I watched this entire documentary yesterday. If I wasn't convinced already that sugar was evil, I would be now..... here's a clip from You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8ezchj4wO8

What is even more apalling is how trusted organizations like the AMA and the American Diabetes Association were so easily bought by sugar manufacturers for their silence about the truth that sugar kills you.

A good book that lays this all out is Sugar Blues by William Dufty.

Jay

I'm still not sure why so many people are reluctant to believe just how evil sugar is. I'm still not sure why some people are shocked at the fact that people choose to cut it out of their lives, as if they're *depriving* themselves and their lives can some how not be full and satisfying without it. I'm still not sure why I think I have to have a planned splurge of it every now and then...

Fantastic link, thanks! I'll have to see if Netflix has the whole movie.

Without looking at the youtube link and with full honesty in saying I've never read the book: Is sugar bad for everyone? Or is it just for some people that have a sensitivity? This is an honest question not trying to argue.

I've always thought some people are just super sensitive like people who have celiac disease that can't eat wheat or products with wheat gluten.

I know for me I think I'm mildly sensitive if I eat a little, I want a lot. A friend at work is on a 0 sugar plan and told me if I have a past history of sensitivity to alcohol or family history of alcoholism (check and check) I likely should go sugar free.

Your thoughts?

I guess I am confused as to how you can cut it out completely. Seems that most foods contain some kind of sugar. Am I wrong?

I agree with your friend about a billion percent. Alcoholism and sugar addiction are nearly the same thing, run in families, etc. Just as with alcohol, if you are a sugar addict, then cutting it out is the only way to "manage" it, because addictions aren't manageable.

Becky: We are speaking of white refined sugar (sucrose) and other varieties of refined sugar (high fructose corn syrup and so on). By definition, these aren't whole foods, but are processed foods and do not naturally occur in anyone's diet.

The kind of "sugar" found naturally in some foods is not the kind that sugar addicts have a problem with, generally speaking.

I also have to say that I agree with EVERYTHING you said here, Robin. I hate how the sugar monkey still occupies this small part of my brain and tries to break through, especially.

Thanks warmaiden! I know that is something I need to address more in my diet with the sugar. I am not sure if I would say I am an addict of sorts but I do enjoy my daily diet dew!!

If you're drinking diet soda, that doesn't have any sucrose or HFCS in it; the sweeteners used will be usually either aspartame or sucralose or another artificial, no-calorie sweetener. Sometimes those sweeteners are a problem for people with sugar addiction in terms of causing cravings, and sometimes they are not; you'd have to experiment and see whether they're a problem for you in particular. (Myself, I use a small quantity of sucralose every day, and I don't believe that it contributes to cravings for me.)

Interesting. I hadn't made that connection either. My dear brother, whom I adore, went through rehab at the ripe old age of 17. I was 15 at the time and was told I have the "personality of an alcoholic". Nice thing to tell a 15 year old! I get it now though. I have an extremely addictive personality, but I use it for good! LOL! I am currently addicted to weight loss and exercise! I have stayed away from alcohol due to that 15 year old girl's fear.

BUT...I dare say I have a sugar addiction. I certainly do better cutting it out completely. I can have the occasional treat, so I'm not AS bad as an alcoholic who truly can never taste that first sip.

There are some alcoholics who can have a sip. For example, I have an uncle with many years of sobriety and activity in AA who on occasion indulges in a good tiramisu...which has rum in it.

It's not really an issue of being "as bad as" or "not as bad as." An addiction simply is; it's not a moral issue. It's a physiological and spiritual issue, as my mom (who celebrated 21 years of sobriety from alcohol yesterday) would put it.

I find it very, very helpful in my sobriety from sugar not to make the whole thing into a moral quandary, but regard it as simply facts. Physiologically, I have a genetically heritable tendency toward addiction to sugar and alcohol (both of which metabolize in a toxic way in the liver). When I used to live as if I just needed to be good (the moralistic idea being that good people are able to be moderate about things like sugar and bad people are not), and my problems would be solved, I was never able to get free of sugar.

Fact: I'm a sugar addict. Fact: Not starting is a thousand times easier than stopping. Fact: I can on occasion have a bite of sugar, but that's fairly dangerous to my sobriety, because the addiction immediately begins calling to me again. Fact: I choose not to do sugar, on a daily basis, and that is helping me stay sane and sober.

It's wierd. I had a serious "addiction" to full-sugar candies (Jelly beans, gummi bears, licorice, etc). I ate 8-16 oz of candy nearly every day, sometimes more for more than 30 years (basically as soon as I had my own money and access to a store). I finally stopped cold turkey as of April 2005 as I had discovered there was no satisfying small amount. Frustratingly, had no affect whatsoever on my weight. I hadn't gained the weight from the candy and didn't lose any when I stopped, just now ate healthier foods.

Here's the odd part. I absolutely can eat sugar in other foods with no binge trigger, such as adding sugar to my cereal or berries or eating desserts. So you would think with the battles with candy I've gone through I might be on the "sugar is evil" bandwagon, but I'm not. I still enjoy sweet tasting foods and fit them into my eating plan.

Sarah, I don't have that moral hang up with alcohol or sugar. Those are some very interesting insights though. By "as bad" I meant "as addicted" or "I'm not as bad off as..." It's just hard to compare my sugar addiction to that of an alcoholic because I have watched my brother suffer, truly suffer, all these years. Me quitting sugar is NOTHING like what he has had to do several times...and his liver is shot. No, I can't compare it.

Refined sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, even natural foods like honey, can be bad for everyone if consumed in excess--and it doesn't take much to be in excess. Many processed foods and baked goods from a store or bakery contain loads of added sugar--a lot more than used to be put into the recipes! So you can eat excess sugar without even knowing it.

One good rule of thumb is to check the Ingredients part of the label on foods. Sugar or its synonyms (honey, high fructose corn syrup, etc.) should not be the first, second, third, or some people say even the fourth ingredient. (Foods are listed as ingredients on the basis of how much is in the product.)

When sugar is introduced into a population, the incidence of diabetes increases as well. Think there's a correlation??

Jay