Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

531–540 of 623 posts

Re: How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat

#531

Post by sethammons »

mbrameld wrote: post #522
paulcole wrote: post #509

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>I can't even drink a soda, I spit it out as the most disgusting thing imaginable >I had a hard time taking the rest of your comment seriously. I can understand it being too sweet to your now adjusted taste buds, but calling it the most disgusting thing imaginable is just plain wrong. I said this in another comment, but he's just humblebragging. It's just like someone saying they don't have a TV. He's showing how cu…

He's being hyperbolic, but once you cut out sugar long enough sweet things really do taste worse. Try it for yourself and see.

Agreed. I used to really like Dr. Pepper and Cactus Cooler. I've not regularly drank soda for about a decade at this point. Every now and then, I get a hankering for Dr. Pepper. I can't finish more than 1/3rd of a can, and it is just not good. A couple times a year, I can drink a cup of Cactus Cooler still, but that is about it.

Re: How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat

#532

Post by r_smart »

WillPostForFood wrote: post #428
r_smart wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the inflation adjusted value allows a person reading it to compare it to the buying power of the time they live in to understand how much money it actually was. Having a monetary figure expressed in a time other than as an analog to the present reduces the usefulness of the figure.

I'll take facts over context, but would be happy with both. I'm fully capable of figuring out the inflation adjusted number, but now we don't actually know what they were paid. I also guarantee you they we will see secondary reporting of this article, and the 50k number will be in it, and the inflation adjusted/today's dollars piece will get lost.

If you can convert inflation adjusted to today's money, why can't you do it backwards?

To your second point, you're probably right. Journalism is in a sad state these days.

Re: How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat

#533

Post by sridca »

fastoptimizer wrote: post #4

When in fact nothing can be blamed but our overconsumption of almost everything but vegetables and fruits. I eat about 70% from my calories in carbs (some are refined), but it's just 2500kcal calories per day. I'm pretty sure the fact that average US citizen eats 3500kcal daily has more to do with anything than what particular ingredient one eats. edit: some irrational unscientific and anegdotal statements require me…

For the record I up-voted you for sensibly pointing out that the amount of food one eats matters (in regards to health) more than the particular ingredients. I guess it will take another 50 years before people begin to realize this.

Re: How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat

#534

Post by logicuce »

muddyrivers wrote: post #396
PieterH wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My mother (1973, Edinburgh) bought "Pure, White, and Deadly," and we all read it. I was ten or so. Yudkin attacked white flour, white (processed) fat, and above all white sugar. It made perfect sense to us all, and cutting back on sugar became a slow, yet consistent part of our lifestyle. We never ate that much anyhow. I stopped eating sugar entirely at 15. I still recall the book's cover. Edit: it took me a lot long…

I wonder if the tolerance, and then the love, of highly sweet things is acquired. And mostly probably, it is acquired when one is a child. I have met and worked with many East Asians and Europeans who came to American in their 20's or older. Almost everyone of them thought American pastry and deserts are unbearably sweet. Most of them shun from soda drinks and other "food" containing high amounts of sugar. If they dr…

When I first came to US, I found it to be the case for chocolates as well (being a vegetarian, I stay away from pastries and cakes).

I specifically remember trying out KitKat out of craving and it was way sweeter than what I get in India. Tried switching stores before concluding the recipes are tweaked.

Re: How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat

#535

Post by WalterBright »

sedachv wrote: post #469
WalterBright wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father decided to lose his potbelly in the early 1980s at the recommendation of his doctor, who sent him to a nutritionist. The nutritionist advised him and gave him a diet plan. 6 months later, he returned to the nutritionist having lost the pot, and the nutritionist was shocked, as nobody had ever followed her diet plan before. He maintained the weight loss for the next 30 years. At one point he was even able to…

> He said it was a constant struggle. But it clearly is possible. That is just confirmation of point 4 of the parent post.

A smoker who hadn't lit up in 20 years told me he still wanted a cigarette every day and struggled with it.

Re: How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat

#537

Post by nikdaheratik »

muddyrivers wrote: post #396
PieterH wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My mother (1973, Edinburgh) bought "Pure, White, and Deadly," and we all read it. I was ten or so. Yudkin attacked white flour, white (processed) fat, and above all white sugar. It made perfect sense to us all, and cutting back on sugar became a slow, yet consistent part of our lifestyle. We never ate that much anyhow. I stopped eating sugar entirely at 15. I still recall the book's cover. Edit: it took me a lot long…

I wonder if the tolerance, and then the love, of highly sweet things is acquired. And mostly probably, it is acquired when one is a child. I have met and worked with many East Asians and Europeans who came to American in their 20's or older. Almost everyone of them thought American pastry and deserts are unbearably sweet. Most of them shun from soda drinks and other "food" containing high amounts of sugar. If they dr…

I don't think it's strictly a childhood thing. I moved to Australia several years ago and they cut down on the sizes of soft drinks especially compared to standard American sizing. It took some months to adjust, but now when I go back to the US on a visit the entire thing just seems to be way too much sugar. Same with alot of the pastries, although donuts and cakes are about the same level of sweetness. Maybe with less frosting and more other flavors in the Australian versions. And they're not as stingy as their neighbors down here when it comes to sweets.

Re: How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat

#538

Post by sethammons »

cconroy wrote: post #209
jacobolus wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fructose is bad for you. A couple pieces of fruit every day is generally fine, because fruits are packed with fiber, but if you e.g. drink 3 glasses of fruit juice per day, that’s terrible for you. Even eating fruits isn’t the best though. Modern fruits are bred to be as large and sweet as possible.

Fructose is bad for you in isolation, but so is almost anything, but packaged in the fruit is a different story. Do you think eating 5 oranges is any different than drinking the juice of those 5 oranges? "Eating fruits is not best" is something that not only goes against science but common sense. Perhaps eating high amounts of fruits could be bad and but im not aware of a study confirming this (when the fruit is eate…

Eating fruit comes with fiber that triggers your body to feel full. Most juice is missing most of its fiber, so you don't get that full feeling. So, yeah, having a cup of apple juice vs eating 5 apples is different: you are more likely to go for the next glass of apple juice than another 5 apples.

Re: How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat

#539

Post by prometheanfire »

_RPM wrote: post #513
tiglionabbit wrote: post #489

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most likely pop. If you eat out a lot, cheap restaurants will shame you into buying huge unhealthy drinks, unless you want to drink water from a tiny dixie cup. It's pretty easy to get a lot of sugar in your entre if you eat at Chili's or Panda Express or anywhere else that uses excessive BBQ sauce. And then there's the fact that Snickers would like you to think it will satisfy your hunger. At least it has peanuts in…

BBQ sauce is something that I like with chicken, but lately I've been thinking it's gross to eat it. I have switched to red sauce for my chicken now.

Dry rub is good too :D

Re: How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat

#540

Post by cm2012 »

legostormtroopr wrote: post #520
cm2012 wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a myth. Every legitimate long term study of non surgical weight loss shows that it doesn't happen for the vast, vast majority of people. 1) ["In controlled settings, participants who remain in weight loss programs usually lose approximately 10% of their weight. However, one third to two thirds of the weight is regained within 1 year, and almost all is regained within 5 years. "]( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p…

This is just defeatism, and falls down here "after completing structured weight-loss programs". The problem here is thinking of weight-loss in the short term. If you are 200kg, and drink 5L of soda every day, you don't stop drinking soda for 12 months, lose weight and then go back to drinking 5L soda a day and except to keep the weight off. You change your diet, and keep it that way. For ever. Thats how weight loss h…

Most people don't succesfully change diet over the long term.
Post reply on HN