We loved watching That Sugar Film on our flight from the Philippines to Australia for the 2015 Melbourne Ironman. Luckily I avoided the orange juice offered on the flight as I do not take sugar (or added sugars) as part of my Primed Lifestyle. That Sugar Movie offers many amazing insights into the harmful effects of sugar as well as the many seemingly healthy products it is in.

Here is my quick synopsis of That Sugar Film:

The film is in a documentary style with some nice cameos from Aussie Hugh Jackman and my favorite comedian Englishman Stephen Fry. Like Hugh did for Wolverine, I did an intermittent fast of 20 hours after a delicious Primed pre-flight meal so I could avoid the temptation of any non-Primed food and beverages (including alcohol) on my flight.

That Sugar Film shows that at the start of the 20th century sugar was very rare but became all pervasive in the 70s with the commencement of the low fat movement where sugar replaced quality fats.

That Sugar Film tracks 60 days of director Damon Gameau where he consumes 40 teaspoons of sugar per day in ordinary foods that are purported to be healthy (examples include fruit yoghurt, breakfast cereal, juices, sports drinks etc.). He does not consume any of his sugar from soft drinks, cakes, ice cream or candies but from products where you might not expect such high levels of sugar.

Damon starts at a healthy 76 kilograms, 84 cm waist and no sign of diabetes.

How Did Damon Consume His 40 Teaspoons of Sugar Per Day?

Simple juices that look healthy have a staggering amount of sugar hidden in them. A healthy body has just 1 teaspoon of sugar/glucose and any additional amount above this can have adverse consequences on your body and brain. Damon maintained the same number of calories in his food and the same exercise regime throughout the 60 day period as he had been used to previously.

To Damon’s shock even juicing fruit like 4 apples can equate to 16 teaspoons of sugar but without the most needed and beneficial fiber element.

Damon Added 3.3 Kilograms in 18 Days (Mainly Belly Fat) and Developed Fatty Liver Within 18 Days

After 60 Days of 40 Teaspoons of Sugar per Day

Damon developed bad skin, found it hard to exercise, found it hard to sleep (had bags under his eyes), gained 8.5 kilograms, added 10 cm around his waist, developed extreme mood swings, had increased triglyceride levels and had become pre-type 2 diabetic.

From Damon himself: “Counting calories has been the weight loss buzz phrase for many years now and often it has been a message pushed by the food industry. Well from my experience and from the people I met making the film, the calories from sugar behave very differently to other calories. The adage that ‘all calories are equal’ or that ‘a calorie is a calorie’ is in serious need of an update.”

From my friend Washington Doctor Ted Naiman of Burn Fat Not Sugar: “Oh hey look, 1 in 12 humans on the entire face of the earth now have full diabetes!
In China and India it is even higher at 1 in 10.
Three human generations ago it was 1 in 4,000.
Diabetes is also set to dramatically increase in the next 20 years.
Which is probably right about when the science will catch up and somebody will realize that we should probably restrict our dietary carbohydrate intake, as carbohydrates are a seasonal macronutrient signal in omnivore mammals (like humans) that we need to become insulin resistant and eat as much as possible during the high carbohydrate ‘summer’ so we can have enough fat to survive a low calorie ‘winter’ that is never arriving.
(ಠ_ಠ)”

The Bottom Line is Simple, Processed Carbs = Sugar

If you want to feed yourself and your family well That Sugar Film is a must see movie. It shows the destructive path sugar has led us on and gives insights on how we can battle its destructive, addictive path.