Swamped with work again. If only Fat Head had the kind of exposure in the USA that it’s had in, say, New Zealand, I might be happily unemployed right now. Oh well. While I’m busy trying to wrap up my latest project, here’s an interesting lecture on sugar and fructose. Not a whole lot of new information, but it’s good to be reminded why cookies and ice cream aren’t worth the temporary pleasure.<\/p>\n
Some interesting points:\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tend to gain weight on starches and I don’t get along with wheat, but lectures like this one have me convinced that starch is clearly not as damaging as sugar.\u00a0 If you’re not going to stick to a low-carb diet, at least avoid the sweet stuff.<\/p>\n
I’ve read in several articles that only a small fraction of the population is salt-sensitive.\u00a0 The rest of us can salt our food to our heart’s content and the salt won’t give us high blood pressure.\u00a0 Dr. Johnson explains where what could make the difference:\u00a0 once fructose has damaged the kidneys (apparently through producing high levels of uric acid), salt does raise blood pressure.\u00a0 So don’t eat sugar and enjoy your salt … even while the FDA works to limit the salt in packaged foods and doesn’t say diddly about sugar.<\/p>\n
How many times have we talked about how the “gluttony and sloth” crowd has it backwards?\u00a0 That is, they say we gain weight because we’re lazy and eat too much, whereas people like Gary Taubes have said we become lazy and\u00a0eat more\u00a0because<\/em> we’re gaining weight.\u00a0 As Dr. Johnson explains here, fructose affects the appetite and promotes weight gain, and\u00a0at the same time it\u00a0depletes energy.<\/em>\u00a0 Who the heck wants to go for a jog when it feels like work just to stand up?<\/p>\n Perhaps we should show clips from this lecture next to those stupid “Sweet Surprise” ads put out by the Corn Refiners Association, then see who people believe.<\/p>\n