The Bay Area is a cradle of environmentalism and a region with a rich trove of health and medical research and resources. In this blog, we’ll report on the deepening understanding of how the places we inhabit and the lifestyles we adopt contribute to our own health and the health of our communities.
Sugar’s bad rap is not rehabilitated in a lengthy piece in the New York Times Sunday magazine, previewed for the coming weekend. Written by Gary Taubes, whose previous piece challenged the prevailing wisdom that high-fat diets, particularly from animal sources, is behind the obesity epidemic, “Is Sugar Toxic?” is not the contrarian screed you might expect. Far from it. Taubes seems to have set out to bust the idea that sugar is at the root of all health evils only to jump on board the bandwagon that is being driven by Dr. Robert Lustig of UCSF’s school of medicine.
Lustig is a pediatrician and expert on childhood obesity, which itself has become a cause célèbre among many, including First Lady Michelle Obama. In one paper for the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Lustig argues that fructose is just like alcohol in its addictive qualities and obesity caused by its overconsumption is like alcoholism. Interesting parallel.
Taubes’ reporting and research makes him more favorable disposed to believe Lustig’s line—that sugar is inextricably tied to cancer and, yes, is toxic to the human metabolism—and after you read the his article you will likely be more inclined to believe it too. Not that you will foreswear anything containing sugar. Moderation in all things seems commonsensical, but Taubes is more interested in whether the medical science, especially in diabetes research, can definitely link sugar to cancer. There is some compelling research that its effects on the metabolism are dangerous, if not cancer-producing.
Taubes elaboration of the differences between sugar and high fructose corn syrup on the one hand and sugar from carbs--glucose--is imporant, explaining how the body metabolizes sugars differently. Fructose, sucrose and glucose are treated differently in the liver, and that has consequences for fat storage and risks for diabetes.
© The Bay Citizen, 2012
Ammes Saanser
Sugar is not bad at all
The Anti Obesity drug makers and diabetes drug makers take in 10 billion$$$$ every year with no cure!!
Food Chemicals are the cause of the diabetes and obesity crisis
The FDA and Drug makers know this and are laughing to the Billionaire$$$ bank
The food chemicals break the gut(insulin) and this is the cause of the diabetes and obesity crisis
A filmmaker has been reversing diabetes and Obesity in now 10 countries and the drug makers do not promote the story type 2 diabetes diet
see here http://spirithappy.wordpress.com/new-type-2-diabetes-diet-cure
Dracil Cegon
Seems like you're just spamming that link on a bunch of sites.