As I mentioned, these are my summary notes from watching the video by Doctor Helena Popovic many times.
I do encourage you all to take the time and watch the video. It’s really good.
See more on Dr Helena Popovic here: https://drhelenapopovic.com/.
50 Shades of Sugar
In 1950 12% of Americans were classified obese.
In 1980 15% of Americans were classified obese.
In 2000 35% of Americans were classified obese.
The US Government in conjunction with Top Nutritional scientists put out “Dietary Guidelines” which told us to stop eating fat. Lower the fat and increase the carbohydrates. They replaced fat with sugar in foods.
In 1957 Professor John Yudkin, discovered:
He discovered that excess Fructose consumption converted to Fat.
There are more than 50 different words for sugar used in food labels and 46 of them contain fructose. Video 19.24 for the full list.
The only 14 sugars that have no fructose in them Video 20.40 for the full list:
Ethanol in alcohol creates a fatty liver. Fructose acts like ethanol and does the same thing, leading to liver disease. The liver looks like an alcoholics when you eat too much sugar.
There is no safe level of consumption for soft drinks!
Fructose converts into Triglycerides which means, “Sugar turns to fat”.
His research was ignored.
Excess fructose gets converted to fat and deposited around the liver.
Soft drinks are all sucrose!! No safe limit for soft drinks.
Sugar is a toxin but there is too much money invested, just like what happened in the tobacco industry years ago.
Food companies added sugar to replace the fat taken out of food. It was a mistake. They need to own the mistake and learn from their mistake.
Sugars below: refers to sweet, short chain, soluble carbohydrates:
Monosaccharides – glucose, fructose, galactose (in nature)
Diasaccharides – sucrose, lactose, maltose
Does not include these ones:
Oligosaccharides – not the villain; bound to proteins and fats; on the surface of our cells; part of many chemical functions in the body; helps to modulate the body’s immune response.
Polysaccharides (often known as our starchy carbohydrates; contain fibre)
–storage of energy: starch, glycogen,
– structure in plants (fibre): cellulose, chitin
– humans can’t break down (digest) cellulose + chitin
80% to the body for fuel, burning and storage in the organs for energy; converted to Glycogen.
20% to the liver – some of it is immediately taken by the energy sells eg Mitochondria.
Excess eating of glucose will still convert to fat; bind to proteins and make them less flexible which leads to aging; creates toxins in the body but the body deals with glucose better.
Body can handle the Glucose OK, but…
Fructose – no organ except the liver that can handle the fructose. The Mitocondria (our bodies energy cells) start to produce waste products eg uric acid; induces the release of a liver enzyme which causes high blood pressure and gout, cancer, dementia; inflammation throughout the body ie in the liver, pancreas, organs.
No organ in the body can handle Fructose except the liver!!! Our bodies can handle a little but we are consuming too much!!
We are addicted to sugar. Some young boys eating 30 teaspoons of sugar per day should be 9.
Today by the time the average child in a developed country turns 8 years old, they’ve had more sugar in their lives than the average person did in their entire lifetime just one century ago.
If you add, 1 x can of soft drink per day will add 6.75 Kgs of weight gain per year. 22% increased risk of diabetes.
Men who drink 2+ sugary drinks per day have an 8.5% higher risk of gout than those who drink <1 per month.
Goes to a part of our brain known as our ‘pleasure centre’.
Sets off ‘Dopamine’ ie a brain chemical and reduces the pleasure of other things.
There is no addictive forms of sugar in nature.
Processed Foods have been formulated to achieve The bliss point in particular, 50% fat and 50% sugar – optimal point of sugar – addictive.
Processed food is “crafted for your craving” eg iced glazed doughnuts.
Artificial sugars cannot be absorbed. That is the point of them. They don’t enter our bodies, only our gut. Researchers have now found a change in gut flora. Artificial sweeteners encourage the growth of bad gut flora; reduces our insulin sensitivity; they developed Metabolic Syndrome eg Diabetes.
Medicine of the future: Poo transplants, to restore our good gut bacteria.
Stevia = seems safe. Not enough studies done.
Men < 9 teaspoons
Women < 6 teaspoons
Children < 4 teaspoons
4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon
Wine has Fructose in it because of the grapes, however there is more sugar in spirits.
Recommended daily intake:
Under 1 standard drink 10 grams/100 mls of wine for women per day
< 2 standard drinks for a male for health
Soluble fibre made up of glcose chains (Chitin) absorbs water, makes us feel fuller faster, you eat less. lowers our cholesterol, prolongs gastric emptying, removes bile acids eg oats, barley, lentils, almonds, chia, apples, pears, oranges, cucumbers, carrots.
Insoluble fibre forms a physical type barrier, don’t absorb as much of the calories in food eg husks around grains, string in celery, slows the rise in blood sugar levels, lowers insulin peak. Makes you fart.
Fruit is fructose and fibre balanced in nature.
Juice is just sugar dissolved in water.
Most of the blenders that contain the fibre, due to the shearing action of the blade completely disintegrates the insoluble fibre. You still get the soluble.
The problem with processed food is that most of nature’s antidote ie fibre has been removed from the food.
Dairy – don’t count the lactose in milk in your daily sugar allowance because the body handles it differently than Fructose. Full fat and unflavoured doesn’t contain any added sugar.
Fibre
Fitness – stand for 2 minutes every 20 minutes; for blood sugar control; impoves glycemic control; no contraction is the large muscles of our body to clear the blood sugars in our body. Before and after every meal HIIT, minimum 30 seconds. Improves your memory – reduces the risk of dementia.
Framing – (re-labelling) Trick or treat? Erodes your brain cells, gives us a fatty liver and tooth decay. It’s all in the marketing!!
Focus – Distance yourself from the craving. The longer you delay the easier it is to overcome the craving. Every time you’re really hungry, only eat good food and over time you will re-wire your brain.
Feelings – comfort eating; be still and feel the discomfort and let it pass. Feel the feeling first.
Salt, sugar, fat by Michael Moss
Pure, white and deadly by Robert Lustig
Neuroslimming by Dr Helena Popovic