That Sugar Film

I really enjoyed watching ‘That Sugar Film’ film and would recommend it to anyone. It is easy to follow and great for someone who is learning why sugar is so bad for our health. Damon Gameau is someone who lives a healthy and active lifestyle and eats a diet low in refined sugar before starting this film and over the course of 60 days, it’s pretty insightful to see just how much chaos sugar causes for him.

Interesting points:

  • The average Australian family of 4 consumes 6 x 1kg bags of sugar each week!
  • If you removed the food at the supermarket that contains added sugar only 20% of food would be left.
  • Sugar consumption started increasing in 1955 when it was believed that fat was the villain causing heart attacks, therefore the low fat movement began and as a result sugar increased to compensate for loss of flavour.
  • Sugar is so addictive and comes with a ‘bliss point’, therefore it makes it really hard to enjoy vegetables and healthy foods when our brain becomes addicted.
  • Sugar causes additive behaviour, we become so addicted that we must have sugar again and again.
  • 1 tsp sugar = 4 grams of sugar

Glucose is the form of sugar that we need for energy that provides fuel for our brain. We get enough glucose from consuming carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes).  It is fructose that is attracting most of the attention and is the worst form of sugar to consume in large quantities. Our bodies just don’t know how to utilise it therefore once in our blood stream it is often stored as fat if we can’t get rid of it.

Damon’s Journey

Damon Gameau decides to tackle the sugar debate head on by choosing to consume 40 tsp of sugar per day through foods that are commonly perceived as healthy (hidden sugars). These foods include; yoghurt, cereal, fruit juices, up and go, salad dressing and much more. The foods are predominately made up of sucrose and fructose.

It’s important to note that a large percentage of Australian’s are consuming this amount and more day to day.

Damon keeps his exercise routine exactly the same during the experiment.

Damon’s first breakfast during the experiment is cereal, yoghurt and apple juice which totals 20 tsp of sugar. Pretty scary when a lot of people consume this daily thinking it is healthy.

After 18 days into the experiment Damon gets blood tests and they show signs of damaged liver cells that are starting to die. Basically if continued for a longer period of time will result in fatty liver disease.

As the experiment continues it is interesting to see how Damon starts experience signs and symptoms that he didn’t have previously including:

  • Weight gain – particularly around the middle
  • Fatigue
  • Mood swings
  • Vague, foggy and drained
  • Lowered attention and distracted easily
  • Manic state
  • Physically ill
  • Increase in snacking and not feeling full
  • Skin breakouts

The firm also explores other avenues where a high sugar diet can create serious health concerns. It shows the effects of consuming a high sugar soft drink Mountain Dew and its effects on teeth (rotting and infections). It also shows a community that has been affected heavily by sugar and just how young the people are who have died or are suffering from chronic conditions.

At the end of the film Damon is shocked to find out that during the experiment he has consumed the same amount of calories that he use to prior eating a wholefood diet.

This film is worth the watch and you are bound to take away some great advice. If you do need some assistance in reducing sugar in your diet, this is where I come in 🙂

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