I’ve been reading and thinking a lot about health lately (mine mostly 😉 ), and Fabulously Fru-Girl recently shared a Youtube Video called Sugar the Bitter Truth that draws a rather in-depth and scientific link that sugar is a poison for our bodies.
It’s rather long, I will freely admit that I skipped ahead in some sections where he went all technical because my eyes glazed over and I am no scientist.
It was still really interesting to see the links he drew between sugar and ethanol (poison), and what it does to our bodies.
Also, I’d be really interested in hearing what other scientists (budding or otherwise) in the comments think about what he said in the video because I don’t fully understand the scientific part of what he’s saying.
SUGAR: THE BITTER TRUTH
It was from that video on Youtube that I found this one called Way Beyond Weight, which is just as long, but far more engaging and interesting to watch.
The documentary is about children in Brazil who are obese, and all the health problems they suffer, along with the misinformation and lack of education about health in that country that is causing a lot of this.
It’s about an hour and a half, so you’ll want to watch it all at once on some free night you have (it’s hard to stop it midway).
WAY BEYOND WEIGHT
In case you don’t have time to really watch it immediately, here are a few observations and tidbits I got from the video to give you an idea of the content.
OBESITY IS THE #1 KILLER IN THE WORLD
The video opens with Jamie Oliver (love him!), a British chef who is really gung-ho about getting kids to eat better and stop all the processed junk.
He shows a very compelling slide in the beginning that indicates how obesity is the #1 killer in the world (a silent killer), whereas homicides which everyone is so very concerned about, is way at the bottom in comparison.
That slide alone, is worth watching the video for.
Oliver also says that these companies are not entering our homes with guns and rifles, they’re doing it with junk food and sugar.
One doctor mentioned seeing a test of a 9-year old girl, and likening it to being the same result as someone who was 60 years old.
PROCESSED FOODS & DRINKS ARE A SIGN OF SUCCESS
Coca-Cola is a sign that you are rich. If you drink water instead of Coca-Cola, you’re poor.
Some of the obese children are told to bring fruits to school to eat instead of their processed snacks (chips, candy, cookies), but they’re so embarrassed by eating real food that they go to the bathroom to eat the fruit in secret.
Kids even lie to each other when they eat meat, rice and salad instead of processed or fast junk food, because it’s so shameful to eat “poor people’s food”.
It’s kind of ironic to think that we find fruits and vegetables (especially organic produce) so expensive here that it’s only meant for those who are rich, and junk food is associated with people who are poor, yet the opposite is true for those in Brazil.
MOTHERS WEAN THEIR BABIES WITH COCA-COLA
Formula is just as bad as Coca-Cola if you consider the fat and sugar added (see the first video – Sugar: The Bitter Truth for the nutritional content), but in Brazil they put it in the bottles for their babies because they want their kids to grow up successful.
COCA-COLA FED TO THEIR BABIES.
I was really shocked when I heard this. I had to pause the video to let it absorb in.
They grow up getting used to drinking Coca-Cola as their food, and it’s no wonder they can’t get rid of that habit as they get older and fatter.
THE LACK OF ACCESS TO FRESH FOOD IS VERY REAL
In rural areas, the only products that make it there are from companies that have a lot of money and are able to buy a boat and create a ‘floating shop’ that is filled with products that the company sells — chocolate, formula, candy, etc.
No fresh fruits or vegetables.
Their local markets don’t even offer raw food, but Coca-Cola is always well-stocked in those areas. They have to travel a long distance to get any access to fresh food, which is heartbreaking.
I can’t imagine not being able to buy that food without traveling a long distance to get it (or walking that distance).
THE KIDS HAVE NO IDEA WHAT REAL FOOD EVEN LOOKS LIKE
Hand them a bag of chips and they say: Batatas! (Potatoes)
But when you give them a REAL potato, they have no idea what it is, and end up guessing things like Avocado, or Onion. They have no idea what any vegetable or fruit looks like.
Some even moan, cry, throw a fit and lose it if they don’t get chips to eat.
It’s a lack of good parenting in my opinion, but nonetheless, something that is very real for many parents around the world, not just in Brazil.
THE LINK BETWEEN TV AND OBESITY IS CLEAR
They keep mentioning in the video the link between watching TV and leading a sedentary lifestyle and obesity, and how many studies have tried hard to disprove this link, but can’t come to a different conclusion.
The more TV you watch, the more obese you are to get.
The problem is that while some mothers would like their kids to go out and play, it isn’t safe for them to wander around outside of their home, even to go to a local schoolyard to play soccer.
They have nothing to do but stay at home, and watch TV. Then their parents hand them a bag of chips, and it’s all over.
THEY THINK THE CRAP THEY’RE EATING IS REAL FOOD AND GOOD FOR YOU
There’s this corn chip snack there that is fried corn meal, and one older man says: No trans fats in these chips! That means it’s good for you and does good things for your body.
Another mother says that she thought what she was buying was real juice (less than 10% actual juice in a sugary drink), so she thought what she was giving her kids was good for them.
Overall, it was an excellent documentary to watch, and highly recommended.
I am feeling a lot better about making the decision I did years ago to cut out refined white sugar from my daily habits (the occasional cake and box of macarons makes it in), and now I’m working on drinking tea with no honey at all (v. hard!).
