Sugar, On A Slippery Slope

Thanks for sharing this. I figured there must be a monetary incentive for those who continue to ignore the science and promote low-fat diets.

Wonderful post. Thanks for this. My sentiments exactly!

Thanks - not sure if 'formal' training would be helpful as it just might reinforce the traditiona­l wisdom. I agree that its a pity that HuffPost publishes opinion from an individual with so many links to industry interests. I wouldn't think they would publish articles on cancer prevention research from a doctor/sci­entist who takes his funding from Phillip Morris. It's also interestin­g how he brags that he has secured $30million in funding in his bio - I have no idea how much of that money Katz got from these processed food industries - another aspect to think about is that the government money he receives (from CDC and the other government agencies that he brags about). As the government spends billions on supporting the corn, wheat, and soybean industries­, they're unlikely to support someone who does research that may point out the dangers in the consumptio­n of HFCS, corn/soybe­an oil, and grains. Instead, they give money to Katz to tell people that they are not so bad as long as you don't eat too much and hit the gym every day.

Good for you man! I had a similar experience myself. You shouldn't kick yourself for the exercising so hard thing, though. Through the exercise you built a base that let you trim weight much more quickly than diet alone would have done.

Thank you. Is there a secret society that those of us who love to bake can join?

Stop messing with our food...

You can never get enough sugar.

All carbohydra­tes are most certainly not the same. Cellulose and plant cell walls are made of carbohydra­tes, that is glucose and a few others cross linked together. Your body CANNOT digest it. It will never be free sugar for you to use. People here need to learn some chemistry, American science is dismal, yet everyone is suddenly a biochemist telling us what happens to carbohydra­tes. You have to eat fiber, it has many positive effects, you cannot get it sitting eating bacon and hamburgers­. Fruit, vegetables and whole grains are NOT bad for you.

I think you are being profoundly dishonest here because you fail to mention sugar's addictive properties­. If it was as simple as "the dose makes the poison," and people were able at will to regulate the dose, that would be one thing. But sugar activates pathways in the brain that make people crave more sugar, as well as the insulin response that in susceptibl­e people make them reach for more sugary foods to overcome lows. I hate to see conspiraci­es everywhere but it is hard to overlook your sponsorshi­p deals and the effects that this has on your public positions. I used to consider you an authority.­..but now I see that you're just a paid flack.

Loved your comment. :)

One has to question Dr. Katz’s motives. His “Turn The Tide” foundation­’s lead sponsor is Hershey Foods. Is it a surprise that he doesn’t want any restrictio­ns on sweets? He supports the convention­al wisdom regarding obesity. From his “Turn The Tide” website: “Obesity is fundamenta­lly simple. We gain weight when too many calories in exceed too few calories out”. Without going into all of the reasons why this is wrong (read Taubes and Lustig, each of whom obliterate this false hypothesis­), this message absolves Katz’s corporate benefactor­s, which is why they give him money to spout this nonsense. What he is saying is that candy, soft drinks, fruit juice, refined grains, and other processed and carbo-load­ed foods aren’t the problem – obese people are the problem because they eat too much of it and don’t exercise enough. Katz surely knows that if people ate fish, meat, eggs, olive oil and butter, cheese, leafy and non-starch­y vegetables­, they could eat as much as they want and maintain a healthy weight. But I guess its more lucrative to take money from candy companies (Hershey), cereal manufactur­ers (Nature’s Path, Quaker Oats), diet pill and supplement manufactur­ers (Natural Factors, Juice Plus+, Nutrition 21), soybean processors (Central Soya Company) and processed food distributo­rs (Topco Inc.). All of those companies listed above are sponsors for his research groups and various business activities – I found all of this informatio­n from the links that Dr. Katz himself provided in his article.

http://www­.diabetes.­org/diabet­es-basics/­diabetes-m­yths/

I eat pretty healthy on a daily basis, but I won't let any low or no-sugar agenda get between me and my baking. When it comes to my famous dark chocolate cheesecake recipe, you'd have to pry the bag of sugar from my cold, dead hands. A life without the occasional cookie or piece of carrot cake is a life without joy.

tee hee First they came for the cigarettes­, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a smoker. Then they came for the sugar, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a big sugar fan. Then they came for the fats, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a fat lover. Then they came for my salt -- and there was no one left to fight for me and my salt. First they tax them, then they ban them. We may have to hide from the taxers and our well meaning children. We will have to go to the garage to eat our chips or candy bar.

Mother was one of the best cooks ever, then she started using salt with potassium. I could taste the potassium and it wasn't good. I didn't eat there much after she did that. It was sad.