Societal Control of Sugar Essential to Ease Public Health Burden

Robert H. Lustig, MD, and a team of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers argue that sugar should be controlled like alcohol and tobacco to protect public health. In a new report, they maintain that sugar is fueling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually worldwide from non-communicable diseases like diabetes, …

Is Sugar Toxic?

If you are what you eat, then what does it mean that the average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar a year? Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on new research showing that beyond weight gain, sugar can take a serious toll on your health, worsening conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer. Some physicians go so …

Big Sugar

 Big Sugar (CBC, 2005) explores the dark history and modern power of the world’s reining sugar cartels. Using dramatic re-enactments, it reveals how sugar was at the heart of slavery in the West Indies in the 18th century, while showing how present-day consumers are slaves to a sugar-based diet. Going undercover, Big Sugar witnesses the appalling working …

Nutrition and Behavior (Lecture)

In this lecture, Dr. Russell Blaylock explains one of the most important connections between nutrition and our health, how nutrition affects our behavior. Citing a series of important studies, he shows that good nutrition can powerfully enhance our memory, mood, and behavior in a socially desirable way. Likewise he shows us that poor nutrition can lead …

The Dangers of Energy Drinks

Energy drinks have become increasingly popular in recent years. There are many brands on the market. Each contain caffeine and some have added stimulants such as guarana, an herbal form of more caffeine, as well as ginseng. Most of these drinks, in moderation, are probably relatively harmless for healthy people. However, when consumed to excess …

Sugar: The Bitter Truth (Lecture)

Robert H. Lustig, MD is Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He is nationally recognized in the field of neuroendocrinology, with an emphasis on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system. Dr. Lustig has a special interest in childhood obesity. He has become publicly notable through …

Too Much Sugar Is Bad, But Which Sugar Is Worse: Fructose Or Glucose?

In 2005, the average American consumed 64 kg of added sugar, a sizeable proportion of which came through drinking soft drinks. Now, in a 10-week study, Peter Havel and colleagues, at the University of California at Davis, Davis, have provided evidence that human consumption of fructose-sweetened but not glucose-sweetened beverages can adversely affect both sensitivity …