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  #1   ^
Old Thu, Dec-29-16, 06:38
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
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Default The Case Against Sugar: Reader's Thread

I started this last night and could not put it down.

It's not exactly like Taubes is revealing new information in these early chapters (I am on 6) if we have read Good Calories, Bad Calories. There's similar emphasis on the different directions of North American and European research in the 20th century, with the European branch broken off by WWII. There's the familiar studies of aboriginal populations transitioning to a industrialized diet and getting a host of chronic "diseases of civilization" as a result.

But it is new with the focus on sugar and diabetes and their interplay. That the same quantities of sugar that cost the equivalent of 360 eggs in the late Middle Ages now costs two eggs; that is all we need to know about sugar's increase in our diet as its cost dropped.

But there is lots lots more here; the connection between sugar and tobacco, how as far back as the 1920's bad data convinced diabetic specialists that fat was the problem; and the rise of Calorie In/Calorie Out.

It is kind of funny to read of a scientist in the 1880's saying the same things some driveby commenters on this very board say: "It's cruel to deprive children of sugary treats."

Was the science of sugar affected by sugar's addictive qualities? I ask myself. I think yes: when we have addicts running the experiments!
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  #2   ^
Old Thu, Dec-29-16, 10:10
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GRB5111 GRB5111 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WereBear
Was the science of sugar affected by sugar's addictive qualities? I ask myself. I think yes: when we have addicts running the experiments!

Agree wholeheartedly. This is the essence of why so many of us have dealt with sugar addiction. I was the one who could eat a very robust meal with large portions, but there was always room for sweets. We have a society of sugar addicts in all sizes, shapes and professions. Some whose profession is one where others pay attention to the nutritional advice they dispense. This is the reality one should be very aware of when studying the role of nutrition in health.
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  #3   ^
Old Thu, Dec-29-16, 11:00
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Liz53 Liz53 is offline
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I found Pollen's story of his kid's first encounter with sugar very telling. Taubes also talks first hand of his kids' love of it. No wonder so many here have trouble staying away from sugar and why those strong lines of demarcation (No Sugar, No Starch) are so effective.

I'm not very far into the new book and it will be a week or so before I can concentrate on it, so I don't know if Taubes mentions this, but another anecdote about sugar that I feel is telling:

Apparently slaves working on sugar plantations were given just enough sugar to get and keep them addicted, making running away a more difficult proposition.

It's time scientists confirm what slave holders knew centuries ago: Sugar is Addictive.
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  #4   ^
Old Thu, Dec-29-16, 11:16
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cotonpal cotonpal is online now
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Another sugar is addictive story. When my daughter was born (36 years ago) she was very jaundiced and needed to be put under lights. She also was very sleepy and not interested in eating, not in breast feeding, not in bottle feeding, nothing. Then we tried another bottle that was supposedly just water and she perked right up, guzzling the stuff down. Turns out that it wasn't just water but had glucose added to it. Amazingly powerful stuff.

Jean
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  #5   ^
Old Fri, Dec-30-16, 06:21
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WereBear WereBear is offline
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Taubes has gotten straight to the point; sugar is a drug with a unique addition pattern, whose withdrawal symptoms are not recognized, and which symptoms can be easily avoided due to the ubiquity of it in our daily lives. Also, the damage is so hidden, and takes so long to show up.

There's hardly a person one could routinely encounter who would believe the stuff he's saying.
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Old Tue, Jan-03-17, 14:59
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Merpig Merpig is offline
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I just got my copy of the book and can't wait to start it!
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  #7   ^
Old Wed, Jan-04-17, 10:57
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bostonkarl bostonkarl is offline
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I never appreciated how insanely powerful the sugar industry/lobby has been historically, dating back to slavery. He pulls in this important historical context, which is fascinating. The tie to tobacco is also very much of note.

The science part about how fructose and glucose are broken down by different mechanisms is a good refresher.

His thesis that sugar causes metabolic syndrome, which then causes all the other problems including obesity, diabetes, etc., is compelling, well researched, and well presented.
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Old Wed, Jan-04-17, 15:51
nutradvanc nutradvanc is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GRB5111
Agree wholeheartedly. This is the essence of why so many of us have dealt with sugar addiction. I was the one who could eat a very robust meal with large portions, but there was always room for sweets. We have a society of sugar addicts in all sizes, shapes and professions. Some whose profession is one where others pay attention to the nutritional advice they dispense. This is the reality one should be very aware of when studying the role of nutrition in health.


I think the most important thing about this is that 95% of those addicts don't realize they have an addiction. It's just normal since they've experienced those feelings most of their life.

Looking forward to reading this back at the weekend when I get some time, read a few reviews and it sounds very concise.
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  #9   ^
Old Thu, Jan-05-17, 17:00
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WereBear WereBear is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nutradvanc
it sounds very concise.


It IS. I'm DONE. Took me a bit by surprise

But it is an excellent read and has so much information about how we got to this state.
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  #10   ^
Old Sun, Jan-08-17, 11:15
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WereBear WereBear is offline
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I really don't think it is fair to complain that The Case Against Sugar repeats his previous work, because it really does not. There's prominent mention of a couple of pivotal studies, like the New Zealand atolls and the experience of British Empire physicians caring for aboriginal peoples and documenting their encounters with Western Civilization; but it would be wrong not to.

There's lots of new stuff, too, like Big Sugar with a stranglehold on research and their PR efforts, and more about Ancel Keys and how he shaped the new direction of nutritional thought. There's also a whole new chapter on gout and its relationship to sugar.

I'm a huge fan of Good Calories, Bad Calories, but I suspect his publisher would prefer he not write doorstoppers any more.
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  #11   ^
Old Sun, Jan-08-17, 12:06
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Liz53 Liz53 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WereBear
I really don't think it is fair to complain that The Case Against Sugar repeats his previous work, because it really does not.


I agree. The Case Against Sugar, for the most part, looks specifically at sugar and goes into more depth than GCBC. There's certainly some overlap, particularly in background info, but there is definitely enough new material to warrant a new book. And where Sugar Crush is seen from a therapeutic viewpoint, Taubes is more from a theoretical one. IMO, they all complement each other.
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  #12   ^
Old Sun, Jan-08-17, 13:14
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WereBear WereBear is offline
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We wouldn't need so many books if people would just GET IT.
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