20 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
maxharrisJun 2017Strongly recommends
If this article is correct, please explain why my blood pressure and cholesterol figures go through the roof when my diet includes fructose. Please also explain how and why everything goes back to normal when I cut fructose out entirely. I am an quite serious - I do not allow even trace amounts in sauces and mayo and the like, nor in hidden sources such as "agave nectar" (which is 50-90% fructose). Oh and BTW, I eat TONS of pasta, saturated fat (including butter), plants, and a really nice steak every month. I pour heavy whipping cream into my coffee every morning (not the usual trash, but the fancy expensive stuff free of polysorbate 80 and carrageenan.) Unless you're eating a fresh strawberry that hasn't been mutilated in a blender (and even then, not too many all at once), fructose makes you fat because it messes with your appetite regulation in the bad direction. Even a little fructose makes you hungry. Dietary fat (saturated or otherwise) does the exact opposite: all other things being equal, it makes you feel sated. Don't just take my experience over the last ten years into account - here's a leading endocrinologist that's overturning decades of dogma. He'll set you right: ▶ this video
in “Coconut oil isn't healthy and it's never been healthy” · View on HN
djsumdogDec 2016Strongly recommends
I agree with you. This article also mentions they're focusing on fats/saturated fats; which is also a terrible focus. The real danger is not fat, even saturated/trans-fats, but starches and sugar. The increase in these types of carbohydrates in products like baby formula is actually leading to obesity in infants! Excess sugar can stress arteries and damage them. Cholesterol is carried to these artier by lipids (LDLs and HDLs, which are not actually cholesterol, but proteins that carry it through your bloodstream). If you eat a lot of sugar, cholesterol can build up between the walls of arteries as they fix the damage. They can eventually break down the wall, releasing plaque into the bloodstream and potentially causing heart complications. I highly recommend Dr. Lustig's video (UCTV) to learn more: ▶ this video A few years back I switched to a keto normal fat/very low carb (excluding fiber) diet. I've lost weight, gained energy and have felt a lot better. Of course this isn't for everyone. Some people have a body type that lends itself to higher carb intake (I knew a runner who'd eat 30 bananas a week) and as always do your research, consult with your doctor, dietitian, etc. before drastic changes in your diet. It's a common myth that Adkins died of his own diet. He didn't, and Reuters rededicated their column implying that he did. I honestly wonder if the obesity epidemic would have gone down today if the world didn't dismiss his ideas, or the ideas of many nutritionist for decad
in “US government to withdraw longstanding warnings about cholesterol (2015)” · View on HN
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brian_cunnieOct 2020Recommends
Don't take my word for it (how bad sugar is). Go to an expert: Dr. Robert Lustig, Endocrinologist at UCSF. "Sugar, the Bitter Truth" [0]. He'll describe the metabolic pathways of sugar. Key take-away: fructose is processed by the liver, and much of its calories is turned to fat. [0] ▶ this video
in “Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges” · View on HN
mtgxDec 2018Recommends
For starters, stop ingesting all things that have fructose in them. The U.S. government is really kind of complicit in allowing the spread of diabetes and NASH to happen in the first place by allowing harmful substances such as high-fructose corn syrup and to be infused into anything you can find in a store or fast food. Sure, it's ultimately an issue of education, but when the vast majority of foods have this stuff in them, educating every person on non eating most of the available foods in stores becomes very difficult. Watch how the metabolism of alcohol and fructose compare: ▶ this video
in “The $35B race to cure a silent killer that affects 30M Americans” · View on HN
ibejoebJun 2017Recommends
Robert Lustig does a good talk about sugar metabolism in "Sugar: The Bitter Truth": ▶ this video Also, "The Trouble with Fructose": [link] Despite the baity titles, it's a good talk with real biochemistry. Edit: better video added up top
in “The Liver: A ‘Blob’ That Runs the Body” · View on HN
08-15Feb 2017Recommends
This is almost right, but still manages to be dangerously wrong. Frustose and glucose are very different, one never gets converted to the other. All cells can and will take up and metabolize glucose, but only the liver can import and metabolize fructose. Metabolically, fructose does not behave like a carbohydrate, but like alcohol. Insulin affects mostly fat, muscle and liver cells. They react by storing the excess glucose, which they do harmlessly. Excess glucose does not cause insulin tolerance; fructose seems to do that, thought I don't remember the whole mechanism. Neither chitin nor lignin are carbohydrates, lignin isn't even chemically related. Even ruminants can't digest lignin, only a few funghi can do that. At any rate, the bottom line is that frustose is a problem, glucose isn't, and lumping both under "carbs" confuses matters. See ▶ this video for lots of details. (But don't take Dr. Lustig's words at face value---check other sources. Most of it is uncontroversial.)
in “DNA tests show Subway sandwiches could contain just 50% chicken” · View on HN
pkulakAug 2015Recommends
Here's the video that started a lot of the public awareness of the issue: ▶ this video And there's also now a great documentary on Netflix called "Fed Up" ( [link] ), for anyone who has a subscription. It particularly tackles this silly idea that it's okay to eat and drink shitty food all day, so long as you exercise for a little bit too.
in “Coca-Cola Funds Scientists Who Shift Blame for Obesity Away from Bad Diets” · View on HN
doolsDec 2012Recommends
This is a relevant and very informative video about the impact of sugar on humans: ▶ this video I'd say that if you were to just dramatically reduce sugar you'll get results pretty quickly.
in “Why We Get Fat” · View on HN
yanowitzMar 2010Recommends
This is further confirmation of a well-known phenomenon. If you want to watch a long presentation on what's going on, check this: ▶ this video Short version: Fructose is metabolized by your liver, results in a lot of nasty byproducts, your liver stores the excess energy as fat, etc.
in “Princeton researchers find that HFCS prompts considerably more weight gain” · View on HN
pengaruJan 2024Cites it
> Fructose is usually considered healthier than sucrose or glucose - the whole "natural fruit sugars are OK" premise - though that seems likely to be nonsense given it's immediately and easily converted to glucose after you eat it. I don't know of any argument that says it's poisonous, or in any sense worse than glucose. That also seems unlikely to be true for the same reason - it's immediately converted to glucose. Fructose is metabolized by the liver[0] ~identically to ethanol. This is why Robert Lustig (the Sugar: The Bitter Truth[1] dude) argues fructose is a poison, and taxing it like alcohol. AIUI it's arguably the cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: [link] Your comment strikes me as confusing several factors... fructose does not turn into glucose upon eating it. But something like that is applicable to Sucrose vs. HFCS, rendering them ~identical in consumption (a split of glucose and fructose). That's orthogonal to what the body does with the fructose though. Furthermore it's intact fruit that is seen as healthier because of the dietary fiber, not because of the fructose. The fructose is always a problem for the liver to deal with when absorbed. Fiber helps by slowing/preventing its absorption, in the best case letting it reach the large intestine to turn into flatulence via guttural flora before the body can absorb it. [0] [link] [1] ▶ this video
in “What happens when you quit sugar? (2023) [video]” · View on HN
orangepurpleMar 2023Cites it
Fructose and ethanol follow the same biochemical metabolic pathways and are equally harmful. You just don't get buzzed from fructose. ▶ this video
in “Fake sugars sneak into foods and disrupt metabolic health” · View on HN
theoriqueSep 2016Cites it
There have been several documentaries about this issue in the past few years: - Sugar Coated (2015) - That Sugar Film (2014) - Fed Up (2014) Some of the authorities who are found in these movies are: Robert Lustig - Professor and pediatric endocrinologist at UCSF who speaks out against added dietary sugar. See: ▶ this video Gary Taubes - journalist and author of Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease and Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It Yoni Freedhoff - Medical doctor from Ottawa, Canada who criticizes the food industry's use of sugar. See: [link] It seems like a case is building, much like the case against the tobacco industry. Maybe there will be class-action lawsuits against soft drink and processed food companies based on recent suppression of potentially life-saving research.
in “Saturated fats no longer the true enemy, experts say” · View on HN
poelziJan 2016Cites it
It is very important to distinguish between fructose and glucose sugars. Fructose is actually much more poisonous then glucose is. It seems metabolized mostly like alcohol. Now, with the high fructose corn syrup everywhere, makes the situation not better. ▶ this video EDIT: fructose is not so problematic if it's still embedded in fibers like in fruit. Bacteria then eat most of it, before it is absorbed.
in “A Former Dentist Uncovering Sugar's Rotten Secrets” · View on HN
rfnslyrJul 2013Cites it
Man. Sugar is the worst. Take it from me. I moved to the city the moment I turned 18, I didn't know much about cooking. Back in the 'burbs you'd be lucky to live within 10km of a grocery store. Downtown however, totally different story. I went NUTS with sweets and pizza. I gained over 100 lbs in just under half a year. I was eating around 10k calories a day. I then stuck to only these foods and have only been eating this the past couple years: chicken lean beef kale + other greens various fruit cheese That's it. No seasoning, nothing. I'm so much happier now. Better sleeps, better mood, better everything. My mood and days fluctuated like crazy when I didn't keep track of my diet. I'd love to hear some opinions on the following talk from fellow HNers: ▶ this video
in “Is Sugar Really Toxic?” · View on HN
rsheridan6Sep 2010Cites it
In the anti-sugar video by Donald Lustig, pediatric endocrinologist, that's been posted here a million times, he says HFCS is no worse than sugar - they're both terrible for you in the quantities people consume these days. This makes sense because they're chemically essentially the same thing (sucrose is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose, whereas HFCS is mix of glucose and fructose monosaccharides in proportions that may slightly skew towards fructose or glucose depending on the formulation. The disaccharides of sucrose are broken up in the body anyway, so in the end there's no clinically significant difference. Lustig didn't think the difference was important). If there's anything misleading going on here, it's that people think that "real" sugar is OK. I guess it'll give you natural diabetes. Obligatory link to the video: ▶ this video
in “'Corn Sugar' Makers Hope You'll Buy The New Name” · View on HN
zackattackJul 2010Cites it
There is a lot of evidence that sugar is bad for you. See ▶ this video Nassim Taleb says carbs are one of the 3 most dangerous addictions, besides a paycheck and heroin. Obviously some carbohydrate is necessary and good for you but the less the better. Trader Joe's has these kickass "a complete salad" kits in their refrigerated produce section that I highly recommend. They have great nutritive value, taste great, aren't too expensive, and I feel aMaZiNg hours after eating them.
in “Ask HN: Please, help me understand what I am doing wrong.” · View on HN