#ShowMeYourPeanuts Sugar is Poison

by Catherine Giordano

A few months ago Robert Lustig was a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher. 

I wrote a recap of the interview at Robert Lustig--Fed Up. Robert Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist, author of Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease and a featured expert in the new documentary, Fed-Up.

On October 26, John Oliver took on the subject of sugar and raised the volume several hundred notches as Oliver is prone to do. In this hilarious segment, Oliver demonstrates the harmful effects of sugar and shows how much hidden sugar Americans consume. 

 

Oliver suggests that food labels stop reporting the amount of sugar in products as the number of grams—no one understands grams. He wants the sugar content be reported as the number of circus peanuts—a type of candy that Oliver calls “the most disgusting candy ever."

He then suggests that everyone encourage food manufacturers to adopt this new standard by tweeting using the hash tag “SHOWMEYOURPEANUTS."

 

Enjoy the video clip of John Oliver’s segment.

 

 

Now watch Bill Maher’s interview with Robert Lustig for a more serious take on the subject.  John Oliver opened his segment talking about Halloween costumes. If you want a really scary Halloween costume, go as a sugar cube. I think you will agree after watching this video.


CLICK HERE FOR THE DVD

 

 

 

Bill Maher #318 Robert Lustig--Fed-Up

by Catherine Giordano

CLICK HERE for the DVD

 

Everybody is fed-up about something on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” episode 318, which aired on May 16, 2014.  I’ll spoon feed you the details.

The interview was with Robert Lustig: a pediatric endocrinologist, author of Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease and a featured expert in the new documentary, Fed-Up. He believes that Americans are killing themselves with poor diet choices.  He brings a lot of scary facts to the table. 

• The maximum amount of sugar that is safe to eat is 6 to 9 teaspoons a day.  The average American is getting 22 teaspoons a day. Sugar went from a condiment to a diet staple.
• Sugar causes the same diseases as alcohol.
• Orange juice is not good for you. The only good part of the orange is the fiber.
• Obesity has gotten so bad that there is an epidemic of obese 6-month old children.  Even newborns are obese.

There are three big myths that Lustig wants to expose.

1. Obesity itself is not the problem No. one manifestation of the problem. Chronic Metabolic Disease is the problem. TOFI (Thin outside, fat inside) is the problem.
2. A calorie is a calorie. No, calories from sugar are worse than other calories.
3. It’s about personal responsibility. No, it’s about corporate responsibility.  Sugar laden foods are designed to be addictive.

He is not sugar-coating the dangers. I think I am going to see this documentary and read his book. I think most of America should too.

Watch the interview.

Guests for May 16, 2014 #318:

 

Robert Lustig: a pediatric endocrinologist, author of Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease and a featured expert in the new documentary, Fed-Up.

Ian Bremmer:  a political scientist, president and founder of the Eurasia Group, author of Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World

Kellyanne Conway: Republican strategist and pollster, president and CEO of “The Polling Group”

Brian Schweitzer: former governor (D, MT)

Kevin Nealon: actor and comedian, author of Yes, You’re Pregnant, But What About Me