From Timothy Ferriss’s Tribe of Mentors, this is a section from Dr. Lewis Cantley regarding a message on a billboard:
My message would be: “Sugar is toxic.” Sugar and other natural or artificial sweeteners are among the most addictive agents in our environment. When consumed in quantities that exceed the rate of metabolism in muscle or the brain, sugar is converted to fat, resulting in insulin resistance, obesity, and an increased risk of many other diseases, including cancers. While consuming fats and proteins evokes a feeling of satiety, consuming sugars induces a desire for more sugar within an hour or so. We evolved this addiction because, in the not-so-distant past, adding fat to our bodies at the end of a growing season when fruits were ripe was essential for surviving until the next growing season. But today, sugar is available all year round and is one of the cheapest foods available. So we continually add fat to our bodies. We may be approaching a time when sugar is responsible for more early deaths in America than cigarette smoking. I have written and lectured extensively on this subject over the past ten years as our understanding of the biochemical basis for the toxicity of sugar, especially the link to cancer, has become more clear.
I didn’t know about Cantley before I read this book (I posted about him at the bottom of this post from wiki). But this really stuck out to me, because I trust science more than most. Professionals in their field should be listened to, IMHO.
I have started hearing/noticing warnings about sugar within the last couple of years, but ignored them for the most part. You know when you buy a car that you’ve never really had your eye on, and then you see them EVERYWHERE on the road. I imagine that’s what’s happening now regarding sugar. I see warnings about sugar everywhere on the road.
The warning signs on sugar and sugar substitutes are everywhere. I watched a few documentaries on food over the past several years, and almost any one of the ones worth watching warn about sugar, processed foods, added sugars, high-fructose corn syrup, et al. And for the most part, Tina and I did our best to heed some of the warnings. We generally stay out of the middle of grocery stores. We concentrate on the meats and veggies. And alcohol, if you must know. But that’s something that processes as a sugar too.
While on the W30 diet, you can have fruits that process as sugar, but never alone. They want you to eat it with protein, eggs or meat. Otherwise, you’re liable to feed a sugar craving directly and it’s supposedly not good. (I know, a cult!).
Today is day seven of being on this diet. And while there have been some ups and downs, I swear, yesterday I felt Gee to the Are to the Eee to the Aye capital T!
I ran 5.25 miles and swam a fast 1.25 miles. We cooked most of the day otherwise. I feel clear headed and somewhat calm.
I’ve had some days that could only be described as “I can’t control my anger.” But the good so far has outweighed the bad.
Maybe this post is an inadvertent recommendation to “Join me and my cult of W30-ers. Ask Whole30 into your stomach and body. It will cleanse you from the cancerous death of sugars …”
Oh man, I’ve drank the sugar-free Coo Coo CoolAid.
Here is from Wiki about Lewis Cantley:
Lewis C. Cantley (born February 20, 1949) is an American cell biologist and biochemist who has made significant advances to the understanding of cancer metabolism. Among his most notable contributions are the discovery and study of the enzyme PI-3-kinase, now known to be important to understanding cancer and diabetes mellitus.[1][2] He is currently Meyer Director and Professor of Cancer Biology at the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. He was formerly a professor in the Departments of Systems Biology and Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and the Director of Cancer Research at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2016, he was elected Chairman of the Board for the Hope Funds for Cancer Research.
Le Café Wittypoots 