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SUGAR is Toxic!

Submitted by Bentley Norville Dr. Robert Lustig is an endocrinologist and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California-San Francisco. In this video, he sits down with CrossFit’s Rory McKernan to explain sugar’s toxicity, outline the stakes of sugar consumption and offer suggestions for addressing the ongoing sugar crisis. “Sugar…

Submitted by Bentley Norville
Dr. Robert Lustig, Endocrinologist and Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California-San Francisco

Dr. Robert Lustig is an endocrinologist and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California-San Francisco. In this video, he sits down with CrossFit’s Rory McKernan to explain sugar’s toxicity, outline the stakes of sugar consumption and offer suggestions for addressing the ongoing sugar crisis. “Sugar is toxic,” Lustig explains. “It proffers a set of biochemical alterations that are detrimental to human health—unrelated to its calories.” In this way, Lustig says, sugar “is very much like alcohol,” and chronic metabolic diseases associated with alcohol are becoming prevalent in children with high-sugar diets. When asked about the state of pediatric medicine in the United States, Lustig says, “We have a problem.” Because the food industry has negatively influenced nutrition science for the last 45 years, many people still abide by the mistaken belief that a healthy diet is attained by regulating calories and saturated fat. This misconception has led to a rise in chronic metabolic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes in adult and youth populations. People who believe they are making healthy choices and avoiding sugar are nevertheless affected by the crisis. “Even though you might not be sick,” Lustig says, “society is.” In the final third of the video, Lustig outlines the necessary steps for enacting a societal intervention. These steps include educating the public, approaching sugar as an addictive substance and calling Type 2 diabetes what it is: “processed food disease.” The CrossFit Journal — (http://journal.crossfit.com)

56 responses to “SUGAR is Toxic!”

  1. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    Hmmm…..I am a recently diagnosed (2yrs) type 2 diabetic…..I grew up on an island that made its living off of sugarcane and its by products for over 300 years……up to recently we are known as a country of centenarians,whose stories of eating habits included bakes and swank,ground provisions,alcohol consumption,salted pigtail,saltfish and fresh fish…..note meat was rarely mentioned other than the odd yardfowl on a sunday.

    The differences today is lack of manual work and eating processed foods…….the sugar did not affect them.

  2. Bentley Norville Avatar
    Bentley Norville

    @Vincent Haynes: I am the person who sent this article/video to BU. Please note that the video by Dr. Lustig is about processed foods (especially carbohydrates, the most processed of all foods) and not specifically sugar. If you follow the research of Dr. Lustig you will realise that he often uses sugar as a catch-all to refer to all processed carbohydrates since these are rapidly converted to sugar in the body. He also stresses over consumption, something that is a fairly recent occurrence. His arguments are valid and it would be a good thing if we could eliminate all added sugars from our diets.

  3. Bentley Norville Avatar
    Bentley Norville

    @Vincent Haynes: I would invite you to go to the library (BU) and read article #27

  4. Well Well @ Cut N Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well @ Cut N Paste At Your Service

    ..very well understood, hence the reason Europe is moving away from sugar…added sugar is the problem, the body cannot process an over -abundance of sugar adequately or indefinitely…

    hence the reason some are diagnosed diabetics later in life, outside of hereditary factors.

  5. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    Bentley Norville

    Points taken and accepted.

  6. David Avatar
    David

    The New York Times

    Sugar Industry Long Downplayed Potential Harms

  7. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    I LOVE TO READ WHEN THE BIOCHEMISTRY ILLITERATES COMMENT ON SUGAR

    FIRST he body cannot process an over -abundance of sugar adequately or indefinitely…

    hence the reason some are diagnosed diabetics later in life, outside of hereditary factors.

    NOT TRUE OBVIOUSLY

    THE HEXOKINASE GLUCOKINASE OR HEXOKINASE IV CAN CONVERT HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF GLUCOSE TO GLUCOSE 6 PHOSPHATE WITH EASE, BOTH adequately or indefinitely

    FOLK WHO ARE diagnosed as diabetics later in life, are so diagnosed for other reasons such as a relative lack of exercise or serious decline in their activity, as well as the declension in performance of the exocrine pancreas .

    second

    Please note that the video by Dr. Lustig is about processed foods (especially carbohydrates, the most processed of all foods) and not specifically sugar.
    this appears to be accurate and is probably the cause of the type 2 diabetes epidemic

    If all processed carbohydrates are rapidly converted to glucose in the body there would be no harm as this is normal

    the problem seems to be due to some abnormal trigger

    over consumption is indeed a fairly recent occurrence but the processing is likely to be the bug bear

    if we could eliminate all added sugars from our diets we might be able to survive by making any required glucose by gluconeogenesis from amino acid metabolism.

    we would then derive our energy via the Krebs cycle from fat metabolism via acetyl CoA

    i believe the real problem is not sugar but increased acetylCoA levels from excessive protein and fat consumption from meats– some processed

    Vincent Haynes November 22, 2017 at 8:20 AM #
    YOU ARE 100% CORRECT

  8. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    IF SUGAR I.E GLUCOSE WAS INDEED TOXIC, IT WOULD NOT BE THE CENTRAL FUEL AND METABOLITE IN OUR METABOLIC PATHWAYS AND THOSE OF ALL LIVING ORGANISMS WHETHER PLANT OR ANIMAL

    I HAVE LONG WONDERED IF THE COMMON PRESERVATIVES, WHICH WERE NOT USED MANY YEARS AGO ARE NOT THE CULPRITS

    WHEREAS MANY OF THESE ACIDS ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE KREBS CYCLE……….THEY ARE THERE FLEETINGLY AS THEY ARE CONVERTED TO EACH OTHER, AND CERTAINLY NOT IN THE CONCENTRATIONS FOUND IN CONTEMPORARY UBIQUITOUS FOOD STUFFS

  9. Well Well @ Cut N Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well @ Cut N Paste At Your Service

    if we could eliminate all added sugars from our diets we might be able to survive by making any required glucose by gluconeogenesis from amino acid metabolism....

    GP….i do not use added sugars as a rule, it is unhealthy to say the least….no diabetes…i do walk 6 miles a week …unable to do more…..and swim, best exercise..

    no health problems, outside of old injuries.

  10. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    GP

    Thanks…..I am human and started to doubt myself……your outline has made it pelucidly clear.

  11. Well Well @ Cut N Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well @ Cut N Paste At Your Service

    i had friends, many quite young, who lost their lives to this mostly lifestyle disease.

    ….Type 2 diabetes has several causes: genetics and lifestyle are the most important ones. A combination of these factors can cause insulin resistance, when your body doesn’t use insulin as well as it should. Insulin resistance is the most common cause of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes can be hereditary.Apr 7, 2017….`

    ..When you have type 2 diabetes, your fat, liver, and muscle cells do not respond correctly to insulin. This is called insulin resistance. ... Type 2 diabetes usually develops slowly over time. Most people with the disease are overweight or obese when they are diagnosed...

  12. Well Well @ Cut N Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well @ Cut N Paste At Your Service

    GP….i only posted some, article is too long.

    HomeDiabetes News
    Excess sugar in liver causes insulin resistance, say researchers
    Jack Woodfield
    Mon, 10 Oct 2016

    Excess sugar in liver causes insulin resistance, say researchers

    The body’s inability to use insulin normally during the development of type 2 diabetes is caused by excess sugar in the liver, according to a study claiming to settle a long-standing scientific dispute.

    A controversial debate about whether sugar lies behind type 2 diabetes exists, with some researchers suggesting it has not contributed to a major rise in the condition across the world.

    But now a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation is claiming insulin resistance could be caused by a process triggered by excess sugar in the liver.

    Researchers from Duke University say this is because of a metabolic process involving a molecular factor known as carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein, or ChREBP.

    The protein is found in several organs and, in the liver, is triggered by excess consumption of a form of sugar called fructose, which is found naturally in fruit and added artificially to a growing number of processed foods and drinks.

    Fructose initiates a process that causes the liver to keep making glucose and raising blood glucose levels, even as insulin tries to keep glucose production in check, the researchers discovered.

    Lead researcher Dr Mark Herman, Duke University School of Medicine, said: “There is still significant controversy as to whether sugar consumption is a major contributor to the development of diabetes.

    “Some investigators contend that commonly consumed amounts of sugar do not contribute to this epidemic. While others are convinced that excessive sugar ingestion is a major cause. This paper reveals a specific mechanism by which consuming fructose in large amounts, such as in soda, can cause problems.”

  13. David Avatar
    David


    Submitted by Dr. GP

  14. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    PLEASE SEE DISCUSSION ON THESE SLIDES UNDER MEDICAL CORNER

  15. Dr. Simple Simon Phd Avatar
    Dr. Simple Simon Phd

    @Vincent Haynes November 22, 2017 at 8:20 AM “The differences today is lack of manual work…”
    Georgie Porgie November 22, 2017 at 6:07 PM “Vincent Haynes November 22, 2017 at 8:20 AM
    YOU ARE 100% CORRECT”

    So now that we know what not to do.

    What should we do?

    Since our desk jobs and our family responsibilities inhibit our physical activity?

  16. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    Dr. Simple….and therein lies the rub, that is one of the reasons so many are dying and have lifestyle diseases like diabetes, no time to take care of theselves, the rat race.

    People in Japan are literally dropping dead from overwork, have 2 jobs, still cant afford rent and no time for exercise….by default, it’s the rat race killing people.

    Most times a lifestyle change causes diabetes to disappear, change in eating habits, more exercise, etc….it just goes away.

  17. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    IN HIS STELLAR CONTRIBUTION AT THE TOP OF THIS THREAD Vincent Haynes November 22, 2017 at 8:20 AM WROTE
    Hmmm…..I am a recently diagnosed (2yrs) type 2 diabetic…..I grew up on an island that made its living off of sugarcane and its by products for over 300 years……up to recently we are known as a country of centenarians,whose stories of eating habits included bakes and swank,ground provisions,alcohol consumption,salted pigtail,saltfish and fresh fish…..note meat was rarely mentioned other than the odd yardfowl on a sunday.

    The differences today is lack of manual work and eating processed foods…….the sugar did not affect them.

    NOTE PARTICULARLY ………meat was rarely mentioned other than the odd yardfowl on a sunday.

    EATING A LOT OF MEAT IS IMPLICATED IN PROSTATE CANCER
    WHEN I WAS A STUDENT 40 YEARS AGO I REMEMBER WE HAD A LOT OF PATIENTS WITH BPH BUT FEWER WITH CANCER

    I RECALL WORKING AS A CASHIER AT AGE 14 IN A SUPERMARKET IN 1966 AROUND THE ADVENT OF CHICKEN BACKS IN BARBADOS AT 33 CENTS PER LB……..LONG BEFORE WE WERE SELF SUFFICIENT IN CHICKEN

  18. bajans Avatar
    bajans

    @ Georgie Porgie
    Welcome back. You are a breath of fresh air. Believe it or not, I am back to eating yard fowls. I buy them from my neighbour at $5 each. They take time to cook, but are delicious. I supplement with lots of fish and the occasional proper pork.

  19. angela Skeete Avatar
    angela Skeete

    My daily diet
    morning a cup of tea
    A bowl of oat meal and a multivitamin
    Lunch time a chicken salad and on occasion a tuna sandwich or pizza and a glass of coconut water
    evening another salad sometines soup or rice and prefer salmon over meat and a glass of Almond milk
    Do not have diabetes or high blood pressure drink plenty of water when my system requires especially when it is hot
    stay away from fast foods hate sweet beverages . Ocassionaly eat bread or biscuits and when i have a sweet tooth attack prefer klondite mint chocolate bars
    i have maintained the same weight in my adults years.
    Do not exercise have no intentions of doing so.

  20. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    You forgot to mention the “DLP kool-aid” you drink for breakfast, lunch, dinner and “when you have a sweet tooth attack.”

    Hahahaha!!!

  21. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    bajans November 23, 2017 at 3:19 PM #

    YOU ARE NOT NICE OR MY FRIEND, MAN ……BECAUSE
    YOU HAVE SENT ME CRAZY AND YOU MAKE MY MOUTH WATER AT THE THOUGHT OF GOOD YARD FOWL AS WELL AS A FISH BROTH WITH ONIONS, PEPPER, EDDOES, SWEET POTATOES AND BREADFRUIT AND DUMPLINGS.

    MAN THAT IS REAL FOOD MAN BUT SOME OF WE GREAT AND HIGH UP AND BETTER OFF TO REMEMBER SUCH. MURDAH!
    SORRY YOU CANT SEND ME SOME ONLINE

  22. angela Skeete Avatar
    angela Skeete

    HA HA you too sweet. ! i would let this one pass , This is serious discussion , GP is a learned and respected doc, would hate to show any disrespect toward a discussion of health unless it was discussion on mental health to which a few choice words would have very well applied to your way of thinking

  23. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @Vincent,
    Plse manage your diabetes carefully. Regular exercise, lots of fruit and veg, water and cut back on the rice and other carbohydrates and be careful of stress..

  24. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    The amazing thing is the resurgence of yardfowls as they used to be scarce and not walking around like today……….,living in St.Andrew every yard had them and if any escaped it was fair game for the lads who would head out of sight,pluck it,put some wood,light a fire put an old pot on it with water and seasoning from somebodies yard,also a couple of breadfruit in the fire or some potato pickings in the pot.

  25. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    Hal

    Yes,I have undertaken all of that and in 2 months after diagnosis I had lost 20 pounds and have maintained that weight for the last 20 odd months,I eat smaller portions of the recommended foods and do my regular walks…..so far its under control with the only meds used being 500mg of metformin.

  26. David Avatar
    David

    Aren’t fruits high in sugar content?

  27. David Avatar
    David

    @Vincent

    If every thing is under control as you say why are you on meds?

  28. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    David

    The meds are also diet inhibitors.

    Some fruits are higher in sugar content than others…..one thing I stay far from is artificial sweeteners.

  29. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @Vincent,
    That is great. Some fruit have high fructose content, but a balanced diet, regular exercise, small portions, less stress and regular eye checks should see you through.

  30. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    NOTHING WRONG WITH SACCHARIN which is not artificial
    BUT ASPARTAME which is a combination of two amino acids is metabolized to a naughty compound to the body.
    Most fruit contain high concentrations of fructose.

  31. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    GP

    Thanks GP….forgot about saccharin….that was the original sweetener back in my fathers day who was a type 1.

  32. bajans Avatar
    bajans

    @Georgie Porgie

    Look, I have eddoes, cassava and christophene here in my kitchen to make soup, with pumpkin from my garden. No dumplings, but I may add some okras. I find I no longer like rice much so stick to the ground provisions. Love green bananas. I however find the fruits today are exceptionally sweet. Even granny smith apples are sweet. I bought some grapes today and can only eat 6 at a time. Too much sugar. Will give most to the skinny white guy a few doors down.

    I could have ordered you some yard fowls. I ordered 24 for the extended family and myself. I kept 6 and have 2 left. I also got 14 dozen free range brown eggs the size of a duck’s egg.

    I had an angiogram before Christmas last year and the cardiologist in the operating room told me that if he and the nurses had arteries as good as mine, they would all be happy. So, I gave up the egg whites and went back to whole eggs but only 3 per week.

    @Vincent
    Go to the medical corner and go through Dr. GP’s slides on diabetes, etc. They are very informative. By the way, not all diabetes is from lifestyle habits. Some are genetic. The hardest part is passing up fine wines and single malt scotch.

  33. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    bajans

    Yup…..have been following it…..thanks.

  34. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    bajans November 23, 2017 at 5:28 PM #
    behave now! behave man! soup, with pumpkin!
    you cut up the pumpkin small first so it will melt! heaven!
    okras have very few calories and act like a bulk laxative. great stuff

    hot green bananas with a little oil and salt fish……delightful

    i am not in Bim so I cant take up your order of yard fowl

    nothing wrong with egg whites or whole eggs — fairly cheap source of protein

    I have been playing with a sort of Atkins diet
    try to cut out bread and other carbs as much as possible–all though your body will crave it

    use protein: eggs cheese lean meat lentils, peas
    when you digest the protein and the amino acids are degraded some will give you the acetylCoA to run the Krebs cycle to provide the energy you need

    the glucogenic aminoacids will make the glucose you need by gluconeogenesis in the liver

    a little fat from butter will also give you some acetylCoA to run the Krebs cycle to provide the energy you need

    those who need to lose weight will do so as I have

    stop counting calories and work these cheap sources of protein, and a little fat

    let me know how it works for you, and the sources and amounts of protein and fat you use and how you adjust to suit

    Also I would like to hear from Vincent and other diabetics on this

  35. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    if you start to fell woozy and hypoglycemic some days just take a sweeten drink

  36. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    GP

    Yes…..I am following your above and I lost 20 pounds…..I limit my self to a wholewheat sandwich on an afternoon…..I do soups with furniture about once a week,fish about twice fried and steamed then chicken pork beef stews or baked for the balance of the week….oatmeal with honey and an egg for breakfast.

  37. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    If the discussion was on mental health, your incoherent nonsensical contributions best exemplify the topic.

  38. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    GP

    A couple of banks and or infused white rum with bayleaf and citrus peel.

  39. angela Skeete Avatar
    angela Skeete

    Artax November 23, 2017 at 7:37 PM #

    If the discussion was on mental health, your incoherent nonsensical contributions best exemplify the topic.

    Rats a,,ss the blp mongrel just cant help himself but to follow A.S. all over the blog, Poor Soul boy do i have plenty work for you to do

  40. Dr. Simple Simon Phd Avatar
    Dr. Simple Simon Phd

    @Vincent Haynes November 23, 2017 at 7:45 PM “infused white rum with bayleaf and citrus peel.”

    I think that I will try this.

    How long to I need to do the infusion?

    If I start the process right now, will it be ready for Christmas?

  41. Dr. Simple Simon Phd Avatar
    Dr. Simple Simon Phd

    @Vincent Haynes November 23, 2017 at 7:23 PM “I do soups with furniture about once a week.”

    If you are doing soup you may as well do two servings, or even three at the same time. I grew up cooking for a large family so I never learned how to cook a single serving of soup. But no harm there as I am a serious soup lover, and can have it Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday…the more the merrier.

  42. Dr. Simple Simon Phd Avatar
    Dr. Simple Simon Phd

    I find it very hard to stay on a highly restricted diet, so I exercise a lot, maybe 10 or 12 hours a week of heavy gardening especially in the rainy season. By the end of the rainy season/December I’ve generally lost about 12 pounds, but I does creep back on if I reduce my physical activity.

  43. Dr. Simple Simon Phd Avatar
    Dr. Simple Simon Phd

    bajans November 23, 2017 at 5:28 PM “Look, I have eddoes, cassava and christophene here in my kitchen to make soup, with pumpkin from my garden. No dumplings, but I may add some okras…”

    Or about 5 minutes before the soup is done, cut up a dozen leaves of spinach and throw it in the pot, beautiful and delicious and it thickens the soup too

  44. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    Dr SS PhD

    Two weeks if in a hurry….4 weeks good…..longer tends to break down the peel which allows for a nice liquor but full of sediment.

    I am in the same boat…..I cannot cook for one…..so yes I do have frozen soup for a number of weeks…..I still use pigtail in mine and not fussy about dumplings.

    I grow my own spinach,okras,basil,tumeric and ginger in containers one has adapt when living in apartments.

    Walking around the block daily does what the old time garden work used to do.

  45. bajans Avatar
    bajans

    @Dr. GP

    Man, I am still up here in Ottawa. Changed the monniker that is all. I make a large pot of soup and have it for lunch every day when I return from the gym. I added tatsoi (chinese rose spinach) to my soup today. I also added two large onions, some whole capellini, and some tomatoes. I did it in a 5 qt. cast iron dutch oven and since it is cold here I will be putting the pot outside. Hopefully, the raccoons will leave it alone.

    @Vincent
    I am going to try that rum recipe. Right now, I infuse with mary jane. I use it for arthritis. I grow one plant and that lasts for two years. I don’t abuse it, but I share with neighbours and friends. Sometimes I make a tea. The one I grew this year was from a seed I brought from Jamaica last October. The thing was about 6 feet tall and bushy as hell. I had problems bringing it in the house when it turned cold. The weather was not good this year and the buds are smaller than usual but many more.

    I don’t think I will ever grow the four that Trudeau is allowing starting next year. that would be way too much.

  46. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    bajans

    Chuckle……I would not advise you to bring that bottle with you on your next visit to Bim nor grow/purchase any here,as this govt has not listened to the several cries to de-criminalise the use of mary jane.

  47. bajans Avatar
    bajans

    @ Vincent

    I was walking through town two years ago and sat on a bench under some trees in nelson Street and had two lovely guys come and join me. One was selling tobacco the other the medicine. I did not need, and you are not sure what you are getting and what was added, etc.
    I played a few hands of cards with them and had some entertaining conversation. They were amazed that I sat and chatted with them. They said most people seeing them would cross to the other side of the street. lol.

  48. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Coming soon.

    How To Cook Like A Bajan

    http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/104109/lights-camera-cook

    Now that I am a bachelor again it might be useful to learn how to cook proper Bajan food.

  49. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    bajans

    Sounds to me that you came across some real characters….surprised they did not do the 3 card trick on you.

  50. bajans Avatar
    bajans

    Bajans can be quite entertaining when they want to. They were interested in Canada, life up here, winter, etc. We played coon, but not for money. They won every game of course. There is a rasta guy on lower swan street that I buy dunks, tamarinds and fat porks from. I started talking to him and found out that he is from Lakes, St. Andrew. I had family in Lakes and an uncle lived in Belleplaine. This rasta said he drove my (a Bailey) cousin when he got too old to drive himself.

    I like to talk to people and never get mad at the vendors. I once tried haggling on Oxford Street, London, with a vendor, and he did not put me down when I suggested a ridiculous price, he just smiled and said, “I think your parents are comedians”. that was so funny, I paid what he was asking.

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