Comments on: Is Sugar a Poison?

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:09:36 +0000

Greetings Mark! Loved your article. Couldn’t agree more but instead of going through all this science mumbo jumbo, a general view that works is to consume in moderation. Even avoiding sugar altogether is dangerous. Hypoglycemia? See where im going?

Natural unprocessed fruits cant be all that bad. Whatever is mad made is usually very bad such as HFCS!

My 2 cents!

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 09:22:19 +0000

@Thanks, everyone.
@John. Regarding grapes, or any fruit, bear in mind that it is chronic overconsumption that causes problems. But overconsumption is easy in our world today because of the prevalence of sucrose and HFCS in our foods. A hand full of grapes isn’t going to hurt you, but I would stick to fibrous fruits. Just cut out or limit both sucrose and HFCS from your diet, apart from fruit.
@Amanda. Exactly. Get any fructose from fruit, where nature put it. People talk about sugar/sucrose being natural, but just look at the natural form – sugar cane. It’s a thick fibrous stick that you could beat someone over the head with. Quite different from the granulated stuff in the kitchen.

By: David

David — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:37:29 +0000

I also find it really interesting that the biochemistry behind why fructose, not only doesn’t supress hunger, but increases it, is the same for fructose and ethanol. Have a few cotails at a party, and what happens? You get the munchies. Have a few cokes, and the same thing happens. Holy crap!

By: David

David — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:28:45 +0000

I knew fructose was bad, so this video just reinforced that. What was shocking was the equation of fructose with alcohol. Whenever I go out socially, I’ve tried to stick to wine or some sort of no sugar coctail, like a martini, or a vodka tonic. But the way he equated fructose with ethanol has given me a whole new perspective. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to drink any alcoholic beverage without mentally equating it to a can of coke.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:01:04 +0000

So would it be the most beneficial to go on a sugar-free diet and only get sugar from natural sources such as fruits?

By: John A Davis

John A Davis — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:53:16 +0000

@John
Grapes have a type of sugar called “Grapetose”. Serious. And this stuff is very high glycemic. Think about raisins and their sugar content.

By: Vijay Sethi

Vijay Sethi — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:35:57 +0000

Mark,
Thanks a lot for this email and a you tube link to Lustig’s presentation.
I appreciate the details or summary that you reiterated in your review along with exact time in the video.
I continue to admire your work.

Regards,

By: John

John — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:21:40 +0000

What about Fructose through other fruits likes grapes and all which do not have much fiber? Should they be avoided?

By: John A Davis

John A Davis — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:45:16 +0000

happy to read this stuff in shapes I can send to friends and family I care about.

By: Mike Huber

Mike Huber — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:14:18 +0000

I’m with Joshua, low carb living plus MuscleHack makes me feel, and look, Great. People just don’t want to listen to ya when they ask. In the U.S. it just seems we keep getting fatter and more lazy. Not me though. I’m not changing my lifestyle for anything. Thank You Mr. McManus for showing us MuscleHackers a better way of living!!!

By: Joshua

Joshua — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:01:51 +0000

Great article ( as usual )
I’m a firm believer in a low carb lifestyle and always looking for new ways to back it up. The biggest problem I have encountered is that no one wants to believe it!

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:08:07 +0000

As a ‘treat’, I’ll have a Coke Zero … but will usually get blasted from people saying that it’s loaded with ‘rat-poison’ – aspartame ! But really … whether it’s aspartame, or a refined sugar … either one isn’t the greatest for you !!! Thanks for the article … now I can relax a bit as I sip my drink 🙂

By: Joseph Aponte

Joseph Aponte — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:57:35 +0000

Excellent articles about the health affects of sugar. Something I’ve been talking about for decades. Great info. keep up the good work!

By: Ryam

Ryam — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:29:57 +0000

I totally agree with what you’ve said, and the points in Dr Lustig’s lecture.

It’s sad that kids are growing up consuming grams of sugar from soda, sports drinks and junk food, and setting themselves up on the road to metabolic syndrome. Unfortunately, until we get past the calories in / calories out way of thinking, the government will continue to promote low fat and calorie controlled diets, without considering that maybe sugary products need to be regulated.

A typical adult might think they can lose weight by drinking Coke, as long as their daily calorie expenditure is higher than consumption. Unfortunately they fail to look at all the facts – in particular the strong evidence that sugar is poison and even in a calorie deficit it is doing much harm in their bodies.