle: To suggest sugar isn’t really a problem and cast doubt on the research saying that it is. Sugar is poison. Ample research shows that whole, plant-based foods offer the most nutritional bang for their buck. “The vehicle is processed food,” Lustig says. Now it’s safe to say this can drive me completely up the wall and I’ll now confess, just between you and me, it sometimes leads to me having a one way dialogue with the TV and radio when said celebrities are telling the general public to add honey, molasses, coconut sugar and the like to recipes as healthy sugar alternatives!!! 6:32. His famous YouTube video “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” has been watched more than 6 million times. Table Sugar is commonly made of 50% fructose and 50% glucose. The insulin came first.”. “The soda industry fights against soda taxes so hard,” Nestle explains. 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