Most people ditch sugar for the countless health benefits but filmmaker Damon Gameau removed the sweet stuff from his diet in an attempt to impress his new, health-conscious love interest. While romance was his incentive, he soon noticed that a sugar-free diet resulted in glowing skin, bright eyes and a happier outlook on life. Discovering these benefits encouraged Damon to conduct an experiment where for 60 days, he consumed the equivalent of 40 teaspoons of sugar a day, documenting the results in his movie That Sugar Film and book That Sugar Book. But it wasn’t chocolate and sweet baking that he ate to fill his sugar quota. We chat to Damon about hidden sugars and the staggering results of his sweet experiment.
Q What mental and physical changes did you notice while consuming the equivalent of 40 teaspoons of sugar a day?
A In 60 days I developed fatty liver disease and was on the verge of being pre-diabetic. I put on 10cm of visceral fat around my belly and gained 8.5kg of weight. The medical examination also showed I had an increased risk of heart disease. Mentally I was exhausted. I would feel fine when I was eating or had just finished a sugary meal but would soon feel irritable. What I discovered is that after a sugar high the body crashes and the brain releases chemicals that can make us feel anxious, nervous or irritable. I was always holding out for the next sugar fix.
Q How many days into the experiment did you notice these negative effects on your body?
A I put on 3kg after 12 days and developed fatty liver disease after just 18 days. My moods were affected instantly but this was also due to the fact I hadn’t consumed refined sugar for a while.
Q What did you eat?
A It was a major requirement in the experiment that I ate high-sugar foods that are usually perceived as healthy, such as yoghurt and muesli, while also sticking to my pre-experiment daily calorie intake. Flavoured milks, iced teas, vitamin waters, sports drinks and juices are a major culprit for sugar which is why it’s so important to read labels. One teaspoon of sugar equals 4g, so if a drink label says it contains 40g of sugar, that’s equal to 10 teaspoons. The World Health Organisation recently recommended we should only consume six teaspoons (24g) of sugar a day. Food companies use a wide range of words such as ‘evaporated cane juice’ or ‘organic palm sugar’ instead of directly using the word sugar, so be cautious and read labels. Condiments are another sneaky sugar hangout. Just one tablespoon of barbecue sauce has two teaspoons of sugar in it.
Q Did you suffer from cravings the first time you went sugar-free?
A When I first quit sugar, I removed it gradually so I didn’t suffer from many cravings but it was a different story after doing the sugar experiment. I found that a spoonful of coconut oil or some avocado really helped because healthy fats light up the same reward centres in our brain as sugar. Another good trick was using a bit of reverse psychology. A spoonful of something foul-tasting like apple cider vinegar really mutes sugar cravings.
Q What is the difference between sucrose and fructose?
A Sucrose is table sugar while fructose is found in plants. Food companies add these sugars to packaged and processed foods to appeal to our taste buds and increase shelf life. In fact 80 per cent of our food supply now contains sugar. Our bodies weren’t designed to deal with the large amount we consume, so the sugars get processed into fat by the liver. This is exactly what happened to my liver during the experiment.
Q Are we unknowingly addicted to sugar?
A Sugar is hidden in so many foods that many of us haven’t gone more than two days without it. People don’t know what life is like without sugar. We are so accustomed to the taste that food can seem bland without it. Many food products use misleading slogans on packaging to trick consumers. Just because there is a picture of a bee, flowers and words like ‘nature’ doesn’t make the product healthy.
Q What is the best way to remove excess sugar from your diet?
A The best thing to do is to keep it very simple and just eat real wholefoods. Shop the perimeter of the supermarkets and avoid the middle where all the processed foods are. I lost all the extra weight I gained and returned to my healthy self by sticking to fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish and eggs. Your palate will adjust after a short time and these foods will taste delicious. You just have to remove the ‘numbing’ effect of sugar.
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