Resting 60 seconds between sets:
Press 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2
Sugar – Demon or Angel?
Last week the NY Times published an article titled Is Sugar Toxic?
We’ll get on to the article in a second but I would like to point out that 13 Roots athletes emailed me the link. You guys are paying attention to your health and that rocks! Thanks for sharing and please keep sending me interesting links!
Eric and I read the article in the car that day on a long drive – I was basically a live book on tape! We finished the article and were revamped and recharged with our feeling that sugar is truly in fact, the devil.
But nutritional research and claims are never straightforward. Scientists and nutritionists claim research as fact rather than hypothesis or in some cases a best guess.
So we present to you two articles. Is Sugar Toxic and a rebuttal by Alan Aragon.
The Bitter Truth About Fructose Alarmism
Here’s what Kurt Harris had to say: http://www.archevore.com/panu-weblog/2010/2/5/180-180-360.html?currentPage=3#comments , about half way down.
Aragon’s point about dosage (amount of sugar consumed) is fair, and I don’t think Lustig would disagree, but how do you monitor dosage of a food additive that is put in almost everything that comes in a package or box? How are people to learn what a safe amount of sugar is, when they’re presented a 20 oz. Coke as a single serving?
Also, both pieces fail to touch on the addictive nature of sugar. It’s true that sugar, like alcohol, cocaine and heroin, is likely safe in small dosages, but for most Americans, we’re talking chronically high dosages over long periods of time. In the immortal words of Guns&Roses: “I used to do a little, but a little wouldn’t do it, so a little got more and more.”
Nicole, you almost got 14 emails. – After I read the article, I meant to send it to you as well. – If you get a chance, watch the referenced YouTube video. It’s long but very convincing.
From my own experience, my addiction to “yogurt” turned out to be an addiction to the fructose in that yogurt (discovered in my 1st Roots food challenge). – Glad to say that “yogurt” is out of my diet now. – As I have continued to be paleo, I see my addiction to sugars going down steadily, but I still have to read ingredient lists diligently to avoid it (and MAN it is in EVERYTHING!).
In the movie, “Supersize Me” – where Morgan Spurlock eats only McDonalds for 30 days, he develops a fatty liver from… ? – The fat? The sugars? – Who knows…
If you think sugar is not addictive and you don’t mind the sound of screaming kids, check this out. Filmed at the Holcomb house last night…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnieR_BDqGM
A little humor at the expense of my children…
Tracie – thanks for that! made my day…
I believe she’s trying to say she wants strawberries.
Classic!
Ha Ha! So, the real question is, “Did you give her any chocolate?!” I often wonder if the kiddos break down the parents or vice versa.
I try hard to eat only naturally-occurring substances, which removes the vast majority of junk. But I’m hardly paleo and eat bread and even some ice cream. My personal decision is that the happiness those things give me outweighs the health benefit of giving them up.
Articles like these reinforce my belief that there is not a single magic solution beyond “eat reasonable amounts of natural food”.
Nicole, thanks for posting both the point and the counter-point. As an attorney, I have a tendency to read things with the intention of cross-examining the author (i.e., with skepticism), and that applies to both authors here. I think sometimes we are guilty of being the “preached-to choir”, and we don’t always critically assess the information we are exposed to. For me, the idea is to keep on top of research that meets scientific standards (appropriate controls, peer-reviewed, etc.) and consider the entire “body of evidence” – because every year a study will come out refuting last year’s big break-through study. Nick’s conclusion below is a very sensible one in such an environment, and Tracie’s kids are absolutely delightful. My two sons, who are now 25 and 22, still act like that sometimes!
Bones, agreed! Brainwashing our athletes has never been the goal. I’d rather everyone read and sift through what’s out there and make the best decision for them. Although, sometimes it’s easier to just jump on board with a challenge to get started!
It’s hard for me to believe there is anything good about sugar; however, if I stop eating blueberries because they have fructose, then I’ve taken this thing too far!
When my grandfather was about 80 years old he visited his doctor and told him that he was eating healthy and avoiding the sweet stuff like chocolate cake, etc.
My grandfather’s doctor looked at him and said, “Don, you’re 80 and in great health, eat the chocolate cake!”