That Sugar Film: The Results
I hope that this sunk in on Tuesday: Damon Gambeau, the filmmaker, was going to eat 40 teaspoons of sugar per day. The rest of the story was that he was not going to eat cakes and cookies or drink full-sugar soda. He was going to eat what might be considered health foods: low-fat yogurt, fruit juices, whole grain cereals with sugar added, and other things with Australian names I don’t recognize. By the end of each day, it had to equate to 40 teaspoons of sugar or about 168 grams, not counting all the other carbohydrates.
What happened after 60 days? One of his liver enzymes was off, up 20 points over the safety level, which was never really explained. His triglycerides were up significantly, from about 60 mg/dl to 132 mg/dl. While that’s up, it’s not really abnormal for a fasting triglyceride level.
The real change was in his weight. Based on weigh-ins, he gained 19.8 pounds in 60 days. He also gained 10 cm around his waist—that’s close to four inches. And here is the kicker: his estimated caloric intake before the self-study was around 2,300 calories per day. He claims that his caloric intake remained at 2,300 calories per day throughout the experiment. All the experts went nuts. Taubes said it’s got to be the sugar. Another said sugar has to be the problem.
Oh, really? I’ve got some comments on that on Saturday—and you won’t want to miss them.
What are you prepared to do today?
