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Is Sugar Killing Us?

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Re: Is Sugar Killing Us?

#91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not actually that young, I'm 33. That is young. Health effects (for many things) show up much later, past 50 or even 60. Until then most bodies can compensate for quite a lot of stuff that has gone wrong earlier. If you take cancer rates by age as an indicator you can see age 33 barely registers: https://canceraustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/statistic... Or diabetes: http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics/ag…

That's true, though surely there are already signs in your 30's of later health problems (Obesity, etc)

Obesity is a sign for everything related to (and around) obesity. There is plenty of other things that have no connection with obesity, like drugs, alcohol, or too much sun exposure. Aging brings everything to the surface. Obesity is just one specific area with a cluster of diseases.

Re: Is Sugar Killing Us?

#92
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about considering different viewpoints? Main stream advice should always be questioned. Also, different diets work for different types of people, and there are 10000 other factors. You can't simply isolate one variable, complex systems don't care about your linear ideas. A an upcoming documentary an alternative theories related to this: http://perceivethinkact.com/ Also checkout the forums yourself, and then deci…

> How about considering different viewpoints? There's already consideration for different viewpoints inside the scientific consensus -- that's how it's formed. Yes, it's not perfect but better than its absense. So, unless those different viewpoints follow the scientific method and are part of the scientific discussion, they are basically either kooks (like Willhelm Reich) or snake-oil salesmen (like, too many to ment…

Considering only the viewpoints inside the scientific consensus is limited - anyone as you said that practises the scientific method, whether in a formal institution, or not, should be able to have their view point considered. We should also never forget that there are politics in science too, and what's accepted is not always what is correct.

Scientists are subject to the human condition, just like anyone else.

I agree there are many snakeoil salesman, or kooks around. But I don't agree that the mainstream has the most optimal advice. In my personal experience I have been much more successful, in all my pursuits (health, programming, movement) by not following main stream advice, but rather seeking the minority that makes sense to me. In the words of Mark Twain, "The majority is always wrong, and the minority is sometimes right". I think the secret is finding the minority that aren't kooks, or snakeoil salesman. They do exist. I have found a few of them. Take the Ray Peat example. He didn't even know he had forums of people discussing his ideas. He doesn't even actively promote himself, or his ideas at all. I respectfully disagree that main stream advice is the most pragmatic.

I don't think the scientific community embraces the holistic nature of the world enough, as we tend to be dominated by linear thinking. If what you said were true, then we wouldn't have fields like Systems Thinking. It's definitely a niche area in research.

I also disagree about your comments on different diets. I have personally seen people religiously follow different diets, and do very badly on some, and well on others. I also prefer not to make statements like "People are not unique snowflakes" since I don't think we know enough at this stage. We are only beginning to understand the role of organisms in our gut for example, on overall health. I think your arguments here are too simplistic, and do not give a complex system like a human body enough credit. You should know that any simple answers to complex questions tend to be wrong.

Scientific consensus tends to be attached to formal institutions, not so? Formal institutions are then an authoritarian source. It comes from a position of authority. What you're essentially saying is something Government decreed for example, is not authoritarian, became it was enacted by a group of people. Obviously not true. Private individuals are generally less authoritarian, but they no doubt can be too. In this case, I am not aware of Ray Peat at all expressing his opinions as fact, but rather as something to be considered and questioned, like anything else.

Re: Is Sugar Killing Us?

#93

First they thought it was fat killing us, now that they know that's not really true they think it's sugar killing us. I wonder if I'll live to see the day the headlines read "protein is killing us!"

Ask and you shall receive: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/well/eat/can-you-get-too-m...

Re: Is Sugar Killing Us?

#94
post #89
post #84

Cutting out sugar causes anxiety, headache, and depression for me. Sugar is by far my most reliable therapist. Yes, I'm very very fat and have diabeetus. In a life characterized by struggle, this has been the one that challenges me most. Privately I feel very strongly that I am an addict, though I don't know if my condition matches the clinical definition.

Have you tried doing some sports instead? Cycling, swimming or even a long walk in the park are decreasing at least my depression and anxiety and while doing sports at moderate levels, with good hydration, I don't feel the need for sugars anymore. I'm also fat, in love with chocolate products, cakes and sweets don't survive the day uneaten in my home, no diabetes so far. I don't recommend running because of it puts t…

Thank you for the advice. I do exercise and have always detested all forms of it, sadly. So now I just do the shortest amount at a high intensity.

Re: Is Sugar Killing Us?

#95
post #84

Cutting out sugar causes anxiety, headache, and depression for me. Sugar is by far my most reliable therapist. Yes, I'm very very fat and have diabeetus. In a life characterized by struggle, this has been the one that challenges me most. Privately I feel very strongly that I am an addict, though I don't know if my condition matches the clinical definition.

Have you ever checked out Reddit's https://Reddit.com/r/keto keto subreddit? The keto-flu is a known & expected phase that matches the "anxiety and headache" thing. If you quit sugar "cold turkey" about 4 days in your body essentially switches from a carbs-for-fuel system to a fats-for-fuel one. It feel pretty wretched for a day. Afterwards you feel great, virtually never hungry, & weight melts off.

Re: Is Sugar Killing Us?

#96
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very little. Even most lactose-intolerant people can eat a little bit of cheese. Aged cheese contains only trace amounts because all of the lactose has been processed by bacteria at that point.

Processed cheese like that block of cheese in the meme contains quite a bit of sugar it's added to make it "taste better".

They also don't age it properly, they usually only age it for 18 months or less to realize the return on investment sooner.

Re: Is Sugar Killing Us?

#97
post #2

tl;dr Yes

Seems to be a rare instance that violates Betteridge's Law.

I believe I read a "study" recently where a news headline analysis found that roughly a third of question-headlines were "yes", the other two thirds? "No" and "Maybe"

Turns out Betteridge's law is just something snarky Internet people say.

Re: Is Sugar Killing Us?

#98

Third year nutrition undergrad. Simple sugar consumption as a high percentage of carbohydrates/calories has the effect of chronic inflammation via oxidative stress, which is a factor of diabetes and other chronic disease. This article briefly discusses inflammation and has mostly sound nutritional advice: http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/what-you-eat-c... This lecture by Dr. Robert Lustig has been very p…

As a layman who got into nutrition for weight training purposes I want to ask you: why have I seen an uptick in the use of "inflammation" more broadly in nutrition from an year or so ago?

You may be well aware of the whole broscience that runs in fitness forums and it's very hard sometimes to find good and scientifically accurate sources and until now I've been lumping most of those "inflammation" articles together with the "toxins" ones, mostly a very broad umbrella term that had no real meaning.

But reading your comment and seeing this article from Harvard made me reconsider it so, again, what is this thing about "inflammation" regarding diet? It really just feels like an umbrella term...

Re: Is Sugar Killing Us?

#99
post #95
post #84

Cutting out sugar causes anxiety, headache, and depression for me. Sugar is by far my most reliable therapist. Yes, I'm very very fat and have diabeetus. In a life characterized by struggle, this has been the one that challenges me most. Privately I feel very strongly that I am an addict, though I don't know if my condition matches the clinical definition.

Have you ever checked out Reddit's https://Reddit.com/r/keto keto subreddit? The keto-flu is a known & expected phase that matches the "anxiety and headache" thing. If you quit sugar "cold turkey" about 4 days in your body essentially switches from a carbs-for-fuel system to a fats-for-fuel one. It feel pretty wretched for a day. Afterwards you feel great, virtually never hungry, & weight melts off.

Tried it, but fell off the wagon. Thanks so much for the suggestion.

Re: Is Sugar Killing Us?

#100
post #70

I've really cut down on sugar from august to november. I didn't really notice anything except loosing a lot of weight (mind that I already was under weight, but I should probably build some muscle anyway) So in comes December. And there is candy and chocolate everywhere. In just a single week our house filled up with it and here I am, stuffing my face full of sugar. I think the struggle just goes on, right?

Not just in the home; it's especially bad in social environments like the office where there is this unspoken expectation that you should indulge in the treats that coworkers bring in.
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