The first was the much talked about 'That Sugar Film'.
There has been a lot written about this film by people far cleverer than I so I won't harp on about it. There was some things I liked in this, and some I didn't. Bottom line: if it gets people thinking and talking about their diets, it's great, but casting sugar as the devil in this piece is perhaps a little one dimensional - little time was given to the dangers of excessive salt or fat in our diets. More time could also have been given to the importance of exercise, and making a stronger definition between naturally occurring sugars and added sugars. I think this documentary sits well among other health information (and I am not talking about self proclaimed experts on Facebook) - because while I am sure experts were consulted on this project and informed the development - it was a study of one, conducted by a television actor, and has virtually zero external validity, given the number of confounding variables in this 'study'. But as I say, starting the conversation is part of the battle, and this is a good thing.
The second was 'Fat V Sugar' (Click this link to watch it all online for free in the next seven days)
Again, there have been many things written about this documentary. Since it is not as well known, the basic premise is that a set of twins, adult doctors as it happens, decide to undertake one each of a fat or sugar loaded diet and monitor the effects they have on the body, in much the same way as That Sugar Film does. Long story short: both men have poor health outcomes. And while again, this study has no repeatability, and has too many variables to make it a legitimate study, they presented two sides of the diet debate, and had an excellent, if boring, bottom line.
Everything in moderation.
I know I know how revolutionary. And how boring! Why can't I just cut one food out of my diet and be skinny! Why can't I eat this instead and it is a miracle food which does everything else I need! This is the thing - we want a quick easy fix. I'll quit sugar and I will be healthy! I'll start eating kalettes and my internal health will be amazing! But it doesn't work like that, moderation is key. Extreme diets where all food groups are cut out (unless you have a medical reason, of course!) are unsustainable.
And this is the other problem.
When we use the word diet, it can mean two things. It can mean, "I'm going on a diet where all I eat is lemon tea and acai berries" or it can mean "I enjoy a well balanced diet 365 days of the year". We need to get away from yo-yo diets and fad diets and losing 10 kilos so we can be bikini ready and looks at making our 365 diets more well rounded and sustainable. Make little changes here and there, don't bother with cheat days - keep it rocking all the time, and never get yourself to a point of excess for any food. Don't eat a whole bag of chips or block of chocolate. Just don't. Try and bring some more whole grains (I am doing this, I hate it, but I am doing it), try to bring in more greens (Helllooo spinach in everything) - but don't cut all carbs, and only eat salad - and try drinking less soft drink.
Which brings me to my final point.
Label reading is IMPORTANT. But not all the time - just be aware. A few weeks ago, before I watched either of these documentaries, Steve and I were in the supermarket shopping for the dinner we were cooking for family. As I said above, I have made small changes - one of them is cutting back (not quitting) sugary drinks. I didn't drink a lot, but I felt it was something I could do less of. We decided we would buy mineral water instead of soft drink, because it's healthier, right? Well! This is what we found.
So what is my bottom line? Well, I am just another flog on the internet. I don't know it all, and there are things I struggle with, but I think moderation is honestly key, and maintaining a constant diet always is better than yo yo-ing, and if you can do anything to cut back realistically on your excess sugar, fat and salt intake, then do it!
Adios bloggers!
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