Earlier this week, my 8 year old daughter and I finally went off to see “That Sugar Film”. It’s been on my list of things to do for more than a month since it’s release so this was long overdue. I won’t leave it til the end of this post to let you know that we both thought it was thoroughly amazing! I am so glad we went.
Here are a few of our thoughts and take-aways from it:
Overall, we both thought the film was beyond fabulous both in terms of it’s message and it’s production values (yes she understands production values and she’s like me, she likes bright colours!). Such a good looking film; cleverly designed to appeal to almost anyone - even folks who may need to be dragged kicking and screaming to a screening. So much kudos to Damon Gameau who had the courage of his conviction. Actually making this film would have taken some intestinal fortitude both because he took on some pretty powerful multi-nationals and governments in the making of it and he also messed around with his own bio-chemistry for the sake of (potentially) making a point.
Turns out, potential became major reality. He successfully managed within a period of 60 days, to give himself fatty liver disease and became pre-diabetic. Impressive considering his bio-markers (bloods, weight etc) were at the upper end of extremely healthy when they were measured at the beginning of the experiment.
Impressive too because according to the parameters set at the beginning of the 60 days, he was only allowed to eat hidden sugars found in “healthy” foods and drinks, such as breakfast cereals, muesli bars and juices - no soft drinks, ice creams, confectionary or chocolate. The rules were that he had to eat 40 teaspoons of this type of sugar everyday. He was to always choose low fat foods and maintain his regular exercise routine.
I am not going to give the whole story away because I really want you to see this film if you haven’t already however, here a a few interesting and even shocking facts that we felt were worth taking notes on in the dark - Margaret Pomeranz eat your heart out!
- In his breakfast, there were 20 teaspoons of sugar consisting of a bowl of Just Right cereal, 2 scoops of yoghurt and a 400 ml glass of apple juice. That’s half of his daily allowance when the day has only just begun.
- Most fruit smoothies have just as much sugar as coke but McDonalds are touting them as a healthy alternative. Damon consumed many juice bar fruit smoothies during the 60 days
- Bliss points were discovered back in the 70 and represent the “ideal” amount of sugar in a product - just before something becomes to sickly sweet to eat or drink. Food manufacturers use this science in their product development. Have we mentioned that sugar is cheap yet? Or addictive?
- When an individual thinks about sugar, dopamine is released and a primal urge says ‘get that because you need it for energy’. Once we taste the sugar, opioids and beta-endorphins are released giving us that sugar high as a reward, which light up the same reward areas as nicotine, cocaine and sex.
- Sugars global trade is worth 50 billion dollars
- When insulin is around dealing with the sugar in our system, we can’t burn fat. Insulin is also working to keep the fat in our cells. Insulin is paid to keep us fat! (well not really but you know what I mean). Insulin is released when we eat sugar!
- A sugar molecule (sucrose), is made up of a fructose molecule and a glucose molecule which is broken down into these two components early in the digestive process. FRUCTOSE IS A HORMONE DISRUPTOR!!!!
- The film talks about the effect of fructose on the liver and the development of fatty liver disease.
- Fatty liver diseased can be reversed very quickly once a sugar free diet is adopted.
Miss 8 loved the film. She may or may not eat less sugar than the average 8 year old (she certainly eats less processed food) but it has changed the way she thinks about it. I think ‘That Sugar Film’ will become a family favourite at our place once the DVD is available. By the way, don’t wait for the DVD, see it now!
Oh and make sure you stay for the end if only to see the little kid chasing Mr Sugar around the escalators.
There was so much more information in this wonderful film. If you get the opportunity, go and see it and take anyone you love with you! I’d love to hear what you think of it in the comments below.
Love
Ros