The Challenge

What a difference three months can make. In October of 2014 there was a lot of hoopla surrounding an initiative on the November ballot concerning a tax on sugared beverages in Berkeley. I, for one, thought this a ridiculous idea. But perhaps not for the reason one might think. It's not that I don't think sugared drinks are harmful, but rather, because I thought why stop at drinks? Why stop at sugared and not include those sweetened with artificial sweeteners? And, to be honest, there is always a part of me that gets a bit concerned when we try to legislate healthy behavior. But more on that later.

In September, I read a very fascinating book entitled The Big Fat Surprise. Written by Nina Teicholz, a journalist, I found it fascinating and it simply rang true for me. She pointed to a lot of research that suggests that it was actually the government's push for a low-fat diet that was actually the catalyst for the obesity epidemic we face today. Her point was that as the food companies reduced the fat from our foods, they added sugar to make the processed food palatable. Because Ms. Teicholz is not a doctor or trained nutritionist, she came under some degree of criticism. So I kept digging.

Enter Dr. Robert Lustig, Chief Endocrinologist at UCSF Medical Center. Dr. Lustig, in his book Fat Chance, echos much of what Teicholz claims. Sugar is the real culprit. In his book, as well as several YouTube videos, and even a full length documentary entitled, Fed Up, Dr. Lustig explains the science behind the claim and why sugar is really poison to our bodies and is making Americans not only obese, but very sick.

Fed UP

Google his name. Follow the links. There are several really good summaries in video form if you don't want to read the books. But in my opinion, these two books by Lustig and Teicholz should be mandatory reading for every parent, school administrator, doctor and every person that has ever struggled to diet and exercise with minimal to mediocre results. You will now understand, scientifically, what you have known in your heart for a long time. You do not eat more than your thin friends. You are not a gluttonous sloth whose terrible habits have made you fat. You have been filling yourself with poison that has made you fat.

I am all for being responsible for myself and the outcomes in my own life. Sometimes, you need to be educated to make that possible. And the education that the government and the USDA and FDA have been feeding us has been ALL WRONG!! Now, finally, I think there is a path forward.

I am taking the no-sugar challenge and cutting out all sugar for 10 days....hopefully more, but let's start with 10 and go from there. In the meantime, check out the links in this post. I urge you.

BTW, twenty years ago the public went on a campaign to get the government to regulate tobacco. Many of us, myself included (and yes, I was a smoker), were incensed that the government was going to try to regulate what was good for us.  Guess what? I finally caved and quit smoking along with hundreds of thousands of others world-wide. I am totally grateful and I am a hell of a lot healthier because of it.

Now let's tackle obesity.