Sugar

A while back, I asked Google a question, as I sometimes do for fun: “Is Sugar Poison?” I googled. Among the top results was a YouTube video called “The Bitter Truth” given by UCSF pediatric endocrinologist Robert Lustig. At that point, the video had been viewed I think six million times, which could only mean one of two things: Either it’s very interesting, or it’s totally crazy.

Call me intrigued. So I clicked on the video and began to watch. To my surprise, it was a highly detailed molecular biochemistry lecture, the type of thing that would put insomniacs right to sleep. How does this thing have millions of views?? I’m sure there are lots of people who couldn’t make it through the whole thing, but I did. In fact, I watched it several times.

The gist of the video is that sugar is literally toxic, depending on the dose. It turns out that sugar is toxic to your liver in much the same way as alcohol is. Sugar found in nature, mostly in fruit, is packaged together with its antidote: fiber. Fiber makes sugar a slow-release drug. But processed food is all about stripping any fiber out. Without the fiber, the sugar hits your system in massive doses, which overwhelms and damages your liver.

Hormones are a trending topic, what with all of the hormone disrupting chemicals in plastics, flame retardants and household products. Well, sugar is a hormone disruptor too. Another Lustig lecture for MIT alumni is about how sugar consumption also throws your whole metabolism out of whack, leading to constant hunger, fatigue, weight gain and mood swings. Sound familiar?

I found Dr. Lustig to be really persuasive. So I decided to try quitting added sugar. Boy, did I. And no, I didn’t replace it with fake sugar (that’s a whole other post). I just quit, cold turkey. No sweetened yogurt, not raisins, most bread was out, no ketchup, no orange juice. I wasn’t prepared for what would happen. And anyone who tries this, I caution you to heed my words.

Living in the city at the time, I passed multiple pastry carts on the way to work. Normally I’m not even remotely tempted by these gross street pastries (no offense if you are). But suddenly they were sirens screaming my name: EAT ME, LILIAN! Standing online to pay for food was super stressful. Going to the super market, I suddenly realized there was almost nothing I could buy.

Besides the constant cravings, my moods were out of control. For two weeks I was angry. Really freaking angry. Then for two weeks I was weepy. I cried about everything. And suddenly I was fine, and the cravings stopped. On Easter I ate a piece of Saint Honoré, which is a delicious French pastry dessert. I was tachycardic. I felt high. And most importantly, I didn’t want a second piece. The first piece was delicious but way too much.

If you know anything about me, you know that I am a dessert fan. I was not a person who ate one slice of Saint Honoré, okay? I was a person who would eat dessert until it was gone. If we had company over for dinner, and bought a cake, my husband and I would eat nothing but cake the next day. We are not overweight because of our genetics, but it wasn’t good for us, that’s for sure.

My favorite thing about Dr. Lustig is that he doesn’t actually recommend dieting. Because everybody knows, dieting doesn’t work. The idea is just to “Eat Real Food,” like it says on that billboard off of the BQE in Greenpoint. Real food is high fiber, low sugar. Fake food is low fiber, high sugar. And most importantly, celebrate sweetness.

Do I forbid myself from eating dessert? Hell no! But I certainly don’t waste it on orange juice or candy bars (I get acid reflux just thinking about these things). My criteria is simple: Once a week, I can have a dessert that is either a work of art (like a pastry from a local baker), or a dessert that I’ve made myself. Sugar is a reward, and a pleasure, and I wouldn’t forgo these things.

For daily cravings, I eat a piece of dark chocolate, fruit, or nuts. I have more energy, less moodiness, my acid reflux has disappeared, ten pounds melted off of me and stayed off, and I couldn’t be happier. And I love that I have a weekly dessert indulgence to look forward to. My husband and the babies love it when I bake. It’s really a great way to live. I recommend to anyone to try this, if you haven’t tried it already.