In case you missed it in comments, a reader recommended this documentary about sugar from 1986. I’d never heard of it before, and obviously it wasn’t popular enough when it aired to make much of an impression on the public, considering what’s happened since then.
I was pleased to see Dr. Linus Pauling mention that there’s no correlation across populations between saturated fat intake and heart disease, but there is a correlation between heart disease and sugar. Too bad the anti-fat hysterics weren’t listening. We’ve spent another 25 years since then shooting at the wrong target.
The only place the documentary went off the rails a little was when it got preachy about how many advertisements for sugary foods are directed at kids. Yes, that’s right, kids see a ton of ads for junk foods. But unless I’m missing something here, they don’t respond to those ads by getting in their cars, driving to the store, and spending their hard-earned money on Lucky Charms. Their parents do that for them.
I was also amused when the host announced near the end that new federal rules would soon require food manufacturers to list the amount of sugar and other ingredients on food packages – the implication being that people would respond to the labels by consuming less sugar. Yeah, that worked out really well, didn’t it? Now, of course, the same happy prediction is being made by those who want to force restaurants to display calorie counts. You’d think they would have learned their lesson, but as Milton Friedman once said, in government failure is usually viewed as a justification to do the same thing again, only bigger.
By pure coincidence, I happen to be in the middle of an audiobook narrated by the host of this documentary, John Rubenstein. He’s an excellent reader who can change his voice quite dramatically. He even goes a good version of a rough-and-tough, deep-voiced cop.
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“Consumption of added sugars is decreasing in the United States”
I wonder how much the consumption of aspartame and splenda has increased?
I’m not sure, but I don’t think most people have lost their taste for sweet things.
I would like to see restaurants all adopt low-carb or Paleo/Primal options. I get ticked when they say a dish comes with “bagel or potatoes” or “rice or pasta” and if you ask for something non-starchy, you get a substitution charge. Annoying. Good places let you have extra veggies or whatever, but I stopped eating my veggie omelets and ham/bacon breakfasts out at local places that won’t sub for the bread/bagels/taters/grits. I got tired of feeling ripped off.
I remember years and years ago, a very old Gloria Swanson (of silent screen fame) talked about how she never touched sugar as it was poison. People talked like she was a crackpot. Well, the diva of the non-talkies knew what of she spoke!
When enough of us want paleo options in restaurants, that’s what they’ll serve.
I’m with Firebird. Yes, honey (the raw stuff) and maple syrup probably have more nutritional value than corn syrup, but they all have the same effect on me, and I live happily without them.
I stay away from anything that jacks up my blood sugar. There are no required nutrients in those foods that I can’t get somewhere else.
There was a good deal of research on blood sugar levels, especially in psychiatry, more or less between the world wars. Do any of these subject ring a bell?
From 1931: Blood Sugar Studies in Abnormal Mental States
http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/77/318/525.abstract
From 1939: INFLUENCE OF THE BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL ON THE WAVE AND SPIKE FORMATION IN PETIT MAL EPILEPSY
http://archneurpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/summary/41/6/1111
From 1922: SUGAR TOLERANCE IN DEMENTIA PRAECOX AND OTHER MENTAL DISORDERS
http://archneurpsyc.highwire.org/cgi/content/summary/8/2/184
From 1926: THE BLOOD SUGAR CURVE IN MENTAL DISEASE
http://archneurpsyc.highwire.org/cgi/content/summary/16/4/414
From 1937: THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL AS INFLUENCED BY BLOOD SUGAR
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/85/2217/608.short
From 1933: Metabolism of normal and tumour tissue Respiration in fructose and in sugar-free media
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1252950/
From 1921: THE USE OF A HIGH FAT DIET IN THE TREATMENT OF DIABETES MELLITUS
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/summary/27/6/699
From 1934: THE EFFECTS OF CIGARETTE SMOKING UPON THE BLOOD SUGAR
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/79/2042/165.short
From 1918: THE BLOOD SUGAR IN THYROID AND OTHER ENDOCRINE DISEASES
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/summary/XXII/2/160
I’m starting to think sugar isn’t good for us …
Honey tastes better after its been diluted with clean water and fed to yeast for 3 to 6 months.
Watched Fat Head the other day and this today – good stuff. I was always in the “there’s nothing wrong with sugar” camp but have recently had my mind changed.
My only comment is in regards to labeling & advertising – it’s so hard to get true information as to what is in our food. True, the outcomes of labeling may not have come to fruition but given the power of the food manufacturer lobbies it would be so difficult otherwise to be easily educated about what is in our food. What stuck out to me in this particular video is how manufacturers will “trick” labeling to bury sugar by breaking the various sugars apart.
As for advertising I agree – kids aren’t riding their trikes to the store to buy bags of sugar cereal – parents own that. At the same time the contracts that schools have to provide food are such that it would be nearly impossible to truly uncover what is in food in schools. Maybe labels aren’t the right way to make this a more transparent process, but as long as food manufacturers are able to spread FUD about their products I’m for any kind of education we can get.
Thanks again for the great info. Enjoyed the movie and the blog.
I find that the less processed food I eat, the less nutrition labels matter to me. Meat, eggs, fish, green vegetables … Not much I need to know from a label. I do check the labels on nuts to make sure they’re dry roasted, not roasted in some nasty vegetable oil.
EVERYONE knows sugar is bad for you. It’s common knowledge. Ask anyone and the response will likely be “Yeah, I know it’s bad for you and I shouldn’t be eating it, but I love it.” John Rubenstein ended this documentary with . . . “No reputable medical authority will ever insist that sugar is necessary for anyone; and no health professional will ever say that a sugar free diet is dangerous.” Yet, what do the “authorities” tell us to load up on? Sugar in the form of grains, potatoes and fruit.
If a sugar free diet would not be considered dangerous, how can anyone tell us that a carb free diet is dangerous? I always hear “But you NEED carbs! Everything in moderation! You need your grains!” Thankfully, I listened to my family doctor when he told me over 30 years ago “Sugar is sugar is sugar. Sugar by any other name is still sugar. Don’t touch it, don’t let your kids touch it.” I’m glad I listened to him.
Notice that everyone in this film (with one exception) was thin to very thin, even the sugar addicts? The hair and clothing styles were a real blast from the past!
As always, Tom, I found your post to be informative and entertaining. Thanks!
I found their statistics on now many people were fat or diabetic kind of sad in retrospect. Those figures would an improvement over today.
I would like to see restaurants all adopt low-carb or Paleo/Primal options. I get ticked when they say a dish comes with “bagel or potatoes” or “rice or pasta” and if you ask for something non-starchy, you get a substitution charge. Annoying. Good places let you have extra veggies or whatever, but I stopped eating my veggie omelets and ham/bacon breakfasts out at local places that won’t sub for the bread/bagels/taters/grits. I got tired of feeling ripped off.
I remember years and years ago, a very old Gloria Swanson (of silent screen fame) talked about how she never touched sugar as it was poison. People talked like she was a crackpot. Well, the diva of the non-talkies knew what of she spoke!
When enough of us want paleo options in restaurants, that’s what they’ll serve.
Hey Mikey,
News flash,honey is concentrated carbohydrate,and raises blood glucose levels.There are a lot of myth’s out there about honey.It’s NOT a health food.Remember,natural does not mean good.
Tom wrote: “When enough of us want paleo options in restaurants, that’s what they’ll serve.”
I think there’s a huge gap between what we hope/expect/trust that others understand about foods and what they actually do. A few months ago, I asked for a menu of gluten free entrees. The waitress happily obliged. The first thing on the “gluten free” menu was whole wheat something-or-other.
It will require a critical mass to induce the restaurants to change, but ultimately it’s consumer demand that determines what they sell.
@ Princess Dieter
I remember the author of “Sugar Blues” talking about his conversation with Gloria Swanson when they were seated next to each other on a flight. As he was putting sugar in his coffee she told him that stuff would kill him and explained to him the dangers of sugar. Thanks, Princess, for that memory. I think I’ll dig out my copy of that book and give it another read!
Hey Mikey,
News flash,honey is concentrated carbohydrate,and raises blood glucose levels.There are a lot of myth’s out there about honey.It’s NOT a health food.Remember,natural does not mean good.
Tom wrote: “When enough of us want paleo options in restaurants, that’s what they’ll serve.”
I think there’s a huge gap between what we hope/expect/trust that others understand about foods and what they actually do. A few months ago, I asked for a menu of gluten free entrees. The waitress happily obliged. The first thing on the “gluten free” menu was whole wheat something-or-other.
It will require a critical mass to induce the restaurants to change, but ultimately it’s consumer demand that determines what they sell.
@ Princess Dieter
I remember the author of “Sugar Blues” talking about his conversation with Gloria Swanson when they were seated next to each other on a flight. As he was putting sugar in his coffee she told him that stuff would kill him and explained to him the dangers of sugar. Thanks, Princess, for that memory. I think I’ll dig out my copy of that book and give it another read!
Ha Ha, I think I dated some of those moustaches in the 80s. Timely videos for me. My sugar intake has been creeping up lately.
I had one of those mustaches for awhile myself. I keep those pictures locked away because I looked like an aspiring porn star.
“Eschew obfuscation”
I’m with you Tom in that I now actively avoid nutrition labels: buying most of what I eat at local farmers markets, where nothing requires a label.
The issue of “hidden” sugar on nutrition labels is often overlooked so (as a Diabetic) I am grateful that even back in 1986 it was recognised as an issue… however it seems that not much has changed.
One trick that has become very apparent to me is the subtle difference between what are termed “sugars” on the nutrition label — which are simple monosaccharides or disaccharides like Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose and Lactose– as opposed to “starches” like the polysaccharide Maltodextrin which is easily digested as Glucose BUT because is not classed as a “sugar” does not need to be identified as “added sugar” or included on the “sugars” section of the nutrition label.
So now it does not take much imagination to realise that a crafty (krafty??) food manufacturer can replace some (all) of the added Sucrose in their product with Maltodextrin: thereby being able to claim “no added sugar” and slapping a big fat health-conscious sticker on the package to help in their marketing… meantime their “food” is every bit as sweet and potentially damaging as before!
All the more reason to eat unprocessed foods.
Ha Ha, I think I dated some of those moustaches in the 80s. Timely videos for me. My sugar intake has been creeping up lately.
I had one of those mustaches for awhile myself. I keep those pictures locked away because I looked like an aspiring porn star.
“Eschew obfuscation”
I’m with you Tom in that I now actively avoid nutrition labels: buying most of what I eat at local farmers markets, where nothing requires a label.
The issue of “hidden” sugar on nutrition labels is often overlooked so (as a Diabetic) I am grateful that even back in 1986 it was recognised as an issue… however it seems that not much has changed.
One trick that has become very apparent to me is the subtle difference between what are termed “sugars” on the nutrition label — which are simple monosaccharides or disaccharides like Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose and Lactose– as opposed to “starches” like the polysaccharide Maltodextrin which is easily digested as Glucose BUT because is not classed as a “sugar” does not need to be identified as “added sugar” or included on the “sugars” section of the nutrition label.
So now it does not take much imagination to realise that a crafty (krafty??) food manufacturer can replace some (all) of the added Sucrose in their product with Maltodextrin: thereby being able to claim “no added sugar” and slapping a big fat health-conscious sticker on the package to help in their marketing… meantime their “food” is every bit as sweet and potentially damaging as before!
All the more reason to eat unprocessed foods.
“When enough of us want paleo options in restaurants, that’s what they’ll serve.”
That’s a big marker for the coming of age of the acceptance of the Paleo Diet. Do you or anyone else here know of any existing restaurant that caters to it or is sufficently open-minded enough to do so?
Give it time. The good thing is, we can already go order steaks, seafood, and vegetables without anyone calling it paleo.
Arrogant, Hostile, Rage, Anger, mood swings….”I could all of a sudden go crazy”
mmmm, England riots, mobs in Philadelphia, fights at the 49ers game, think there may be a connection?
“When enough of us want paleo options in restaurants, that’s what they’ll serve.”
That’s a big marker for the coming of age of the acceptance of the Paleo Diet. Do you or anyone else here know of any existing restaurant that caters to it or is sufficently open-minded enough to do so?
Give it time. The good thing is, we can already go order steaks, seafood, and vegetables without anyone calling it paleo.
Arrogant, Hostile, Rage, Anger, mood swings….”I could all of a sudden go crazy”
mmmm, England riots, mobs in Philadelphia, fights at the 49ers game, think there may be a connection?
The part where the guy says to feed the school aged sugar monster child peanut butter and lock him in the closet for 20 minutes rings a bell.
When I was on weight watchers I ate a bunch of high glycemic index foods like rice, bananas, pasta, bagels, and bread. I would lay awake at night and think about food.
One night I got up and ate a spoon full of peanut butter. Within 5 minutes I was fast asleep. Yep, that’s 1/5 of tomorrow’s points…
I could rant about WW, but we’ll just say my mental state was such that picking up cigarettes again was easy. There’s no “points” in those like there is in whiskey.
Sounds like my days on low-fat diets, counting the hours until my next meal.
The part where the guy says to feed the school aged sugar monster child peanut butter and lock him in the closet for 20 minutes rings a bell.
When I was on weight watchers I ate a bunch of high glycemic index foods like rice, bananas, pasta, bagels, and bread. I would lay awake at night and think about food.
One night I got up and ate a spoon full of peanut butter. Within 5 minutes I was fast asleep. Yep, that’s 1/5 of tomorrow’s points…
I could rant about WW, but we’ll just say my mental state was such that picking up cigarettes again was easy. There’s no “points” in those like there is in whiskey.
Sounds like my days on low-fat diets, counting the hours until my next meal.
Princess Dieter and Patricia recall Gloria Swanson and the author of “Sugar Blues”. That author was William Dufty and the book was published 1975 (he draws on Yudkin @ pages 187-89). Dufty was a reporter and ended up alongside Swanson at a press conference. At refreshment time she saw him about to sugar his drink and hissed “That stuff is poison,I wont have it in my house let alone my body”. Some years later they became friends and married.
The book is still a very good read but the last chapter,whilst historically interesting (it illustrates the low fat and anti salt mania was established and influenced Dufty then)is not a guide for “fatheads” In 2007 I wrote in my copy in red (in case I ever lent the book) the following “This chapter of limited value.32 years ago (1975) author obviously sucked in by anti saturated fat propaganda. Looking back I was going that way myself in that era!!”
Lori’s numerous references relating to mental illness etc will be a source of interesting reading as time permits.The inspiration for the title “Sugar Blues” was a song published 1923:
Ev’rybody’s singing the Sugar Blues….
I’m so unhappy,I feel so bad
I could lay me down and die.
You can say what you choose
but I’m all confused.
I’ve got the sweet,sweet Sugar Blues
More Sugar!!
I’ve got the sweet, sweet Sugar Blues.
The “blues” – depression/addiction – that’s what that song was all about.
As always your posts and the responses are a great source of information.
Princess Dieter and Patricia recall Gloria Swanson and the author of “Sugar Blues”. That author was William Dufty and the book was published 1975 (he draws on Yudkin @ pages 187-89). Dufty was a reporter and ended up alongside Swanson at a press conference. At refreshment time she saw him about to sugar his drink and hissed “That stuff is poison,I wont have it in my house let alone my body”. Some years later they became friends and married.
The book is still a very good read but the last chapter,whilst historically interesting (it illustrates the low fat and anti salt mania was established and influenced Dufty then)is not a guide for “fatheads” In 2007 I wrote in my copy in red (in case I ever lent the book) the following “This chapter of limited value.32 years ago (1975) author obviously sucked in by anti saturated fat propaganda. Looking back I was going that way myself in that era!!”
Lori’s numerous references relating to mental illness etc will be a source of interesting reading as time permits.The inspiration for the title “Sugar Blues” was a song published 1923:
Ev’rybody’s singing the Sugar Blues….
I’m so unhappy,I feel so bad
I could lay me down and die.
You can say what you choose
but I’m all confused.
I’ve got the sweet,sweet Sugar Blues
More Sugar!!
I’ve got the sweet, sweet Sugar Blues.
The “blues” – depression/addiction – that’s what that song was all about.
As always your posts and the responses are a great source of information.
Just got around to watching the videos last night. Good stuff.
I should get a copy of the theme song and tell my friend/dance teacher/DJ about it. She’s no fan of sugar–it makes her knee hurt.
Tom Monahan and I will be releasing a fuller version of the “Sugar” song from Fat Head eventually, along with several other songs. Unfortunately, my move to an apartment and eventual move to the mini-farm put that project on hold.
BTW, Gloria Swanson was also a yoga enthusiast and was featured in the book Yoga for Americans, published around 1958.
Just got around to watching the videos last night. Good stuff.
I should get a copy of the theme song and tell my friend/dance teacher/DJ about it. She’s no fan of sugar–it makes her knee hurt.
Tom Monahan and I will be releasing a fuller version of the “Sugar” song from Fat Head eventually, along with several other songs. Unfortunately, my move to an apartment and eventual move to the mini-farm put that project on hold.
BTW, Gloria Swanson was also a yoga enthusiast and was featured in the book Yoga for Americans, published around 1958.
Love the Milton Friedman reference! You have gained a supporter.
Fist bump, my libertarian brother.
Love the Milton Friedman reference! You have gained a supporter.
Fist bump, my libertarian brother.
I had my first bolus of pure sucrose today – I ended a 36 hour fast with a couple of pieces of coconut ice, courtesy of my boss selling it as a fundraising gesture. Almost instantly I was asleep. Methinks an illustrative experience in avoiding sugar forever more.
Yikes, what a way to end a fast.
I had my first bolus of pure sucrose today – I ended a 36 hour fast with a couple of pieces of coconut ice, courtesy of my boss selling it as a fundraising gesture. Almost instantly I was asleep. Methinks an illustrative experience in avoiding sugar forever more.
Yikes, what a way to end a fast.
Very interesting! In so many ways… (Clothes & hairstyles not the least 😉 )
A lot of the things they’re saying about obesity and diabetic statistics sounds exactly like being said today. (Part from numbers being higher now.) Wonder what the interviewed scholars would say about today’s situation …
Was this documentary played and exposed in any way back then? What were the reactions?
Another thing that came to mind while watching – They seem to distinguish between sugar and starches. I guess that’s ok if you don’t have any metabolic problems.
It certainly didn’t receive a wide enough airing to change many minds. I believe sugars are worse than starches, but I have to avoid both.
I was enjoyed watching this. I found it very amusing when the doctor was discussing the animal part of the brain and how teachers were talking to a bunch of spinal cords or gorillas. I also giggled when he said that smart moms should force feed their children peanut butter and lock them in a closet for 20 minutes after school. All and all, an amusing and well done documentary, except for the attack on the food companies. Like you say Tom, parents buy the products. The lawyers spoke of how 3 year old children were being brainwashed when parents weren’t around to protect them. Why would parents set their 3 year old in front of a TV without supervising them anyway? Sounds pretty crazy to me. Thanks for sharing!
I loved that line about talking to a spinal cord. What an image.
Very interesting! In so many ways… (Clothes & hairstyles not the least 😉 )
A lot of the things they’re saying about obesity and diabetic statistics sounds exactly like being said today. (Part from numbers being higher now.) Wonder what the interviewed scholars would say about today’s situation …
Was this documentary played and exposed in any way back then? What were the reactions?
Another thing that came to mind while watching – They seem to distinguish between sugar and starches. I guess that’s ok if you don’t have any metabolic problems.
It certainly didn’t receive a wide enough airing to change many minds. I believe sugars are worse than starches, but I have to avoid both.
Poor planning on my part – one of those school days where I didn’t have an actual scheduled lunch break and forgot to pack something to eat. Fast-fail indeed…
I was enjoyed watching this. I found it very amusing when the doctor was discussing the animal part of the brain and how teachers were talking to a bunch of spinal cords or gorillas. I also giggled when he said that smart moms should force feed their children peanut butter and lock them in a closet for 20 minutes after school. All and all, an amusing and well done documentary, except for the attack on the food companies. Like you say Tom, parents buy the products. The lawyers spoke of how 3 year old children were being brainwashed when parents weren’t around to protect them. Why would parents set their 3 year old in front of a TV without supervising them anyway? Sounds pretty crazy to me. Thanks for sharing!
I loved that line about talking to a spinal cord. What an image.
Poor planning on my part – one of those school days where I didn’t have an actual scheduled lunch break and forgot to pack something to eat. Fast-fail indeed…
I hate this film because it so misleading. They want to blame sugary cereal and soda but one look at the glycemic index, and the focus would have to look at bananas and pretzels. The role of fat is also ignored.
I hate this film because it so misleading. They want to blame sugary cereal and soda but one look at the glycemic index, and the focus would have to look at bananas and pretzels. The role of fat is also ignored.
Who cares about glycemic index? I care about biochemistry. Whether the carb burns fast or slow, it still burns, and I don’t want the crud left over from its oxydization left over in my body! If it’s fructose, I don’t want the junk-1, formaldehyde, uric acid, phosphate depletion, and gobs and gobs of FAT it makes running around in my bloodstream! I don’t want the hypertension, I don’t want the fatty liver, I don’t want the gout, I don’t want the mutagenic disorders, and I don’t want the dragged-out weakness from having a quarter of my ATP scavenged for phosphorus!
As for honey, that stuff was made by bees to be eaten by baby bees. I’m not a damn bee. How the hell do I know it’s healthy for me to eat, long-term? Sure as shootin’, the fructose made by the FRUIT wasn’t, and that’s “natural”. It wasn’t made for me, either, it was made by plants to nourish baby plants. Now, meat…that’s another story. That’s what people are made of. Since I don’t eat SENTIENT food, I’ll settle for eating meat that comes from dumb animals. Dumb, TASTY animals. (That’s yet another reason to get rid of food ads with anthropomorphic food products. *shudder* The chicken nuggets that beg you to dip them in sauce just creep me out.)
I can’t eat much maple syrup. A tablespoon or so once in a while, or I start feeling like I’m gonna hurl from too much sugar, heart pounding and head swimming. That has to be on a stack of very eggy french toast with lots of butter and REAL cinnamon, not this cassia stuff.
I like the Heinlein method of childrearing. Just put ’em in a barrel at birth and feed ’em through the bunghole. At 18, drive in the bung.
Who cares about glycemic index? I care about biochemistry. Whether the carb burns fast or slow, it still burns, and I don’t want the crud left over from its oxydization left over in my body! If it’s fructose, I don’t want the junk-1, formaldehyde, uric acid, phosphate depletion, and gobs and gobs of FAT it makes running around in my bloodstream! I don’t want the hypertension, I don’t want the fatty liver, I don’t want the gout, I don’t want the mutagenic disorders, and I don’t want the dragged-out weakness from having a quarter of my ATP scavenged for phosphorus!
As for honey, that stuff was made by bees to be eaten by baby bees. I’m not a damn bee. How the hell do I know it’s healthy for me to eat, long-term? Sure as shootin’, the fructose made by the FRUIT wasn’t, and that’s “natural”. It wasn’t made for me, either, it was made by plants to nourish baby plants. Now, meat…that’s another story. That’s what people are made of. Since I don’t eat SENTIENT food, I’ll settle for eating meat that comes from dumb animals. Dumb, TASTY animals. (That’s yet another reason to get rid of food ads with anthropomorphic food products. *shudder* The chicken nuggets that beg you to dip them in sauce just creep me out.)
I can’t eat much maple syrup. A tablespoon or so once in a while, or I start feeling like I’m gonna hurl from too much sugar, heart pounding and head swimming. That has to be on a stack of very eggy french toast with lots of butter and REAL cinnamon, not this cassia stuff.
I like the Heinlein method of childrearing. Just put ’em in a barrel at birth and feed ’em through the bunghole. At 18, drive in the bung.