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by jimeuxx 4506 days ago
I don't think the idea that junk food is bad for you is surprising to anyone, even if Lustig paints it as a revelation. Have you tried 500 calories worth of apples?

The closer people move to actual food and sanity, the further I feel we'll move away from obesity. Rehashed sensationalism helps few other than diet gurus and their brand.

2 comments

How about 500 calories worth of 100% natural apple juice (about 4.5 cups)

Try it. Drink it and come back in 15-20 minutes and let me know.

Then try 11 slices of pan fried bacon (43 cal/slice according to google) and then tell me how hungry you are in 15-20 minutes.

I don't think that is a fair comparison, can you drink fried bacon? Why would you compare liquid juice with hard meal? It is much easier to digest juice, why not just take a kilo of apples (520 calories)?
because fiber.

Okay, how about half a cup of heavy cream instead of bacon. I guarantee you won't feel hungry 15-20 minutes late.

All this is fun for experimenting, but none of it proves that we need to remove sugar from our diets. Food is complex and shouldn't be reduced to macronutrients. Maybe the protein in the bacon or the nitrites challenging your bowels contribute to your satiety too.

If Lustig's views stop people from pounding soda all the way to the diabetician's office, then great, but if they start putting you off of fruit and vegetables then I think it becomes highly questionable.

Fruits in their natural state with lots of good cleansing fiber and lots of non-starcy vegetables are awesome! I think everyone agrees that should be the core of a healthy diet. I think even most people agree protein is generally a "good thing".

What we don't agree on are the roles of starches, sugars (added and in drinks), and fats. What we do know is that the combination of both leads to bad things in excess. What a lot of folks that have cut out sugar/most carbohydrates will tell you, is that they feel much much better and lose weight easily and effortlessly, even without making a conscious effort to restrict calories or exercise more.

On the other hand, many people on high-carb, low-fat diets struggle to lose weight without careful caloric restriction and additional exercise.

Of course, anecdotal and such, but come on - it is sorta kinda obvious here.

I don't see why this is downvoted. Actually 500 calories worth of apples will keep you satisfied at least an hour. And try to eat a thousand, I bet you can't. I believe that low fat, high carb diet is much more sustainable, but one have to try it to see how it works. All that sugar blaming is just a fad and it will pass on, the main problem with sugar is that is almost always accompanied with tons of fat, you would not believe it. Take raw potato with <1g of fat on a kilo, and french fries that have 154g of fat per kilo! Are carbs from potato the problem?
Perhaps, but it seems to me at this point in time most every variety of special diet has been tried, and I've never heard of a low fat high carb being effective, whereas there are MANY thousands of people that rave about the amazing effectiveness of a low carb high fat/protein diet.

If you have evidence to the contrary, preferably including a forum of people who have had success, but even just the common name of such a diet, I'd be quite interested to read about it.

> Take raw potato with <1g of fat on a kilo, and french fries that have 154g of fat per kilo! Are carbs from potato the problem?

From anything I've read, the answer is yes, the carbs are the technical problem, but another at least as important factor is: french fries are delicious, so you'll eat 3 times as many.

Thanks for honest answer :) It's interesting how there is so much evidence for whatever approach you take on foods :D I guess one can only try and see how anything works for him.

Well, there is no consensus about common name and there are more than one approaches to this kind of eating (high carb, low fat, low protein) I will list you some references so you can see what I'm talking about. In no special order:

http://www.heartattackproof.com/articles.htm http://www.drmcdougall.com/health/shopping/books/starch-solu... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XVf36nwraw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5wfMNNr3ak http://www.nealbarnard.org/ http://www.youtube.com/user/PrimitiveNutrition/videos http://nutritionstudies.org/