Have you seen “Fat Head,” the documentary by Tom Naughton? Naughton wanted to disprove Morgan Spurlock’s popular “Supersize Me” theories and does so with gusto.
I watched it a few weeks ago on Netflix. Watch brilliance, counter to everything you’ve ever been taught in health class. The USDA food pyramid this ain’t:
Naughton mentions Gary Taubes frequently. Taubes of “Good Calories, Bad Calories” fame just published another article on sugar which is … well, unsettling: Is Sugar Toxic? Beyond the evidence that sugar contributes more to heart disease than saturated fat, it also feeds cancer. Yes, feeds it. It’s not the sugar per se, but the insulin response.
Could you give up sugar? Or severely limit it to a once-a-month type treat?
How would you coerce convince your family to do the same?
Politicaljunkie Mom 
that documentary sounds good. I remember watching and enjoying Supersize Me back in the day. Didn’t change my habits as a result.
I have never changed diet based on any expert recommendations. The only dieting I have done, post pregnancy, is thru exercise and overall calorie counting. Pure math, no science, so to speak.
But I’ve never had blood sugar issues that I’m aware. Also I’ve never seen sugar affect my kids’ behavior. The whole “sugar makes you hyper” thing seems like a myth in my experience. Yet, it must be true for some.
This isn’t so much dieting as … well, better for you. It’s not a diet per se (though aspects of it are, I guess, and that’s what I’m using now). Even sans blood sugar problems like mine, the research being done on glucose and fructose now isn’t so much a “makes you hyper” thing, it’s a causes cancer and/or feeds cancer thing. Sugar causes inflammation. That’s a known. But the idea that sugar specifically feeds cancer cells is frightening to me. Science and goverment have pushed the “fat makes us fat” mem for 30 years, and the excuse given to explain why more people are fat and at risk for heart disease is the standard: well, americans are gross and have no willpower. But if we’re not *meant* to exist on low-fat diets or eat the food pyramid recommended 6-11 servings of grain, then what? And that’s what research shows. It’s much like the dermatologist whose career was ruined over suggesting that the sharp rise in skin cancer rates wasn’t because of global warming, but because people were wearing TOO MUCH sunscreen and not making enough viatamin D. his theories have been vindicated, but you’ll still see the no-sun for you line. i still need to read his new book…
I should mention, though, that I’ve always had hyperinsulimia–even as a kid. I was on a severely carb restricted diet as a child. And now I am again. No fun, but once you’re in the groove it gets a little easier.
JACG: ditto here, but the Taubes line is that nearly all carbohydrates are bad for you as it all provokes an insulin response. So no flour, not just white, no sugar, little fruit. The sweets we eat are usually homemade, too, (because we, too, have sweet teeth lol). Though after a week of no sugar, it’s amazing how sweet a piece of fruit is.
@Lisa, I strongly suggest watching it. I had read a lot of the background before and am familiar with the idea of paleo diets and with Weston Price. My husband, however, had not. It was interesting watching how mind-bending it was for him. And depressing for me in a way to realize what I have to do with our diets…
Fascinating. I will have to check out this documentary.
Also, have you read the blog Words of Wisdom by Skip Hallwell? He has great info on all sorts of nutrition and has touched on sugar a lot.
I don’t eat much in the way of processed foods and when I eat sweets it is usually things that I bake myself. But, I have a sweet tooth and would have a hard time giving it up.
Great find.