Comments on OBESITY PANACEA: American Heart Association says the verdict is in ...

@ Mona, I'm not familiar with those studies, ...

2009-11-07T09:52:00.970-05:00

@ Mona,

I'm not familiar with those studies, but they sound interesting. I'll keep an eye out for them and hopefully get back to you on that. I do know that both glucose and fructose can be converted into triglycerides by the liver, and that sugar intake is thought to result in decreased HDL (good) cholesterol and increased triglycerides, both of which are very bad things. Here is a paper that has some good info on sugar and risk of various diseases, released by the American Heart Association in 2002.

http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/106/4/523

Travis

Could you address the assertion by Linus Pauling t...

2009-11-06T21:13:12.377-05:00

Could you address the assertion by Linus Pauling that one of the commoner sugars stimulated cholesterol production and that sugar consumption was closely linked to cholesterol levels?

He had demographic information and said also that dietary studies of prisoners, where they were given more or less sugar, showed a rise and fall in cholesterol levels.

Wow, thanks for that fantastic comment, Kevin. It...

2009-10-13T09:31:46.147-04:00

Wow, thanks for that fantastic comment, Kevin. It's nice to hear the perspective of someone working in a related but different field from our own. Hopefully we will reach a tipping point in the near future when the danger of excess sugar/fructose consumption will become more widely accepted.

Thanks also for the forum suggestion. I am not sure our HTML skills are up to the challenge, but it is an excellent suggestion nonetheless, and something to aim for in the future.

Travis

As a recognized sugar expert (I am a pediatric den...

2009-10-13T06:02:01.868-04:00

As a recognized sugar expert (I am a pediatric dentist), with a background in Nutrition and Dietetics, I have long been sounding the alarm to my dental colleagues about the importance of promoting "sugar cessation"; or otherwise stated, by virtue of the toxic and addictive nature of sugar, cavity prevention efforts aimed at reducing sweets, also indirectly help prevent chronic systemic disease. The "toxic and addictive nature" thing doesn't sit well with many of my colleagues for various reasons, not the least of which is lack of academic preparedness in diet counseling. Another reason for the dental/medical/healthcare profession's inattention to the dangers of sugar per se, has to do with what , apparently only a select few (like Dr. Robert Lustig) truly grasp RE the actual biochemistry of fructose metabolism by the liver...I have a master's degree in nutritional biochemistry and Lustig's tutorial (SUGAR: THE BITTER TRUTH http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM) was a bombshell to me. Another reason for the dental profession's apparent reluctance to get behind sugar cessation like they eventually supported tobacco cessation efforts (e.g., soda/obesity taxes, PSA's RE sugar/soda cessation, etc.) could have something to do with our/their perception that there is lack of scientific evidence for sugar's toxic and addictive nature; and there is always the possibility of politics and (perceived?)pressure from the food and beverage industry (the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry-AAPD, accepted a one million dollar grant/gift from Coca-Cola in 2005)...hard to pinpoint this one but there have been inferences. Anyway, given the proper training in diet counseling and nuances of techniques in the emerging discipline of Motivational Interviewing(MI), dental professionals, especially dental hygienists, are well-positioned (by virtue of frequent patient encounters, sugar/carbohydrate expertise and trustworthiness) to help mitigate systemic chronic disease epidemics, primarily type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. This website/blog of yours is fantastic and I'd like to suggest that you maybe consider adding an "oral-systemic health" forum, where dental and non-dental healthcare professionals...and their patients, can discuss pertinent diet/obesity-related issues.

Thanks for providing this opportunity.

Kevin Boyd, MS, DDS

Excellent comments all around! @Anonymous, You m...

2009-09-12T22:39:46.153-04:00

Excellent comments all around!

@Anonymous,

You make a great point. However, fruit itself often contains fiber, which is filling, and I would think (people with more knowledge in this are can correct me if I'm wrong) also reduces the glycemic load when compared to the same sugars in a fruit juice. You're also likely to consume less sugar since it's much easier to drink 2-3 oranges than it is to eat them (there's really not that much juice in one orange).

"The word juice is never mentioned in their r...

2009-09-11T17:52:45.219-04:00

"The word juice is never mentioned in their report, but the sugars in juice are no different from those in pop, and there is no reason to think that they have any different effect on the human body."

But are not the sugars in fruit "no different from those in pop"?

There was an interesting interview on the "Cu...

2009-09-11T15:31:33.412-04:00

There was an interesting interview on the "Current" CBC Radio 1 about the combination of fat and sugar that the fast food industry uses to literally cause cravings and addiction, if that is not too strong a term, in the public.

It's a very interesting paper and another blow...

2009-09-11T14:49:23.058-04:00

It's a very interesting paper and another blow against sugar added foods and drinks. Unfortunately, I don't know how many people are aware of this information, care, or are knowledgeable enough to understand which foods or drinks contain these extra calories or the amount of servings they are actually consuming. I thought this was one of the most interesting parts of the paper...

"Chronic hyperinsulinemia may
also contribute to increased caloric intake by preventing
dopamine clearance from the nucleus accumbens, thus fostering
pleasure derived from food in situations in which
energy stores are replete, contributing to excess energy
intake.78 Obesity results in a decreased density of striatal D2
receptors,79 which may lead to a compensatory increased
strata dopamine neurotransmission through mass action.80
Chronic amygdala activation by stress, which increases cortisol
secretion, promotes palatable food consumption as a
form of self-medication.81–83 Several studies in children have
observed relationships between stress and increased intake of
sugared beverages, sweets, and snacking.84,85 In a controlled
study of 9-year-olds, children who were both high on dietary
restraint and felt more stressed by laboratory challenges
tended to eat more sugar-containing comfort food.86"

I have a feeling that the fast food industry has known this for a long time. People have less time, work more, and are becoming increasingly stressed and fast food just happens to be accessible, inexpensive, and feeds into the pleasure centers of our brains.

Great post Travis! Switch to honey!

2009-09-11T14:05:48.648-04:00

Great post Travis! Switch to honey!