07-24-2020, 01:09 PM
Damon Gameau directs and stars in this documentary about the evils of sugar. As for the inspiration, Damon was one of stars in The Tracker (2002), wherein a posse enlists the aid of a tracker (David Gulpilil) to capture an aborigine suspected of killing a white woman. After the film came out, Gulpilil invited Damon to come visit him, and while there, Damon was deeply troubled to see how whole villages were dependent on processed foods laden with sugar, not the least of which was soft drinks. He was particularly horrified to see a mother bottle-feeding her baby Coke.
So, yeah, Damon pulls a "Super Size Me" stunt, altering his healthy sugar-free diet to one where he consumes allegedly healthy foods and drinks that contain sugar. No junk food is allowed. Essentially, he keeps his daily calorie intake the same, but kicks up the sugar consumption to the national average.
Lots of nice little bits in this, including his horrific trip to America, sugar capital of the world, and how foods are fine-tuned with sugar by researchers to maximally hook consumers, and how, back in the '70s, when scientists started to realize how bad sugar was for people, the big industries pushing sugar-laden products pooled efforts to muddy the waters, to give the appearance that there was no consensus, and even deflected the blame on fats. And so it goes.
Lots more. To keep things lively, Hugh Jackman is enlisted as a stage magician to tell the world history of sugar, and Stephen Fry gives a humorous rundown on types of sugar and how it affects the body.
The main takeaway is that foods and drinks promoted as healthy, but which contain sugar, are not; and one is hard-pressed in this day and age to find any processed food or drink not loaded with sugar.
The movie ends with some really good recipes for cakes, pies and cookies, so be sure to stay through the credits.
So, yeah, Damon pulls a "Super Size Me" stunt, altering his healthy sugar-free diet to one where he consumes allegedly healthy foods and drinks that contain sugar. No junk food is allowed. Essentially, he keeps his daily calorie intake the same, but kicks up the sugar consumption to the national average.
Lots of nice little bits in this, including his horrific trip to America, sugar capital of the world, and how foods are fine-tuned with sugar by researchers to maximally hook consumers, and how, back in the '70s, when scientists started to realize how bad sugar was for people, the big industries pushing sugar-laden products pooled efforts to muddy the waters, to give the appearance that there was no consensus, and even deflected the blame on fats. And so it goes.
Lots more. To keep things lively, Hugh Jackman is enlisted as a stage magician to tell the world history of sugar, and Stephen Fry gives a humorous rundown on types of sugar and how it affects the body.
The main takeaway is that foods and drinks promoted as healthy, but which contain sugar, are not; and one is hard-pressed in this day and age to find any processed food or drink not loaded with sugar.
The movie ends with some really good recipes for cakes, pies and cookies, so be sure to stay through the credits.
I'm nobody's pony.