It may be the same in
your country. Right now Australia has been subjected to a number of
“look-at-me, look-at-me” people jumping onto the media proclaiming that sugar
is toxic and the cause of obesity, heart disease and a list of attention-grabbing
conditions. Not much different to the arguments we heard before colour TV.
It’s not science, nor is it logic
Naturally the media want
a human interest angle so they track down someone who chugged down lots of
sugar and now has cut out sugar and they feel better. Conclusion: sugar is
toxic. Now if you used to drink lots of soft drink and ate plenty of cakes,
biscuits/cookies, pastries, ice cream, confectionery and cut them out, yes,
there is a good chance you feel better. There is also a good chance that you will
have replaced all the sugar-containing foods with fruit, nuts, vegetables and
other foods laden with essential nutrients. You feel better because you are eating
better.
On the weekend, with deep
pain, I watched a 60 Minutes story on sugar. Main interviewee? An
ex-fashion editor! You know, the one with years of published research in
nutrition. From what I could gather, she left her high-pressure job, went to
live in the country, bought a push bike, chose to improve her diet and felt
better. Obvious logical scientific conclusion: sugar is toxic. Even the kids
thought that one was funny. Always remember, when you cut out an aspect of your
diet, you must replace it with something and that something is usually of better
nutritional quality than what you have deleted.
Fructose
Sugar, as in table sugar
or cane sugar, is a carbohydrate. It is a molecule of fructose joined to a
molecule of glucose. Some are claiming/hoping that it is fructose that is
making everyone fat. A systematic review and meta-analysis by some seriously
respected scientists who checked all the published data says: “Fructose does
not seem to cause weight gain when it is substituted for other carbohydrates in
diets providing similar calories.” In other words, fructose per se doesn’t
have an independent ability to make you gain weight. They point out that
fructose only causes weight gain when, like any sugar, it is eaten in excess of
your kJ/Calorie needs. That is, you gain weight when you eat too much.
The reviewers finally
say: “Weight gain seems to be due to the extra calories that are
characteristic of high-fructose diets and not due to the fructose itself.”
Now that is going to upset a few pet theories and self-promotion programs. Nah,
it won’t actually because when you have a pet theory it is quite easy to ignore
facts that spoil your story, and weak humans are unable to change their mind or
correct an opinion.
What does it all mean?
It is quite simple
really. Just don’t eat too much sugar or sugar-laden foods, while eating plenty
of minimally processed foods like fruit and vegetables. How’s that for
sensational? You are right, it’s not an exciting message at all. Logic, science
and balance have no place in current affairs programs. They barely get noticed
in other circles either.
Ok, here’s another idea:
eating too many Calories makes you fat! Nope, way too factual. Let me think
about it. I’m sure there has to be something we can blame, just as long as we
don’t suggest that being overweight is because we eat too many kJs and exercise
too little.
I also
wrote about sugar a year ago on my blog.
Reference:
Sievenpiper JL et al. Annals of Internal Medicine 2012; 156: 291-304
