Do you thiink sugar will eventually be banned, or at least restricted?

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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,704
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I want as little sugar in my food as possible, besides that which naturally occurs in fruits and vegetables, but I am completely against banning something because someone else wants to be a control freak "for my own good".

Freedom means nothing if you can't exercise it. There should always be a free market that allows people to buy whatever they want.

Next they'll take your phone and computer away because it's not healthy to be using them all the time.

The only items that should be restricted are those that cause direct harm to OTHER people, like assault rifles, LED retrofit headlights, and XXL bikinis.

Stuff like social media is super addictive because of the psychological impact. Check out this story about the creator of the Facebook "Like" button's use of social media himself:


But, that's the whole point! Companies like Apple purposely made phones bigger so that you have to use both hands, which creates greater engagement. Technology companies push every button they can find, because people are their real products:


But, you're right...there are a lot of bad & dangerous things out there, and the government has to figure out where to draw the line for citizen protection without overstepping their bounds. The government sometimes has to step in to prevent excessive negative manipulation, like how we know that cigarettes cause cancer & other horrible stuff, but all that ended up doing was removing cigarette advertising (mostly aimed at kids) & put a little warning label on the packs themselves. Nearly 35 million Americans still smoke cigarettes, despite our knowledge of the health risks, lack of advertising, and warning labels. Alcohol, too - we kill about 10,000 people a year on American roads as a result of drunk driving, but the prohibition back in the day didn't exactly yield the desired results. These are some pretty difficult problems to solve, where our freedoms vs. consequences have to be put on the balancing scale...
 

RPD

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2009
5,046
549
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This is the first I have heard cigarettes have sugar in them, dear god.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,409
8,700
136
That won't happen, for sure. Tobacco? Possible. But not sugar, for sure. I remembered the movie "Thank You for Smoking"... I think that's the choice of yours whether to eat products with sugar or not (same for smoking). The only difference with smoking is that you can't get cancer from someone drinking coke nearby.
I'm 100% in favor of eradicating tobacco from the face of the earth. Total extinction. I believe the planet would benefit, period.

Now on to sugar. It's a problem. See this documentary. If you have seen it, watch it again!

Fed Up
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
I saw this docu in netflix about sugar and they say that sugar is like a drug or even like a marijuana..but I feel like the gov won't do this since almost all of the food companies would use it so good luck to the gov if they would ban it. Sugar is like the new drug.
I mean, You can say that about literally anything that tastes good or feels good. Food in general.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,704
5,456
136
I mean, You can say that about literally anything that tastes good or feels good. Food in general.

Sort of - but sugar is a special case because of the way our bodies are wired, in terms of neurotransmitters & insulin:


This book pretty much explains it all, great read if you're interested in the biological component vs. the IRL component:

 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,409
8,700
136
Sort of - but sugar is a special case because of the way our bodies are wired, in terms of neurotransmitters & insulin:


This book pretty much explains it all, great read if you're interested in the biological component vs. the IRL component:

I just perused that Potatoes Not Prozac book link and wonder. Is it suggested to eat potatoes as a way of defeating sugar addiction? They are famously starchy.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
Sort of - but sugar is a special case because of the way our bodies are wired, in terms of neurotransmitters & insulin:


This book pretty much explains it all, great read if you're interested in the biological component vs. the IRL component:


That's exactly what I'm talking about. Seratonin / dopamine is basically what our brains get for doing anything at all that we enjoy. Our body uses that to tell us what we need.

Before the agricultural age, we definitely needed as much sugar (energy) as we could possibly get opportunistically or during times of plenty. That's why our bodies crave it.

Same with sex and the desire to procreate. There's a reason your brain tells you it feels good. Anything that feels good can be addictive (obviously). It would be very bad for the continued existence of our species if we lost that wiring and society ever collapses or the world experiences famine / mass starvation - which is certainly possible with threats of nuclear war or extreme climate change. Almost a certainty over a long enough period of time (large meteor, super volcano eruption, or all of the above). Our species would fail to compete with other species for the most important resources and we'd eventually disappear.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,409
8,700
136
I saw this docu in netflix about sugar and they say that sugar is like a drug or even like a marijuana..but I feel like the gov won't do this since almost all of the food companies would use it so good luck to the gov if they would ban it. Sugar is like the new drug.
Watched "That Sugar Film" (thanks, Mai72), the starkest boldest thing in the movie was the story they detailed in pure documentary fashion (it is a documentary, although most of it is very crafted and designed... free on Youtube, BTW) about a 17 year old boy in Kentucky who is addicted to Mountain Dew. He's been chugging many bottles a day since a 3 footer. His teeth are all rotted out and a dentist with van cruising the state and treating the afflicted tried to extract ALL his teeth to make way for dentures. His teeth were that far gone. The kid's nerves and tissues were so fucked up that he wasn't benefitting from anesthetics and the dentist had to give up to try another day. The end of that episode they said that the kid said that even so, after having all his teeth out he intended to not stop drinking ~6 bottles of Mountain Dew a day because he loved doing it. BTW, he's skinny. I doubt he'll live past 50 with the diabetes he's gonna get.
 

Mai72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2012
11,562
1,741
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Watched "That Sugar Film" (thanks, Mai72), the starkest boldest thing in the movie was the story they detailed in pure documentary fashion (it is a documentary, although most of it is very crafted and designed... free on Youtube, BTW) about a 17 year old boy in Kentucky who is addicted to Mountain Dew. He's been chugging many bottles a day since a 3 footer. His teeth are all rotted out and a dentist with van cruising the state and treating the afflicted tried to extract ALL his teeth to make way for dentures. His teeth were that far gone. The kid's nerves and tissues were so fucked up that he wasn't benefitting from anesthetics and the dentist had to give up to try another day. The end of that episode they said that the kid said that even so, after having all his teeth out he intended to not stop drinking ~6 bottles of Mountain Dew a day because he loved doing it. BTW, he's skinny. I doubt he'll live past 50 with the diabetes he's gonna get.

No problem. glad you enjoyed the film. That's a shame. That poor kid. He doesn't know any better. I couldn't even fathom drinking 1 soda a day let alone 6. I have a friend whose in his mid 40s. He eats fast food almost EVERYDAY. That is nuts. He has tried to stop but can't do it. If he tries he brings into his home cookies, cakes, pasta, white bread, etc. He's also a big soda drinker, and has tried quitting. He has a very difficult time doing this, and thinks he's doing good by drinking Arizona green teas! An Arizona green tea has just as much sugar as a soda. This is the issue though. People are clueless. The alternatives are just as bad. If you really want to drink tea, make sure it's green tea with a splash of lemon. Add some monk fruit/ stevia for a bit of sweetness, but that's it. Most people are unable to do this because their taste buds are so messed up. How many people are able to drink water. Just plain filtered water. We are a society that needs everything to be sweetened. Crazy.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,409
8,700
136
No problem. glad you enjoyed the film. That's a shame. That poor kid. He doesn't know any better. I couldn't even fathom drinking 1 soda a day let alone 6. I have a friend whose in his mid 40s. He eats fast food almost EVERYDAY. That is nuts. He has tried to stop but can't do it. If he tries he brings into his home cookies, cakes, pasta, white bread, etc. He's also a big soda drinker, and has tried quitting. He has a very difficult time doing this, and thinks he's doing good by drinking Arizona green teas! An Arizona green tea has just as much sugar as a soda. This is the issue though. People are clueless. The alternatives are just as bad. If you really want to drink tea, make sure it's green tea with a splash of lemon. Add some monk fruit/ stevia for a bit of sweetness, but that's it. Most people are unable to do this because their taste buds are so messed up. How many people are able to drink water. Just plain filtered water. We are a society that needs everything to be sweetened. Crazy.
I prepared a cup of tea for myself today pouring boiling water over a Lipton Tea bag. I added only about 1/20th teaspoon of stevia powder to give it a slight (but to me sufficient) sweet taste. I've been working on a 2 tablespoon bottle of stevia for about 3 months, and it's only lost about 2 teaspoons in that time. I eat some sugar, had about a teaspoon of my DIY plum jam today. Just really insignificant, but I must admit that from Thanksgiving through Saturday, I jumped the rails in what I ate. Visiting relatives, I ate pretty much what I wanted. I think I gained about 2.5lb!
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,704
5,456
136
I prepared a cup of tea for myself today pouring boiling water over a Lipton Tea bag. I added only about 1/20th teaspoon of stevia powder to give it a slight (but to me sufficient) sweet taste. I've been working on a 2 tablespoon bottle of stevia for about 3 months, and it's only lost about 2 teaspoons in that time. I eat some sugar, had about a teaspoon of my DIY plum jam today. Just really insignificant, but I must admit that from Thanksgiving through Saturday, I jumped the rails in what I ate. Visiting relatives, I ate pretty much what I wanted. I think I gained about 2.5lb!

Have you tried Allulose yet? I have a sugar-sensitive family member staying with me for awhile & have been diving into how to cook keto again & learning all of the various fake sugars out there. Sprite Zero, Fresca, and Polar sodas are all surprisingly good for what they are. I think Zevia is terrible though, haha. Allulose is a pretty amazing fake granulated sugar that I've had success with in making things like mini sous-vide cheesecakes with. I prefer real sugar, but it's fun to learn new things & probably better to have some sugar-reduction in my life, haha!
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,409
8,700
136
Have you tried Allulose yet? I have a sugar-sensitive family member staying with me for awhile & have been diving into how to cook keto again & learning all of the various fake sugars out there. Sprite Zero, Fresca, and Polar sodas are all surprisingly good for what they are. I think Zevia is terrible though, haha. Allulose is a pretty amazing fake granulated sugar that I've had success with in making things like mini sous-vide cheesecakes with. I prefer real sugar, but it's fun to learn new things & probably better to have some sugar-reduction in my life, haha!
Never heard of Allulose. Stevia is a natural plant extract. In moderation, safe.

I was making a faux banana creme pie type thing, it's just vanilla custard in smallish pyrex dishes and refrigerated. I used to stir in sliced bananas before refrigerating the 6 covered dishes, but later didn't include the bananas but sliced them onto the dish just before eating, an improvement.

I say "faux" banana cream pie because there's no crust! Also, I don't put whipped cream on top when serving. I'm sure you know that pie crust is just white flour, salt and lots and lots of shortening. I skip that part.

I make this with NO SUGAR. Here's the ingredients for the custard, prepared by stirring constantly in double boiler 'til thickened:

25oz water
2.5oz NFDM powder
Mix that powder first with 3.3 oz white flour
1/2 t salt
3/4 t Better Now stevia powder
3 large eggs
Stir in 1-2 tablespoons vanilla extract when cooled a bit

Goes in 6 dishes, cover and refrigerate.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,704
5,456
136
Never heard of Allulose. Stevia is a natural plant extract. In moderation, safe.

I was making a faux banana creme pie type thing, it's just vanilla custard in smallish pyrex dishes and refrigerated. I used to stir in sliced bananas before refrigerating the 6 covered dishes, but later didn't include the bananas but sliced them onto the dish just before eating, an improvement.

I say "faux" banana cream pie because there's no crust! Also, I don't put whipped cream on top when serving. I'm sure you know that pie crust is just white flour, salt and lots and lots of shortening. I skip that part.

I make this with NO SUGAR. Here's the ingredients for the custard, prepared by stirring constantly in double boiler 'til thickened:

25oz water
2.5oz NFDM powder
Mix that powder first with 3.3 oz white flour
1/2 t salt
3/4 t Better Now stevia powder
3 large eggs
Stir in 1-2 tablespoons vanilla extract when cooled a bit

Goes in 6 dishes, cover and refrigerate.

Very nice! If you want a crust, you can use chopped/ground-up nuts, cinnamon, butter, and a fake sweetener. If you want to try Allulose, here's a link:


I've been experimenting with powdered & liquid Stevia. I can only tolerate it when it's blended with other sweeteners, because of the funky aftertaste. I think sucralose is way better, but unfortunately my sugar-sensitive relative is very sensitive to sucralose & it wrecks havoc on their GI tract.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,409
8,700
136
I've been experimenting with powdered & liquid Stevia. I can only tolerate it when it's blended with other sweeteners, because of the funky aftertaste. I think sucralose is way better, but unfortunately my sugar-sensitive relative is very sensitive to sucralose & it wrecks havoc on their GI tract.
I think it's best to cut back on sweet foods until you no longer crave them. I eat them but don't crave them. I can go a day or two without thinking about it and eat nothing sweet at all. Just don't care.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,704
5,456
136
I think it's best to cut back on sweet foods until you no longer crave them. I eat them but don't crave them. I can go a day or two without thinking about it and eat nothing sweet at all. Just don't care.

I'm the opposite, I enjoy eating dessert every day! Plus I have sweet snacks on occasion throughout the day (energy bites, homemade granola bars, etc.). I have a big love of baking & like to tinker with my Instant Pot & Sous-Vide machines for desserts (lava cakes, pots de creme, creme brulees, etc.) as well.

I grew up on a mixture of homemade casseroles, take-out (McDonalds & Dominoes), and junk food (Doritos, Starbursts, etc.). My tastebuds changed when I got older & I started to appreciate food more. As I got into H&F, mostly thanks to many of the great posters here, I dove deeper into things like macros, cooking, and meal-prep systems. So now I mostly eat based of IIFYM, which allows for treats every day, but still lets you get & stay JACKED! Which is awesome!

I've also found that eating multiple smaller meals throughout the day helps me to stay fuller. I wasn't a binge-eater, but I'd kill a bag of potato chips or cookies while watching TV after school, no problem. So now I eat according my macros, for the most part, which includes daily dessert, which I usually make myself, so it's pretty high-quality stuff, and I'm also full from the day's meals, so I don't need to eat a dozen cookies to be happy anymore (well...).