Sugar coating a silent killer
- For three years, Damon Gameau cut out sugar from his diet - then, for a documentary, he reintroduced the sweetness into his life by consuming 40 teaspoons of sugar a day...
Damon Gameau is on a mission. With his first child expected, he’s going to use his own body to test what could be the greatest danger to his young family’s healthy future: Sugar. Swearing to a two-month diet of only hidden sugars, those secreted away in supposedly ‘healthy’ foods, Gameau assembles a crack team to monitor the effect on his body and mind, travelling from Australia to the sugar-capitals of the USA, along with cameo appearances from Stephen Fry and Hugh Jackman. Delivering it’s bitter-pill message in a glittering, candied wrapper, That Sugar Film is as funny as it’s frightening, promising to change the way you think about what you buy, eat and believe what it means to be healthy, whether you have a sweet tooth or not.
Rian catches up with Damon and discovers the truth behind what it really means to have a sugar addiction and the detrimental effects that the obvious and hidden sugars can have on one’s mental and physical health.
Do you know WHY sugar is bad for you?
The American Heart Association (AHA), as well as the World Health Organsisation (WHO) recommends no more than 24 grams of added sugar per day. That's about 6 teaspoons, or 100 calories.
The problem comes in not with the physical measurement of the 6 teaspoons that you can control when making a cup of tea, the devil lies in the detail of the unknown amounts hidden in seemingly innocent low fat and healthy products.
5 sweet facts you need to know:
1. Sugar makes you fat
No shock here, but do you know the good from the bad? Added sugar is high in fructose, which can overload the liver. Before sugar enters your bloodstream from the digestive tract, it is broken down into two simple sugars:
- Glucose: Essential for energy. Whatever glucose your body doesn't need immediately gets converted into glycogen for storage in your liver. If we don’t get it from the diet, our bodies produce it.
- Fructose: Offers no nutritional value, it's addictive and robs your body of energy and health. These "empty calories" are not produced by our bodies in any significant amount meaning if you do not exercise or pay attention to what you eat, large amounts of fructose from added sugars get turned into fat in the liver.
In other words, the fructose - a component of table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup - tricks your body into gaining weight by fooling your liver to store fat more efficiently.
2. Sugar makes you stupid
Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain's ability to learn and remember information. Pay attention to the labels and stay away from artificially sweetened treats during exams or when you need to pay attention to avoid unnecessary memory loss.
3. Sugar is as addictive as alcohol
Because sugar causes a large release of dopamine (chemicals that set off the ‘pleasure center’ in the brain), it can cause addiction in a lot of people. After time you develop a tolerance to sugar which may result in craving sugar, losing control and eating more than you planned when you get it.
4. Sugar will make your skin ugly
Too much sugar will result in dry, brittle protein fibers that lead to wrinkles and saggy skin. Advanced Glycation End products, or AGEs, is the harmful molecule formed when sugar in your bloodstream attaches to proteins, which attack nearby protein fibers in collagen and elastin, the components that keep your skin firm and elastic.
5. Sugar is not always called ‘sugar’
Finally, know your sugar. You don't always see the word "sugar" on a food label. The white stuff comes in various forms (below) however always remember that no matter the name, the golden rule is 1 teaspoon = 4g:
- Agave nectar
- Brown rice syrup
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Dextrose
- Evaporated cane juice
- Glucose
- Lactose
- Malt syrup
- Molasses
- Sucrose
Check out the trailer for That Sugar Film here: