[chordalkeyboard]

> The whole concept of using poisonous chemicals to alter your brain state was and still is very alien to me. I just don't get it. Willingly disrupt your body's functions on a cellular level hoping for something good, while all the scientific evidence points only to the bad? Still don't get it.

So in the ancestral environment they fermented grain (first by accident, then on purpose) which became a means of preserving the calories from competitor organisms. This phenomenon probably co-evolved with agriculture and predates written records.

Note that in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh (agricultural) and Enkidu (a 'wild man' which would imply he came from a pre-agricultural, foraging people) were to fight but they gave Enkidu beer and a woman. This probably indicates that beer was something the agriculturalists had and the 'wild men' did not.

[gonehome]

Unless the OP is also eating some sort of super healthy no sugar diet (maybe they are, but I doubt it) this is just rationalizing a decision made for other reasons.

The reason people are annoyed by it isn't because they don't understand it, it's because he's condescending and self-righteous, it's moralizing.

People make all sorts of things their identity and that's fine, but there's some sort of lack of curiosity that makes them a little less interesting imo. A candy bar isn't good for you, but people enjoy them on occasion. That's true of a lot of things in life.

The majority (but not all) people I've known in this category have been mormons, obviously people can do as they wish, but it's often other beliefs driving this with after the fact reasoning applied vs. some epistemically consistent model.

[divan]

> A candy bar isn't good for you

Oh it's very good for you, especially if low on glucose at the moment. Sugar is not bad per se. Glucose is the main molecule that transfers energy in your body, so we love sweet taste for a reason.

The problem with sugar is that we don't have a sensor that would say "hey, that was enough glucose intake, stop now". Historically there was no such concept as "too much food". Every molecule of glucose was meant to save you from death. That's why we love sweet taste so much.

The problem, of course, that we hijacked that pleasure response from glucose intake and started to pump sugar in our food like crazy. And discovered that it wreaks havoc on our metabolic fitness, health and lifespans, so now pushing back to limit sugar in our diets.

Bottom line, I try to balance my sugar intake (definitely not pouring it into the tea) and waiting for the non-invasive CGMs (Continious Glucose Monitors) to become mainstream, as they will be a game-changer for every person. In a way, the feedback loop between "food intake" and "what's happening to my body" is super slow now - 1-2 years (and is done using mirror in your bedroom). With CGMs it'll shorten to 1-2 minutes.