3 ms·

Honest question: other than that it's tasty, is there any argument whatsoever for consuming a lot of sugar? If no, then decreased risk of Alzheimer's is, pardon

Honest question: other than that it's tasty, is there any argument whatsoever for consuming a lot of sugar? If no, then decreased risk of Alzheimer's is, pardon the pun, icing on the cake.

pdq 12y ago
A few years ago I watched "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" [1], by Dr Lustig of UCSF. It's a very interesting watch, which convinced me to change my diet away from most everything sugary, and put much more more fiber and fat into my diet. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
- dazc 12y ago
  My father developed alzheimer's in his early 60's. One thing I know didn't cause it was sugar because he rarely touched it.
robbiep 12y ago
No there isn't. Certainly a diet consisting of lots of high sugar drinks and sugary food is a bad idea. Not only is it going to contribute to obesity but high sugar intake appears to be a much bigger risk factor for atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease than hyperlipidaemia. But all things in moderation. It is a pet peeve of mine that there are people who are so rabidly anti-sugar (the foaming at the mouth types). Yes we know it isn't a good idea in large doses and yes modern diets promote exactly this but sugar is not responsible for global terrorism or anything of the sort (to use some extreme hyperbole).
- tomhoward 12y ago
  I believe (influenced strongly by self-experimentation over a long period of time) that there's a great deal of mistaking correlation for causation in this debate. In my experience, when the body is in a good state of healthy balance, there is little appetite for refined sugars, carbs, and all the other usual culprits of the anti-sugar set. Such a body can happily tolerate some indulgence - eg, a night or two per week having sugary desserts and cocktails. But after a certain amount of indulgence, the body responds by feeling bad (hangovers, brain fog etc), and the this healthy person heeds the signal to ease off for a few days. However there's a significant proportion of the population for whom the body isn't in a state of healthy balance, which causes them to have too great an appetite for sugar, which leads to exacerbated health problems (diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's, etc). All my research and experience leads me to believe that excess sugar consumption is more of a symptom than a primary cause.

Honest question: other than that it's tasty, is there any argument whatsoever for consuming a lot of sugar? If no, then decreased risk of Alzheimer's is, pardon the pun, icing on the cake.

pdq 12y ago

A few years ago I watched "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" [1], by Dr Lustig of UCSF. It's a very interesting watch, which convinced me to change my diet away from most everything sugary, and put much more more fiber and fat into my diet. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

dazc 12y ago
My father developed alzheimer's in his early 60's. One thing I know didn't cause it was sugar because he rarely touched it.

robbiep 12y ago

No there isn't. Certainly a diet consisting of lots of high sugar drinks and sugary food is a bad idea. Not only is it going to contribute to obesity but high sugar intake appears to be a much bigger risk factor for atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease than hyperlipidaemia. But all things in moderation. It is a pet peeve of mine that there are people who are so rabidly anti-sugar (the foaming at the mouth types). Yes we know it isn't a good idea in large doses and yes modern diets promote exactly this but sugar is not responsible for global terrorism or anything of the sort (to use some extreme hyperbole).

tomhoward 12y ago
I believe (influenced strongly by self-experimentation over a long period of time) that there's a great deal of mistaking correlation for causation in this debate. In my experience, when the body is in a good state of healthy balance, there is little appetite for refined sugars, carbs, and all the other usual culprits of the anti-sugar set. Such a body can happily tolerate some indulgence - eg, a night or two per week having sugary desserts and cocktails. But after a certain amount of indulgence, the body responds by feeling bad (hangovers, brain fog etc), and the this healthy person heeds the signal to ease off for a few days. However there's a significant proportion of the population for whom the body isn't in a state of healthy balance, which causes them to have too great an appetite for sugar, which leads to exacerbated health problems (diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's, etc). All my research and experience leads me to believe that excess sugar consumption is more of a symptom than a primary cause.