I just finished watching a fascinating lecture… and I think you should see it.
The title is Sugar: The Bitter Truth.
Trust me. This is NOT something you’ve heard before.
During this 90-minute lecture, Dr. Robert Lustig, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology explains:
* Why fructose is poison for your body… and why fruit (which contains fructose) is perfectly healthy.
* The “Coca-Cola” conspiracy — how big businesses are trying to trick you into drinking poison.
* Why a shot of whiskey is no worse for you than a glass of orange juice (bonus: the whiskey is more fun!)
* If you must eat at McDonald’s, 7 foods that do NOT contain high fructose corn syrup. (Surprise, chicken nuggets are on the list).
* The only two drinks you should have in your ‘fridge.
* How to cure type-II diabetes in a week -without prescription drugs or surgery.
This video runs 90 minutes and can get a little dry at times. But I urge to at least listen to the video (you can get all the main points without actually seeing the presentation — so just let it play in the background while you work on the computer.)
Watch it today and I’ll bet you dramatically change the way you eat tonight.
There’s no sales pitch. Nothing to buy. But this information could very well save your life and prevent you from developing some nasty diseases.
(Note: Tip of the hat to Keith Norris. I found this video through his excellent blog.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I researched the stuff in the lecture, and I have a couple of questions:
1) I drink Tropicana 100%, never from concentrate orange juice, which means its freshly squeezed with no added sugars or perservatives. Also, Matt, I know you promote drinking grape juice after workouts, which has twice the amount of sugar/serving than orange juice, but is also 100%, never from concentrate; and both orange juice and grape juice have lots of healthy vitamins and minerals. So my question is does the study relate to all orange/fruit juices or just certain kinds?
2) I found an alternative to Gatorade that doesn’t use High Fructose Corn Syrup. It’s called HEED, which stands for High Energy Electrolyte Drink. It uses complex carbs as opposed to simple sugar based drinks that include sucrose, glucose, or refined sugars. I haven’t started using it, but it looks like a good product. Check it out n let me know what you think.
Lustig frowns on all fruit juice because in his opinion the body treats fruit juice just like cola. The reason actual fruit is ok is because fruit has fiber to counteract the sugar in fruit.
But with juice, the fiber is gone and you’re left with just the sugar.
He does go on to say that Gatorade (and other high-sugar drinks) are effective for athletes because they help replenish glycogen quickly.
So I think the key point is that drinking high-sugar juices/drinks specifically for a hard-training workout has benefits. However, drinking sugary drinks all day long when you’re NOT working out intensely will only make you fat and sick.
Struggled at times, but I really enjoyed the lecture. thanks for posting the link.
I had heard about fructose being the worst of the sugars and why, but this brought much greater depth and importance to it.
One point that’s a little confusing though - didn’t he call fructose a poison? (or am I confusing with the glucose-fructose syrup thing)
But if fruit is okay, because you get the fibre along with the fructose it if you eat it whole rather than as juice, how is that very different to eating any junk food/fructose as long as you eat some fibrous carbs with it, or alongside a good healthy fibrous -carb-laden meal?
Surely, if fructose is so bad, then regardless of how you consume it - its still going to your liver. It can still be a primary cause of weight-gain problems, (Lustig’s words) or is it simply that the liver can just cope better with smaller, controlled ‘doses’ than the quick hit of OJ.
Everything in moderation? Is he wrong to call it a poison and then say its okay in small doses, wrapped in fibre and packaged as fruit?
re: workout drink question. you can buy tubs of maltodextrin (unhelpfully called a complex carb) and add it to your workout drink to give it more carbs, but less actual liquid. and maltodextrin/dextrose are probably the best two carbs to use in post-workout drink. (www.fitnessforall.com)
I think (and I’m just speculating here) that Lustig would agree with your theory about eating junk food along with fibrous carbs.
However, in the real world, I’ve NEVER seen anyone eat a candy bar and a stalk of celery at the same time.
Whereas with fruit, you ALWAYS eat the fiber and the fructose at the same time.