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Sugar is poison..says expert.

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I know how I feel and behave when I have too much refined sugar. I have seen the way children react to too much sugar. The article is interesting, but I think many people have worked out the relationship we have with things that are sweet.
 
I don't disagree that sugar is an 'empty calorie' in that it has no value beyond the energy it gives (though sometimes some quick fuel is important.)
The rest I think is far less convincing.
His thesis that sugar (and HGFS) is a prime reason for the obesity crisis only makes sense with US stats. It doesn't hold up to scrutiny elsewhere in places where sugar consumption has fallen whilst obesity levels have soared.

In the US total sugar intake from 1980 -2003 increased by 23%. The intake of refined sucrose (sugar) actually dropped by 20% but this was more than made up for by an increase of 138% in the intake of other types of sugar notably high glucose fructose syrop (HGFS).

During the same period in Australia the consumption of sugar decreased by 20%, whilst at the same time obesity levels trippled. In the UK, , sugar intake dropped by 5%. whilst obesity levels more than doubled
Neither country consumes much HGFS.

The Australian Paradox: A Substantial Decline in Sugars Intake over the Same Timeframe that Overweight and Obesity Have Increasedhttp://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/3/4/491/pdf
 
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Very interesting stats Helen, any idea of the general trend of carb consumption (including, but not limited to sugars) over the same period?
 
veganlass said:
Interesting article.

http://www.vegsource.com/news/2011/04/sugar-is-a-poison-says-ucsf-obesity-expert.html
Click to expand...

Dear veganlass,

The article you reference is constructed from a video that is available on U Tube here. You need to ensure your browser opens the video in a different window. If you don't have sufficient bandwidth to support the video stream, start the video then pause it. You can then go and do other things, like return to this site. When it say 75% downloaded you can then restart it.

Regards Dodger
 
HelenM said:
I don't disagree that sugar is an 'empty calorie' in that it has no value beyond the energy it gives (though sometimes some quick fuel is important.)
The rest I think is far less convincing.
His thesis that sugar (and HGFS) is a prime reason for the obesity crisis only makes sense with US stats. It doesn't hold up to scrutiny elsewhere in places where sugar consumption has fallen whilst obesity levels have soared.

In the US total sugar intake from 1980 -2003 increased by 23%. The intake of refined sucrose (sugar) actually dropped by 20% but this was more than made up for by an increase of 138% in the intake of other types of sugar notably high glucose fructose syrop (HGFS).

During the same period in Australia the consumption of sugar decreased by 20%, whilst at the same time obesity levels trippled. In the UK, , sugar intake dropped by 5%. whilst obesity levels more than doubled
Neither country consumes much HGFS.

The Australian Paradox: A Substantial Decline in Sugars Intake over the Same Timeframe that Overweight and Obesity Have Increasedhttp://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/3/4/491/pdf
Click to expand...

Dear HelenM,

You are correct, in my opinion - it is not just fructose. Sure HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) plays a part, and yes fructose is a toxin, but it not the total story. However, the video is still worth a look!

Regards Dodger

BTW fructose is defined as a toxin because only the liver can deal with it . It no more sinister than that!
 
Note that the earlier graph which shows a rise in %fat intake and drop in %carb intake since the 40's describes some of the data sources as 'notoriously unreliable'. Not sure what to make of the chart which suggests something like 25% lower food consumption overall since 1950 (when rationing was still in place). I find that very hard to believe... Have you seen the size of trolley loads in the supermarket?! 😱

Recent stats are very interesting. In the early days, when I was on more fixed doses it was sometimes quite tricky to eat enough carbs in a meal (except pasta!). Kept having to have an extra few spuds to make up the total. However it seems as though I was in the bottom 15% or so based on average carb intake even then.

Currently, I would seem to be in the bottom 4% most days.

Do people really have 5-6 slices of toast every morning?
 
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