+1: Junk Food's Junk Science (#1245)

In our last +1, we chatted about the fact that your food label might be lying to you by stuffing a few variations of cancer candy (aka sugar) into your jam so "SUGAR" doesn't make its way to the top slot. (Which is one of the reasons you and your Loved ones might be unknowingly consuming A LOT more sugar than you think and, unfortunately, suffering the SIGNIFICANT consequences.) Today I want to chat about some more wisdom from Mark Hyman's great book Food Fix. In our next +1, we'll focus on his #1 tip for Optimizing your personal health AND a powerful way to collectively pull a lever on systemic change. But, first, talk about the sugar = cancer candy theme for another moment. This is a BIG deal and something we want to REALLY get. So… Let's go back to Tom Rath's Eat Move Sleep again. Quick note: Tom is a super-conservative scientist at Gallup. He also has a "rare and catastrophic genetic mutation" that makes him vulnerable to cancer so he's been battling multiple cancers ALL his life—which has forced him to study the subject in depth. Here's what he tells us: "Sugar is a toxin. It fuels diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer. At the current dose we consume, more than 150 pounds per person every year, sugar and its derivatives kill more people than cocaine, heroin, or any other controlled substance around. One report aptly describes sugar as 'candy for cancer cells.' It accelerates aging and inflammation in the body and subsequently fuels tumor growth. It is now clear that if you lower your sugar intake, you reduce your odds of developing cancer." So, yah. Reduce your intake of sugar and reduce your odds of developing cancer. It's really not that complicated. Only… You know how some less-than-virtuous executives thought that it was a good idea to confuse us with misleading food labels so we didn't realize SUGAR was the primary ingredient in our jam? Well… Hate to break the news to you but they've ALSO been paying some of their friends to do some junk science to help them sell their junk food. Yep. Researchers are paid to make us think that sugar isn't THAT bad for us. Did you know that the food industry spends more than $12 BILLION a year funding nutrition studies while the National Institute of Health spends only $1 billion? Yep. (Pause and reflect on that stat for a moment. The food industry spends more than $12 BILLION a year funding nutrition studies while the National Institute of Health spends only $1 billion.) And, not surprisingly, as Mark says, "Studies funded by the food industry are eight to fifty times more likely to find a positive outcome for their products." He tells us that all this "junk science" winds up "polluting and diluting independent research, and confusing policy makers, the public, and even most doctors and nutritionists." We'll leave it at that for Today before this becomes a +33. SUGAR. IT DOES NOT DO A BODY GOOD. Period. Got any sugar-laden, ultraprocessed food you might want to throw out and quit buying? Is TODAY a good day to remove the Trigger and take the next step in Optimizing? -1 -1 -1 for the +1 +1 +1 win!!!