America is the most obese country in the world and that is an undisputed fact. In the world.

Would just like to add...that the UK has more obese per capita :P

Good post.

Two month rule?

Two month rule?

I'd wager your account must be at least 60 days old to post to help cut down on spam/shills/sock puppet accounts. There was one infamous user who had over 30 accounts and would comment to himself.

Oh. So this is unspoken, I presume?

No, its in the rules. Mods announced it a while back.

So now the 30 sock puppet accounts just need to wait 60 days before they can comment to themselves?

It seems like a fair choice to me. There's nothing a mod can do that will prevent fake accounts or Shills from targeting this sub. This makes it a little more difficult and we'll also catch anyone who makes new accounts after being banned from other subs as well.

The US isn’t even the most obese country in North America...

Also like all western countries have overweight problems that are increasing im pretty sure

Consider that humans are a fruitarian species, and it makes sense that we're so attracted to sweet -- it's how you tell if a fruit is ripe, or "fully charged" if you will. TPTB have essentially hacked that sense response to their own benefit.

Same goes for colorful candies. And advertising. (Why do you think so many fast food logos feature red and yellow so prominently? That's the color of ripe fruit.)

We are not fruititarian. Smh.

Yeah, we are. Look at your body hair. Pre-tool humans were a tropical species. In the tropics, fruit grows year-round. Without tools and fire, you can't hunt. Fruit is just laying on the ground, a ready food source.

Plus our entire digestive system is virtually identical to other frugivore primates.

It's fucking obvious once you past all the cultural conditioning.

I completely agree with this

I actually took some Human evolutionary history classes at Uni, and the your correct that our thin small body hair is adapted to warm climates. However you are completely wrong about us being herbivores. Bipedalism combined with small hair PLUS MORE SWEAT GLAND DENSITY all over our entire body lends itself to persistence hunting. It allowed us to literally run animals to death because our bipedalism was more efficient over long distances and our superior cooling system allowed us to stay cool while other animals overheated. This means we are omnivores with an important emphasis on animal foods in many seasons of the year.

Your on the right track in saying we are eating the wrong food to for our species but exclusively fruit is terrible. the most similar is a paleo diet, which actually, your vegetarianism + eggs and fish is actually a completely viable form of paleo.

Okay, what happens when pre-tool human catches that game? Let's say you caught a cow. What now? You teeth are shit for rending leather. The "canine" teeth are terrific for biting through the rind of citrus fruits though.

Sweat gland density is appropriate for tropical climates. Gets hot as balls here. And bipedalism is nice for picking fruit off branches.

Damn. Those are some really solid points.

It's completely changed how I look at food and what I eat. And I've become aware of the intense pressure to eat things that are killing us.

Pre-tool humans and all that isn't really a good point. We've been using tools over a million years if not many millions of years. And we've adapted to using clothes in cold climates which the sweat gland density argument also applies to cold climates now.

And neither is canine teeth. Canine teeth are really only useful for inflicting stabbing wounds and having scissor like biting. Canine teeth aren't even necessary for fruits of vegetables.

Bipedalism and picking fruit off branches isn't either. The user you talked to switched from picking fruit from off the ground to off of branches. Which is it?

I agree with you, but I also think it doesn't matter how humans initially evolved: we're in a position where we can eat the best foods ever without an ounce of animal suffering and all of the health problems that arise from eating such parasitic-laden foods. If we expect that humans stop being treated as cattle for the elite, then we need to look in the mirror about how we treat animals.

I normally don't grandstand, but we've got to get smarter about diet and fast.

Of course it matters. Our bodies are designed for a particular type of food. Just as chickens are. Just as cows are. Just as tigers are. Feed any animal the incorrect food for its species and its health will suffer. (Ever wonder why house pets get cancer? Hmmm maybe cats aren't meant to be eating kibble.)

Our bodies are not able to process all the toxic byproducts of meat, for example. And we can't extract sufficient nutrition from grass. We're "designed" from teeth to anus to run on mostly fruit.

It's incredible to me that most people pay more attention to how they fuel their car than how they fuel their body.

If we expect that humans stop being treated as cattle for the elite, then we need to look in the mirror about how we treat animals.

This guy understands the game.

Okay, what happens when pre-tool human catches that game?

Look at videos of chimps hunting smaller monkeys and you will have your answer.

o.o I feel like that’s a bad idea

I don't think anyone is suggesting that cannibalism make up a monkey's primary diet, nor with humans. Would you rather eat delicious mangoes, bananas, papayas, and oranges... or would you rather your neighbor... raw?

Wait, don't answer that.

Would you rather eat delicious mangoes, bananas, papayas, and oranges... or would you rather eat a rotting carcass. Raw.

That's... Pretty much the worst argument I've ever heard.

Come to Central America. These trees grow everywhere in the wild. And my orange tree is as real as my mango tree.

Or just look it up? Oranges literally did not exist until we created them. Bananas were bland and earthy. Did you think or do even a shred of research before coming to the conclusion that we are fruit eaters? There's no evidence to support that.

The evidence is all around me. Fruit is common in the tropics, hence our perfectly suited bodies. If you want to point at media assets to disprove that, feel free - but reality tells a different story.

Literally nothing in reality shows that we are fruit eaters. We have teeth designed to eat meat, we are bipedal, we cannot survive on fruit only diets which lack in protein and required vitamins. There is zero evidence that shows we are fruit eaters by our nature. This has been studied and known for hundreds of years.

You are the one making the claim that we are frugivorous. Please cite your claim, otherwise it is nothing but a fad diet.

Your perception management is failing, chico. But if you prefer media assets to real-world observation, there are several good books on the topic that I'd recommend to anybody interested -- not you, of course:

• The 80/10/10 Diet: Balancing Your Health, Your Weight, and Your Life, One Luscious Bite at a Time -- great overview, explains the whys and hows

• The Detox Miracle Sourcebook: Raw Foods and Herbs for Complete Cellular Regeneration -- this book would shatter the pharmaceutical industry if it were widely read

real world observation

You mean such as science, correct? Please. You have still failed to provide a single citation or study.

Detox is not real, and this has been shown time and time again. You don't get to post a couple of woo books and act like you've won an argument.

Your kidneys serve no function then? Can you send them to me? You're (((descending into derp)))...

You are incredibly misinformed about how the body works. Please get back to me once you understand some basic bodily science and are capable of citing actual sources for your claims. Thank you.

Already do, and already done. Thanks for glowing in the dark.

If you are capable, then why don't you do it? If you understand how the body works, why do you think humans are frugivorous? These are basic things you have failed to address, yet you pretend you have some higher knowledge.

Enjoy. https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/87x6vt/americans_are_being_forcibly_addicted_to_refined/dwg9iyc/

Literally zero sources, and the follow up comment explains the very basic mistakes that were made in your link. Try again, with some actual citations this time.

then add a bit of whatever your recent ancestors ate.

I though that the inheritance of acquired traits was proven false long ago?

By who?

This is just theory:

When rabbits where introduced in Australia, no animals attacked them because they were foreign. They just bread and get spawning till it became a problem. To me that show that animals don't touch what's not familiar, so an Eskimo coming to Africa might not be attracted to the environments food.

Asian and milk, terrible rate of lactose intolerance. Do you think drinking milk for long enough would cause damage to their body?

Idk, I'll eat bugs if it's all chopped up in a granola bar without me knowing, but I'll never just eat one. Maybe I shouldn't eat a large amount of bugs. It's easy to eat something when it's colourful and pretty, even if it's junk.

Not exactly what I meant. I meant, say, if a crab has a single large claw, and smaller alternative ones, that doesn't mean that prior usage of that claw by ancestors caused future generations to inherit the prowess/strength of that specific characteristic.

Lmao you weren't even talking about food. I'm a believer that too much foreign food can cause problems, same with artificial foods. A third generation Canadian would do fine eating what's in season around him. Send him elsewhere and it may be different.

This one guy who pushed an alkaline diet claimed that you should eat what god put around you.

My bad for completely being off track.

Too your point: have you heard Alex jones talk about the chicken and the hawks (IIRC). The chickens weren't scared of the birds at all, until they traumatized a couple generations, then the new borns where terrified on first sight.

Probly butchered it abit but wouldn't that be an acquired trait?

I'm not sure if the fear itself was hardwired into them, or if the chickens somehow taught their offspring (directly or indirectly) to avoid/be wary of the hawks.

Yea could be, if the chicks had no parents while the bird flew above it would Be pretty remarkable.

Yeah but you got to figure that lactose intolerance could be bred out because nobody wants to bang someone who is farting all day so the ones with out lactose problems spread their seed more.

That isn't acquired change, that was actual incremental evolutionary change that led to some people becoming lactose tolerant, who then proceeded to breed with others, but it is by no means an acquired trait, just genes being passed on.

Our nutrition teacher told us in about 20 years bugs will be in our North American market. Really all it takes is one hipster on instagram and a group will follow.

But I've heard their also quite healthy.

The human body can create many nutrients that it needs. Unless you're flooding it with a certain nutrient through diet, then it stops making it. When mommy made you, her diet affected how your body was made, down to details.

Eat lots of fish for generations, for example, and you've made the great great grandkid's body somewhat dependent on supplemented Omega 3 and 6. Take that away, and your body will be deficient. I can't say how many generations it would take to get back to a zero state -- that is fruit/veggies alone.

The thing with meat is that it's not until fairly recently that most people could afford it on a regular basis.

Thank you for the crystal-clear explanation, I will keep this in mind in the future!

Very true.human beings should be able to live past 100 easily but our environment and the things we eat are shortening our lifespans

I think so too. How much longer, I can't say. And of course food is only part of the toxicity load -- albeit a major one.

All the passive smoking.all the preservatives in our foods are a major culprit too

Humans being a frutarian species / frugivores is absolute and utter bullshit and people who believe that crap end up like Steve Jobs.

TIL not eating meat causes pancreatic cancer

Yeah I've come to think Steve Jobs is little but a psyop. You guys bring him up as if he's some sort of proof, completely ignoring the millions upon millions who die from a "standard" crap diet + chemo.

Find me 5 more examples. Hint: YOU CAN'T.

Nah son we frugivore.

How do I try this?

Depends on your reasons. General health and simplifying life or trying to heal from an illness asap?

Start with one fruit meal a day if you can take time. If you go full fruit right away, expect a healing crisis and low energy for a while. Body's got to reset and after that you'll be golden.

Find tasty fruit. This is important as taste signifies nutrition. You will not have enough willpower to eat 3 meals a day of low quality fruit.

Bananas are a good transitional fruit. It's fairly easy at first to mono meal 5-10 bananas and they fill you up fast at more than 100 calories per banana.

If you're like me you'll need fat in your diet to feel an assertive libido on frugivore diet. Thank God for avocados. I play sports and high carbs only is not for me at this time. However your genetic makeup may differ. Don't be afraid of fat is what I'm saying.

YouTube. Find some frugivores you like. They have good info. Vegetable Police is funny and has much experience, though he's doing one meal a day starch-based right now. Robert Morse, ND, too. He loves talking, but he's one of the all-time greats and he has much, much sciencific knowledge for why and how fruits are best for man.

Just go slow and keep adding more fruit over the weeks and months. Embrace the detox symptoms. It means bad stuff is leaving your body and you're building a strong foundation.

Coconut meat is a good starter food too. Easy to get a full feeling as a coconut is 1000-1400 calories. It's hard to overeat on fruit. I wouldn't worry about too many calories.

Mangos are good. Grapes are great for cleansing. Blueberries and watermelons are amazing too. They will detox you hard as they work very well on a cellular level.

I really don't know where you get your information, but this is all false. From the banana girl??? Stop.

Robert Morse, ND. You just never heard this information before.

My own experiences as well. I lived through much of what I just described. So unless if you want to share your own experience as someone who has tried the fruit diet himself, your opinion is of no value to me.

Everything you have just said is nonsense.

Have you tried the fruit diet? I don't listen to anyone unless they've tried something themselves.

This has nothing to do with attempting a woo diet. We are not frugivorous. That is fact. Sure, you can eat an all-fruit diet, just as you can be on a ketogenic diet or a vegan diet. That does not make us frugivores.

LOL that nonsense killed Steve Jobs. smh

r/keto would disagree. We are a corpse eating species with some avocados as the only fruit available. Evolved to eat fat and protein all the time! A species that thrives on starvation mode. Doesn't that make sense to you!?

Maybe visit a tropical area (Central America is terrific!) and see the abundance of fruit trees. Then ask yourself if you'd rather eat delicious mangoes, bananas, papayas, and oranges... or would rather eat a rotting cow. Raw.

... I am a fruit farmer in a subtropical country.

... I am a fruit farmer in a subtropical country.

HAHAHAHAHA and yet

We are a corpse eating species with some avocado as the only fruit available.

Oh man you guys kill me...

Corpse eating is not my kind of thing. Most people wouldn't be the same if it was not for cultural indoctrination.

Thank you for speaking up op, I couldn't have put it better myself. I too try to limit sugar as much as possible and its so hard not to find refined sugar added to so many of the foods were all fed as children, sugar like no other generation has had before us..

/r/NoCorporations welcomes you

Another thing, why is the sugar farming so heavily subsidized by US govt? I mean if sugar prices went through the roof would that be such a bad thing?

Lobbyist bribes.

It's conspiracies all the way down when it comes to sugar, and all the way back to the 60s at least.

Back in the 1960s, a sugar industry executive wrote fat checks to a group of Harvard researchers so that they’d downplay the links between sugar and heart disease in a prominent medical journal—and the researchers did it, according to historical documents reported in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. One of those Harvard researchers went on to become the head of nutrition at the United States Department of Agriculture, where he set the stage for the federal government’s current dietary guidelines. All in all, the corrupted researchers and skewed scientific literature successfully helped draw attention away from the health risks of sweets and shift the blame solely to fats—for nearly five decades. The low-fat, high-sugar diets that health experts subsequently encouraged are now seen as a main driver of the current obesity epidemic.

This one is more recent:

Coca-Cola came under fire Monday for donating millions of dollars to a nonprofit that has been spreading the message in medical journals and through social media that the blame for America's obesity epidemic is not about diet but a lack of exercise.

The issue, the New York Times reported, is that the view is misleading and meant to deflect attention away from recent studies about sugary drinks and their link to obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

“Coca-Cola’s agenda here is very clear: Get these researchers to confuse the science and deflect attention from dietary intake," Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, told the Times.

Has a university researcher this disgusts me. I've had clients try to 'buy' the results they want. My integrity is not for sale. My research does not impact the health of humans (I'm an economist). These folks are medical doctors selling to the highest bidder. Dick move on their part but being Harvard no surprise. I was educated on the other side of the river from them Ass Clowns. Never really cared for their snobbish attitudes. Those that can't get into MIT go to Harvard.

hate to say it but you sound like the snob, bud.

Well, it's a statistical fact that it's easier to get into Harvard than MIT. :) You can buy your way into Harvard. MIT admissions don't give two fucks about mom and dad.

Thank you for the links. Money really is the root of all evil.

Lobbyist bribes. Campaign Contributions.

FTFY

Corn is subsidized by the US gov, HFCS and corn oil is made from the leftovers of corn waste

Corn is subsidized by the US govt. Corn syrup and corn oil are byproducts of processing corn into meal or feed.

https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/charts/63395/feedgrainproduction.jpg?v=43054

Its because of GMO sugar. Interesting fact: around 80% of white granulated sugar is derived from GMO sugarbeets which have been tied to various forms of cancer

If your intention is to paint GMOs as somehow worse than any other genetics strain of x food then I have some bad news for you.

While corporations like DuPont and Bayer have very clear legislative and genetic powers, to the point of criminal conspiracy in some cases, there still isn't any science proving that genetically modified food is anything other than regular food

Countless independent studies have shown this to be true, and our ability to control traits in corn has done more to prevent human suffering than perhaps any other agricultural advancement in human history.

Well genetically altering food to have more sugar would make it worse for you. But yeah probably not because of the altering part.

Excellent point.

Watch "The Truth About Cancer" documentary series. You'll see how much is skewed and lied about when it comes to GMO food and its cancer-causing rates.

No thanks. A film like that has an obvious narrative to push. Original research is all that interests me.

Without even watching it I safely assume that they're skewing results in their favor and don't spend much time on all the research showing genetic engineering to be safe.

So you'll only watch or listen to the documentation confirming what you want to hear. Sorry, but your credibility went to zero really fast.

Sorry but we've been genetically modifying food since the existence of humankind just because it was over a time period of many hundreds or years doesn't mean we weren't artificially selecting for desirable gene's. And in turn genetically modifying our food.

If it wasn't for that our world would never be able to to support 7 billion people

It's important to note that there's a difference between genetic modification by selective breeding and actually genetic engineering via gene editing.

Its a nuance that most anti-gmo people aren't too keen on as well. Dogs are GMOs but I've yet to meet someone who bashes Monsanto and the American Kennel Club at the same time.

It's important to note that there's a difference between genetic modification by selective breeding and actually genetic engineering via gene editing.

Its a nuance that most anti-gmo people aren't too keen on. Dogs are GMOs but I've yet to meet someone who bashes Monsanto and the American Kennel Club at the same time.

Not at all what I said. I said I care about original research, not documentaries that have to sell copies to make money.

You're asking me to watch CNN for an honest and comprehensive story about Ted Turner.

Countless independent studies have shown this to be true

Funded by who?

Worldwide universities, governments, health agencies, research labs, and of course the manufacturers themselves.

Worldwide universities, governments, health agencies, research labs, and of course the manufacturers themselves.

So do you think that a company who makes a product that nets them billions a year in not only sales but also in subsidies, won't skew research info to come out smelling like a rose? If you watched the video I linked above, you'd see that they claim the HFCS is safe "in moderation". But go to the store and read some ingredient labels and find something without HFCS in it, let alone sugar or unhealthy sugar substitutes.

Listen, it's clear that this video you're referencing has an obvious bias. I'm not going to spend my time watching it. If you have any studies or research projects for me to read then I'm dtf, but I'm not going to listen to someone whose financial success depends on getting viewers to spread it around.

Ain't trying to be a dick, just being honest with you. Click bait is absurdly rampant in anti-gmo, anti-vaccine, anti-science circles. If theres grains of truth to their claims then they must be tied to real research and real science, not some hyped bullshit about "in moderation". Arsenic is safe in moderation, and drinking too much water can kill you, too.

Listen, it's clear that this video you're referencing has an obvious bias. I'm not going to spend my time watching it.

Then why bother debating?

Ain't trying to be a dick

Dude, that's exactly what you're coming across as. You simply want to be in defense of something that you know is wrong.

I'm not going to listen to someone whose financial success depends on getting viewers to spread it around.

You might like it. It re-enforces your biased opinion.

I know it comes across as me being a dick but honestly I'm not trying to be rude just for the sake of being rude.

I'm still replying because most people in this sub have sources for their beliefs as opposed to the majority of the rest of Reddit

There was a study I read that showed the generational side effects of eating GMO corn. The mice that consumed it showed no signs of anything, however the next generation showed a large increase in deformities, abnormalities, tumors, and increased sterility. After a few generations the mice were 100% sterile and born completely deformed with malignant tumors.

Also most if not all of those "independent" studies have direct funding from the corporations in question or their sister shell charity foundations. Always follow the money.

Do you happen to have a link or remember what it was called?

Another thing, why is the sugar farming so heavily subsidized by US govt?

"Big sugar" is a thing. But just as with other large corporate influences over government (e.g., oil industry, pharmaceuticals), this industry influence isn't reported on by news media correctly.

It isn't only regular sugar; It's high fructose corn syrup. And they make so many billions a year off of it, they'll create propaganda commercials like this. No, that's not some silly SNL spoof, commercials like that were made by big sugar and played all over tv back in the early 2000s when people started to wake up to the dangers of HFCS.

Notice how they make people who are against consuming HFCS seem like an idiot? Notice when asked why it's bad for you, no reasons are brought up, as if none exist?

several years ago, I went from 240 lbs to 160 lbs.

In about 3.5 months.

With no exercise.

How? I basically cut out all refined carbs. No sugar, bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, honey, or sugar subs.

And I looked and felt amazing. a couple of years later, because of financial reasons, I had to start eating that junk again. and in one year I went back to 230 lbs. I've since gone back down to the low 200s, still nowhere where I should be. and all because of starches/sugars.

Its called the Keto diet...it's working for me. I barely eat anything and I stay full all day. No more headaches and feeling like I must eat. I eat to live now instead of living to eat. It really works for most people. I think I have a gluten intolerance. I have dropped noticeable weight in less than a month on this diet.

Don't you have trouble sleeping though?

Either this is a meme or I am having a bat shit intense episode of deja vu.

No meme, when dieting I can't sleep. My body demands its hit of calories

Keto is a gamechanger. It is more expensive than all the "cheap" sugary/refined stuff, but the payoff is 3-4x more than the monetary investment. Mentally and physically you do so much better killing the sugars from your life. Keep on going!

I find it is much cheaper if you don't try to mimic the foods you liked before making the switch. I eat the same 5 things and save a lot of money doing it this way. Back when I first started keto I would always make fat head pizza and a lot of sweets that I thought I missed. After quiting that I find it easier to just stick to eating the same basic "boring" meals.

Well put, and my main stays are stuff like eggs, ground beef, chuck steaks on clearance, big blocks of cheese, coffee, nuts, the occasional salad, etc. Much more "boring" sounding than what it is in real life. I have found a lot of food places do lettuce wrapped burgers or tacos, or just a steak or whatever keto friendly things I want. The all you can eat salad bars are awesome, though I use the green stuff as garnish for the meats and cheeses....

Yep those are the same things I eat. Tea instead of coffee, and chicken breast instead of steak. Is the only difference. I havnt eaten out much. Though I do find it more accommodating then when I started a few years ago. I'm happy to see it's becoming more accepted.

Eggs and whole milk, sooo expensive

Whole milk is loaded with sugar...

Trash collector

everyone is looking for and trying to sell the magical weight-loss-without-exercise process. it sounds like you've found it. maybe people would listen if you were selling it as a diet.

I would just want people to be healthy.

If sugar prices go up, then the idea is that people would take less sugar. Not a bad thing, but if more people get healthier, then less people would need medication to counter the effects of a high sugar diet. That spells bad news for big pharma. I understand that much of what I said is definitely up for further discussion but there has to be some shred of truth to this broad generalisation?

It’s mostly a relic from the world-war era when it seemingly made sense to grow a shitload of very versatile corn for energy, calorie-dense foods, animal feed, etc.

There was a time when growing a ton of corn was a good idea, but try to tell those farmers that you’re going to take their subsidies away and watch them pitch a shit fit.

See also: subsidies for oil companies.

This guy gets it. The status quo is a powerful foe, and the food industry in this case is more than happy to lobby for subsidies as long as it keeps sugar (specifically fructose) cheap. Cheap sugar means they can make just about any garbage palatable and profitable.

Yup. Govt subsidized and ran by essentially slave labor.

Don’t forgot the added hormones and synthetics that fuck up your endocrine system

You’ve seen the documentary about sugar, right?

Google "farm policy obesity". The government and the mega-corporations that basically run it are largely responsible for the obesity problem we're facing.

Yours and your parents fault. When you were a kid you didn't know better, but it is the parent's job to know. Once you are an adult, it is your job to fix the damage. Ce la vie

it is your fault, show some self restraint

Make your own.

This is not the subreddit for you if your solution to everything is "fix it yourself" like boiii ain't nobody have time to make their own fucking bread after a 40+ hour workweek.

So it’s the subreddit of inaction and speculation then. Got it.

Lmao /r/iamverycool

you should watch this film you will like it :D

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5541848/

and this one

http://thatsugarfilm.com/

I mean I'm glad he spoke up but his post is all feels before reals.

Sugar blocks magnesium and calcium absorption and accelerates vitamin d deficiency resulting in further sugar cravings.

Lack of sugar leads to sugar cravings because your body literally needs sugar.

High salt intake or pasta causes sugar cravings because salt causes hormonal imbalances triggering a sugar craving and pasta is quickly metabolized leaving your body wanting more energy.

No one is addicted to sugar, but a healthy diet has sugar in it because it's essential. People just realized it tastes good so they keep eating it. Now that the common populace knows how terrible it is we've seen a massive rise in healthier eating, preventative care, and exercise.

There is a massive difference between natural occurring sugars (apples, oranges) and processed sugars (skittles, starburst). Obviously natural sugars are necessary for a healthy diet, however replace it with processed shit and you destroy your gut flora

Oh trust me, I'm not advocating corn syrup use whatsoever, but glucose is naturally present in starches.

Agreed - huge difference btwn the two. For example, wheat that is produced today In white bread is so damn processed that it has lost all nutritional value. Better to obtain from Whole Foods like potatoes, oats, etc.

In the 1960s, the sugar industry funded research that downplayed the risks of sugar and highlighted the hazards of fat, according to a newly published article in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The article draws on internal documents to show that an industry group called the Sugar Research Foundation wanted to "refute" concerns about sugar's possible role in heart disease. The SRF then sponsored research by Harvard scientists that did just that. The result was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1967, with no disclosure of the sugar industry funding.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/13/493739074/50-years-ago-sugar-industry-quietly-paid-scientists-to-point-blame-at-fat

More:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html

The could be seen as culpable in the deaths of millions by shifting blame for heart disease from sugar to fat. Biggest conspiracy ever.

There's a book about sugars and carbs. "Good calories, bad calories". Great info from a historical perspective

Turns out the old South beach diet now alos known as Low carb, paleo, keto, is the way to go.

40 lbs in ~3 months, I have to agree. At first it sucks and you feel like shit, but after that initial hurdle (which is pretty much just withdrawals from all the crap food the SAD consists of), you find you are not as hungry as you were before, and that you have more energy, and can eat less calories to maintain that energy level. I was skeptical but when the scale started sliding past 285lbs and other diet methods weren't doing anything meaningful, that I might as well give it a shot.

Quick question about getting into the keto diet, did you just quit the bad food cold turkey or did you slowly introduce good food into your regular diet?

Not OP but I started with the main problem for me, Fast Food. Fast food is ridiculous...it really is. Refined sugar, flour and no real nutrition...everything advertising the newest drink (sweet tea, shakes, coffee drinks), to combo "savings," is geared toward you having a sugary drink.

My second phase was to stop the big ones at home, mainly: bread, potatoes, and pasta. I didn't quit all sugar, but started stepping down the Soda, and gradually started diluting my OJ and Juices if I was having those. Full strength OJ now tastes sickly to me. Now I try and drink water. Pasta wasn't too hard, but I do miss french fries...oh sweet fries.

And it sucked, but kicking fast food (and eating out in general) made the next phase easier. The thing that made me keep going was forming a habit - if you do something 21 days in a row, it tends to stick, my habit was cooking simple things in record time (due to prepping ingredients). I found new recipies for myself that didn't include bread, pasta, or potatoes and found new ways to enjoy vegies. A snack (or even a meal sometimes) for me is: Handful of mixed nuts, slice of cheese and a few vegies, I find it hits the spot.

It was fucking hard, but after a while I just got into the habit of eating the 5 or so new keto friendly meals that I rotated for myself, and learning how to prep. I do have a crutch, because it is true sugar is like a drug and the addiction is real! Stevia - it is an amazing sugar substitute, and I don't use it but for flavored drinks or in coffee if I'm craving. I hate sugar substitutes, but love stevia. I recommend it if you are like me and tend to not like substitutes.

Anyway, sorry for rambling, just exited that the evils of sugar are getting more attention, and for sharing my path. I didn't think I'd be able to lose weight before last year...

Piggy backing here to add that because sugar is so addictive that when you do get it out of your diet, your taste buds and brain are going to be pissed and they will tell you what you are eating is gross and bland and boring. If you are not accustomed to eating fresh foods, give it time and do not get discouraged. Your tastes will change. If you aren't used to eating vegetables, try them all and cooked all different ways until you find some you like. Personally, roasted veggies are my favorite because they get caramelized and brown and so yummy! If you chose the keto route, do not be afraid of fat. Butter is fucking delicious and adds flavor to those bland vegetables.

A couple of years ago I actually got into eating healthy and cut almost all sugar out of my diet. I ended up eating well for like two months but then for some reason my body got angry at healthy food and gave me two periods in one month. I asked my Dr why that happened and said it was indeed my diet change because I didn't change anything else in those two months except fot my diet.

So I got mad at my body and have up the healthy eating. : /

+1 on Butter, and roasted vegies!

I eat way less and feel more full after eating foods with fat. I never ate vegies then also found they are pretty good if you roast them! My parents ate mushy over cooked broccoli and other not-so-great recipes leading me to believe they didn't taste good...I just needed to explore.

I love asparagus drizzled in oil/fat with a pinch of salt under the broiler for just a few, so easy.

I love asparagus drizzled in oil/fat with a pinch of salt under the broiler

I also love to grate some Parmesan cheese on the asparagus. It's gets brown and nummy!

i must try this

Yeah, butter, seasoning and salt (helps with keto flu)

Thank you so much for sharing! I just found out I gained quite a bit of weight over the last year and I've finally snapped and decided I need to change how I eat because I'm now in a constant state of depression based on how I look now. I look in the mirror and I don't recognize myself.

I'm addicted to sugary junk food and candy, I'm not a good cook so I just eat easy junk food. I'm also a very picky eater so finding food that I like is going to be hard. My main concern is breakfast tho, I've been eating cereal in the morning for my whole life and I'm not a morning person so figuring out something easy and healthy to eat in the morning is a big concern for me.

Did you exercise while on the keto diet or was it 100% diet for you?

According to my doctor I need to lose like 50 pounds and having to lose that much weight really scares me, and is very intimidating.

Didn't exercise at all. Even less activity initially because I felt ill from not having sugar and/or combination of that and the keto flu.

After some months I lost enough weight I started to low impact exercise like walking my Labrador more. (My knees were terrible, rice crispies going up and down stairs, and I'm no spring chicken)

Snacking was also a problem for me, so I fill up on water or eat keto frendly snacks - a surprisingly delicious one is microwaveable Lowry's pork rinds...they come out hot, crackling like mad and are keto friendly and freakin' delicious. They come in what looks like microwaveable popcorn bags, packaged just like them. I get mine from amazon, they sell 'em in 10 or 20 packs I think.

Another tip: I found if I really need something to tide me over: Low carb Shake: protein powder (you can find low/zero carb powder), a bit of Stevia sugar substitute, and a splash of some half-half. I just mix it up with a fork with a glass of water. I know the half-half sounds fatty, but it is better than milk according to what I've read, and I use it in coffee and in other things instead of milk. Fat isn't all terrible, as is known, and I do frequent those foods instead of carbs. I have found that even though I'm eating more fat, the fat actually fills me up and I eat less, and keeps me satiated longer. I'm a sucker for meat, bacon, and those things so I definitely use a lot of those. As has been pointed out by others, low carb oats, some grains, and vegies are still totally ok to eat on keto. The sugar though, I think is universally the bad guy in most all the diets/methods.

So here are a couple recipes that I make that are keto friendly, I'm not the greatest but I manage now - perhaps you could take on a challenge of cooking one or two easy meals that you have ingredients ready to go? I made it a game to see how fast I could cook, finish cleaning the pots/pans in the time the food was cooking, and have only my plate to clean, making the end easy. Preparing your fridge to have an assembly line of vegie/ingredients to make your meals helps.

Here is one for me - Open face chili burger. I buy a stack of frozen burger patties from Costco, they have a few different kinds, just have to find the one you like.

2 strips of bacon, cook bacon, set aside Cook 2.5 mins on each side two frozen burger patties (no need to thaw, cooking time may vary) At the end of the frying, sprinkle a bit of cheddar cheese on the burgers (or after the chili if you prefer) Add chilli to the top of the burgers Add vegie sides (I typically cut up a cucumber, some tomatoes, or just make a simple salad), I prep my vegies for easy usage

*For the chili, I make homemade on Sunday's from seasoning, 1 lb hamburger, can of stewed or chopped tomatoes and just a bit of beans but most often no beans added. I have a tupperware ready to go with it in the week to add to dishes like this one.

So that is the first one I made up, and just practiced until I got good at it. For breakfast my go to is a two egg mushroom omelette or a the protein shake from above. I made the omlette cooking a game by seeing if I could do a tri fold without fucking it up. I'm ok at it, and suprisingly have gotten pretty quick at belting one out.

And just a disclaimer - I am no dietician, and am just relaying what has worked and benefited myself. Some might be a little wary of the increase if fat consumption, but I believe the research I'm reading saying it actually is needed by the body, but am aware of the ill effects as well. I don't think its reputation as the bad guy is warranted, especially if you're replacing it with sugar like the processed snacks are.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Full strength OJ now tastes sickly to me.

Even when I was knocking back three cans of soda a day, OJ still tasted vile to me. How anyone can drink it is beyond me.

(not OP)

People differ. But what I'd emphasize to anyone trying Keto is to make sure you're getting enough fat. A 65-70% fat diet actually takes some effort, and people shrink from this due to a lifetime of bad information.

But the high fat is not only necessary to replace the carbs (the goal being to fix insulin resistance and train the body to run on ketones), BUT it will also go a long way to making you feel satiated.

Sugar withdrawal will still suck ("keto flu" is common - look it up), but getting lots of fat helps a lot.

IMHO the proper partner for Keto is intermittent fasting (look it up.) Breaking the hold of sugar and carbs makes that doable, whereas it would be hellish otherwise.

I might get a lot of flak for saying this, but i want you guys to investigate a vegan diet. With an open mind.

I know, i know. Ive used a trigger word that is likely to piss everyone off just by reading it. But!

If we all went vegan, our resistance to antibiotocs would drop 75 %. America's biggest killer, heart disease, would drop to... Well, to 0. No more cholesterol, no more plaque buildup. The meat and dairy industries have funded studies to say "carbs cause heart disease", but we all know thats bullshit right?

We could also undo massive damage to our environment. Look up how many tonnes of carbon emissions are directly due to animal agro.

And hell if you just hate the word "vegan" substitute it with "plant based". I'll post more details and sources later, am on mobile

Problem with vegan diets is how heavy in carbohydrates which is just sugar in the end and you're right back on the edge of prediabetic in no time.

You're a dietitian? Or a medical expert now?

Eh, im a vegan and my carbs are only 40% of my diet. I could even do a vegan keto diet if I wanted

Great conspiracy post. This is the kinda shit that I wish was posted here more often

I can't get past the massive headaches I get when I cut out sugars.

Give it a day or 5, it will pass. After you get over the withdrawls (which is exactly what the symptoms are) you will find that when you do consume refined sugar that it makes you feel like crap and that it tastes WAAAY too sweet.

for real

several years ago, i spent a couple of weeks camping. Took coffee,but forgot sugar had to drink it black.

When I got back to civilization, I added my normal dose of sugar to my coffee. It was so sweet it made me gag. It didnt matter how little sugar I added, I could taste it in the coffee. Even just a few grains was enough to alter the taste.

I drink my coffee black now.

Still trying to cut therest of the sugar from my diet.It aint easy.

Takes 2-3 days. I haven't completely cut out sugar, but about a month ago I quit drinking soda. Went from 3-4 32oz a day, to occasional sips of my gfs. Drinking a 32oz of tea per day now and lots of water. At first was having lots of headaches and generally feeling like shit but after about the second day started feeling better. Day 3-4 I was feeling pretty damn good. Granted some of that was caffeine but I've seriously slashed my sugar by at least 75% just by quitting drinking all that syrup.

scale down over time if it's causing that many issues.

Cold turkey is great if you can do it but really emotionally degrading if you can't.

It's called keto flu and it's usually because your body loses more water and sodium when cutting carbs. Just drink more and eat more salty.

This is common and expected! You are breaking an addition after all! Lots of people refer to this as the keto flu. The /r/keto community has a lot of helpful methods for how to deal with this. Usually involves drinking more water and keeping up electrolytes. Keep trying you're health is worth it.

Also, try having some chicken or beef broth (bouillon works) when you get one of these headaches. Worked for me.

Morton's Lite Salt helped me with the headaches, which are caused by your body purging retained fluid. Add a teaspoon of it to water, or make an electrolyte drink with sugar free Kool aid mix and lite salt.

I'm not about to drink salt water thank you

Get the "lite salt" that is 50/50 sodium and potassium chlorides, then add a pinch to some water a couple of times a day, really helps. Chew sugar free gum as well, helps stimulate the vagus nerve which can influence the cravings.

ah come on now, it isn't just for profit

I'm sure a team of academics has determined that this kind of diet helps create a more docile and compliant population

A population that has a hard time reproducing, also.

Why is "population control" a bad thing? Is the world really hurting for more people?

I'm not sure where I'd see docility from addiction. Dependency would be much more likely and I think that could expand to many other areas.

Objectively, we have it pretty good in the US. Plentiful food, land, gadgets, housing, jobs etc. Yes, some people are getting fucked over by capitalism and we could definitely do better for ourselves, but we aren't starving to death.

This definitely breeds dependency and complacency. Christ, Facebook is facing a bigger backlash than Equifax.

It's also an excellent form of population control...while reaping trillions of dollars from obese Americans treating any number of complications from being obese. Look at the rates of diabetes... especially juvenile diabetes...we're raising unhealthy kids and turning them into unhealthy adults. I was one of these people...it took me 40 years of abusing myself to wake up....

Juvenile diabetes, aka Type 1 diabetes, has nothing to do with diet/lifestyle

There are however increasing rates of Type 2 diabetes among juveniles

This is why the term 'juvenile diabetes' is no longer used when referring to Type 1 diabetes

This is so true I'm so addicted to sugar and will obsess about it until I get some, I try to tell myself I'll cut back but I have to force myself to think of something else or remind myself that I just ate brownies two hours ago and need to chill. Or consider that I'm not going to continue aging well if I don't stop this sugar intake. It never works i lose train of thought deciding between the bakery or soda. I am way too far gone.

Take baby steps. Lower the sugar on your coffee, drink water instead of soda, make more excercise

In my opinion, peiple who out sugar into their coffee are commiting a sacrilege

Some coffee needs to be saved by cream and sugar.

Yeah, try drinking instantaneus cofee without sugar

Try making it with heavy whipping cream and a pat of butter, no need for sugar as the fats bind to the bitter compounds. It's not sweet, but it is tolerable.

Am I the only person who truly thinks sugar and coffee DO NOT go together, at all? It’s an awful combination.

Heavy cream, yes absolutely. It cuts the bitterness, amplifies the aromatic flavors of the coffee, and provides awesome mouthfeel. Sugar is grainy in your mouth, drowns out any actual flavor in the coffee, and sugar simply doesn’t work with bitter tones. Would you put sugar on spinach? That’s like putting sugar in coffee.

No, and a vegan alternate to heavy cream is powdered coconut milk, seems almost as good as real cream, but more office friendly if no fridge. not a vegan, but figured I would pass it on...

Replacing soda with seltzer water like LaCroix has worked wonders for me, personally. I now crave the fizz, not the sugar.

This helps, ive also taken to keeping a jug of britta water in the fridge. Storing it for a bit helps the chlorines evaporate and it in my opinion vaatly improves the taste of cool water. Rathee than from tap to drinking glass.

On that note, lemon or cucumber slices in water do wonders for adding just enough flavor.

Saved my father in law. Exact same thing.

I used to be about 320 pounds but went down to 200 in a little over 9 months. Basically you want to cut breads, pasta and all sugar. Even shit like ketchup. Eat protein, animal fat, milk products and most fruits and veggies. I only recommend cutting down on stuff like potatoes. It becomes super easy after your body adjusts. You just have to make it through the first month. I literally sat on my ass and smoked weed all day and didn't even get the munchies.

I don't have a problem with weight I'm around 140 pounds but I don't eat meat or too much dairy it's just sweets I love so much. Luckily being vegetarian and having a job that requires a lot of moving keeps weight off.

I've been trying to reign in my consumption like this and it's been working out okay. I'll still binge on some crackers or some fatty cakes from time to time, but I'm actually eating less now.

When I'm high I eat slower and that right there is a big advantage. I'll also eat less throughout the day because being high helps abate hunger for me.

Are there any healthy foods you might recommend for eating while high?

Are there any healthy foods you might recommend for eating while high?

Not high specific, but eggs. Eggs literally have all the nutrition needed for life (of a chick, but still). The average egg is 70ish calories and super filling. Next time you're eating think about how many calories you're eating and compare how full and satiated you are compared to that many calories in eggs. You can do this with any wholesome food with similar results. It's pretty easy to eat 500 calories of candy but 4 or 5 eggs will have you feeling way more satisfied for longer.

Carrots, celery, raw broccoli and cherry tomatoes are a great healthy munchie.

Oh yeah, cherry tomatoes for sure.

Omelettes ma

Be a good time to mix up the mushrooms

Eat protein, animal fat, milk products and most fruits and veggies.

Eggs, don't forget eggs. I eat 2-6 eggs every day.

I eat a lot of eggs now too. keto has made me a more adept at cooking, now I’m good at making musroom cheese omletes, yum. And hard boiled make great quick snacks to have in the fridge. oh yeah, love me the bacon but I have to cut down on it since I bought a fuckton of low salt Costco bacon. half&half, bacon, eggs, beef(hamburger&steakonsale) fresh spinach, celery, mushrooms and cukes are my core list.

milk products

Doesn't milk itself have a high amount of sugar? I go for yogurt, cream, etc. but skip milk in favor of milk alternatives.

A type of sugar, yes, but it's not processed or refined. I'm not 100% on how it is metabolized though so you should look into the details yourself, but personally I drank tons of whole fat milk (with my sugar free coffee), kefir and the like along with eating yogurts and cheeses while I was losing weight.

The only thing that would fuck up my diet was any kind of processed sugar or simple carbs. I'd eat a candy bar or a cookie then start having cravings and eat like a hippo, but as long as i maintained strict discipline everything went like clockwork and I could control my food intake and smoke all the dope I want with no munchies.

I try to tell myself I'll cut back but I have to force myself to think of something else or remind myself that I just ate brownies two hours ago and need to chill

Hey listen though...

The first three days are the hardest. You get cravings like a madman. Then the next three days are shitty, but not as hard-- because you feel sick. That's the die off of the sugar-loving bacteria in your gut, and as they die off they drop poisons that make you feel like you have the flu. This is called a Herxheimer reaction.

After that, things start to improve.

So if you can set yourself up in a situation where you can get through six days, you can make it through the "sugar withdrawals." And you only need the second three days off work or whatever.

To mediate this, eat ENORMOUS quantities of fat. Like way more than you think you should. Eat half a bar of butter on your eggs. Scarf down avacados. Don't even count the calories-- breaking the sugar addiction is priority #1. The fat makes it all easier.

Believe it or not, after about 30 days, you pass a point of no return. Food you previously enjoyed starts tasting too sweet and garbagy, and the only reason you might go back on sugar is because you remember it as a comfort food (and thus re-addict yourself if you get miserable).

It's worth doing!

This guy is spot on. Your body builds up a tolerance for sugar. Artificial sweeteners are considered 500%+ more sweet than regular sugar but taste normal for most people. Cutting cold turkey is tough but you'll find it resets how sweet your body thinks most foods are. Take this guys advice and eat lots of fats. They'll fill you up and you'll realize that you're not actually hungry you're just craving.

Excessive sugar also causes inflammation, increased water retention, decreased insulin effectiveness and so many more health problems.

One further mention, as I have found this helpful in my own transition... if you absolutely CAN'T give up the sweet stuff, switch to honey and maple syrup as your sweeteners. I don't know the specific details of why, but they won't have the same profound nasty effect of the same (or even less!) quantity of cane sugar.

Stevia is a good sugar replacement if you have to give in to a sugar craving. You can make some delicious fat bombs with stevia, cacoa, peanut butter, and coconut oil.

The guy above you mentions honey and maple syrup and you rebuttal with stevia? Thats certainly inferior to the former two

Okay.

Yes, but I'm not sure why. I think that i has to do with not being heavily processed and retaining some benefits of it's original form. Not sure the truth behind it, but local honey is thought to reduce allergy symptoms by exposing you to local pollen in a less overwhelming form similar to immunotherapy. Honey has also been used as a medicine for it's antibacterial properties as far back as ancient Egypt.

I'd more chalk this up to processed sugars being that much worse for you than natural sugars (i.e. fruits and honey, which still should be consumed in some moderation). Perhaps the hormonal effects are different. It warrants further research.

Honey and Maple syrup have roughly double the glycemic index as fructose, which is still less than half that of maltodextrin. Could be that relative to modern engineered sweetener it's not as harmful.

From what I personally know and could find, sucrose (white sugar) is bad for you due to it exclusively raising your blood sugar with really no benefits. Honey and maple syrup however both are beneficial.

Maple syrup has a higher mineral count and lower sodium than honey, however honey has vitamins whereas maple does not.

I apologize if I'm repeating what anyone has said, I just wanted to share my small insight on this subject.

Totally I'm always tired, feeling bloated and unhealthy in general. I won't consume any meat or eggs or milk but I will try switching my sweets to fruits or something better. I'll start now and let you know how I feel Mon! Thanks for the motivation!

Totally I'm always tired, feeling bloated and unhealthy in general.

I won't consume any meat or eggs or milk

These might be related ... If you still want to stay vegan be sure you're getting enough protein and good fats which is what you're missing out on with meat/dairy. Fat and protein are both necessary for proper hormone production. Still try to limit carbs and switch what carbs you do eat from sugary and processed to non-processed/slow digesting sources. High fiber > starches > whole grain (if you have to). In terms of fat and protein, nuts and avocados are great.

Great info, thank you :) (not the person you originally replied to but im having a similar experince quitting sugar)

Thank you! You have motivated me to challenge myself to go off of processed sugar. Again. I've done it before and it's hard as hell. Actually, my diet used to be clean and healthy for quite a while, but I've fallen off the wagon these past couple of months. I'm craving for sugar like a madman and I can feel the difference in my body - it feels so bad. And yet I crave for more sugar. The addiction is real.

Just six days! Work to get through those! After that it's steady improvement, and DO!!!! NOT!!!! forget the fat! (And I said elsewhere, if it becomes impossible, try using maple syrup and honey exclusively as your sweeteners-- it will extend your time to get off sugar completely, but it's a helluva lot better than not getting there at all). If you do take honey or maple be sure to cut them with a lot of fat too!

BTW, each time you fall off the wagon, it gets a little easier to get back on. I'm at a point right now where even during the Christmas season (when I almost always fall off just because we end up swimming in candy) I don't fall "too" far and can get back on afterwards with minimum withdrawal.

Once you clean up your gut, it DOES take time to recolonize, and I don't know if this is actually true, but I THINK the withdrawal cravings (and certainly the painful parts) are driven by the bacteria. So the less there are, the easier cleaning up is.

There is a diet soda alternative called Zevia, which is Stevia sweetened and didn't have caramel coloring or the other chemicals you often find in typical sodas. It's definitely more expensive, but they offer a wide range of flavor and you can often find it "on sale" for 3.99/6-pk. Again it's still pretty pricey, but it's an excellent alternative if you still crave soda. Also, for me, I don't drink coffee so it's how I get my caffeine and my carbonation. Thanks for the excellent post!

Personally, I disagree with the diet soda suggestion. Studies have shown that people who drink diet soda have more and greater cravings for sugar and fat, and become acclimated to artificial sweeteners' much sweeter flavor profile, making it less likely that they reduce their sugar consumption.

That said, if you're going to use an artificial sweetener xylitol seems the best choice.

Favourite tea is tiegyanyin, Iron Buddha.

I love green tea too like longjing . Local Asian market sells them, not too expensive.

Well, you can try to cut back on sugar like a smoker can cut back on cigarettes, but it will just be a struggle. You really kind if got to go cold turkey, at least at first, and get through the withdrawal stage which takes 3-5 days. Those first days are really hard, but the cravings subside, and once you start waking up feeling great it's easier to stay motivated.

Practice self control. If you can't stop yourself from getting a soda, make yourself wait 5 minutes before drinking it. Keep increasing the time you have to wait until you can get another sugar hit. It will get easier.

There is a strain of thought among some ketogenics that just adding good fat alone will improve your diet. You’ll end up with less cravings for sugar, they smooth out insulin spikes from sugar and natural fats basically cannot ever become human fat. I never gave it much thought. But now I basically don’t exercise and never calorie count and eat some sugar or starches here and there, but I’m keeping the weight off by prioritizing high fat foods. Even though my sleep schedule is messed up (a bigger cause of obesity) and I eat when I’m not hungry all the time, it’s mostly high fat foods and I’m not putting weight on.

GL

This and many other things.

I went to public high school and graduated in 2011. Now that I'm older and more aware, I'm fucking appalled by the kind of "food" they were serving and I was eating in the school cafeterias starting from elementary school. Kids don't know any better, their fucking parents should and so should the school board.

Michelle Obama wanted to fix that, even if she didn't get far.

It's the same food that is served to inmates in prison. (same company(s) for the most part.)

That's crazy. A company that specializes in feeding a large number of people feeds a variety of large numbers of people.

woo officious sarcasm has a positive effect on discussion

Fuck off.

I'v worked in a fairly upscale restaurant that did catering on the side. We've done events for 600+ people and served fairly complex dishes. Putting out good for large groups of people is not impossible but requires a lot of prep time and skill.

I think for public schools it mainly comes down to what is the cheapest option due to budget constraints. To put out good food on that level requires a lot of work (payroll) and quality ingredients (fresh, unprocessed which will go bad if you don't plan accordingly). If you're just heating frozen prepared meals up that cuts down your payroll cost significantly (less hands required, and less time needed for prep/ cooks get paid less due to not requiring skill - though some cafeterias do pay pretty well) and is generally cheaper than the ingredients required to prepare that same meal fresh. Not to mention you can buy larger quantities (if you have the freezer space) and generally get a lower price as well. It comes down to school lunches having to be affordable. Most school lunches cost the student less than $5 and to break even on that with fresh ingredients and a higher payroll would be a very difficult task. I think we should look to France or Japan as a model to base our school lunch system on.

This guy gets it. Middle America is in a war against its own interests as a continually claims to demand better Public Services wild bitching about every tax they've ever seen.

That makes sense to me. Public schools are really just prisons to hold children while their wage slave parents are at work. Neither prisons nor public schools are about helping anyone become better people or something, they're about hiding undesirables like unemployed children or people with drug problems.

It's a really shity interpretation of what Public Schools do. They also serve as Community hubs and provide very valuable exposure to children.

Did my music teacher give me any skills pertinent to my life choices? No, probably not, but I still remember her singing lessons and it's provided me with an increased appreciation of musical Talent for the past 20 years

We got a couple of healthy/"smart" vending machines at school but that shit was too expensive to eat every day. A school lunch cost $2.50, and a decent bag of chips (half-full) was fucking $1.50

A healthful vending machine has always sounded like an oxymoron to me. I realize that some preservatives are perfectly safe, but I'm still not interested in that "fresh" salad from two weeks ago.

No. Under her watch the companies presented lower calorie versions of their packaged foods to her. These had higher sugar, but lower fat. Therefore lower calorie. She didn’t see how sugar was the issue. She thought calories were.

One of the biggest problems/complaints with her efforts was that kids weren't eating the healthier food, so they tried to find a balance.

Personally, I don't see why that was a legitimate complaint or acknowledged at all. Of fucking course that 12 year old doesn't want to eat steamed broccoli. That know-nothing kid had a sugar coated fat bar for breakfast and his dinner was deep fat fried potatoes with salt and a side of sugar water.

I grew up on cookies and chips as it was. I had to learn healthy eating later in life because as a kid I had no choice, and most kids don't as you stated. If the companies had added more sugar to the same carb-based foods, they are making things worse than they already are.

I am unhappy about this even though I personally don't eat these things.

The box doesn't say "now with MORE sugar". The box says "now healthier", but it isn't. That's the problem. We downgraded.

The scummy packaged food companies used a typical consumer trick on Mrs. Obama and it worked. She's a smart woman, but not the type of women that's going to measure macro ratios and labratory test this food. A for effort. F for results. The companies must have been so happy to deal with her instead of an actual nutrition scientist.

its even worse in hospitals...... go figure.

Seriously, when I was in the hospital after my child was born I was offered two cups of juice for breakfast and a soda with every meal. I was also given dessert with lunch and dinner. I'm sure that helped me recover faster /s

I don’t know man, I’d kinda hope that those recovering from injury or surgery are offered some sweets, since they’re in a rough state. The sugar intake in schools, though, that’s fucked up.

That mindset, that cheap sugary food is a reward, is why people are fat.

Nah dude, it's the mindset that cheap sugary food is a regular component or even the sole component of meals, such as sugary cereal for breakfast and ketchup with fries for lunch. Sugary things as a desert can be better enjoyed in moderation.

No its people who have no self control. Numerous people in this thread have shared how they lost weight by having self control

there are situations where sugar does help. If you lost blood they give juice to help prevent hypoglycemia.

I work in the hospital. As long as you don’t have COPD/ diabetes / heart failure ect. you can choose whatever meal you want. You could choose a salad or grilled chicken. Don’t act like they made you order that.

Not all hospitals have disgusting food, but I've seen some bad ones. source: I work in healthcare.

here in the uk its embarrassing. its as far from healing food as you can get.

people have started selling fruit in the reception area, as there was none on site... and it was only a few years ago they had burger kings in hospitals - i kid you not. lol they still have things like costa coffee. SMH

I know a lot of small rural hospitals here in the US that have terrible cafeterias, but a lot of the larger ones in more urban areas actually have salad bars. There was this one hospital in Florida that I did some of my clinical rotation at that was nestled in a rural county that had one of the best hospital cafeteria's I have ever seen. It was AMAZING. Even the breakfast food was great.

That is what happens when school lunches are left to third parties. They want to make it as cheap as possible and still keep the kids happy, so unhealthy food full of refined sugar. The war on fat hasn't helped either, so companies started replacing fat with sugar which is way worse.

A simple solution is for parents to start making their own lunches for their children. It is really common in Europe, to the point where a lot of schools don't even offer lunches any more. Throughout elementary and middle school my parents would make me healthy whole grain sandwiches with turkey, ham or cheese every day. In high school I would make my own. It only took them 5 minutes per day and I will do the same for my children.

Also interesting to notice in countries where children are addicted to simple sugars, there are much more mental health issues.

Schools in my area won't allow students to bring their own lunch, they say it's to protect the kids with food allergies.....

Hello fellow ‘11 graduate! I went on to college and studied Public Health and did a thesis on how capitalism and greed have doomed our generation to a shorter lifespan than our parents thanks to diabetes and other various health ailments in the name of profits and cutting corners.

Our government fucked us. The ideologies our forefathers had are all but gone. Profit is the bottom line.

Good luck finding alternative foods, monopolies have seen to that y’all don’t get an option.

It radicalized me and I encourage all Redditors to research and advocate others do the same!!

in high school i had bacon double cheeseburgers every damn day pretty much. no wonder i was a little fatty, needless to say i now have cholesterol issues

Man, I'm going against the grain here, but public schools around me tend to serve much better food than what y'all are talking about, and it's an extremely impoverished district. Kids get chicken biscuits, sausage and eggs, fresh fruit, etc. for breakfast every day, alongside natural fruit juice. They drink milk too (milk lobby is a pretty huge deal, every kid had to drink milk!), but the produce is second to none.

Thank you, OP.

I've been saying stuff like this on this sub for a couple weeks now.

I also had a life-changing experience with sugar. Im not overweight and never have been, have a metabolism and activity level that allows me to eat basically anything and never get fat.

But about 5 years ago, a coworker told me to "watch out" When he saw me eating a bag of Skittles, as I often ate candy late at night while we were working. I asked him what he meant and he said, "try going one week with zero added sugar". I absolutely thought he was crazy and that I would have no problems with it.

First thing I noticed is that actually finding products in the store that don't have added sugar (or an alternative, or enriched wheat flour) is really hard. The ones without added sugar tend to be the most expensive.

Next thing i noticed is that I was craving sugar within 24 hours like a crack fiend.

Eliminating that shit from my diet has been amazing. My 3 year old son gets virtually no added sugar either and he's a picture of health.

Last thing I'd like to say is that I've been making comments about sugar/obesity epidemic/lobbyists in context to all the gun control threads.

We have "conspiracy theorists" on this sub who are losing their shit over the idea that 15k people get shot to death in the US each year... the NRA is the devil...

Yet they don't give a shit that the food and beverage lobby, the healthcare lobby, and pharmaceutical lobbies are all spend more lobbying than the gun rights lobby, have more "revolvers", or former politicians turned private lobbyists, than the gun lobby, and that we have an estimated 678,000 preventable deaths due to nutrition and obesity related illnesses.

It blows my fucking mind and looks badly like astroturfing to me.

This should be on the front page but people do not want to accept this...I was 366lb..I cut sugar from my diet completely and have lost 100lb so far and feel amazing. I didn't do some diet..I just cut the sugar and everything else fell right into place. Portion sizes decreased and I no longer had the intense food cravings I've had my whole life.. especially for sugar and refined carbohydrates. I can easily control myself now and I'm disgusted at the amount of food I was capable of consuming. I consider sugar a drug as the first week I had "withdrawal symptoms"..headache, irritability and feeling lethargic..but the day that passes I felt great and it's just gotten better over the past year. This is just my experience.. everyone is different... anyway... Fuck sugar.

Congratulations on giving up sugar and your weight loss!

Thanks!

Keto Flu is real, and it's the withdrawal from sugar that causes it.

That is completely false. People experience the Keto Flu because of imbalanced electrolytes, not sugar withdrawal. It's 100% avoidable.

While this is the acceptable reason, I respectfully disagree.

I have not been able to find a single scientific study that relates keto flu to electrolyte imbalance, and they're all just bro-science diet websites that encourage the use of salt and sodium intake.

While this is the acceptable reason, I respectfully disagree.

What?

Sorry, that was my mistake. Should've said "accepted". Have edited it.

Basically, everyone thinks that this is the case, because people started saying it, and it just became the reasoning for it, but I haven't found any real proof that it's the case.

Lol bullshit

Do you eat potatoes? Like you cut all carb heavy / starchy foods?

Starchy food like potatoes, bread, pasta are metabolized into sugar and have to go as well.

No potatoes?? Fuck, I switched from white rice as my main carb to potatoes because I thought it was less sugary. What do you eat for you carbs? Brown rice?

Spinach, avocado, broccoli, Brussels sprouts

I cut a ton of carbs out also...I try to fill the void with veggies I like...bacon and Brussels, cauliflower in place of rice (Walmart sells frozen bags of riced cauliflower that have saved my fat ass) season the same way you would your potatoes and enjoy.

Try sweet potatoes as the next level of cut! Seriously, once you are done with that stuff, the "oh crap, I need that" voice goes away.

Berries

Everything you eat is turned into sugar.. excluding things like iron in your foods, etc. Do people not know how the body works?

It's how they're turned into sugar and what kind of sugar. Starchy/refined carbs get turned into glucose pretty much immediately and are quickly used up by your body. They spike your blood sugar levels and result in insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome over time. It's why you get addicted - it's an easy, readily available source of glucose for your body, and after the sugar high fades, you need another hit.

much different than processed sugars though

I did cut out the potatoes... especially russets..I have a small amount of red Bliss or Yukon gold... something less starchy..but in very limited amounts. I managed to replace the mashed potato cravings with riced cauliflower (I know..sounds gross) seasoned just like mashed potatoes...

I've found plenty of replacements for things I used to abuse. My only complaint is I still can't get a good low carb pizza dough...and pancakes can be a problem...

Ok good to know and thank you for sharing! I’ve found sometimes the substitutes make me want the real thing more than actually satisfy the craving.

This can definitely happen...good luck! Just start with cutting the refined sugar out..that was my immediate goal..the other things like cutting out the carbs, watching my portion sizes and getting more veggies just happened naturally as I lost some weight...I have a way to go but it's allowed me to change my entire life style and get control over something that had control over me for 40 years.

100% agree with the gun thing. 30,000 deaths from guns, half of which are suicides.

Over half a million from food related deaths. All of which are preventable.

People trying to take away your 2nd amendment will be coming for your 1st amendment and all the rest. History has shown time and time again.

It's a form of population control that people are unwilling to admit. Let alone are aware of. With sugar, it's easy. At least people enjoy eating themselves to death...until they get close to the end, that is. I'm*** not*** an advocate for population control by any means. But can you imagine how many more people would be on earth if it weren't for cancer or sugar induced/obesity-related diseases?

I wish our society wasn't so fucked up and backasswards. Earth could support 15 billion people no problem if we allocated natural resources appropriately. Or used a form of clean/free energy to support the needs of that many people. Instead, we live in a fucked up world where the Elite purposely attempt to delete as many people from earth (subtly and directly) to slow the natural growth of population.

I did the same and your right the weight just falls off, I tell everyone who goes on about losing weight that it's so easy just cut out sugar and high carbs, they look at you like an alien, we've been conditioned to think weight loss is a tough 6-12 month process (for none obese people anyway).

The thing I struggled with wasn't really chocolate and soda, I switched to purely water a few years ago and can probably count on 2 hands the amount of sodas I drink in a year (unless I'm getting drunk which isn't often). It's finding convenience foods that aren't white bread or pasta, even eating pasta everyday puts weight on you. I've resorted to eating olives and tinned fish for lunch haha.

One thing I do though is keep one day a week where I let myself eat garbage. Every Sunday I put my feet up with a bag of chocolate, chips, ice cream and a dominoes pizza!

Started as a nice anecdote, ended as a political agenda. Like the sugar lobby is as powerful as the gun lobby. lmao

Then entire "gun control" movement is a political agenda.

Diet and obesity kills 50 times more annually than guns in the US. 50 times. So I guess if you can't see the problem there, that makes you an idiot × 50.

Like the sugar lobby is as powerful as the gun lobby. lmao

Food and beverage:

https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=N01

2017- $28.3 million in lobbying, 69.7 % revolvers

Gun rights lobby-

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/lobbying.php?cycle=2018&ind=Q13

2017- $10.1 million in lobbying, 54.2% revolvers

I realize that actual data and numbers are probably meaningless to guy who literally can't discern a difference between 678,000 vs 15,000

And there we are - the highjacking of a thread about nutrition to talk about gun control. There is your psyops campaign reddit.

From your same website. Sugar lobby: 1 million dollars. So about 10% of the gun lobby.

https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000029610&year=2017

Nice try.

Lol. Industry: crop production and processing

The sugar lobby is the people who grow sugarcane

The food and beverage industry are the people putting it into... You guessed it... food and beverages.

You know, coca cola, et al? The industry that has literally lied to consumers about sugar for decades and has conspired to suppress studies on sugar. The sugar crop industrydidn't do that. It was the food and beverage industry.

Dude you're really knocking these opportunities to make yourself look stupid out of the park. What else you got?

It’s almost like dry sugar is made from processed sugarcane. 😂

I’ve been on this site too long to be judged by posters on /r/conspiracy rn.

I've been on Reddit way longer than you so if we are employing that fallacy, I'm superior to you, you and.

Btw, before this conversation you made 4 comments total to this sub on 6 years. You're here in bad faith to push propoganda and fearmonger about guns, plain and simple.

I like that you've changed your argument, rather than just admitting you were wrong. Really mature, big guy.

The gun lobby spends a lot of money. Not even fucking close to the food and beverage giants like coke and nestle... those two companies alone outspent the gun rights lobby in 2017. These are the companies who put the sugar into their products.

Thanks for making this sub a worse place by trying to ignore and downplay actual conspiracies that result in 670,000 deaths per year, while pushing politically divisive propoganda about guns.

Have fun with your little fringe issue, but probably best not to outright lie about it in the future and make yourself look like a paid astroturfer.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/10/27/451950106/in-soda-politics-big-soda-at-crossroads-of-profit-and-public-health

Also, yes, it literally was big sugar who mislead consumers 50 years ago

Other research efforts by major dietary-sugar corporate interests -- soft drinks and candy—similarly have been found to be considerably more likely for instance to "find no link between sugary drinks and weight gain" *according to a 2015 report in the New York Times.[4] This earlier New York Times report also noted that *"a review of beverage studies, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, found that those funded by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, the American Beverage Association and the sugar industry were five times more likely to find no link between sugary drinks and weight gain than studies whose authors reported no financial conflicts."[4][5]

• From The SA wiki

http://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(16)30331-2/fulltext

Results From 2011 to 2015, the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo were found to sponsor a total of 95 national health organizations, including many medical and public health institutions whose specific missions include fighting the obesity epidemic. During the study period, these two soda companies lobbied against 29 public health bills intended to reduce soda consumption or improve nutrition

http://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/2635017/do-sugar-sweetened-beverages-cause-obesity-diabetes?doi=10.7326%2fL17-0188

She also disclosed that her research funding for the past 5 years included grants from Tate & Lyle (a company that manufactures sugar-based food and beverage ingredients), Nestlé Health Sciences, and the International Life Sciences Institute (an industry trade group that funds nutritional science, whose members include Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and the Dr Pepper Snapple Group)

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057%2Fs41271-017-0095-7

We describe the findings of an analysis of correspondence between representatives of a major soft drinks company and scientists researching childhood obesity. Although the studies report no influence by the funder, the correspondence describes detailed exchanges on the study design, presentation of results and acknowledgement of funding.

I know that this is probably a fruitless exercise since you're not here out of concern about conpiracies, but rather to push your political agenda and generate fear about guns. I expect nothing but more deflection, goalpost moving, and apologetics for the food and beverage industry.

You should really be apologizing for being a disingenuous liar, but I know you're too mature for that

“I’ve been on Reddit way longer than you so if we are employing that fallacy, I'm superior to you, you and.”

You are definitely superior. Good job bud.

Soros pays me the big bucks

If you are indeed astroturfing, its more likely someone like coke pays you the big bucks through an organisation such as this:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Energy_Balance_Network

It has been characterised as an astroturfing[2] organisation. It received substantial funding from Coca-Cola.[3][4]

As far as I know, Soros isn't involved with the food and beverage industry.

Nice rebuttal, btw. Shows how full of crap your argument was to begin with. Now go enjoy the feeling of being wrong, today.

Non-Mobile link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Energy_Balance_Network

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I’ll go enjoy the taste of this Pepsi - the choice of a generation.

Sorry the attempt to attack my comment with your gun control agenda didn't work out so well.

Please point out where I advocated for gun control in this thread.

We both know why you are in this thread

Please point out where I advocated for gun control. Quote me.

We know why you're here.

Quote where I said Soros pays you! Lol

Ultimately what you are doing is classic /r/conspiracy - do a drive by on a unrelated political topic, get called out, become inflammatory and pretend your opponent is making a stance he didn’t actually make. Oh, then call him a shill. That’s a bingo.

classic /r/conspiracy

Dude, stop pretending like you're a regular here or know anything about this sub. 6 comments in 6 years, and now you're here talking about "classic conspiracy". Give me a break. How do you expect anyone to look at that and not think astrotrufing?

do a drive by on a unrelated political topic,

You're not making sense. I make comments about the 15,000 deaths vs 670,000 deaths frequently on this sub, ever since we started getting innundated with gun control propoganda.

get called out

Called out? You just limp-wristedly asserted I was pushing a political agenda. Then, when I called out on that statement and engaged with data in order to open a discussion, you immediately started deflecting, lying and backpedaling.

pretend your opponent is making a stance he didn’t actually make

You pretended I was saying something about George Soros, right? Classic conspiracy.

Oh, then call him a shill

I didn't call you a shill, I just pointed out that you're engaging in astroturfing techniques. Obviously, people can make of that what they will.

Keep doubling down!

Keep spitting out canned lines.

Everything I've said in this conversation is true and 100% backed up by sources and data that I've provided.

You've provided nothing to weaken my argument. The few angles you attempted I refuted immediately and you've just resorted to canned lines rather than injecting your comments with any form of argument.

Good luck w the diet, bro

Good luck w the diet, bro

What are you even talking about baha

Case in point ^

Keep fighting the good fight, m’sir.

Your music will get there someday, champ

Eyyy its just a fun hobby but at least im not a single dad

You've said youre 26-27 and still trying to make it. Not gonna happen, guy. At least I get to do what I love to do and get paid for it.

By the way, my son is the coolest dude I know and it says a lot about you that you feel that's some kind of insult. This entire thread is proof of how little self awareness you have.

At least I get to do what I love to do and get paid for it. Guess I'm just more talented and driven.

Post some of your original work then. Or are you one of those sound guys that pretends he's hot shit because someone let him throw some foley samples over a video?

I never said your kid wasn't cool. I said specifically I'd rather be working actively on a hobby than being an angry single father who rants on /r/conspiracy and /r/mgtow all day long.

Post some of your original work then

Why would I do that? You've shown how dishonest you are in this thread repeatedly as well as shown distain for my status as a single dad... why would I doxx myself to a guy like you?

but I'd rather be working actively on a hobby than being an angry single father who rants on /r/conspiracy and /r/mgtow all day long.

I work on music related stuff every single day. And get paid to do it. How's that for a hobby?

Here's more of that data you're allergic to:

In the last month you've made roughly 400 comments to reddit. I've made about 175. Are you even employed, dude? Be honest.

Btw you forgot that I also do shit like transcribe music and give explanations of production concepts for people on here. Must be frustrating for you to have left that out.

I work on music related stuff every single day. And get paid to do it. How's that for a hobby?

Sound guy confirmed.

Should be a huge sugar tax, just as there is a huge tax on cigarettes and alcohol, to help pay for the health impact on the public.

Or at least just remove the subsidies.

Consumption taxes don't work.i think making packages smaller is better

Consumption taxes are useful and that they raise funds that can be used to then fuel campaigns against the target item. They effect a specific demographic so not everyone flips their fucking tits at the idea of a new tax.

I agree, but almost everyone eats sugar so almost everyone would be in uproar about this.

Consumption tax fits perfectly for sugar though. The more people consume it, the more negatives we see through increased healthcare costs. It also would make less sugary foods relatively more affordable or appealing to consumers.

I reckon it would come down to how much it is and where the tax is. If it straight up doubles a bag of consumer sugar then people gonna bitch. I honestly hadn't thought about sugar and home baking and things like that. I was thinking more like a tax on buying 500 gallons of corn syrup

Huh, interesting, I was thinking more of a tax on goods with added sugar like soda and candy, but any of those is a good start.

Hasn't New York City experimented with some stuff like this and sodas? I know they had some dumb ban on the size of sodas

This is what I have never understood. I remember some quit smoking group coming into my work one week and they did a presentation on how smoking was bad, yes this was a workplace not school. Then these morons went from "smoking causes cancer" to eating beef at dinner. So one is ok so long as it tastes nice?

I am not american ,but I've travelled there many times. Your food always make me feel tired and sick. Last time I ended up throwing up food for 2 days, I felt so sick. I had enough and I went straight to walmart to buy many prepared salads and water. The rest of the week I felt a lot better

I am not Americano either, i was in nyc recently, there is/was suger in everything, even have to be cafefull buying bottled water as some brands are sweet flavoured water? even the bread was sweet? i had hotdogs from a little push along thing the bread the sauce even the hot dog sausage was sweet, i loved new York but the food was fuckin gross.

New York has some of the best restaurants in the entire world. Eating from hot dog stands and convenience stores doesn’t count.

I travel alot, for me the best (and cheapest) way of experiencing the real culture of a place is through its food, not the high end restaurants, but the places that the local people eat localised delicasies, how would i have found out about the all you can eat lobster buffet or the 5pound sloppy joe burger, if i was at a restaurant eating same old steak or what ever, maybe just me.

bwhahahah as if your country has better food than NYC

It has far less sugar that's for sure

Come on now, you can’t eat at a hot dog cart and expect quality food. You’re going to get shit food at a food stand in most major cities in the world - NYC, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Bangkok, you name it.

I was not expecting Michelin star cuisine, was commenting on the added sugar in everythin

So your response was to buy boxed, prepared trash from Walmart? Great choice there, chief.

It was just lettuce, tomatoes, and carrot. What was the best option? I was staying at a hotel with no kitchen.

Walmart produce is extremely messed with. And I'm not talking "THEY PUT GMOS IN MY SALAD", I'm talking poorly treated and transported. Excessive pesticides. Low nutritional value. Etc

I have family that moved to the states. Even after a few years of living here, they still complain that everything tastes sweet. I always thought they were making it up, but now it makes sense.

Fight back, people. I cut out sugars last year and I’ve dropped 80lbs. It fucking sucks, but you get used to the routine. You feel like a different species. The brain fog is slowly dissipating and I feel better now than I have in my entire long.

I caught on to this at 23, so I tackled this early before any long lasting health effects started to implement themselves.

I am battling really hard with the sugar addiction right now I want to stop eating sugar so bad and I find I slip up about every other day. I've done pretty good today but I have such a bad headache right now and I want to go down to the kitchen and find something sweet which there isn't much of thank God because I have stopped buying ready-made desserts, ice cream etc. I'm hoping I can get stronger with fighting it off but right now it's a huge all-consuming fight.

You got this fam.

When I broke my sugar addiction I had to quit cold turkey, but I quit everything that my body metabolized as sugar. Starchy foods like corn, potatoes, cut all fruits, juices, and all sweeteners. Sucked ass but the cravings subsided in less than a week.

/r/keto has some good resources on mitigating the effects of this. They call it the keto flu. The gist is drink more water and keep electrolytes up.

This is the #1 issue facing our country, it's my life mission to solve it. Send me a message we should keep in touch.

I have young nephews who are very overweight. All they want to do is eat garbage. It breaks my heart. I appreciate your passion into helping solve this issue and I'm going to try to educate them on eating better foods and exercising.

Not trying to be a dick, but you really need to tell their parents to nip that habit in the bud while they're young or risk having really unhealthy adult children.

No worries at all. I completely agree. We've tried talking to them. We'll keep harping on them.

I feel the same exact way.

When I look back at my childhood in the 90’s so many horrible kid snacks came out. Gushers, fruit by the foot, Dunkaroos, laffy taffy, air heads, squeeze pop which was just flavored corn syrup in a tube. It’s totally true and I have problems giving up sugar as well.

Do you think it may be worst for our parents? Like maybe we are more immune to it because we "evolved" with it, while our parents may of been older when they started cramming in the sugars?

Fucking pixie stix, which were literally just flavored sugar.

I'm no doubt a sugar addict.

For real that school pizza sauce was way hella sweet. I felt defeated once our elementary school switched out Uno pizzas to the shit they served every year forward.

You guys got Uno's? That's pretty dope. Although, let's be honest, it's not like they're the bastion of healthy eating either.

For two years from what I remember. Grade 1-2.

But yeah I mean pizza is pizza but it certainly tasted less like animal feed and was probably less processed to a degree (still, it's a frozen reheatable pizza)

I saw a low carb sign at a Carl Jr's on a meal, what year is it 2050?!?

Same problem as the drug companies, they just have to much $$ & control everything.

Yeah sugar is nasty and insidious and like a drug, if you abstain for just a few days, you won't even miss it anymore.

They should ban cartoon imagary/bright colors in all adverts for candy and other rot food.

Good post.

America isn’t the most obese country in the world anymore though, may want to edit that.

Who is the most obese now?

Per Capita as of 2017, Cook Islands are leading with about 50% of their adult population being obese.

The United States is a little over 1/3 which is still disgusting, though.

I actually went cold turkey with regards to refined sugar for 6 months in August 2016, when I learned about keto. This included not eating bread. The feeling is definitely strange and it's not easy to get used to it. I lost about 9 kg within a month, which I guess is the water weight retained for processing carbs. Then I visited my aunt, who made me spaghetti, I couldn't refuse and got all that weight back within 2 days.

People don't realize how ubiquitous sugar (carbs) really is, it's literally everywhere, it's compact, easy to cook, eat, transport and store. You simply can't get off of it but you can balance it out with healthy, satiating stuff so you don't have cravings.

If you go keto, you need to increase salt intake. Check out the book, "The Salt Fix", which goes into all the lies we have been told about salt. Honestly, it deserves its own r/conspiracy post. 🤔

Yes x1000000 to the book and more salt!

Make one and I'd like to read it. The research I've done when writing on diet has shown me that we're ingesting suicidal levels of sodium but I'm always willing to listen to other sides of the argument.

https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/

That sub is great for weight loss!

However, if you just want to maintain your weight or even gain weight, then keto might be a little too much for you. Carbs are generally fine. For example, oats, rice, noodles and bread without any added sugar are totally fine to eat.

Bread and pasta have insane amounts of sugar in them. Check out Fathead.

OP is talking about refined sugars, which are very different then carbs. Carbs are what the body breaks down into glucose and uses for energy. Carbs . The keto diet is a low carb diet. Carbs are not just sugars. Carb heavy items that do not have much sugar includes potatoes, bread, pasta, and soooo much more. These have little to no sugar, but a ton of carbs. So essentially what I’m saying is the keto diet doesn’t just cut out sugar its cuts out most carb heavy items as a whole.

No I listed Fathead because part of that movie has a comparison of the amounts of sugar in breads, pastas, etc (sugar being what the wheat breaks down into, like how if you chew a cracker long enough it gets sweet).

To properly break the sugar chain (which involves killing off your bad gut bacteria that colonized you because you were a high sugar environment) you really need to cut out that stuff and just get your carbs from vegetables or sweet potatoes.

Agreed, keto is awesome for weight loss and a necessary reset for many people who have been binge eating sugar for most of their life. Ultimately it should be a gateway to to getting to a normal weight then transitioning to eating better whole and less sugary foods.

There are exactly ZERO essential carbohydrates.

While cycling in and out of ketosis is fine for people with a healthy body weight, eating a "healthy" food pyramid diet isn't optimized nutrition.

Our ancient ancestors would not have had access to the sugary results of selectively bred fruit ("wild" varieties having little resemblance to domesticated kinds), and would not have had milled grain.

People railing against refined sugar but who encourage high carb eating are wasting people's time.

Well, I am just saying that keto is great for losing weight, but it's just not for everyone who wants to maintain or even gain weight.

This is because:

1) food like meat, fish, nuts etc. is very expensive (at least it is in Europe; I think in the US meat is significantly cheaper) and because of

2) health reasons. I did keto for about 10 days and during that time, I got sincere concentration problems and I experienced migraine with aura 2 times, although I took additional potassium. If your keto simply cannot work while doing keto, I don't think you should keep trying to force it.

Whole milk and eggs

mercury is also in HFCS

https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1476-069X-8-2?site=ehjournal.biomedcentral.com

The same can be said about porn,porn addiction and how promiscuity was pushed into society.They push these things to control us.Food/sugar addicted people are very docile

Porno-sec in 1984. Kept the proles docile, along with gambling and sports.

If Orwell had only published his book 10-15 years later, he would certainly have added cheap food and asinine television as methods of control.

Porn, I'll buy. But promiscuity? People have been having sex forever. Cheating, affairs, etc. all happened, just under closed doors because of religion, which is no more real than the story of Peter Rabbit. If anything, I'll argue that the opening of the sexual marketplace is undoing the genetic inferiority created when lesser men were allowed to reproduce because of religious constraints on procreation.

I had a professor back in freshman year of college that was 60 years old but barely even looked 40. It was crazy. She said her secret was that she gave up sugar and high carb foods a long time ago

Same with a lot of things tbh

When corporations and big businesses started taking over, everything became about profits.

Why do you think that any time someone mentions anything about looking at gun control (suggesting that all guns be nationally registered for example), it's instantly reframed as "ban all guns", when that's not what was suggested.

Then people panic buy and sales spike, society be damned.

Watch the documentary called: "Sugar Coated"

Thanks for the recommendation

You're very welcome!

And also cheese don't forget the cheese of and milk. They straight up for us hooked. I heard the gov is helping dairy from going bankrupt or something recently

I was dating this vegan girl and I went vegetarian cold Turkey. Never craved meat, I did it for an entire year with no problems. I cannot for the lift of me give up soda I've tried many a time and each time ends the same. One month two months back to soda. Sugar is addictive.

I can totally get behind this. Refined sugar is one of the most insidious and powerful substances on the planet.

I used to be a complete addict. Used to drink more then 6 0.5l pepsies or coke every day, or 3 litres of any juices (that too contain sugar and are not actually healthy for you at all). And ate chocolate like crazy. No water in months.

When I got to 100 kg, I decided its time to put an end to this, and boy, turns out that withdrawal from sugar is a real bitch. I was literally dying every day for a month. My body and my mind craved it more than anything else. Hands were shaking, I was sleepy and depressed all the time, my brain just didn't know how to live it with out at first. It took me many tries and fails until I've stopped drinking it completely.

After that I finally understood the importance of water. It doesn't have a taste. It doesn't give you callories. It's the only thing that is not food. I am still losing weight, already lost 10 kgs in two month, going to gym soon (I literally couldn't go before, I simply had no power to actually lift anything or run while my brain was still being accustomed to life without sugar). Gotta say, even now, every time I see Pepsi, Coke or Ice tea, I still dream of drinking it, just like in that fucking commercial. It's really deep in your brain.

Try going 3 days without sugar (carbs included) and you will go through serious withdrawals: headaches, flu like symptoms, chills, etc etc...

Bravo, OP! Much applause for this post. And extremely true. The mass addiction comes from overgrowth of Candida in our bodies, which feed on sugar. Candida and its effects are major causes of a lot of the food-related diseases we see growing today.

And it was all so that major commercial food manufacturers could substitute fat for sugar to increase "flavor".

I've been trying to get back on AIP for a second time for the past couple months after taking a break in November, and I have to admit, the cravings and addiction are worse this timr around than they were when I was going AIP the first time, and Ive broken it many times. Trying to force myself cold turkey.

Idk I ate a fair share of sugar most of my life but have had no problem eating exclusively low-sugar foods like vegetables, legumes, and meat for a while.

I do think I have some minor form of what might be called "addiction", since I do sometimes crave sugar, but it's not what I'd call a big deal.

I’ve recently moved to Italy for a little while to be with my father during his deployment and I’ve also forcibly removed sugars, I’m at 186 now but was at 250. You’re right and honestly there needs to be a push to remove processed sugars and other hellish products woven into American society

And if anyone needs or wants to use occasional sugar, use only Raw Turbinado Cane Sugar, and wean off sugar from that.

Do NOT use white granulated sugar. Around 80% of white sugar, granulated or powdered, comes from heav-gmo sugarbeets, and these heavily-modified sugarbeets have been tied to various different kinds of cancers.

The FDA, Monsanto, and all the major commercial food companies, as well as government agencies which have increased factory farming and shut down family farms, are nothing but crooks who are robbing our lives.

Do NOT use white granulated sugar. Around 80% of white sugar, granulated or powdered, comes from heav-gmo sugarbeets, and these heavily-modified sugarbeets have been tied to various different kinds of cancers.

I don’t think there is any actual evidence suggesting that. Sucrose is sucrose.

Your body doesnt need any sugar at all. Been on keto and on it again now. Works just fine with no sugar. Your body can make the small amount of sugars itself that it needs for your brain.

This is so true. I can't have a normal day without sugar in my breakfast. Thoughts are circling in my head and I can't think straight.

Try adding fruit instead. Still sugar but at least it's healthier

I'm in the middle of a keto flu and it's awful.

More salt and electrolytes my friend.

Thanks man. I have been peeing like crazy so that makes sense.

john oliver did a video about this. It not really a conspiracy went we know it true

The conspiracy is that fat, salt, and cholesterol have been blamed for decades while the real culprit, sugar, has been covertly pushed onto the population for profit.

Because people don't know about doesn't make it a conspiracy and it not like there trying to hide it you can look online and see studies about sugar.

Here it is. Very eye opening.

It is your fault for being obese and giving in to the corporate media. This country feeds off idiocracy. The more stupid the masses, the easier it is to profit. Stay awake and informed. If you never wake up / utilize the resources this country gives you then you just fall into the comfortable cycle the government actually wants.

When I visited Japan, their 7/11 is FULL of all natural food like sushi and sushi wraps and rolls. Everything was freshly made and delicious. 7/11 in America is full of crappy fakey food. I see where you’re going with this.

Thats one of things i loved about japan. And also their portion sizes are way smaller compared to ours in america.

Exactly but even with their small portions I still felt full. And EVERYONE in japan is skinny-normal weight. I saw at most 2 “fat” people when I was there and they weren’t even fat, more like just overweight.

We will have to collectively vote with our wallets and it will (eventually) happen. Might take a generation to do it, but it's worth spreading the message. Lets make sure our kids don't grow up addicted to this garbage like so many of us are or have been.

Exactly. I've managed to cut back a lot after discovering cancer feeds on sugar. Cut cereal and white bread out of my diet. Feel a lot better.

The sugar crash exists because your body stores part of it, and when it runs out it finds it hard at first to produce more. This is the so called keto flu

This is so wrong.

Keto flu can occur in some people when they transition to the keto diet. Once the sugars are depleted in the body (think 2-7 days after you stop ingesting carbs and sugar) your body flushes out tons of water and takes necessary electrolytes with it. This is not the same as a sugar crash and the keto flu is easily mitigated with supplementing sodium, potassium and magnesium. Keto flu is not a sugar crash.

I have stopped eating a ton of foods just because of the amount of sugar they have. I stopped drinking soda a few years ago because of kidney stones, but I have since felt entirely different just from quitting. But I can elaborate on the side effects of quitting sugar cold turkey. About a year ago my girlfriend and I had to be on a strict diet for about a month so that we could do an Ayahuasca session. We weren't suppose to eat anything with refined sugar........just finding food was hard enough. Not only that, but we both started getting fevers and headaches and body chills. I felt like I legitimately was coming off of cocain addiction or some sort of stimulating drug. Thats when I realized how bad this was for me. And I cracked down on not eating so much of it. And that's before even bringing up the fact that meats and high sugar intake along with dairy also relate to most of the cancers we now see so frequently

I would like to add that Southern WA Natives were known to cook camas root(essentially a small onion) in an undergound firepit a bit like the Hawaians do a louaou. The result is that the root turns to 75% fructose in a process known as carmelization.

Is this the same kind of sugar you're talking about?

The sugar industry paid scientists in the 50’s to blame “fat” instead of sugar for health risks. I came to the realization that I was addicted to sugar and that the sugar fed my depression. Started by doing some research after putting 2 and 2 together and came across a Doctors’ video on YouTube called “The Bitter Truth”. I believe his name is Robert Lustig and he even has books on the subject. That opened my eyes last year and I changed up my lifestyle by eating Keto and cutting sugar for a bit. At first it was insanely hard, but I felt so much better, better than I ever had at just one week of not eating sugar. My skin cleared up, the pounds melted off, I slept better, AND my mood swings/depression was under control.

Yes, I urge anyone interested in this issue to start with "Sugar: The bitter truth" by Robert Lustig. He has a lecture at the University of California outlining the chemical implications of ingesting refined sugars and the underlying economic motivators behind their proliferation in foods.

This is not a trivial or peripheral issue, folks. This is one of the greatest deceptions ever imposed upon the western world and it has ramifications all across the board. We have been poisoned and manipulated in the name of profit, and the conspiracy lies in the complicity of our regulatory agencies who lied to the public and vilified fat as the culprit of modern nutrition-related disease.

Documentary on Netflix called "Fed up" it is literally a documentary on what you describe. Companies advertise food as low fat which usually means high sugar. Causes an insulin spike and turns sugar into fat!

Yep. When I was 16 at my first job we made pizzas for kids and the most astonishing thing to me was that each pizza had around 2 cups of sugar altogether via the sauce and the dough and everything. Most of it was in the sauce. So weird. Also best pizza I’ve ever had. Definitely not a coincidence.

You might be interested in That Sugar Film

A very good post, with lots of good points and observations. Actually makes me glad I don't tolerate sugar well after a bowel surgery I got about a year ago (gives me terrible diarrhea and as a result dehydrates me, sometimes pretty badly) and that as a result I've cut back a lot on how much I was consuming.

I definitely see almost addict-like behaviors any time my sisters or mom try to get serious with dieting and kick their sugar habits but it's the one thing they can't seem to kick. They'll go back to it over and over and over.

Been doing keto diet for about a month. Within the first week I had two dreams I was working at an ice cream shop and was elated by the idea.

Have to say my overall mood has improved dramaticly. I have way more energy and I feel more focused throughout the day.

I feel like the food pyramid is a complete shame and only works when turned upside down.

There's a BBC documentary series called The Men Who Made Us Fat, which explains all the disinformation and propaganda the Sugar industry pushed in order to minimize the public perception vis a vis the dangers of sugar and demonize fats and oils as more unhealthy than they are.

Marketing aside. Refined sugar without a doubt has preservative qualities and addictive qualities. It's a win win for food compaines in general. Inflammatory compounds that form in the blood stream when refined sugar is consumed irritate vascular walls snd cause then to swell which leads to heart disease. Sugar is the US's real drug problem.

When I was in high school in the 90's, Coca-Cola paid for a new scoreboard for the football field. In exchange, they had exclusive rights to our vending machines. Not long after, a new soda was released.

Surge.

They put a machine in the south atrium that was Surge branded, only dispensed Surge 20oz bottles, and cost 50¢. In addition, being a new beverage there was a promotion where under the cap you had a chance at a coupon for a free bottle of Surge. The payout rate was ridiculous, because I didn't pay for a soda for two months.

Sounds exactly like how a dealer gets you hooked on any drug.

It sounds that way because it was exactly that.

'Quitting sugar' is pretty stupid, and honestly probably not beneficial to your health. We have been eating sugars for hundreds of thousands of years. Your body needs some sugar.

Obviously 60g of sugar in a soda is not healthy, but saying you feel bad when you consume 0 sugar for several days is pretty obvious.

I feel so incredibly better (physically and mentally) when I minimize sugar in my diet.

If you're depressed, anxious, or just in general feel a bit shitty, please consider trying two weeks without sugar.

i'm trying to quit, each time i've made an attempt so far i've had cold sweats, migraines and just this feeling of despair. I'm not obese, a bit overweight but i'm a total slave to pasta / rice / bread i feel sick without it.

You gotta get through those initial withdrawals. It's tough, but they only last a few days, and you can minimize the effects by eating lots of fat and drinking lots of electrolytes.

I was old that the daily value % is never show for sugars on the nutritional facts table because they lobbied to not show you don’t really need any of it. And also, that percentage would be a huge number.

This is absolutely true.....

Great post. You know what they give babies in hospitals after circumcision as an analgesic? Drops of sugar water. When you see it put into use in that sort of situation and the quick effect it has on newborns, you realize that it really is a powerful drug.

It's no coincidence that sugar cultivation and the sugar trade was a major source of wealth for TPTB. The crusader military orders (like the Knights Templar) cultivated sugar and sold refined sugar back to Europe, growing wealthy in the process. The Knights Templar was at the time a kind of proto-multinational corporation..

Sugar was also an important element in West Indies trading routes (slaves traded for sugar). It is a sad but notable fact that wealthy Jews were in control of the slave trade but also the sugar trade, as they owned many or even most sugar plantations and refineries. And I say that as someone who was raised Jewish.

So the song remains the same, as it has for well over 1,000 year: TPTB control sugar and use sugar to control us.

Everything you said about sugar goes double for animal products. Meat, diary and eggs are the worst obesity and metabolic-dysfunction promoting "foods". Sugar is literally only the icing on the cake.

I will drink one less Redbull today due to this article, thanks.

Isn't sugar akin to alcohol?

I dropped all sugar and refined carbs a while back, ate just meat/eggs and green veg. Felt great and lost a bunch of weight super quickly. It takes long to adjust, but once you do it’s worth it especially for the increase in productivity.

This isn't a conspiracy you leftist shill. Your health is your own responsibility, and if children are eating too much sugar you need to blame parents not companies that are just providing what the parents want. There is no information suppression. There's just no self-control and parents that don't give a damn.

There is no information suppression.

In a relative sense, there is. Cigarettes have warning labels on them; sugary foods instead have colorful images and cartoon characters on them. The fat content in food always has its % Daily Value listed; sugar does not.

Why the suppression of that information? Obviously if you list the % Daily Value for sugar, it'd turn out to be 300-500% of the FDA-recommended daily amount. That would hurt the sugar companies' bottom lines badly.

There IS a conspiracy going on.

High Fructose Corn syrup, the crack cocaine of sugar, is the uber conspiracy. It's not just another example of Big Corn popping up somewhere it doesn't belong, it's the refined and perfected version.

It's the crack-->cocaine equivalent in the narcotics world.

I recently started a low carb way of living. Even though I never feel deprived my mind SCREAMS for sugar at times. I am mortified while reading food labels that most EVERYTHING has added sugar. I cheated last week with some halo top ice cream and the hunger and cravings kicked in immediately after. I was a sugar/carb addict from the get go. I successfully kicked an opiate addiction years ago and this is HARDER.

So true. Ever read Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Moss?

Yep, went to keto, lost the sugar and lost 30+ lbs in three months. Felt like a new man...

In Norway (1/4 men and 1/5 women are overweight)[https://www.fhi.no/nettpub/hin/risiko--og-beskyttelsesfaktorer/overvekt-og-fedme/]. We have a pretty neat “sugar tax” which punishes businesses and consumers who pick sugary products by simply making them less affordable. Partially thanks to this tax, Pepsi Max (Black/Zero in some markets) is now the most consumed soft drink. I wonder what would’ve happened if USA (2/3+ of adult population overweight) introduced something similar.

Conspiracy? Everyone already knew this, this looks like a concerned mom post from a Facebook single moms group.

What is your stance on sugar free soft drinks? Pepsi Max, Diet coke etc etc.

I know there are still various additives and chemicals that don't make them much better than the high sugar/corn syrup mainstream soft drinks. I also realise the healthiest way to live your life is to cut out the soft drinks all together. But is drinking this as harmful?>I'm a huge fitness advocate who has an incredibly difficult time quitting refined sugars. I study sugar and its addictive properties on my free time, and the more I study, the more I realize how deep this problem runs. Sugar addiction is real. Calling it otherwise is a disservice. This is not fruit sugars mind you, in fact to achieve the levels of sugar consumed from drinking 3 sodas vs eating the equivalent in fruit, you have to make a conscious effort.

Have you ever quit sugar cold turkey? I'm talking quitting white breads that have added sugar, no ketchup, or no sauce? There is a feeling of a crash. It is a real feeling. It is a craving when you quit. I believe that sugar is hard to quit because not only is it added to almost every food in America, but because we are forcibly addicted at such a young age to it that its actually altered out biochemistry. Ever notice how cartoon characters absolutely loathe healthy foods like vegetables and fruits, but go for sugar like its actually cocaine? I think that these cartoon producers are paid for this by major corporations. I mean the international corporation known as Coca Cola has a net worth of $171.81 Billion, and its literally flavored water. With sugar.

Almost every breakfast I had as a kid, was cereal. Cereal with cartoon characters on the box. Cereal that contained massive amounts of sugar. The first 2 ingredients on the box for most cereals: Corn meal, sugar. Every Sunday morning before church, pancakes with syrup. My mom would drop me off at daycare every morning: not enough time to prepare breakfast? No problem, grab a bag of mini doughnuts from the gas station. Not to mention Kool Aid, Hi-C(advertised and famous for having a high vitamin c content), peanut butter(Jiff, which has loads of added sugars vs natural) and jelly(not real jelly, loads of added sugars), Kid Cuisine, Snack Packs, Ice cream sandwiches, even school pizza sauce.

It runs deep. We've been indoctrinated into sugar addiction. If you even tell people this they will defend it like you're trying to take away their life.

America is the most obese country in the world and that is an undisputed fact. In the world. Its not because we have so much food, its because there is a literal drug that has caloric value that's put into most of the food we consume. For the sole sake of addiction.People crash off of sugar, that's a real thing. In my eyes, thats a drug. It lifts you up, and if you don't maintain the high, you will crash.

This is being made fun of , and fat acceptance is a real thing. I'm not, nor will I ever, hate on people for being obese. I was obese, in fact I was 200lbs at the age of 14. I was * Morbidly * obese, because the food my mom fed me, but I will not just accept it. i will not lay down and die.

I was most certainly, like most Americans, addicted to sugar. It was only broken when I moved in with my father and he forcibly broke it off. It has to stop, this is a real humanitarian crisis, and I say humanitarian because it is a human rights violation. It violates a right to a healthy existence. Especially when its pushed on children. Especially when information is purposefully suppressed on the issue, and has been proven time and time again! That sugar in high doses, which is extremely easy to achieve, is absolutely the cause of obesity , heart disease, and diabetes. There is a reason a career in health care is so profitable right now. We are being screwed by these people who only want to make money on us! They only want us addicted so we will buy their product.

Sugar kills...it's big pharma's little secret...have some candy and experience the inflammation that causes so many physical ailments it'll make your head spin.

The government will only support that which benefits big business. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it is big business. It doesn't want free and healthy because that would be near equivalent to not being needed. I am not fat but I realized my sugar addiction when I noticed I bought a 5 lb. Bag of it thinking I bought a 1lb. Bag. I'm cutting back but hell if I cant go cold turkey.

not just americans. Its the entire world

The worst of the refined sugars are High Fructose Corn Syrup. Your body literally has no idea what to do with it. It is in everything. That is the main thing I try to avoid. I challenge anyone to try and eliminate that from your diet. It's almost impossible. There is a video on YT of a guy actually making it to show how insane the process is. Total chemical separations and combinations. FknToxic shit. My mom was recently diagnosed Diabetic and I keep telling her that it's bc all she eats is prepackaged processed foods. She could beat D2 if she changed her diet completely and starting supplementing. She is not interested in changing her habits sadly.

The worst of the refined sugars are High Fructose Corn Syrup.

HFCS isn’t a refined sugar, it’s a mixture of fructose and glucose, pretty similar to honey (although in a different proportions, hence ”high fructose”).

Your body literally has no idea what to do with it

Uh, sure it does. Glucose is used directly and fructose is used the same way as when you eat fruits or honey.

It is in everything.

It’s mainly used in the US.

It's a mixture all right, it is a high octane chemically altered cheap non naturally occurring sugar. This shows that you have no fucking clue what your talking about. It's used bc it's cheap as shit, highly addictive, and detrimental to your well being.

Show me one natural fruit that or veg that contains naturally occurring High Fructose Corn Syrup....you can't because it's not natural nor does your body know how to handle it.

Do you think compounds like Stevia are an effective means to wean onesself of this addiction? I'm aware that sugar-substitutes are not created equal--that some are worse than the real thing--but are there any that are worth looking into?

Stevia is great for some people, though for others it will kick them out of ketosis. Either way, it's better than refined sugar. You can also use natural, sweet things like berries or honey to satisfy cravings, just don't go overboard.

I'm currently going cold turkey on sugars, although I allow myself complex sugars (ie carbs like bread). I found it easy but I haven't been heavily into sugar for years that's probably why. I plan to start eating sugars again soon as I don't see a need to be as strict as I am now, maybe one chocolate here and there would be nice. The main benefit I feel is that sweets actually taste nicer. That effect wears off fast and you become insatiable if you eat too much sugar.

100% accurate

Great post. I too spent a long time addicted to sugar. Funny thing is, I don't even really have a sweet tooth, but sugar is everywhere. Other unhealthy, high calorie foods are everywhere too.

And it's so extreme. We can't ignore proportion sizes either. People eat well past what they need to. Portion sizes are crazy.

I had the opportunity not too long ago to spend a summer in Europe. I didn't consciously try to improve my diet, but settled into the local norms. I lost quite a bit of weight and after the first week or so, I didn't feel starved or short changed on food.

Addressing sugar addiction and the forces behind it is a vital step, perhaps the most important single step, tbh. But I also think we have to take a deep look in the mirror and address some of our cultural choices as well, such as huge meals and serving sizes.

Awesome that you hit on portion control. That’s my secret and I have lost 20lbs because of portion control. I feel like everything should be taken in consideration of how much we do. Too much of anything will be horribly affective on the physical aspect of it as well as mentally. Being in Germany for 3 years and seeing the portions of meal in restaurants was very small.

I am not as fit as I want to be, but in much better shape than the average American (lol) and most of my family/friends.

Portion control and sugar control are my "secrets", along with moderate muscle building exercise (more muscle means you burn more calories).

Great article.

When you try and eat a keto diet, you learn how insane the amount of sugar is in food. Also, things like "Lite Sour Cream" is a deception, they usually pull fat out and add sugar back in so there are more carbs in the "Lite" version. Sugar is also an instantiate, when you eat it you get cravings for more and more. The sugar industry is also responsible for demonizing fat and fucking up the food pyramid in the 60's.

When sugar was first introduced to the world in the 1700’s, people would take one bite of sugar and wouldnt be able to go without it. Big companies would advertise it as “the best thing ever” and people would buy only products with sugar in them. Its a terrible cycle

this comment gace me the full realization that sugar is a drug

This is not fruit sugars mind you

The only difference between (the damage caused by) fruit sugars and refined cane sugar is the fiber content found in fruit. Having a bottle of OJ versus and bottle of coke is virtually identical when it comes to the physiological response.

Amazing video here, the fiber comment is at 12:30 but the whole thing is worth the watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_4Q9Iv7_Ao

Fats + proteins are delicious, energizing and filling

Fruits contain both sucrose and fructose, though, so there is a difference.

There's two kinds of people. Those who don't know, and those who know but don't care.

Read fat salt and sugar. This is scary shit

At my kid's elementary school, they serve ice cream bars and Doritos chips at the cafeteria. That's 5,6,7, and 8 year old kids that can charge their parent's account for junk food. I couldn't believe it. Regional health official knows about it and says it conforms to health guidelines. It's a sick joke.

I know this will likely induce an eye roll... but in the old days my parents would have said something like... "Do not buy any ice cream or Dorito chips at the school cafeteria" and I would have listened.

Kids from low income families can forgo an entree one day, to get ice cream the next. I'm no dietician but pretty sure that's how food disorders start.

I had no idea my kid was buying ice cream until I looked into the charges online. There's no notification to parents.

They put the snack tray in front of the cafeteria line.

My kid lied about buying the junk food. It's a system rife with stupidity.

OK... so in this case it is the public school's fault. But public schools are run by school boards and school boards are elected by members of the community. See how this keeps coming back to parents? When the person in charge of food services places their orders with the distributor, they have to make a conscious decision to order ice cream. This practice can be changed by grown ups.

True. I'm looking into it

When the person in charge of food services places their orders with the distributor, they have to make a conscious decision to order ice cream.

They might be under contract to order the ice cream though. I wouldn't be surprised if the school board approved a vendor contract because it was so cheap they ignore the ice cream and soda riders. Coca-cola makes contracts like this with schools all the time where they give donations in exchange for a contract that forces the school to install vending machines.

And the destruction if thier health.

Now they are putting sugar into the milk served at schools. Don't you think that's GREAT?

damn! do you have a source for that?

Human children shouldnt be drinking cow's milk anyway lol

Has worked fine for thousands of years.

I wouldnt call it "working fine". People are dying. It's full of saturated fat, cholesterol, hormones, and toxins are bodies are better off without.

Got any evidence? Like an ingredients list?

I think schools should have nutrition classes, if people were taught how to eat a balance diet, to cook healthy cost effective meals etc, that would help the world. I read last week that NHS doctors arent even up to scratch with nutrition

I wish everyone would try keto just for a month so they can feel how their body is supposed to feel. It is unbelievable how great you feel all the time when you eliminate poison from your daily diet.

Great Post! This is my life. I didn’t even think I could quit sugar. I needed help but many people refuse to see it as addiction! It feels impossible to quit when you are not only lacking support but being teased about the difficulties of quitting!!

Imagine a world where our ingenuity and intelligence were used for the good of all mankind, instead of the good of the few at the expense of the rest..

I've recently started eating a low carb/keto diet, and the first couple of weeks were hell, as I detoxed off having too much sugar in my body. Like, mental changes, emotional changes, weird energy level shifts.

And now that I'm just over a month, I still get this little nagging thing in my head to "just have a little treat." Like, I don't consciously want a sweet treat - I feel full and satisfied- but there's this little voice telling me to eat something sweet.

It's fucking weird. It makes me understand how alcoholics must feel when they sober up, the whole "one day at a time" thing.

Wow you're just now getting this?

I'm an alcoholic, and notice that since I stopped drinking, I crave sugar like a madman. Correlation?

The alchohol you drank was broken down into sugars in your body.

There are some things I agree with, but there is also a lot of BS in your post.

What I agree with: Marketing targeting children with sugary cereals is fucked up. Marketing targeting children should be against the law. And sugar addiction is real.

Bullshit parts: No one is "forcing" this onto you. It's the product of effective marketing targeted at young people, and parents being unwilling, not knowledgeable enough step, or can't (in a financial sense) step in and say "no, we are going to eat healthy." My kids get next to no TV time, and even they know all about these sugary cereals and when we pass them in the store, they want them. Remember, battling obesity and advocating for legislation to combat this was the big thing for Michelle Obama, and Trump is shitting on that by rolling much of it back at this time in the name of "repealing regulation." A healthy work force is a more productive resource, and there is no reason, conspiracy or otherwise, that the government would want a less productive work-force.

BS 2: American is not the most obese country in the world. We are probably the most obese western country, but by mean body mass index, we just sneak in the top 20 and are 12 when it comes to percentage obese. Obesity is a problem here, no doubt, there is no reason to lie about the numbers.

More people need to talk about the problem of overconsumption of sugars and carbs. I started making life changes about a year ago, and quit sugars completely 5 months ago now, and I lost 40lbs, and my "fat" weight is still on a downward trend.

If anyone in here is looking to quit too, you should know that the first 3 weeks are the hardest. But you must resist all temptation and push through. Then try to change your eating habits to avoid all carbs: potatoes (and root vegetables in general), pasta, rice, breads, and the sweetest fruits and fruit juices.

Your body will thank you later.

Adam ruins everything did a short video on this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLtQLDptI1g Fuck Refined Sugar!

u/endlesskylieness inspiring

Can't wait to read this! Will you stop eating sugar??

Quitting candy is so fucking hard. I can't imagine going cold turkey on refined sugars in general. Just thinking back on the sauces I used in stir fry last night, that alone probably had a fair amount of sugar in it.

At a young age I'd destroy resees cups, and later on in college I'd get fried and eat bags of sour patch. Was such a hard habit to break.

Sugar produces the same brain chemicals and heroin. The real conspiracy ia that kids are being addicted to sugar, and then growing up to become heroin junkies. If not heroin junkies these people will be very weak willed, easy to manipulate, and these people will SHOP!

Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Ross is right up your alley then.

Discusses all this and the science and industry behind American society and food.

OK... so I understand that regular and excessive sugar consumption is bad. Reading through this thread, it would seem that many other adults also understand this. Federal Nutrition Standards for School Meals now clearly articulate an understanding of this: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-01-26/pdf/2012-1010.pdf

So I'm missing the conspiracy here. How are we being "forcibly addicted" when it is clearly general knowledge that diets that are high in sugar are bad?

I could not recommend the Ketogenic diet highly enough.

Same! Down 70 pounds on it, junior in high school!

Congrats.

It's pretty much saved my health. I don't have much inclination to go back. Keto and intermittent fasting are how I eat now.

If you can't avoid sugar you suck. Get it together.

Sugar is poison

Good post man. Sugar is a very real problem. A very very real problem. Of course it impacts the poor the most. Which I can see your argument for human rights violations. Obesity is an epidemic with no end in sight.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with America sugar addiction.

It doesn't just start at a young age, but right at birth. After breastfeeding most likely parents will give their child formula that is full of added and artificial sugars and sweeteners and other bullshit.

I wish I could convince my sister to not feed her daughter junk food like that...I do my best though and I switch out the food she brings when in babysitting her to healthier snacks.

W... wait a minute. Yank bread contains sugar? Move to Europe, man. We don't put sugar anywhere and we eat rolled oats instead of cereal for breakfast. With real honey.

Yes, I saw the post and read some of the replies, too. It's not easy to shock me, but your testimony had a lot of success in that.

In America there’s 50 different names for sugar, that’s where they get ya. You think “oh boy these pork rinds are pure pig skin and a low carb snack!” then you look at the ingredients and it has the second ingredient as sugar. It’s freaking ridiculous.

I eat like a pig and yet am not overweight likeany of my 40+ peers. My secret? I cook everything I eat from whole food sources so there is no hidden sugar or transfats.

A big problem is that damn food pyramid they shove down our throats ('scuse the pun). It's lopsided heavily towards grains, which have the most added sugar contents, broadly speaking. It demonizes fat as the major contributor to weight gain and obesity, while writing off sugar as some sort of happiness supplement.

A wise woman once told me "you can eat a whole bag of raw sugar, and it's fat free." I think that resonated with me because she's right, sugar is inherently fat free. But the synthesis of simple sugars in the human body stores that "energy" as fat. And thanks to a sedentary lifestyle encouraged by televisions, video games, and other stationary distractions, that "energy" is never used. Thus, building up to what is now known as obesity.

K, seriously though I weigh 160, drink as much sugar as I can... Why am I not suffering?

Maybe your weight isn't suffering, but maybe some other issues.

The only one I really have is numbness in my big toe, that's about the only thing

That could be the diabetus

Right, but can that really happen without the associated weight gain?

Yeah, you don't have to be fat to get diabeetus.

Check out the symtoms, do you pee a lot? Tired often?

Not really, unless if I increase caffeine I actually go pee less than 4 times a day

Once in a while, a good post in this sub

Not really a conspiracy, nobody denies it’s health risks, but, a real problem nonetheless.

Hi. I am a 24 year old I recently started a plant based diet. Do you have any tips for quitting sugar altogether. I've had a hard time keeping away from sauces. Any tips on losing weight?

On top of the spine there is a brain center known as "limbic system". It houses primal urges, violence, hunger, lust, greed, aggression and all sorts of insanity (coincidentally, this might be the "predator brain" Castaneda's Don Juan referred to).

In our everyday lives, the limbic system gets dibs on every action that happens. If you feel a craving, it's because IT craves sugar, not you. Just like a feral dog, it snaps suddenly and does its own thing unless you learn how to manage it.

Observe your behavior at all times and surround yourself with people who are no aggravating to the limbic system. Also, stock up on healthy snacks and never run out or the limbic system will just engage the autopilot and you'll find yourself having bought and eaten sweets without even realizing it.

This goes way further than sugar and into refined foods in general. American food industry has become the masters of mass production with the littlest nutritional content (enriched flour for example), then you have to eat more because your body is deficient of nutrients.

Great post. More people as a whole need to start heading towards organic foods that are 100% NOT processed.

It’s so great to hear someone say all this. It almost reminds me of things I’ve been hearing about the dairy industry. Large corporations paying schools to teach that milk is good, when it’s really being heavily investigated for certain proteins characteristic of it that are most likely causing cancer. Unfortunately, in both cases, it’s all about money :/

OP, from a chef's perspective, Coca Cola is actually syrup, just not reduced down the thickness of say a Maple syrup. Same exact thing, just more watery. So it's not flavored water, it's slightly diluted syrup.

I know this probably won't get seen because of the amount of comments here already but whatever:

You Americans (and others with the same problem) really have to do something about your eating habits.

When i got my small appliance for making bread the recipe for bread said to put x amount of sugar. It was fucking sweet! Bread! The thing that should be a staple of a simple savory meal like a sandwich, not a cookie. I ended up using 40% of the sugar mentioned in the recipe and the next loaf was much much better.

Also, eating anything sweet for breakfast should be frowned upon. Sweet stuff should only be eaten to "sweeten" your meal you already ate, not as a meal itself, or as a snack. Cutting of on soda would help immensely as well.

Some breads do need sugar, it depends on the type of bread. Bread machine bread is a little different bc of the long cooking time/kneading time it tends to dry out and sugar helps w that.

That said I always cut the sugar a little when baking sweets, and I don't use it much in coffee/tea anymore. And I totally agree that sweets for b-fast is WRONG.

Has anyone else noticed an increase in candy advertisements on tv?

This is not a conspiracy.

In the 60s and 70s (IIRC) the FDA bribed a bunch of scientists to not release the findings of their research that showed refined sugar is as addictive as nicotine in lab rats.

This is one of the conspiracies I actually believe with my whole heart. Everything down to even our food pyramids is affected and lobbied by Big Corn and Big Sugar. Hell, Coca-Cola funds "health studies" (which incidentally find that there are "no associated risks" with sugar and human health). And you know what? Physician representatives accept this. They shill this. It's disgusting and an aberration of medical ethics. Some physicians, and many politicians, are paid lots and lots of money to promote or allow such heavy intake of sugar.

Sugar cravings and their associated health implications meet the clinical criteria for addiction. I wish more people saw and understood this. But what chance does the layperson have when they lack the information to understand sugar's toxicity, and the resources to find alternatives? It is so deeply disturbing.

I think that's one of my major gripes with Capitalism in general is that the "prize" that we all strive for is the dollar, without ethics or caring about the well-being of others, if the dollar is the cumulative end goal, people will always come second.

I don't think human beings do shitty things unless it's for power or profit and sugar is a ridiculously easy profit creator.

The Japanese, if you compare their vending machines with the United States, have less sugar sweetened items and more green tea/water items to choose from - is this because of culture or government that has an emphasis on the well-being of it's people? I'm not sure but there is a significant difference in their weight statistics.

I've been studying diet/nutrition for about five years now and it's such a fascinating thing how American's buy into fad dieting but it makes sense, we're trained to be consumers.

Backed up? Buy fiber Have a cold? Buy medicine Have Diabetes 2? Take insulin Have extra weight? Get bariatric surgery

Ansel Keys was able to convince a US Governor that fats were killing us with no evidence yet we took it hook, line, and sinker and then breads became the base of the food pyramid. It's absolutely looney.

Worse than that, since the 1970s, we've slowly been trained to eat MORE, instead of the Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, we're told we need to eat more smaller meals, this is the key to weight loss! However, it goes against evolutionary context. It doesn't make common sense. The only sense it makes is to consume, spend, and buy more.

Study the insulin system within the body, glycemic index, and fasting - when you understand how your body uses insulin as the "fat gatekeeper" - that's the jump off point to understanding, imho.

If I get a bit tin foil hat, Tom Naughton, who created the simple yet brilliant documentary, Fathead, has been dealing with constant attacks on his website and he has one of the best, simple videos explaining insulin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNYlIcXynwE

Dr. Jason Fung, an advocate of different fasting protocols, when he first started getting into the research of fasting, was confronted by his patients and when he prescribed them insulin for type 2 diabetes and they mentioned "Why would you prescribe something, after telling me that I need to lose weight, that will create weight gain?"

Even health care is meant to suck you dry of your currency - we've become a commodity and a vessel to have our resources dried to please our corporate gods.

Dr. Shawn Baker (meatheals.com) was an orthopedic surgeon, one of the top folks in his practice, started offering people ketogenic dieting as an option as a preventative measure to the surgeries that he performed.

He was noticing he would see less inflammatory if people would eat keto, even to the point where they were reversing arthritis - the hospital got wind about it and they black-balled him for doing what a doctor that takes the Hippocratic Oath, heal the individual under your care.

Reason why? He wasn't selling enough surgery. You can hear the entire story toward the last 3/4 of this podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj_Bc9hdHa0

Preventative measures for the body take away markets and in my experience, companies with a lot of money will use any means necessary to please the almighty dollar... the oil industry... sugar industry... Big pharma...

The main takeaway from this gentleman's post is that fasting has the same effect on insulin levels in the body as keto and exercise. Do all three and eat 1-2 meals a day, no snacks in between to taper off your insulin levels. More reading material:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734859/

Yes! I’m trying to quit them right now, and it’s way harder than it should be. Plus, they put refined sugar in absolutely everything these days. Why does bread need sugar? Why does ketchup? Thank you for pointing this out!

Why does bread need sugar? Why does ketchup?

Overpowering sweetness hides any potential manufacturing defects or tinny aftertaste (for foods in tins).

This directly correlates to the demonetization of fat in the diet as well as the misguided and outdated food pyramid. I struggled for 35 years with a roller coaster blood sugar. I was raised on sugar cereal. It was a staple food. I could not keep myself satiated because I was starving withing a couple of hours of eating sugary/high carb foods. It wasn't until I switched to a higher fat/cruciferous vegetable diet that I found out what a flat blood sugar level felt like-heaven! I always thought the food coma after a meal was from the fat in in-no, it was from the insulin dump. Not only have I lost weight, I feel so much better. No more yoyo blood sugar levels.

There is a natural tendency as you age to dislike sugars. I have heard older people comment on it and I see it in myself. A bowl of spaghetti is much more tempting to me than some brownies.

I totally agree refined sugars are bad and had a lot of luck doing Atkins over the years. The mental buzz is amazing and perfect for programming. Only downside is trying to fall asleep without brainstorming a new alternative energy scheme. lmao

I used to have a real sugar problem. By used to, I mean a few days ago. I would have something sweet literally every day. Sometimes I'd eat an entire bar of chocolate or a pint of ice cream. Every time I saw vegan sweets I hadn't yet tried, I felt like I had to have them. I would get starbucks lattes several times a week. It was bad. Just three days ago I decided I've had enough and chose to stop eating it. I had cravings the first day so I bought some date rolls and would have one when I wanted something sweet. The weird thing is, I haven't had any cravings since then. Added sugars are easy to avoid when you eat mostly whole foods which is the way to go. I mean I've struggled with giving it up for years but once you make up your mind about it it just becomes what you do. Doing research helps. Sugar is the devil and I'm actually really excited about eating healthier and feeling better. You can do eet! :)

Ikr! It’s like once you start you’re not satisfied until you’re physically ill from the sugar. It’s a terrible cycle.

As someone in medical school the thinking has changed, doctors that were my dads age used to say fats were bad. They are NOT they keep you full and your body processes them just fine. We now recommend you reduce carbohydrates (sugars) as much as possible.

Now personal opinion I honestly think high fructose corn syrup is the devil, it’s addicting AF and extremely hard on your body. Also your body doesn’t realize how full it is (how many calories you’ve eaten) because fructose doesn’t go through the appetite regulatory enzymes. Also it’s inflammatory to your body

That’s it. I was just a bored med student in an easy lecture.

I’m on the boat with you bud. Grew up in this culture where sugar isn’t just an ingredient, it’s a way of life. Conditioned from a young age to think that what is ‘good’ are the Snicker’s bars and Slurpees and that vegetables were something you tortured yourself into eating.

But then I found myself in middle age, feeling like death, no energy, constantly struggling. I have trained BJJ and MMA for years, so you would expect my cardio to be exceptional, but for some reason I just kept gassing out faster and faster sparring.

Maybe I have cancer I thought since that is what WebMD told me. One blood test later...BAM! Type II diabetes. You never realize that sugar is just a slow poison until it is too late and you don’t realize how much of an impact it has on your life until you try to cut back. Anyone who says sugar withdrawal isn’t a real thing hasn’t been through it.

I’m not saying the occasional treat like a piece of chocolate or a slice of cheesecake is the devil. We only live once and these things are enjoyable. My argument is that we need to change this indoctrination into a culture of excess that is inevitably fueled by those who benefit from is being sick and lethargic. I think everyone on this sub knows exactly what I mean.

As for me, I’m done living that way. I’d rather be able to live longer and remain competitive in my life and sport than to be shackled to maintaining unhealthy blood sugar levels. Has the trip been easy? No. But we all have an ethical obligation to free ourselves from the chains that bind, and this one is bigger and tighter than most think.

There are a lot of good documentaries about this exact thing. It's actually illegal in most countries (aside from the US) to market DIRECTLY to children for this reason specifically. The fact that the food industry does it with an addictive food substance is utterly corrupt.

To be fair, if you measure obesity per capita which would be best for a post like this then the US is 18th, not first. Whay do you feel the main reasons are for those countries listed before America. From what in reading it seems like unnecessarily fatty foods are the culprit for them. I wonder if our culture has to do with that.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/the-most-obese-fattest-countries-in-the-world/amp/

I believe I read that Mexico has just passed US as the most obese. Coke has a huge market in Mexico as it happens.

Drink water, eat only your main meals, use lemon or pepper for seasoning. Get 8 hours of sleep and exercise regularly. Anything else is just noise and excuses.

Yesss. I’m on keto, but as a 17 year old it is so difficult. Walking into a high school all there is is processed junk and sugar. And my friends think fasting is bad for me 🤦‍♀️ even the similac milk parents give their infants is full of sugar, then they start on the Capri suns and animal crackers and cookies and they’re addicts for life. It’s truly sad.

I’m definitely an advocate for the combo of intermittent fasting and keto!!!!

American bread, coca cola, and ketchup have more sugar in it than other countries do.

This is mostly because the American pallet craves sugary things more, and are more likely to buy things that taste better to them (sugary). The response from large corporations is to put more sugar in food to increase sales.

The result is a viscous positive feedback loop of Americans craving more sugary foods, and corporations putting more sugar in the food to increase sales.

It not a conspiracy as much as Americans just like sugary foods. The consequence is that children grow up thinking that food SHOULD taste sugary.

If it really was conspiracy, then the rest of the world would have this problem too. We just do it to ourselves.

I think Americans love their sugar infused food and drinks more than their guns.

I ran across am insane ad in Ann old national geographic from the 70s, paid for by the cane sugar association or some such organization. The ad was basically "your kiddo needs energy. Energy to run, jump, climb- all the things kids do. And cane sugar provides them that energy they need! " i cut it out and saved it, it was so unbelievable

Hell, even with high fructose corn syrup, it's everywhere. My aunt brought me and my g/f Oreos from Canada as a treat, and they're made with actual sugar. Not to say that makes them good for you or anything at all.

I remember when I decided to cut out HFCS from my diet, I finally realized how it was everywhere.

"forcibly addicted"? All I can say to that is fuck off. Nobody forces you to eat shit with tons of added sugar. Nobody puts a gun to your head and say eat this or die. Eating things with added sugar is fine long as you don't go overboard but that's down to you. That saying "everything in moderation". Ever heard of that? I agree with just how bad advertising is and how they try and entice you but come on. Most people are fat because they have responsibility to themselves.

Did you know you can drown from drinking too much water?

Well said Jake. I especially like that last line.

Don’t want to undermine you, but isn’t it REALLY important to mention that sweetness is the singular flavor that we are born desiring? You can check the validity of that statement, I’m banking on it.

Your point still stands, however, that the CHOICE of sugar or no-sugar is never given to us. How do we even reach a point where we CAN choose?

The FDA needs to be over-hauled. Corporations just buy approval. Other countries appear to be more forward thinking than America.

I've switched to all organic, but even then companies try to screw you over by what they call 'organic'.

It also alters our microbiome and epigentic expression, creating a future population vastly different than the one that exists today.

Even in the womb people are more likely to have gestational diabetes, and more likely to be large babies... with adult diabetes

I agree with you, OP. I have bad impulse control when it comes to anything sugary and it's making me feel like an addict.

replace with pure maple syrup. also raw sugarcane juice

I don't think it's only a conspiracy. It's a biological imperative the seek out the most calorie dense food possible and consume as much as you can in a short time. This instinctual behavior is what helped our ancestors live through famines.

I think the food industry is just playing off our natural tendencies and making them worse. Exploiting us for sure

Yeah, Ive been saying this for years. People mostly agree but don’t understand the weight of it. This is the most systematic cover up. Its basically a hard drug we’ve all gotten used to, until you try to quit and sufger the withdrawals. Try going a few weeks without any sugar, then chug a glass of orange juice, the rush is comparative to most illegal drugs ive tried.

Unless your all natural.

Thank you for this post, OP. People need to wake up to this.

I was SUCH a sugar addict. Candy every single day. Snack products with sugars. So many carbs. I did Whole30 a year ago during a challenge at my gym and was forced to cut out sugar entirely. It was VERY hard the first few days, but after about 3 days, I didn't crave it constantly. After the 30 days ended, I had lost 10 lbs I didn't know I had to lose, and felt like a million bucks. I continued to eat Paleo after that and felt great. For the most part now, I rarely have sugar (maybe once per month I have one big sugary treat) and if I do add sweetener, it's honey or pure maple syrup. The sugar addiction is a real thing.

This is a huge conspiracy right out in the open. Good post, OP.

If you currently drink soda multiple times a day just stop... You will feel better within two days.

I have quit sugar but not successfully. Was harder than quitting carbs, caffeine and smoking. Cravings were fucked up.

Great post. I have been cutting back on sugar for a couple years now. The amount of sugar in foods and drinks is ridiculous. One 20oz bottle of Pepsi has like twice the daily amount of sugar in it. One soda a day puts you at risk for diabetes.

Ever noticed how on the nutritional facts on any food item in America, every thing has a %DV but sugar does not. Because that one item probably has more than 100% of DV.

i needed to read this. I have a bad sugar addiction.

This isn't a conspiracy. Refined foods are easier to make in volume, easier to shape into fancy creative figures, easier to package, easier to prepare and eat, and easier to eat and digest.

Getting off cereals and instant meals requires a higher budget for food and more time to prepare your meals yourself. Good for you if you can afford that time and money.

For those of us who cannot, just remember there is little difference between the sugar you get from refined grains (cereal, bread) and the refined sugar in sodas and candy. Your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose very quickly. Which leaves you craving more because your gut is empty. If you want to change how you eat, you need more fats in your diet, less carbohydrates, and fewer total calories. Fats take longer to digest and will leave you feeling full for longer, reducing your cravings for more food and helping you eat less.

Yes, perhaps I should have clarified: don't drink the cooking oil.

If you want to change how you eat, you need more fats in your diet, less carbohydrates, and fewer total calories. Fats take longer to digest and will leave you feeling full for longer, reducing your cravings for more food and helping you eat less.

I'd recommend more protein and be careful with fats, especially ones from dairy. Cheese is murderous to the waistline. Instead, eat unsaturated fats and only eat them to taste, don't overdo it. Athletes get 50% calories from protein, 45% from carbs and 5% from fat.

If you are building muscle you need the protein. If you are burning 10k calories per day, carbs are the way to go. But for most of us couch potatoes, carbs make it far too easy to eat 10k calories per day while burning only 2k.

Yes, yes and yes.

I'm completely talking out of my ass.

But I think that with our high sugar first world diet, we're cultivating fungi/bacteria in our bodies that thrive on sugar. So after years of sugar consumption, we're packed full of these microcultures. The craving comes when you quit because you are carrying critters inside you that are taking all your blood sugar, so your body is freaking out a bit.

Eventually the cravings level off because the microcultures dwindle and your blood sugar level balances out.

we're cultivating fungi/bacteria in our bodies that thrive on sugar

Yep. Also note that there are microorganisms that can change your behavior (toxoplasmosis from cats comes to mind) meaning that the nasty baddies invade and pretty much take over your reasoning. You crave it and don't even know what. Reminds me of a horror movie I watched as a kid, "Stuff".

Fun (read: horrifying) experiment: go like an American nutrition label. You'll notice that while every other lIsted nutrient has a percentage of the RDA, sugar does not and only shows the total grams per serving.

The sugar lobby ensured this.

We don't need sugar at all, that's the cause of the lack of RDA. We need carbs that are intertwined with all other nutrients but sugar on its own is either nutritionally empty or toxic to our bodies. In nature things are sweet to indicate safety for consumption but nothing has such overwhelming sugar levels.

Bad food is all around us. It's almost impossible to ignore. I'm reading this book right now called Head Strong by David Asprey, which talks about which foods are good for your brain (and body) and which are bad. From inflammatory foods & sugars to toxins, it's crazy the amount of "bad" shit we consume as Americans without thinking. All inorganic produce is sprayed with gnarly pesticides, tons of stuff (e.g. coffee) contains mold toxins, all grain-fed animal meat is bad for you, all gluten is inflammatory (whether you are sensitive to it or not), all sugar is keeps you in glycosis (vs. ketosis) so you will constantly crave sugar for energy and never burn fat for energy. I tried to find some god damn decent organic salad dressing and, even though there were several options, 90+% of them had some type of vegetable oil in them!! It's completely fucked. You really need to be on your toes when it comes to nutrition in America. I need to make some serious lifestyle choices before I can get my health back on track.

Subscribe, I can’t stand how so many people blindly prefer a coke to water or a chocolate bar go some nuts. I’m not saint but ai avoid soda and haven’t had it in months, also drink 160 oz of water a day, it simply makes my body feel more productive all around

NO!! Take some personal responsibility and stop being a socialist! Everyone has unlimited free will to make infinite choices.

-- typical rightwinger

To people wanting to read more, /r/keto and /r/Paleo are the place to go. Some good docu's in the FAQ section there if you don't like reading.

Not so much about sugar, but about additives to kids' meals.

Summer of 2009 I worked at a summer camp in Ct, as a kitchen staff. Often we would follow specific dietary restriction for the whole school, and specific requests. This one time the school shipped a bucket of something and it needed to be mixed in with all the food items we served them for all 3 meals every day for their whole stay. That week meals for the staff were cooked separately. I asked the Chef, and his words were "it's so they don't run around like crazy". I was a server there, so I don't know much else, but it looked like brown goo, like a very thick bbq sause, but with no smell or taste.

It's getting harder and harder fighting back against the consumer virus, but it can be done!

Its really hard to get away from refined sugars. I started using the crock pot more and it has really helped. A lot of bread you get is mainly just sugar as well its awful.

Yeah, white flour from grain used in commercially available white bread is pretty much just glucose, the purest form of sugar that doesn't even require any chewing, just put it in your mouth and wash down with a soda of your choice and down it goes. Disgusting.

OMG I never realized that the bread literally melts away in your mouth. Fiber can't do that, only sugar, in the case. Thanks for putting two and two together for me.

I think there's so much more to it. From what I gathered, the teeth have piezoelectric properties, meaning they generate electricity when pressured. So, sugar destroys teeth, which means you lose the natural chewing action and avoid solids, going for the drinkables the likes of Soylent and such.

I went to my dentist a couple times and he casually remarked, "You seem to have an awful lot of wear on lower 6 front teeth." I eventually pushed him to suggest a solution and we made a mold for a mouthguard to be worn at night. He said I've got bruxism, an involuntary grinding of the teeth at night, so I wore the mouthguard and I slept without turning or waking up for the first time in what seemed like decades.

I've been wearing it for 2 months and it's already battered, it's incredible the forces involved. I've also noticed I started to really gnash on foods since I started avoiding sweets and doing healthy diet. I'm telling you, there is something about the chewing action that is healthy and that we need on a daily basis, but sugar circumvents that and also destroys teeth. It's brilliant in how comprehensively it ruins health.

I couldnt agree more. My wife and I started a low glycemic diet and I've never felt better. We even make sure our daughter stays off the sugar as much as possible, though that can be hard at times. Though I have to say it has made us get creative with meals and treats, using stevia, monkfruit or other sugar substitutes for baked goods and snacks. And of course shopping for food takes longer since i have to read every ingredient they have on the box.

Wait wait . . .don't go knocking on my Kool-Aid . . . It was by that means I was able to break the soda addiction

Sugar is not addictive. Nicotine is addictive, oxycodone is addictive. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that your body has evolved to use. Sure humans can turn anything into a psychological addition but if you think sugar is truly addictive then so is literally anything else. This is retarded.

Ok back up for a sec. I challenge you to quit beef fat, if you don't stop eating stuff made with beef fat I will conclude that beef fat is an addictive drug. This is what your argument is but it doesn't make any logical sense. You can make it for literally any food. Yea they add corn syrup to bread to boost caloric content, it doesn't make it literally addictive. Does it taste good and make you want more? Yes it does. Is it physically addictive like nicotine and opiates? No it isn't.

Sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup is in absolutely everything. It is unreal

Forcibly?? Nobody forces anyone to eat sugars, especially the government. Maybe parents aren't the best at guidance sometimes when it comes to what they allow their children to eat, but there are plenty of parents I know who don't allow their children to have sodas and other artificial sweeteners. It's not a conspiracy, it's terrible parenting. And it's definitely not forced by the government.

Nobody forces the child to eat that food at school. The parents can pack a lunch with healthy foods and snacks. While I agree that it's a serious problem that needs to be addressed, I disagree with the language that OP used in his post. Forcibly is inaccurate unless the teachers force fed their students. Even if the parents forcibly fed their children those foods, it still wouldn't be the government.

Not a conspiracy, it’s a fact. If you look into Eugenics you will begin to understand why this is happening.

I managed to 100% quit sugar for about 40 days using the Whole30 diet. The 'coming down' involved headaches, mood swings, being tired almost all the time... Until after 22 days or so, then i felt goddamn amazing. The ONLY reason I'm not sugar free now is because they hide this shit in everything. I would have to make everything 100% from scratch and i just don't have the time as a student and fulltime employee... Which is just the way they like it of course

Agreed, I personally struggle with this. I recently picked up a great book called “The Complete Guide to Beating Sugar Addiction” - by Jacob Teitelbaum which has helped my piece together a strategy for finally getting this under control.

I think sugar addiction is very similar in many ways to the addiction we have to our phones and to social media in that there are certain interests out there specifically targeting our individual weaknesses in order to strategically exploit our mental vulnerabilities and entice us into consumption of their products.

This is why it is extremely important for us to talk about these issues and discuss and share our own strategies that may help us navigate the world in such a way that we are able to avoid these traps.

I'm not overweight, but I stopped consuming sugar recently with a high protein, low carb diet. After day 3 I was becoming incredibly depressed, and snapping at my wife and kids. Zero patience to speak of.

At one point I started a fight with my wife over something small, and forced myself into such a dejected state that I felt I 'deserved' comfort food, and started shoveling cookies into my mouth. I'm still fighting the sugar bug, but I've been steadily consuming less and less over the past month.

Anyway, fuck that drug.

Frosted flakes, cocoa puffs, honey smaks, sugar toast, every fucking cereal they market to kids amounts to little more than a bowl of diabetes.

Is it weird that i hate the taste of refined sugars but god damn i love molasses

I have the opposite conspiracy -- they are being addicted to sweeteners that GMOs and big pharma produces and gets rich off of.

^{My comment will be downvoted to oblivion.}

Facts on facts. Would you believe there are doctors who wont acknowledge this? Smh.

Shits everywhere fam.

I don't believe in forcibly - but rather making themselves addicted because of lack of education about healthy eating, convenience of ready made products and just "culture".

Hi, I'm Trusty Compass, and I am a sugar addict.

Phew, that felt good to say.

I also think a big problem is that parents reward their kids with sugar and desserts when they do good things. It ends up creating a pleasure response later when you eat those foods because you link success with sugary sweets when they are young. It is definitely the root of some people's comfort eating issues.

I've personally done diets clean of refined sugars and process foods. It is rough. The first week you literally feel like you'll never satisfy your hunger and that you are weak and getting the flu. There is some serious physical withdraw. Not to mention even hours after eating sugary foods you have an isulin dump and end up feeling hungry again shortly after even though you just ate plenty.

You might as well add meat and dairy to the list too

Have you not tried a ketogenic diet? I'm also seeing other similar diets that focus on various benefits - for example FODMAP, or going low residue. Also heard about someone yesterday focusing on mucus and eating a meal a day similar to the warrior diet.

When I could afford going casual keto, I could choose how many meals a day I was eating, sadly eating different from everyone else in the family gets pricey so probably have to wait another 6 months to get back on it completely.

Suggestion, go get a flavor of Zevia soda you like and replace a single soda daily. The 6 packs of cans are like $5. I bet you will see positive change from just that. Personally I also get packs of Polar seltzer water because I love the orange vanilla flavor, however it's not sweet at all. Other tips: unsweet tea or coffee and add in a sugar alternative, distilled water to me doesn't taste like shit other bottled water, drink mixes like the True Lemon brand which can be found at Dollar Tree, and those little squirt flavor things like Mio.

Just eliminating sugar from your softer drinks shouldn't be too hard.

Interesting, I have so many questions now.

• What does natural mean to you though?
• Have you tried spelt, buttermilk, and ancient grain bread?
• Could you cut back on alcohol at all, to a single beer no matter what?

Thanks for your caring, I feel that's the root of this sub anyways.

I wrote a paper a couple years ago in college about the obesity epidemic in America, and I found some pretty alarming statistics regarding the topic. Within the research, I found that being poor and of color significantly increases your chances of obesity in America. In fact, Mississippi had the highest obesity rates in the nation when I was doing some research at the time, and they also had some of the lowest average annual household incomes. One of the craziest statistics that I read was that a little over 50% of black people in Mississippi are obese.

Of course there are cravings. Carbs are your main energy source and sugar is the easiest carb to break down. Im on the keto diet so no sugars for me. After 2 days your body switches to using fat for its energy source and the cravings go away. Quiting cold turkey isnt hard at all, cut the carbs and pound in the good fats.

Damn reading this made me feel bad about how much pop I have had today... But also makes me want another lol

I quit sugar about 3 weeks ago cold turkey. The feeling was terrible... My stomach hurt, I felt exhausted, and at one point I almost threw up. Now I feel much better and recommend Stevia if one has to.

are there any articles/studies you would recommend that point out the health hazards of sugar in a clear manner?

No one makes anyone eat sugar

To anyone looking to quit sugar, lookup "keto diet". Around 20g of carbs a day, adequate protein and as much fat as you need to hit your calorie target. First week it's tough to not eat the foods you're used to but only because you're used to them, there's no withdrawal. Fat and protein are very satiating and GOOD FOR YOU. Fat being pushed as something that's bad for us is a conspiracy against humanity. The keto diet is famous for weight loss and detoxing.

You know how when you get hungry you get kind of mad, weak and have difficulty focusing? That isn't normal, that's sugar withdrawal. That doesn't happen on a keto diet. Or how after you workout your muscles are sore for days? That's due to lactic acid being produced from the glucose in your body. Did you know that sugar weakens your immune system considerably? Did you know that sugar causes inflammation?

It definitely restricts a lot of the foods you can eat but totally worth it.

There is a real conspiracy here. Dr. Gabe Mirkin wrote a while back about "research" funded by the sugar industry and misdirection about fats causing heart disease.

I love this sub, man. Great post.

America is the most obese country in the world and that is an undisputed fact. In the world.

Very much disputed actually. The US is 19 by BMI upon which the "obese" label is defined. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_body_mass_index

I don't deny your message, but figure out your "facts". I believe that sugar is just as much a drug as your big hitters like opioids, it just takes longer to ruin your life.

Thank you for this post, you have encouraged me to be aware of my sugar intake.

Same marketing and indoctrination occurs to get people consuming so much meat, to the extent that it's killing them. Refined foods are good for making money, not so much helping health.

/r/NoCorporations welcomes you

Another thing, why is the sugar farming so heavily subsidized by US govt? I mean if sugar prices went through the roof would that be such a bad thing?

Don’t forgot the added hormones and synthetics that fuck up your endocrine system

A healthful vending machine has always sounded like an oxymoron to me. I realize that some preservatives are perfectly safe, but I'm still not interested in that "fresh" salad from two weeks ago.

Quick question about getting into the keto diet, did you just quit the bad food cold turkey or did you slowly introduce good food into your regular diet?

You’ve seen the documentary about sugar, right?

You guys got Uno's? That's pretty dope. Although, let's be honest, it's not like they're the bastion of healthy eating either.

Well, I am just saying that keto is great for losing weight, but it's just not for everyone who wants to maintain or even gain weight.

This is because:

1) food like meat, fish, nuts etc. is very expensive (at least it is in Europe; I think in the US meat is significantly cheaper) and because of

2) health reasons. I did keto for about 10 days and during that time, I got sincere concentration problems and I experienced migraine with aura 2 times, although I took additional potassium. If your keto simply cannot work while doing keto, I don't think you should keep trying to force it.

Google "farm policy obesity". The government and the mega-corporations that basically run it are largely responsible for the obesity problem we're facing.

Come to Central America. These trees grow everywhere in the wild. And my orange tree is as real as my mango tree.

Yours and your parents fault. When you were a kid you didn't know better, but it is the parent's job to know. Once you are an adult, it is your job to fix the damage. Ce la vie

Problem with vegan diets is how heavy in carbohydrates which is just sugar in the end and you're right back on the edge of prediabetic in no time.

Totally I'm always tired, feeling bloated and unhealthy in general.

I won't consume any meat or eggs or milk

These might be related ... If you still want to stay vegan be sure you're getting enough protein and good fats which is what you're missing out on with meat/dairy. Fat and protein are both necessary for proper hormone production. Still try to limit carbs and switch what carbs you do eat from sugary and processed to non-processed/slow digesting sources. High fiber > starches > whole grain (if you have to). In terms of fat and protein, nuts and avocados are great.

it is your fault, show some self restraint