Hey Sugar

That's not a compliment, I'm afraid. I've been riding this hobbyhorse for a while. I'm happy to say the world is coming around to the point of view with which I have been allied -- sugar is among the greatest curses of civilization. Gary Taubes of the Nutrition Science Initiative discusses the history of obesity research in the new BMJ.Here's the basic setup. Yes, we know that given the basic laws of physics, you can only gain weight if you consume more calories than you burn (and excrete, although that's presumed to be a minor issue in caloric balance). So, the prescription to prevent or treat obesity has long been simply eat less, exercise more.But that doesn't say anything about the question of why people eat more than they need and store fat. We've heard a lot of talk lately about the "obesogenic" environment -- more sedentary jobs, sitting around in front of computer screens instead of going out and playing ball, and the availability of cheap, high calorie food. Fair enough but . . .There has long been a hypothesis, prominent in continental Europe prior to WWII but largely forgotten since, that consuming a lot of carbohydrate, and particularly glucose and fructose, directly affects metabolism such that the body stores calories as fat without signalling satiety of hunger. In a nutshell, it's not just that sugary drinks are added, empty calories: they also go straight to the midsection while leaving you hungry. There is an ancillary hypothesis that once you have excess adi...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs