h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is a link that I'm borrowing from Titania's LCHF journal.It impressed me so much that I want to give it a wider airing. Thanks for posting it, Ti.

It is nearly 90 minutes long, but it has a wealth of information concerning how our bodies metabolize different forms of sugar and why fructose is more dangerous than glucose and equally as dangerous as chronic use of alcohol. It takes a bit of patience to listen to all of it, but it will be worthwhile to anyone who is truly concerned about the obesity epidemic, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.I especially encourage anyone who has small children, is pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant to watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...player_embedded&hl=en&v=dBnniua6-oM

Sitting here with a pot of fresh mashed spuds, with onion and garlic, and a genuine synthetic gravy topper, for my supper ... I can perhaps take a pass on this link?

That sounds very healthy, Nick, except for the gravy.

Nick, I don't expect you or anyone else in particular to actually watch it.You don't have a weight problem or diabetes either one so can be excused for not giving a what causes it. But I think it is important information that will help a lot of people. If no one listens to it, at least I tried.

I've noted it and will watch it tomorrow

Thanks, Hyp

lil x

Thanks Hypatia,

Both Keith and I have Type 2 diabetes which was apparently caused by our respective long-term medications. One cannot win. !!

I am very upset about the fructose. I love fruit and eat a lot of Oh dear. !
No fruit, no sigar, I stopped my daily ration of wine about eight years ago as it seemed to affect my heart rate, no exercise - dfficult in a wheelchair. Really. Yet I love eating and I love life.
Thanks you all the smae I shall listen to it over the weekend. I am fortunate however because I have not put on weight - veree luckee

How are your keeping.And h9w is your special puppy. very gown up I am sure.

With affection

Christiane.
AR80

Wed. 15/IX/2010 BST 17.55

Fruit in moderate amounts is ok for most people because it also comes with fiber and has all other health benefits like vitamin C in citrus, etc. An interesting statement made in the video is that in fruit (paraphrasing here) nature has given us a poison in the form of fructose and an antidote in the form of fiber.

I don't have diabetes, but F did have and so does Syn. His diabetes along with some other health problems were caused by exposure to agent orange when he was in Viet Nam. At least that is the theory. I'm sure his diet also contributed.

I'm well, thank you. The pups are nearing the 8 month mark. All three dogs are a joy to have. Not that my cat Minerva would agree! She feels besieged these days. But she has her bluff in on the pups. She thumps them when they get too hyper around her. The mother dog just ignores Minerva, but the pups want her to play with them.

Fruit??????????

An interesting point made is that even if the FDA accepts that fructose is harmful it would be unlikely to regulate it since it is slow-acting and the health problems build over time. I can't remember the word they use, but it doesn't cause an immediate, accute reaction.

Heavy fingers today, as usual. Removes a "c".

Here's a related article about a hypothesis explaining why and how our bodies process sugar(fructose). (Blame our starving ancestors 15 million years ago.)

http://news.discovery.com/human/sugar-fructose-obesity-diabetes.html

CZ, "The Sugar Fix" is the book I was telling Ti about. Dr. Johnson lays out a program in it to get us off the hard stuff. The first two weeks you eliminate all fruits and products containing added sugars. This supposedly lets you reset your metabolism. Then for life you eat only 25-35 grams of fructose daily. He has lists of foods in the back of the book that gives the fructose content of common foods.

He says that starches like pasta, rice, whole grains, and potatoes are ok because they are converted to glucose and glucose isn't harmful. He also says to limit table sugar because it is half glucose and half fructose. So, if a product says it contains 16 grams of sugar, then 8 or those grams are fructose. Honey is 100% fructose, if I remember right.

The book also talks about uric acid and lists foods to eat sparingly if you have a high uric acid level and foods to help lower it.

But, he also still is pushing the old saw that saturated fat is dangerous. So, that makes me wonder how up to date he is in his research.

I don't have a sweet tooth anyway. I should actually eat more fruit, but rarely do. I might have something sweet once a week. I don't even like sweet foods. Most spaghetti sauces are way too sweet for my taste. (Of course, I drink enough beer to make up for all that .)
Because I eat so little sugar, I've managed to procrastinate a dentist appointment for two decades now. I really need to get a cleaning and check up. I had a filling fall out of a molar twenty years ago and have no signs of decay. The only thing making me avoid it isn't a fear of the dentist, it's aversion to insurance paperwork.

If it was just in desserts/sweets it would be bad enough, but HFCS is added to breads, crackers, soups, sauces, etc. Baby formula is loaded with the stuff. But the biggest offender is soda. People really need to go back to drinking water and save the soda for a special treat, not an every day beverage. Fortunately, I prefer my tea and coffee unsweetened, so that doesn't give me a problem.

And fructose is metabolized the same way as ethanol. One thing the lecturer on the You Tube link says is that a can of coke will affect our health in much the same way as a can of beer. We wouldn't give kids beer, but we think nothing about giving them soda.

All I drink is water (filtered tap, no bottles for me thankyouverymuch) and unsweetened iced tea. My favorite iced tea as a treat is the Tazo shaken iced black tea at Starburks. It's the cheapest thing on their menu. What I make at home is mostly Luzianne, two family size bags, with a couple of single bags of some specialty tea like Celestial Seasonings Mandarin Orange Spice just for a bit of pizazz. I found another brand and flavor I liked at Cost+ but I can't quite recall it. It was expensive but very good, came in a small round tin, peach I think.

I buy either Luzianne or Tetley. I like both of them for iced tea. I've been using PG Tips for hot tea. I can finally buy it here. But *sacriledge* I can't tell any difference between it and Tetley, so I plan to go back to the cheaper one as soon as my box runs out.

Carp. I am going to have to watch that. The Star loves his fruit and I have been smuggly congratulating myself on how easy it is to get him to eat his 5 a day, especially if that 5 is mostly fruit.

I have a horrible feeling that in the end I will discover that the average Russian diet is not only low GI, but also good for this too, although now I think about it, low GI is all about slow release sugar. And there is me taking the mickey out of their total anti greens stance. Poo.

Yorkshire Tea, Hyp, Yorkshire Tea. We'll have to send you a care package.

I was like you, Count Zero. Not a big sweet tooth & hadn't been to the dentist in close to 2 decades. When I took out health insurance a couple of years back, I started going every six months because they give me a free check-up and clean. (Note: I live in Australia, so not sure if it works the same overseas.)

"I found another brand and flavor [of tea] I liked at Cost+ but I can't quite recall it. It was expensive but very good, came in a small round tin, peach I think."

That would be "The Republic of Tea", I think (~ 50 round teabags?). Their teas are brilliant -- and almost affordable in the months leading up to the holidays. Trader Joe's has a great black tea with mango. Very affordable.

I don't drink fruit juice, no diabetic should unless it's a low blood sugar emergency. Even then, it's a fast enough boost to my blood sugar that I swear it makes my eyeballs wobble! Fruit, as unprocessed as possible, is fine -- grapes are the source of resveratrol. So, not all bad.

I think I mostly follow Michael Pollan these days. "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." That'd make a great tee shirt!

I think it was Republic of Tea, thanks.