Ancel Keys Study
In 1958, an American biochemist and epidemiologist, Ancel Keys, started the 7 Countries Study (the “Study”) which looked at heart disease in an analysis linking heart disease to fat consumption. In the mid 1970’s, following the release of the Study and the “lipid hypothesis” as the driving force behind heart disease, the USDA, the American Heart Association, and the American Medical Association launched new dietary recommendations to the nation by introducing significant changes to the recommended food pyramid. Dietary guidelines focused heavily on reducing fat and increasing carbohydrate consumption with the goal of reducing the risk of heart disease and associated health problems in the US. Ironically, it was this evolution of the Standard American Diet (or as it should be appropriately called the SAD diet) that has significantly contributed to the increase in obesity and obesity related diseases.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics (US).Health, United States, 2008: Hyattsville (MD): National Center for Health Statistics (US); 2009 Mar. Chart book.
Unfortunately, the Study did not consider the impact of sugars existing in the majority of these refined carbohydrate foods (which include refined flour products such as breads, pastries, cakes and biscuits). Countries that had the highest incidence of heart disease, such as the United States, ate diets higher in fats AND added sugar. This change in the food pyramid (below) stimulated the explosion of the “low fat”, “fat free” diets and the refined and processed food era.
Sugar, processed carbohydrates and trans hydrogenated fats such as corn, sunflower and vegetable oils are to blame for this exponential rise in disease and not saturated fat as was originally hypothesized by Keys.
Ultimately, the Study led to the disastrous changes to the USDA food pyramid which focus on increased consumption of carbohydrate rich foods.
It really is quite simple. The study was flawed, and the culprit was not fat, as hypothesized, but more specifically, trans fats and added sugar, including sucrose (composed of fructose and glucose) and, more recently, high fructose corn syrup, which were added to processed carbohydrate foods to make them taste better. Sucrose and its component, fructose, take a variety of forms, which the food industry exploits by using pseudonyms such as dextrose, maltose, lactose, malt syrup, rice syrup, corn syrup solids, and ethyl maltol to hide commonly associated names for sugar, of which the FDA provides no sugar intake guidelines as they do for fat, alcohol, and salt. High fructose corn syrup was first introduced to US manufacturers in 1975 and used to sweeten foods and drinks like sodas.
Excess sugar and carbohydrates make you FAT and not fat itself.
How Does Excess Sugar Make You Fat?
On average, adults consume 90 grams of sugar per day. Children and adolescents can consume 143g/day and some heavier users 208g/day, which represents up to 52 teaspoons of sugar a day. Remember, the total blood system contains only 5g of glucose, so any more sugar requires a surge of insulin to control excessive blood sugar levels. When you digest too much sugar, your insulin levels surge, and your body immediately puts the sugar into fat cells for storage.
One of the greatest problems with fructose is that it cannot be utilized by body cells to make energy and is subsequently stored as fat in the liver, the walls of blood vessels, and in the body, causing fat gain. This also increases the risk of heart disease because it produces heavy, low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) that can embed in the arterial walls, causing inflammation and plaque formation (or arteriosclerosis). Fructose sugar, unlike glucose, does not stimulate leptin (a hormone that tells us when we have eaten enough), so when high fructose foods are consumed, our brain does not receive the signal from leptin to tell us we have eaten enough. Consequently, we eat more, and the vicious cycle continues, as does the growth in sugar-related diseases, including heart disease and cancers, especially as cancer cells feast and thrive on sugar.
A high-sugar diet essentially becomes a high-fat diet because both fructose and excess glucose sugar are stored as fat. Sugar, aside from increasing the production of fat, dense lipoproteins, and inflammation, also impacts the balance of healthy gut bacteria. Recent studies have shown that obese individuals have a very different array of gut bacteria (a lack of Bacteroidetes and Bifidobacterium and an increase in Firmicutes) than thinner individuals, and these bacteria may contribute to weight gain and insulin resistance. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome may, therefore be related to a lack of these specific bacteria living in the gut, also known as our microbiome. Sugars and refined carbohydrates provide little nutrition to friendly bacteria. Without good nutrition, the beneficial bacterial species starve and die, leaving the bad bacteria to thrive and sugar-thriving fungal species such as Candida. Clinical data suggest it may be important to provide beneficial bacteria (probiotics) such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and oligosaccharides (produced from the fermentation of soluble fiber), in order to support the colonization of beneficial bacteria in the gut which support weight loss, glucose metabolism and to reduce inflammation, commonly initiated by an excessive sugar intake.
Fat cells are “sugar loving” cells.
Fat cells love insulin and will open their doors for glucose and fructose at any time. Fat cells also contribute to inflammation creating more cellular damage.
Keeping blood glucose levels to only 5g in a high sugar intake scenario places tremendous stress on our bodies. Insulin is a hormone released from the pancreas to control blood sugar levels within a very small range and helps move glucose into the cells, acting as the gatekeeper that opens the cell doors to let glucose in. Excess glucose is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles and as visceral fat in the body to be used as an energy source when glucose levels drop. Fat cells love insulin and will open their doors for glucose and fructose anytime. Fat cells are “sugar-loving” cells. When cells are constantly exposed to high glucose levels from our high sugar and processed carbohydrate diets and high levels of insulin secreted to manage these high levels, they become tired of opening their doors to this constant bombardment and eventually shut down and do not respond to insulin. “Insulin resistance” is the hallmark of metabolic syndrome, which reduces the body’s ability to use glucose and increases inflammation.
Fat cells also contribute to inflammation, creating more cellular damage. Sugar is a major promoter of inflammation and may be a leading contributor to the dramatic increase in the incidence of obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and brain disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as mood swings and energy crashes. These illnesses, along with cravings for more sugar (as a result of adrenal stimulation and cortisol release), are symptoms of too much sugar in your diet. Making the correct food selections is vital to reduce glucose and fructose levels in the body and to control the speed at which they pass into the blood system.
It is not necessarily about how much food you eat but how much of the wrong food you eat, especially sugar-rich foods and refined carbohydrates.
What about Soft drinks?
Colas have caffeine (a diuretic) and also contain salt, which in combination, increase thirst, dehydration and the desire to drink more. The size of soft drink bottles and their overall consumption has escalated over the past 100 years.
A 12oz can of cola has 39 grams of sugar, a 65oz bottle 65 grams of sugar, and a 1 liter (34oz) bottle has 108 grams of sugar. It is not just cola - many other soft drinks contain up to a whopping 124 grams of sugar in a 1 liter bottle.
Please look at www.sugarstacks.com which looks at many foods and beverages and the levels of sugar they contain.
