Damon Gameau (2015)

I was someone who ate chocolate every day so I thought this would be very tough for me. It is incredible how quickly your palate adjusts though and you may find certain sweet foods too overbearing. I met with a great addiction scientist in Oregon who explained to me how fats also activate similar reward pathways in the brain as sugar but just not quite as strong. This means some good healthy fats can help a craving. I found coconut milk or flesh really helped a craving, or avocado.

You are a night owl karmasport! Red Bull? Thanks for the kind words. We have had a lot less backlash than I thought we would. Infact many companies have asked for private screenings for their employees so they can learn more and think about products for the future. They know the science is in now, there is so much awareness on the issue that if they want to survive and gives consumers what they want, they are going to have to manufacture lower sugar products. There's a food revolution happening at the moment and the companies know it. Their finger has to be on the pulse. We just need to be super cautious as to what they are replacing the sugar with. Simple rule: Eat Real Food as much as you can.

Definitely juices, sports drinks and other sugary drinks. Iced Tea can have as much as 8 teaspoons in a bottle. Sauces are also sneaky..one tablespoon of BBQ sauce has 2 teaspoons of sugar in it. The best thing to do is know that 1 teaspoon equals 4 grams..so if you see on a juice 32 grams of sugar, divide it by 4 and you know there are 8 teaspoons in the bottle. Pastas sauces, low fat yogurts and granola bars are also super sneaky :)

Great question, this is being debated in many countries at the moment. The only way I would support a sugar tax is if there was complete transparency and we knew the money raised was subsidizing fresh fruits and vegetables for lower socio economic areas or hospitals or schools. We dont want the money just disappearing into Govt coffers

I think these artificial sweeteners are great for transitioning off a high sugar diet..like methadone for sugar addicts. A recent study in France on 66,000 women showed they can still affect blood sugars and also lightly activate reward centres in the brain so they keep cravings alive. We try and teach people to avoid them and just have a real treat every now and then.

Nice question. All these sugars are still considered 'added sugars' by the World health organisation (they recommend no more than 6 teaspoons a day for optimal health). Some have more nutrients than others but ostensibly they are all the same at a moleculer level. Table sugar is 50% fructose, HFCS is 55% fructose, Honey is 40%, Maple syrup is 40% and agave is 90%. Its the fructose we need to be cautious of and its very similar in these sugars.

Used to be creme brulee hands down. I don't have dessert very often now because I dont eat much refined sugar and when I do have it, it really affects me. My wife makes amazing home made chocolate coconut peanut butter cups though, they are sensational. The recipe is on our website and in the book. :)

I love Evil Dead so not at all.

I was someone who drank two Cokes a day for 25 years and I had to eat a chocolate bar everyday. Its hard to explain unless you have done it but once you move away from constant sweet foods, you start to notice more subtle flavours. When I sip Coke now, it is way too strong so I dont really miss it. I do still enjoy the odd ice cream or piece of chocolate though..you gotta live right? The whole point of the film is to show where sugar is hidden so you can really understand what the term 'moderation' means.

Thanks Snoopy, the recommendation in Australia is two servings of fruit a day but thats based on the fact that you are eating other refined sugar in your diet also. I think if fruit is the main sugar you are having then you are going to be perfectly fine but it is different for everyone based on metabolic health, levels of exercise etc.. (it is certainly better than Iron Brew and Ice cream ;)

Hope you enjoy the film on Sunday. Stevia is seen as the 'safest' alternative at the moment. I would recommend buying the real plant though and pulling off a leaf to use rather than getting the highly processed stuff. Lots of places sell the plant now. Trust that your palate will adjust though, we encourage moving away from things needing to be sweet to be good..we use real fruit as a sweetener in lots of our home made chocolates. The bread one is tricky, I dont eat much of it but would recommend going for the ancient grains as much as you can. Good Luck :)

Great to hear. Well done for making the change. It is incredible to see how prevalent it is in the food supply but even better when you start to notice how different you feel when you lower your intake. Enjoy Canada.