Sugar alters hormones and metabolism, sets stage for obesity and diabetes • Hacker News Board

Re: Sugar alters hormones and metabolism, sets stage for obesity and diabetes

#51

Post by rwnspace » Sat, Oct 21, 2017, 6:31 PM UTC

alexandercrohde wrote: post #15

Tl; dr: Author contrasts two explanations of the obesity and diabetes crises: A) that the root of the issue is caloric intake stemming from low-self-control or B) that the root of the issue is high blood-sugar and its subsequent effects. Author explores the long history of this debate and presents points for both sides. Author admits the thermodynamic validity of caloric math but cites that at a cellular glucose leve…

And yet, behavioural biology tells us that the development of the pre-frontal cortex is heavily influenced by genetics, epigenetics, and early-years experiences. The PFC appears to influence things like rates of risk-taking behaviour, addiction, and ability to choose long-term rewards... Of course, we wouldn't want to pass the buck of choice back to societal influences.

Not that I know anything, I've just watched and read Robert Sapolsky's material.

Re: Sugar alters hormones and metabolism, sets stage for obesity and diabetes

#52

Post by Siilwyn » Sat, Oct 21, 2017, 6:32 PM UTC

iamt2 wrote: post #47

Siilwyn wrote: post #23

So I wonder... is the effect of sugar on your body permanent, building up over time? Or would stopping the intake of refined sugars restore your system?

There is be a cliff, over which the damage is permanent. If you change habits soon enough, then we know many avoid it the permanent damage altogether. This is due to the beta cells in the pancreas; destroy to many, and go below a critical threshhold, then they don't seem to be repaired/regenerated enough forever more.

Thanks for your reply, that gives me something to take action for as currently I consume a lot of sugar in my day to day live.

Re: Sugar alters hormones and metabolism, sets stage for obesity and diabetes

#53

Post by Siilwyn » Sat, Oct 21, 2017, 6:33 PM UTC

halotrope wrote: post #26

Siilwyn wrote: post #23

So I wonder... is the effect of sugar on your body permanent, building up over time? Or would stopping the intake of refined sugars restore your system?

The worst effects of excessive Insulin, non alcoholic fatty liver and insulin resistance (which becomes type 2 diabetes after some time) can be reversed pretty easily by cutting sugar, fasting or a diet with extremely low levels of carbohydrates (Ketogenic Diet). Check Dr. Jason Fung and Robert Lustig on youtube. They both have done a great deal of research about the topic and have published very interesting material…

Thank you for your reply, definitely interested in this. Going on further investigation!

Re: Sugar alters hormones and metabolism, sets stage for obesity and diabetes

#54

Post by aaron-lebo » Sat, Oct 21, 2017, 6:34 PM UTC

QAPereo wrote: post #21

kichuku wrote: post #10

I would like to share an anecdote. In March 2016, I was weighing 96 kilograms (211.64 pounds). I made just one change during that time which is to stop having anything with sugar. I continued to take other natural sweeteners like jaggery and honey. The rest of my diet remained the same and my activity level remained the same ( I work in IT as a network engineer in a desk job) In October 2016, I was weighing 72 kilos…

I hear these anecdotes in many forms, and in my experience the real shared causative factor is making a decision to change, and acting on it. I don't know if it matters what that change is, as long as it's healthy and changes the math of caloriesin - caloriesout. In other words, I wonder if it's the decision and willingness to make hard changes, rather than the specific nature of those changes, which is the real acti…

You're likely correct in most situations. Some people have major hormone imbalances that may prevent weight loss (or make it difficult), like the article suggests, but for most people it's as simple as eating healthier and exercising. It's not sexy, new, or fun, so people are always looking for the magic bullet.

I'm a sugar bug, I can buy a bag of Reese's and eat the entire thing without problem. When I eat more sugar, I gain weight, when I eat less, I lose weight, and exercise obviously has its natural results.

Re: Sugar alters hormones and metabolism, sets stage for obesity and diabetes

#55

Post by aaron-lebo » Sat, Oct 21, 2017, 6:35 PM UTC

renaudg wrote: post #41

y4mi wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that is plain wrong. Calories count, no matter where they are from. Ketogenic diets might increase your metabolism and reduce your appetite and hunger, which makes weight loss easier, but you'll still gain weight if you eat too many fat calories each day. Even if you cut out carbs entirely.

"Calories count, no matter where they are from." This is the exact point the article is proving wrong.

It doesn't really prove it wrong. If you eat 3000 calories of butter every day, you're gonna get fat. In that sense, a calorie is a calorie.

Re: Sugar alters hormones and metabolism, sets stage for obesity and diabetes

#56

Post by dlwdlw » Sat, Oct 21, 2017, 6:35 PM UTC

Fad diets like keto offer something very important, a model of nutrition. Currently heuristic based eating like "natural" or "non-processed" work, but the knowledge doesn't compound and is brittle. In eastern cultures especially there is a huge body of heuristics for eating. In Chinese culture there is a concept of hot/cold foods and despite it not being accepted in the west, it still has predictive ability above chance.

The end goal I would like to see is healthy off the shelf long lasting processed food that tastes great. It runs contrarian to "eat local and natural, big food is evil" but it solves a huge problem.

Of course on the way imperfect models will yield bad results and heuristics are all we have. When doctors refused to wash their hands because they didn't know germ theory despite the massive heuristic evidence, people needlessly died.

Re: Sugar alters hormones and metabolism, sets stage for obesity and diabetes

#57

Post by keymone » Sat, Oct 21, 2017, 6:36 PM UTC

smilliken wrote: post #18

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I continued to take other natural sweeteners like jaggery and honey. ...which are also 80+% sugar.

Honey has a lower glycemic index/insulin response than sucrose.

but it occupies liver with processing fructose which iirc is disruptive to ketone production and does maintain a level of blood sugar that prevents body from entering ketosis.

Re: Sugar alters hormones and metabolism, sets stage for obesity and diabetes

#58

Post by analog31 » Sat, Oct 21, 2017, 6:38 PM UTC

dmichulke wrote: post #40

analog31 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oddly enough, I can share an anecdote too. After a health scare, I decided to change my diet. I didn't think that I was self disciplined enough to count calories, so I arbitrarily eliminated certain things from my diet, most notably butter. My exercise didn't change much: Cycling to work every day. I got a new bike, but it didn't make me go that much faster. Within a few months, I went from 175 to 150 pounds (about 7…

FYI: The butter in my fridge has 743kcal per 100g. Could you share how much butter you bought per month and what the package size was?

I'd estimate that my family of four was going through a pound of butter a week. As I mentioned above, I doubt that butter alone was the cause, since the butter was always accompanied by something else.

My whole family has reduced our butter intake quite drastically, so I don't have a good estimate of how much I was personally consuming.

Re: Sugar alters hormones and metabolism, sets stage for obesity and diabetes

#59

Post by analog31 » Sat, Oct 21, 2017, 6:39 PM UTC

GordonS wrote: post #24

analog31 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oddly enough, I can share an anecdote too. After a health scare, I decided to change my diet. I didn't think that I was self disciplined enough to count calories, so I arbitrarily eliminated certain things from my diet, most notably butter. My exercise didn't change much: Cycling to work every day. I got a new bike, but it didn't make me go that much faster. Within a few months, I went from 175 to 150 pounds (about 7…

If butter is the only thing you removed from your diet, you must have been eating an incredible amount of it?!

As I mentioned above, removing butter also resulted in the elimination of other things from my diet.

Re: Sugar alters hormones and metabolism, sets stage for obesity and diabetes

#60

Post by keymone » Sat, Oct 21, 2017, 6:39 PM UTC

PeterStuer wrote: post #39

Ever notice how since the 1980 the mantras changed from 'eat less, exercise more' to 'fad' diets whose one common theme was 'don't consume less, but eat different'. Subsequently obesity skyrocketed and the fat-lobby made sure that anyone who even pointed out the problem got demonized. Meanwhile 'food-scientists' silently made designer drugs out of daily consumables leading to a feeding frenzy and an obesity pandemic.

> fat-lobby made sure that anyone who even pointed out the problem got demonized

do provide sources. the one such episode i recall was demonization of John Yudkin in 60s when he tried to point out how bad sugar was.