Is sugar worse than tobacco

[mikeccolella]

https://aeon.co/essays/sugar-is-a-toxic-agent-that-creates-conditions-for-disease

 

This essay by Gary Taubes outlines his scientific case against sugar by which he also includes refined carbs. Taubes claims the science got it terribly wrong and decades later many are still afraid to eat healthy fats and seek low fat foods which are often the worst possible choices. Taube claims the refining process has caused more deaths than all the wars and tobacco deaths combined. It is he insists a drug with powerful addictive qualities not unlike nicotine, tobacco and cocaine and corporations knowingly sneak it into foods for this very reason. Well written and a very interesting read

[mccoy]

Well researched and well written, although we all know that Gary Taubes is an high priest of the paleo movement and is not exempt from all the bias that it carries.

 

For example, he hardly accepted the latest researched signed by Kevin hall and funded by Taubes' pet foundation NUSI, according to which there is no significant caloric advantage deriving from a keto diet compared to a SAD diet. Which tends to negate the fact that calories do not govern body weight.

 

By the way, since 40 years ago, when I started reading the non-scientifical health literature, white sugar has always been clearly defined as a food to avoid at all costs.

[Todd Allen]

Dr. Robert H. Lustig has written quite a bit about the metabolic evils of sugar and its addictive properties.  He also covers differences between glucose, fructose and other sugars.  Fructose he compares to alcohol in its effects on the liver when consumed to excess, particularly easy to do when refined sugars are added, often liberally, to most processed foods which make up an increasing fraction of the diet for most people.  Lustig has not been in the pro-fat camp like Taubes, but I think he is slowly moving in that direction.

[mccoy]

Todd, if we speak about refined sugars, then it is probably undisputable that they affect the health deleteriously and Lustig has the merit that he recognized the metabolic problems of eating refined fructose, so common today in sodas and other widely consumed goods.

 

However, the paleo guys consider fructose evil in whatsoever form, even natural fructose when eaten as found in fresh fruit. 

 

But hunters gatherers in Africa and elsewhere, when they come across fruit they gorge on it. And wild fruit is not lowcarb as the lowcarbers like to believe.

The Hazda even gorge on pure honey, usually rich in fructose. 

 

There is also literature showing that eating whole fruit carries no detrimental effect as compared to eating refined sugars.

[mikeccolella]

Primitives gorged on sugar no doubt when they got it which was probably rarely. but I still think you can overdo the banana, grapes apple thing fairly easily especially considering the fruits we eat these days are not like the wild fruits we evolved on. I dont agree with Taubes diet recs but his science journalism is just pretty darn good Id say. He goes into considerable detail and makes a powerful case against high carb diets. Personally I’m more inclined towards lots of low glycemic vegetables, fish, nuts, oilive oil, berries. Similiar to Dr. Mark Hyman’s diet recs.

[mccoy]

... Personally I’m more inclined towards lots of low glycemic vegetables, fish, nuts, oilive oil, berries. Similiar to Dr. Mark Hyman’s diet recs.

 

Mike, my hunch, after my recent full immersion in the science of practical nutrition, is that there is not a best regime for everyone, and even with the same individual the best regime may vary according to purposes and conditions and age and more...

 

I tried  a low carb-low protein diet but that is definitely unbalanced as far as lipids go. That is, on such a diet you are almost compelled to overindulge on fats, many of which will be saturated (unless you rule out animal foods or wholefat dairy products). Again, if fats are well tolerated (because of concomitant fibers, phytosterols and other phytochemicals), then having a lower glicaemia may be our main purpose.

 

I agree that in older age it's probably better to cut on carbs, in some instances. Sometimes the body self-regulates. While at 16 I used to have as a meal a pint of honey or more (just that, a vase of honey and water), now I cannot countenance that in the least. I used to like the sweetest dates, now they make me sick. I liked overripe banans, now I liekethem green.

 

I too love vegetables, raw and cooked and sometimes overindulge with them (one kilo of spinach), but I cannot find any excuse, evidence or other reason to demonize whole, unsqueezed, fresh fruit in season possibly eaten with its skin. Unless we are diabetics or we need to loose weight.