Welcome to "Healthy Living!"
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I'm your host Margot Marshall.
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Roses are red, violets are blue,
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Sugar is sweet,
but is it good for you?
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What about the effect
of sugar on the brain?
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Think you've heard
it all? Think again!
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In the studio today with
me, we have Dr. John Clark,
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and health
psychologist, Jenifer Skues.
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Welcome John and
welcome Jenifer! Thank you!
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We're so pleased to
have you on the program.
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And this is a very sweet
topic that we have today.
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Tell us about sugar
and the brain, John.
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You know that we, in
America, import enough sugar
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for every
American to eat 150 pounds,
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that's about 70 kilos a
year, and you know, I don't eat
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that much so they
ought to be getting more.
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I don't eat much at all, so
someone's getting all my lot!
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That's tragic isn't it?
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And we've become a
society that loves sugar,
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and sugar is very addictive.
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I mean sugar is
something that is more
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addictive than cocaine! Really?
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Really! Studies show it raises
the dopamine in your brain
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to a larger
extent than does cocaine!
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Now, when I was in school,
we had this group called,
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"The Canadian Brass"
coming to... to do a concert.
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They are probably the
best brass group in the world!
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from Canada and when they
arrived, there was a reception
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in their honor in progress.
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The reception involved punch,
sweet drinks - what would you
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say, there we say "cookies,"
but you say "biscuits,"
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sweet biscuits and
they offered the men some.
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The men turned it down!
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The musician said, "We
cannot drink your sugary punches
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or eat your
sugary sweets, if we do,
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we will not be
able to tongue our notes
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like you'd like to hear
them tongued and our concert
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will be a disaster!
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So it affects your tongue?
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So it affects your
tongue, it affects your nerves,
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it affects your
brain, it slows you down,
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it makes your blood thick. Oh.
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And so sugar has quite a
dramatic effect on the body
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just as it is
immediately absorbed.
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That's incredible, I never
knew that sugar could do that,
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that it could affect
the way your tongue works.
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I mean, women
don't experience that,
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they can talk all
day long, just kidding.
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Just talk more, okay, okay.
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Just having a
little go at women.
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So you can imagine
what it does to children.
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And one of the things I find
is in our culture, children will
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come home from school
and they give them the
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grape cordial full of
sugar or a sugar drink or even
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a fruit juice with
lots of sugar in and then
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something sweet - a bit of cake,
a biscuit, something like that.
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And then the parents
finding the child is virtually
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climbing the walls
because they are so hyped up,
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and then they crash.
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So what it does - the
blood sugar just sky-rockets
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and then it will do a
corresponding low. Oh.
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So once it hits a certain
point, because the body is
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producing too much insulin,
this happens in children,
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you're going to have
this massive drop and then
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they're in tears and
they're irritable and they won't
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go to bed - they can't sleep.
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Sugar can cause insomnia,
it's a reason we get insomnia
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because it boosts the blood
sugar and then we have this
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constant blood sugar problem,
and what will happen then,
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particularly after midnight
if your blood sugars drop too
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quickly and if you've
just had something to eat
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in the evening - you've had a
dessert or sweets or chocolates,
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your blood sugars will plummet
and it wakes you up. Ohh!
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Because when we go to
sleep, a normal sleep cycle is
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after midnight, the blood sugars
slowly drop - it's like an
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inverse relationship, his
blood sugars are dropping,
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or actually waking up.
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So when our body is healthy
and our sugar levels are right
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and we metabolize,
then it's a slow process.
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By about 6:00 in the
morning, we're ready to wake up
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and have breakfast and breakfast
is to break the fast. Yes.
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So that's where, and then
we're meant to have the healthy
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foods we're talking
about which would be fruits
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and grains or whatever to
stabilize the blood sugars
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and give us the
fuel for the day. Yes.
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Now if you skip meals, like
you've skipped the breakfast
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so the child gets up and
has Fruit Loops and all these
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sweet things as you can imagine,
you can see how their brain,
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how can they go to
school and study and learn?
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That's right - it's
actually quite tragic what's in
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the breakfast cereal.
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I've gone down the breakfast
cereal aisle many times
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taking supermarket tours
and looking at the labels,
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and it's a challenge -
it's an absolute challenge to
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find a handful, if that,
of breakfast cereals that you
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think would be appropriate
and not high in sugar
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and low in fiber and so on.
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And the tragedy is that
that's for the people who eat
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breakfast - many
don't, unfortunately, but
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for those who do,
that's usually where they make
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their choices and it's
not a great but a terrible
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start for the day actually.
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And then they add another
2 or 3 tablespoons on top,
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and you get kids who
love to put the sugar on,
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and you can see how that sweet
tooth we talk about develops
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because this is the craving.
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It's interesting that there's
a famous doctor in America
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who does a whole program
that he calls, "How to Hypnotize
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a Baby," and in the nursery
it's often difficult to take a
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newborn and to prick him
with different pins and needles,
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you know, in their process
of doing what they think is
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important for health and so
if they give them a little bit
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of sugar syrup on
their tongue, all of a sudden
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they are zoned out
because the dopamine goes up,
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and they got the feel-good
sensation and it's a strong
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drug in actuality.
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That's really incredible -
you know you're talking about
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being addictive and
more addictive than cocaine,
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I'm just wondering how
many of the people tuning in
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would even realize that or
even maybe want to believe it
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because it's not what
we want to hear actually.
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And you talk about a sweet
tooth, I know someone who's
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got 32 of them!
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No names on the grounds
that it might incriminate
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well women really, when it comes
to addictions, sugar as you
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say it boosts the
dopamine rapidly and dopamine is
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it's one of the
feel-good neurotransmitters,
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it's the thing that picks
up our mood and helps us to
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feel good but it has
other actions - it also helps
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mobility and other
factors in the brain.
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But when you have the
sugar hit, it boosts it so high
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that it actually decreases
the dopamine receptors.
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So that means your
ability to feel good is reduced
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over time and then
you've got to have more sugar
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to pick yourself up.
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That's where the addictive
cycle starts to come in. Yes.
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So it has quite a
profound effect on the brain,
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and it can overstimulate
what we call our reward system,
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and that's a system in the
brain that feeds addictions
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wanting more and more and
more, so you've sort of got a
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double factor there happening.
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And it doesn't take long,
you don't have to have the
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sugar for a
year to get addicted.
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You know, once you
start it happens very,
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very quickly. How quickly?
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Well you have a look at
children - once they have
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a taste for sugar, you take
them shopping - what do they do?
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They want lollies, they
want the biscuits, they want -
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you know and they do anything
to get what they want, you see.
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I mean I haven't looked as
far as the exact timeframe,
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but it is very rapid.
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It's like caffeine, when you
have a few caffeine drinks which
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is loaded with sugar - it's
the same principle you'll find,
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then you'll feel it.
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You also go through a
massive withdrawal when you've
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stopped eating sugar and
anyone who has stopped, they get
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headaches, they can
shake, they can tremor.
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People who consume a lot
of alcohol, you know what they
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call the "DTs," when
they're shaking, it's that sugar
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withdrawal and the blood sugar
plummets that has all these
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different effects - so
it's not nice! No it's not nice.
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I encourage people to try it,
they'd feel better afterwards.
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The other effect on the
brain of sugar is it shuts down
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the blood flow to the
frontal lobes. Oh dear!
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And the frontal lobes of your
are where you do your higher
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thinking where you
sort out the difference
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between right and
wrong, good and bad.
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It's really the part of
your brain that distinguishes
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you from a monkey. That's right!
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It's a distinction you
want to maintain. Laughter.
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And for this child that
goes into school and has been
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eating a lot of sugar,
that distinction is blurred
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as their frontal lobe
shuts down, they become
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a greater discipline problem,
and then as far as their
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grades go, a student eating
more sugar will have at least
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one letter grade lower
grades for a given time period,
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and so it affects
their academics. It would.
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That's really, you know,
broad in its scope of what
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it's doing to us as
people, it's not just
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what it's doing to us physically
but to our mind and to our
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decision-making and
who we are as a person.
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You don't think about
that, I suppose, when you're
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enjoying something that's sweet.
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But you affect the rational
thinking brain and this is
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because your frontal
lobes, that neocortex,
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is the left brain is more
the thinking processing brain,
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and the right brain is a direct
link into the emotional brain.
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And with sugar,
because it affects those lobes,
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it will stimulate
the emotional brain
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and the thinking
brain can't rationalize.
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So this means we have an
imbalance in brain function
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and then things go straight
but with sugar the information
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can go straight into emotion
instead of being able to go,
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"Hang on, that's not a
very nice thing to say or do."
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Because sugar gets you hyper,
you know, and when you're hyper
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how often do you think or
what comes out of your mouth
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and you think, "Oh, I wished
I hadn't said that," but you
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have that sugar hit and
it's more likely to happen
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because of those reasons.
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Yes, so very significant
things going on there, John?
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Yes and so for the
student that's been eating sugar
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and the frontal lobes are
shut down, they're not thinking,
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they're not working with their
higher intelligence and they're
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more likely to overreact
to things or just to be
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in la-la land and we
slap on them a diagnosis of
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"ADHD," hyperactivity
disorder or they are "bipolar,"
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and when they're up,
they're up and when they're
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down, they're
down. That's another one
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that can be
misdiagnosed. Are you serious
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that they might be
diagnosed as bipolar? Yes.
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When it's really
just sugar? Yes! Yes!
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And that's how it presents
because it puts you on a high,
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and sugar hypes, it gets
energy going and it mimics
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the same condition as
the person who is in a mania.
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So they don't actually
have bipolar but they're
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diagnosed with
that. They're acting like.
00:12:05.89\00:12:07.39
And then they're treated as
they would be if they had that,
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but that's a mental illness
- so they've been on drugs
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but that's not even a
program, would that be right?
00:12:14.66\00:12:17.43
That would be right.
00:12:17.47\00:12:19.17
That's incredible.
00:12:19.77\00:12:21.10
Do you have any
more bad news? Laughter.
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Sugar has a lot to answer
for when you look at the impact
00:12:23.87\00:12:27.18
of it and people don't know.
00:12:27.21\00:12:28.94
This is a problem,
people aren't aware of it. Yes.
00:12:28.98\00:12:31.11
And they don't read their
labels, they don't have a look.
00:12:31.15\00:12:33.52
Yeah and I guess some of maybe
what we need to talk a bit about
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is well what can you
have because people do like
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to eat something sweet so that's
where your field comes into it.
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What sort of things
might you recommend, John?
00:12:43.22\00:12:45.59
You know one of the best
things you can do, once you get
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used to it, for eating
something sweet is to eat fruit.
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You see when you buy something
that has refined sugar in it,
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it's got one type of
sugar in mega doses but you get
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a fruit - there's many
glyconutrients that are in
00:12:59.61\00:13:02.38
balance that help each
other so that they don't
00:13:02.41\00:13:05.41
overwhelm you
with one unique type.
00:13:05.45\00:13:08.65
And so, if you can eat
fresh fruit - bananas, apples,
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pears, oranges,
grapefruit, papayas, mangos,
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we'll get hungry
here huh? Laughter.
00:13:17.29\00:13:20.20
Then you're getting your
sugar from a good source,
00:13:20.23\00:13:22.83
and even for the diabetic,
if we put them on even a
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50-80% fresh
fruit for breakfast,
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and they chew it well and
they choose the right fruits,
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they can do much better
than if they try other things.
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Now that's probably not what
they're used to hearing, John.
00:13:35.71\00:13:40.22
That's correct! A lot of times
a physician will tell them,
00:13:40.25\00:13:43.39
"Okay, you're diabetic,
that's the end of fruit for you;
00:13:43.42\00:13:45.95
one-half piece a day and other
than that, you're restricted."
00:13:45.99\00:13:50.09
And then, you know,
your risk of cancer goes up
00:13:50.13\00:13:52.63
when you don't eat
fruit and other problems
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increase when
you don't eat fruit.
00:13:54.33\00:13:56.16
But it's not the fruit because
the fruit has fiber; the fruit
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has minerals; the fruit has
phytochemicals to go along with
00:13:59.53\00:14:02.80
the sugar, so if your body
handles it in a correct way
00:14:02.84\00:14:05.27
at the correct time - I'm not
saying that a diabetic should
00:14:05.34\00:14:08.54
become a fruitarian,
but on the other hand,
00:14:08.58\00:14:11.08
there are many
nutrients in fruit
00:14:11.11\00:14:12.71
that they don't want to
be without. That's right.
00:14:12.75\00:14:14.85
And for the children coming
to school, if they would eat an
00:14:14.88\00:14:17.29
apple, a pear, an orange, a
banana instead of, you know,
00:14:17.32\00:14:22.12
a biscuit then they'd
be much better off. Yes.
00:14:22.16\00:14:27.20
I think the other thing and I've
educated my clients with these
00:14:27.23\00:14:31.43
loaded sugars, not just sugar
but there's glucose and there's
00:14:31.47\00:14:34.50
sucrose and as soon as they
take sugar out of something,
00:14:34.54\00:14:37.21
and add it in separately,
it's going to do the same thing,
00:14:37.24\00:14:40.78
it's a sugar - there
are many forms of sugar that
00:14:40.81\00:14:42.91
people aren't aware of
and so it says, "sugar free,"
00:14:42.94\00:14:45.55
and you read it and it's
got sucrose in it or some other
00:14:45.58\00:14:48.42
form of sugar -
it still is not good.
00:14:48.45\00:14:50.82
The sugar we're aware of
which is the cane sugar is about
00:14:53.62\00:14:56.36
all types of sugar. Yes.
00:14:56.39\00:14:57.73
Yes, and what about honey,
where does that come into this?
00:14:57.76\00:15:02.20
Well you know, like the
Bible says, "A little honey is
00:15:03.57\00:15:05.73
good, too much can
make you vomit." Laughter.
00:15:05.77\00:15:09.50
It's like, you know,
there's a balance in everything
00:15:09.54\00:15:11.97
especially in where
you're getting your sugar from.
00:15:12.01\00:15:14.44
And so a little honey is
good and honey doesn't make your
00:15:14.48\00:15:18.58
blood sugar go as high as
an equal amount of sugar would,
00:15:18.61\00:15:20.88
it's 85% less. Okay.
00:15:20.92\00:15:23.22
Still... isn't it, we
don't want too much, but still.
00:15:23.52\00:15:28.06
It's got some other things
about it that are beneficial.
00:15:28.09\00:15:30.63
It helps the immune system
a bit and it doesn't make your
00:15:30.66\00:15:32.96
cholesterol go up like
regular sugar does and a lot of
00:15:32.99\00:15:37.23
unique things about
honey that you wouldn't think
00:15:37.27\00:15:40.04
for the fact that it is
about the same sugar level as
00:15:40.07\00:15:43.91
table sugar. No,
a little bit less.
00:15:43.94\00:15:46.88
Umm, well there's some
pretty good advice in the
00:15:46.91\00:15:49.84
Good Book, isn't there,
and it was Solomon, I believe,
00:15:49.88\00:15:53.05
who wrote that proverb.
00:15:53.08\00:15:54.45
And I'm intrigued
actually, he wrote about so many
00:15:54.48\00:15:58.19
things in life - he was
the wisest man who ever lived.
00:15:58.22\00:16:01.69
I was just fascinated that
he wrote a couple about honey!
00:16:01.72\00:16:06.53
"If you find
honey, eat just enough,
00:16:06.56\00:16:08.23
and eat too much
and you'll vomit."
00:16:08.26\00:16:09.70
I just couldn't believe my eyes
00:16:09.73\00:16:11.17
the first time I read that
- I thought, "Oh, that's in
00:16:11.20\00:16:14.70
the Bible," I just
didn't expect to sort of see
00:16:14.74\00:16:17.24
something quite like
that. Well practical advice!
00:16:17.27\00:16:20.08
Yes! Going way back
thousands of years and we could
00:16:20.11\00:16:22.91
benefit from some of that too.
00:16:22.94\00:16:24.35
We do and this is where
the more we know about what
00:16:24.38\00:16:26.82
we're eating and what we're
putting in our system and how
00:16:26.85\00:16:28.92
to fix this.
00:16:28.95\00:16:31.15
And education, like even
I'm a psychologist educating
00:16:33.76\00:16:37.29
people about what they put
in their body does to the brain,
00:16:37.33\00:16:39.66
and does to the mood.
00:16:39.69\00:16:41.26
You know, people who are
on too much sugar often have
00:16:41.30\00:16:43.97
mood swings; they get
irritable; they can start
00:16:44.00\00:16:47.47
to feel really unwell;
the brain gets very confused;
00:16:47.50\00:16:50.91
they can't focus; they
can't make good decisions.
00:16:50.94\00:16:53.48
They're more likely to be
anxious or aggressive as well
00:16:53.51\00:16:56.85
as it can drop you
into that pit of depression.
00:16:56.88\00:16:58.98
And then what you've
just been talking about,
00:16:59.01\00:17:02.08
that impacts into
relational things.
00:17:02.12\00:17:04.59
So we've got these four
aspects of our being, mental,
00:17:04.62\00:17:07.89
physical, spiritual and social,
00:17:07.92\00:17:09.76
so something is
affecting your mood.
00:17:09.79\00:17:12.03
Definitely isn't going to
be helpful for relationships
00:17:12.06\00:17:16.77
especially between
parents and children
00:17:16.80\00:17:19.63
or anybody for that matter.
00:17:19.67\00:17:21.70
Well what about "Stevia?"
00:17:21.74\00:17:24.07
Well "Stevia" is merely
a plant leaf - if you're
00:17:24.11\00:17:28.51
taking the pure form of
it, and it has a sweet flavor.
00:17:28.54\00:17:32.78
It's about 200 times
sweeter than regular sugar.
00:17:32.81\00:17:37.35
It has a bit of a
bitter after twang
00:17:37.39\00:17:40.32
that some people don't like,
but for the average person,
00:17:40.36\00:17:44.66
if they like it, it's good.
00:17:44.69\00:17:46.03
You don't want things like
"Truvia" which is a chemical
00:17:46.06\00:17:49.60
form of Stevia that's just
manufactured in a laboratory.
00:17:49.63\00:17:54.60
But you do have a similar
effect that it does raise
00:17:54.64\00:17:58.74
your dopamine in your
brain and the one down side
00:17:58.77\00:18:02.11
to super sweet things
that don't carry calories is
00:18:02.14\00:18:04.28
that your brain says, "I
want those calories that you're
00:18:04.31\00:18:06.65
sweetness suggested I
should get," and so you end up
00:18:06.68\00:18:09.45
craving carbohydrates and
you tend to make up for what you
00:18:09.48\00:18:12.45
didn't get by
eating more carbohydrates.
00:18:12.49\00:18:14.42
Which puts the weight on
and that creates another problem
00:18:14.46\00:18:17.39
on all levels there.
00:18:17.43\00:18:18.96
Now one of the sugars you
definitely want to avoid is
00:18:18.99\00:18:21.73
"high fructose," like
high fructose corn syrup,
00:18:21.76\00:18:25.53
corn sugars - there's
different products on the
00:18:25.57\00:18:29.40
market that carry high fructose.
00:18:29.44\00:18:31.41
Agave is a newer one
I've noticed for a while now
00:18:31.44\00:18:33.88
which is from a cactus.
00:18:33.91\00:18:36.18
It's almost pure fructose
and fructose will raise the
00:18:36.21\00:18:40.28
inflammation in your body.
00:18:40.32\00:18:41.88
It will burn out your liver!
00:18:41.92\00:18:43.42
It will oxidize the
cholesterol right in your liver,
00:18:43.45\00:18:46.25
so you end up with
more heart disease.
00:18:46.29\00:18:48.46
And so we're
getting this, I mean there's
00:18:48.49\00:18:50.69
fructose in fruit isn't there?
00:18:50.73\00:18:52.76
Now when you get your
fructose or "fructose"
00:18:52.79\00:18:55.30
in fruit, you're getting
it in very small quantities
00:18:55.33\00:18:58.57
and you're getting it
balanced without glyconutrients.
00:18:58.60\00:19:01.54
Although for some people
who are fructose or "fructose"
00:19:01.57\00:19:05.21
intolerant, eating things
like figs which are one of the
00:19:05.24\00:19:08.64
highest in fructose,
will give them a problem.
00:19:08.68\00:19:11.75
Alright, so that's a dried fruit
because it's more concentrated.
00:19:11.78\00:19:14.88
Dried or whole.
00:19:14.92\00:19:16.25
Oh, is that right? Alright.
00:19:16.28\00:19:17.85
So I think the important thing
there is you're talking about
00:19:17.89\00:19:21.89
the fructose that comes in
corn syrup - that's a highly
00:19:21.92\00:19:25.29
processed thing where it's
been extracted out of the corn
00:19:25.33\00:19:28.66
and you're not getting
it in its natural state
00:19:28.70\00:19:30.83
so you're not
saying that fruit is bad.
00:19:30.87\00:19:33.34
And I was just thinking
that too about the amount of
00:19:33.37\00:19:36.07
sugar, you say, that
people that are eating in your
00:19:36.10\00:19:39.91
country and we're not
too far behind and as far
00:19:39.94\00:19:42.38
as I know, but I
remember reading somewhere that
00:19:42.41\00:19:46.72
if you had a meter
or yard from sugarcane,
00:19:46.75\00:19:52.72
you'd only get a couple
of teaspoons out of that.
00:19:52.75\00:19:54.79
Now I guarantee, I mean
I guarantee that if you had
00:19:54.82\00:19:58.76
to get 2 teaspoons of sugar
a day and you had to get it
00:19:58.79\00:20:01.66
from a meter of
sugarcane, you would not do it
00:20:01.70\00:20:05.97
because you just wouldn't.
00:20:06.00\00:20:07.40
And because we've altered
foods so much and we've just
00:20:07.44\00:20:11.34
made it so easy to ingest
things in great quantities
00:20:11.37\00:20:16.91
that you never could unless
we'd done those things to them
00:20:16.95\00:20:20.48
unless we refine
them in that way.
00:20:20.52\00:20:23.02
That's really the difficulty,
isn't it - in a lot of areas.
00:20:23.05\00:20:28.02
Oh yeah, you think of
the inefficiency of that.
00:20:28.06\00:20:31.76
I mean, you could easily
eat 10 meters of sugarcane
00:20:31.79\00:20:36.00
in your dessert!
Laughter! And yet, should you?
00:20:36.03\00:20:39.80
I mean it's like, this is
like ecologically damaging.
00:20:39.83\00:20:42.94
It's like juicing fruit,
you're having three apples and
00:20:42.97\00:20:46.11
imagine all the sugar
in three apples in a juice.
00:20:46.14\00:20:48.78
You see, this is the same
problem and you don't always
00:20:48.81\00:20:51.28
think of those things.
00:20:51.31\00:20:52.65
And you could
easily, easily get down
00:20:52.68\00:20:54.52
more than one
glass on a hot day.
00:20:54.55\00:20:56.38
I think another big problem
is there are so many chemical
00:20:56.42\00:21:00.69
sweeteners around like "Splenda"
and there's quite a few of them.
00:21:00.72\00:21:04.59
And again, from what I
hear, they're not good either.
00:21:04.63\00:21:07.43
They can really do
damage to the system.
00:21:07.46\00:21:10.90
Yes, when you're
trying to fool the system,
00:21:10.93\00:21:13.34
it's just a problem right away.
00:21:13.37\00:21:15.87
So for example,
they've studied some of these
00:21:15.90\00:21:17.91
artificial sweeteners
and the brain is supposedly
00:21:17.94\00:21:21.48
confused by it and then
you crave carbohydrates.
00:21:21.51\00:21:24.58
But a lot of these
chemical sweeteners which do not
00:21:24.61\00:21:26.92
occur in nature are not
a part of the human diet
00:21:26.95\00:21:29.32
from the
beginning are dangerous.
00:21:29.35\00:21:31.59
Splenda - you know we
worry about holes in the ozone
00:21:31.62\00:21:35.06
from chlorinated and
fluorinated hydrocarbons.
00:21:35.09\00:21:38.59
Splenda is just
chlorinated sugar.
00:21:38.63\00:21:41.96
They took off all the
hydrogen groups and replaced
00:21:42.00\00:21:44.97
it with chlorine and it's
like, how can a chlorinated
00:21:45.00\00:21:47.77
hydrocarbon be
good for me? It's not!
00:21:47.80\00:21:50.81
And then your "NutraSweet"
or "Equal" is the other one,
00:21:50.84\00:21:56.04
and this is a methyl
alcohol connected up with
00:21:56.08\00:22:00.05
aspartate and phenylalanine
and when it breaks down,
00:22:00.08\00:22:04.42
you get methyl
alcohol - well that's what
00:22:04.45\00:22:06.25
makes people go blind.
00:22:06.29\00:22:07.62
They use it as
poison on soldiers.
00:22:07.66\00:22:10.49
So you gotta get
away from the chemicals.
00:22:11.86\00:22:14.90
I mean, the sugar is
bad enough as it is and so
00:22:14.93\00:22:19.33
sometimes trying to replace
it with something high tech
00:22:19.37\00:22:22.74
may backfire.
It's not a good idea.
00:22:22.77\00:22:25.07
For anyone tuning in that
may be having lots of sugar
00:22:25.11\00:22:29.68
or their children or
family are having lots of sugar,
00:22:29.71\00:22:32.75
this must be very
challenging to listen to,
00:22:32.78\00:22:36.28
what should they be doing?
00:22:36.32\00:22:38.92
Is it like, "Oh that's
all too hard, can't do it."
00:22:38.95\00:22:42.22
You can educate
people if people are willing
00:22:42.26\00:22:44.13
and if a parent has a
child that is really a problem
00:22:44.16\00:22:47.70
and it's the sugar
that's the problem, they will
00:22:47.73\00:22:49.80
put the effort in
and this is what I find.
00:22:49.83\00:22:51.63
I educate parents
to look at what we call
00:22:51.67\00:22:56.20
"low GI foods" for their
children and that includes
00:22:56.24\00:22:59.14
your whole grains, your seeds,
your nuts and your fruits.
00:22:59.17\00:23:02.94
And there's a lot you can
do with that where children
00:23:02.98\00:23:05.65
when they need something
to eat or in their lunches
00:23:05.68\00:23:08.88
and that to have
some of these foods and
00:23:08.92\00:23:12.55
they can even be enjoyable
or make it fun for them,
00:23:13.39\00:23:15.82
and give them variety
- it will help them to
00:23:15.86\00:23:18.63
stabilize their
blood sugars. Yes.
00:23:18.66\00:23:20.00
And that means they will
learn better, they'll sustain
00:23:20.03\00:23:22.76
their energy through the
day; not to come home and
00:23:22.80\00:23:25.33
climb the walls, as they
say or run amuck. That's right.
00:23:25.37\00:23:29.27
John, I just want to clear
up something, a couple of times,
00:23:29.30\00:23:32.04
you've mentioned that when
people have these artificial
00:23:32.07\00:23:35.01
sweeteners - they crave carbs.
00:23:35.04\00:23:37.38
Now there's a lot in the press
out there about low carb diets,
00:23:37.41\00:23:41.95
you're not talking about
the good carbohydrates are you,
00:23:41.98\00:23:45.15
you're talking about the
refined ones that the confection
00:23:45.19\00:23:49.06
refined carbs - that's
what you were referring to
00:23:49.09\00:23:51.26
there, I would have thought.
00:23:51.29\00:23:53.03
Well what they crave
would be carbohydrate whether
00:23:53.06\00:23:56.50
it's refined or not.
00:23:56.53\00:23:57.87
If we're looking at
carbohydrates, and the good
00:23:57.90\00:24:00.00
ones and you definitely want
unrefined carbohydrates. Yes.
00:24:00.04\00:24:04.01
The difference being for like
here we're talking about our
00:24:04.04\00:24:06.88
students is if you go and you
eat like oatmeal - it's going
00:24:06.91\00:24:11.61
to be a lot of carbohydrate
but it's not going to spike
00:24:11.65\00:24:14.75
the blood sugar up and
then it's not going to,
00:24:14.78\00:24:17.45
as a follow up,
spike the blood sugar down.
00:24:17.49\00:24:20.16
It will keep the blood sugar
00:24:20.19\00:24:21.72
at a steady rate
sustained evenly. Yes.
00:24:21.76\00:24:24.89
Whereas if they
eat a refined sugar,
00:24:24.93\00:24:27.53
or even cornflakes and
milk, it's going to send the
00:24:28.00\00:24:30.73
blood sugar up real
fast and then it's going
00:24:30.77\00:24:32.57
come crashing down, and
then if you're the teacher
00:24:32.60\00:24:35.00
in the school and
about 10 o'clock the students
00:24:35.04\00:24:37.11
all crash, you're hoping
you can send them out to recess
00:24:37.14\00:24:40.21
before the lid
blows off the classroom.
00:24:40.24\00:24:43.18
Oh it must be
really challenging.
00:24:43.21\00:24:44.88
Yeah, I referred to the
low GI factor where people
00:24:44.91\00:24:47.88
who might know what GI is
- it's the "glycemic index."
00:24:47.92\00:24:50.59
It tells you how
fast you burn food or how
00:24:50.62\00:24:53.22
fast food burns.
00:24:53.25\00:24:55.46
So if you have foods
that are slow-burners,
00:24:55.49\00:24:58.86
like we talked about your
whole grains and nuts and seeds,
00:24:58.89\00:25:01.16
and fruits, then it
will sustain the blood sugars
00:25:01.20\00:25:04.03
for a long time; whereas
when you have the fast burners
00:25:04.07\00:25:06.70
which are your refined
foods and refined sugars,
00:25:06.74\00:25:10.11
they burn rapidly, get
the boost and then drop off
00:25:10.14\00:25:13.07
very quickly. Yes.
00:25:13.11\00:25:14.44
So we want foods that slow
down that blood sugar release.
00:25:14.48\00:25:18.45
So what you're
looking for for breakfasts,
00:25:18.48\00:25:20.48
say for your students,
is something that's a grain,
00:25:20.52\00:25:23.52
it still has all the fiber
there and you might be thinking
00:25:23.55\00:25:26.72
"Well, my boxed cereal
says it's a whole grain.
00:25:26.76\00:25:29.82
But when they make
something into flakes or "O's"
00:25:29.86\00:25:32.73
or whatever,
they have to cook it.
00:25:32.76\00:25:34.73
Flakes or what? "O's"
00:25:34.76\00:25:36.10
"O's?" Like "Fruit
Loops or Cheerios."
00:25:36.13\00:25:38.63
Oh, okay! Sure.
00:25:38.67\00:25:42.30
And you cook it
until you can spray it out
00:25:42.34\00:25:45.91
into funny shapes -
you have cooked it beyond
00:25:45.94\00:25:49.71
the point of being a
complex carbohydrate anymore.
00:25:49.74\00:25:52.81
It refines it, it makes it high
glycemic index and so this was
00:25:52.85\00:25:57.92
why most boxed cereals will
send your students with high
00:25:57.95\00:26:00.99
blood sugars.
00:26:01.02\00:26:02.36
And so what you want
is to be able to recognize
00:26:02.39\00:26:04.43
the morning cereal, so
muesli would be much better
00:26:04.46\00:26:07.10
where you can recognize -
Oh, there's an oat, there's a
00:26:07.13\00:26:09.73
raisin and then fresh
fruit is good and you can pick
00:26:09.76\00:26:14.50
fruits, some are less
in the glycemic index.
00:26:14.54\00:26:17.07
Apples are going to
be lower than, say, figs.
00:26:17.11\00:26:20.18
And so you choose good
fruits and whole plant foods
00:26:20.21\00:26:24.95
are generally going to be
much lower glycemic index,
00:26:24.98\00:26:27.72
much more tolerated,
much better at keeping
00:26:27.75\00:26:30.25
the blood sugars even
for the student - give them
00:26:30.29\00:26:32.49
better grades than your
refined foods of any kind. Yes.
00:26:32.52\00:26:36.42
That is very good
00:26:36.46\00:26:38.06
Well I hope that hasn't been
too much of a blow to anyone
00:26:38.09\00:26:42.03
who is tuning in, you
know, to become aware of all
00:26:42.06\00:26:46.40
the places where your sugar
is hidden in the soft drinks
00:26:46.43\00:26:49.47
and even in the breakfast
cereals and fruit juices
00:26:49.50\00:26:54.28
and all of that and when it
all adds up, it's really a lot.
00:26:54.31\00:26:58.81
So thank you, it's good to
have that advice on the lovely
00:26:58.85\00:27:02.38
fruit that we can have.
00:27:02.42\00:27:03.75
We've got some sweet taste
buds and I'm sure they'll need
00:27:04.75\00:27:07.79
to be satisfied but
not in the way that we've
00:27:07.82\00:27:09.82
become accustomed to.
00:27:09.86\00:27:12.09
There's a lot you can do and
maybe people and particularly
00:27:12.13\00:27:14.73
parents can focus
on what they can have,
00:27:14.76\00:27:16.67
not what we can't have. Yes!
00:27:16.70\00:27:18.27
And start replacing that
small steps principle again.
00:27:18.30\00:27:21.80
Yeah, where they go and
do, "Okay, well let's change
00:27:22.67\00:27:24.94
the breakfast menu and
add in things and switch
00:27:24.97\00:27:27.58
things around and put more
fruit and more whole grains.
00:27:27.61\00:27:31.01
And I have found that if
you cut up fruit and put it out
00:27:31.05\00:27:35.35
on a platter, it
will just disappear!
00:27:35.38\00:27:38.12
You put out whole fruit,
people who aren't accustomed
00:27:38.15\00:27:40.59
to having much won't
really go for it very much,
00:27:40.62\00:27:44.56
and I've done this many
a time and I'm astonished
00:27:44.59\00:27:48.06
at how much
fruit people will eat
00:27:48.10\00:27:50.37
when they're not even
accustomed to doing it.
00:27:50.40\00:27:52.40
They'll eat a dinner
plate of fruit if it's there
00:27:52.43\00:27:54.40
and it's all wrapped up.
00:27:54.44\00:27:57.04
So that's our program for today
and if you'd like a fact sheet
00:27:57.07\00:28:01.24
of the program or you'd like
to watch our programs on demand,
00:28:01.28\00:28:04.71
just visit our website
on: 3abnaustralia.org.au
00:28:04.75\00:28:10.12
and then click
on the watch button.
00:28:10.15\00:28:12.79
And John and Jenifer are
happy to answer your questions
00:28:12.82\00:28:15.56
personally - just email them on:
00:28:15.59\00:28:18.13
healthyliving@3abnaustralia.org
.au
00:28:18.16\00:28:22.46
We look forward to
having you join us next time
00:28:22.50\00:28:24.47
on "Healthy Living"
when we have other subjects
00:28:24.50\00:28:26.53
which I feel sure
will interest you.
00:28:26.57\00:28:31.44