Sugar: Hiding in plain sight - Robert Lustig
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0:08 - 0:11Sugar is playing hide and seek with you.
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0:11 - 0:13You'd think it would be pretty easy for you to win,
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0:13 - 0:15considering all the sugar in
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0:15 - 0:20sodas, ice cream, candy, and big white bags labeled sugar.
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0:20 - 0:22People get about half of their added sugars
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0:22 - 0:23from those drinks and treats,
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0:23 - 0:25so it might seem like sugar
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0:25 - 0:26is hiding in plain sight,
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0:26 - 0:28but like someone in the witness protection program,
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0:28 - 0:33the other half is hidden in places you'd least suspect.
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0:33 - 0:35Check the ingredients on ketchup, bologna,
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0:35 - 0:38spaghetti sauce, soy milk, sports drinks,
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0:38 - 0:40fish sticks, and peanut butter.
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0:40 - 0:43You'll find sugar hiding in most of those products.
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0:43 - 0:45In fact, you'll find added sugars
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0:45 - 0:48in three-quarters of the more than 600,000 items
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0:48 - 0:50available in grocery stores.
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0:50 - 0:52But how is sugar hiding?
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0:52 - 0:54Can't you just look on food labels?
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0:54 - 0:56It's not that easy.
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0:56 - 0:57Just like your friend Robert
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0:57 - 1:01might go by Bob, Robby, Rob, Bobby, or Roberto,
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1:01 - 1:03added sugar has a lot of aliases.
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1:03 - 1:05And by a lot, we don't mean five or six,
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1:05 - 1:07try fifty-six.
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1:07 - 1:10There's brown rice syrup, barley malt,
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1:10 - 1:13demerara, Florida Crystals, muscovado,
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1:13 - 1:15and, of course, high fructose corn syrup,
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1:15 - 1:19sometimes called HFCS, or corn sugar.
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1:19 - 1:23Even sugar's tricky nicknames have nicknames.
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1:23 - 1:26Grape or apple concentrate has the same effects on your body
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1:26 - 1:28as its 55 sugary twins.
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1:28 - 1:31And even though organic evaporated cane juice sounds healthy,
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1:31 - 1:33when you evaporate it,
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1:33 - 1:34you get sugar!
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1:34 - 1:36Chemically speaking, it's all the same.
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1:36 - 1:38And even trickier,
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1:38 - 1:39when multiple added types of sugars
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1:39 - 1:41are used in one type of product,
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1:41 - 1:44they get buried down in a long list of ingredients,
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1:44 - 1:46so the sugar content might appear to be okay,
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1:46 - 1:48but when you add them all together,
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1:48 - 1:51sugar can be the single biggest ingredient.
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1:51 - 1:53Currently, the FDA doesn't suggest
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1:53 - 1:55a recommended daily limit for sugar,
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1:55 - 1:58so it's hard to tell if this 65 grams in a bottle of soda
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1:58 - 2:00is a little or a lot.
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2:00 - 2:03But the World Health Organization recommends
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2:03 - 2:06limiting sugar to just 5% of your total calories,
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2:06 - 2:08or about 25 grams per day.
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2:08 - 2:12So, 65 grams is well over twice that amount.
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2:12 - 2:14But just what is sugar?
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2:14 - 2:18What's the difference between glucose and fructose?
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2:18 - 2:20Well, both are carbohydrates
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2:20 - 2:21with the same chemical composition
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2:21 - 2:24of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
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2:24 - 2:26But they have very different structures
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2:26 - 2:28and behave quite differently in our bodies.
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2:28 - 2:31Glucose is the best source of energy
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2:31 - 2:33for nearly all organisms on Earth.
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2:33 - 2:36It can be metabolized by all organs in the body.
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2:36 - 2:38Fructose, on the other hand,
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2:38 - 2:41is metabolized primarily in the liver,
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2:41 - 2:43and when your liver gets overloaded
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2:43 - 2:44with sweet, sweet fructose,
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2:44 - 2:48the excess is metabolized to fat.
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2:48 - 2:50Fresh fruits actually contain fructose,
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2:50 - 2:51but it's naturally occurring
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2:51 - 2:53and doesn't cause an overload
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2:53 - 2:56because the fiber in fruit slows its absorption.
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2:56 - 2:58This gives your liver the time it needs
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2:58 - 2:59to do its job.
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2:59 - 3:02It's sugar that makes cookies chewy
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3:02 - 3:04and candy crunchy.
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3:04 - 3:06It even turns bread crust a beautiful, golden brown.
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3:06 - 3:08It's also a great preservative;
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3:08 - 3:10it doesn't spoil or evaporate,
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3:10 - 3:12so the foods it's added to are easier
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3:12 - 3:14to store and ship long distances
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3:14 - 3:16and tend to be cheaper.
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3:16 - 3:18That's why sugar is hiding everywhere.
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3:18 - 3:21Actually, it might be easier to list the foods
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3:21 - 3:23that added sugar isn't hiding in,
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3:23 - 3:26things like: vegetables, eggs, meats,
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3:26 - 3:30fish, fruit, raw nuts, even your kitchen sink.
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3:30 - 3:33Simply choosing water over soda, juices, and sports drinks
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3:33 - 3:36is a great way to avoid hidden added sugar.
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3:36 - 3:38At the very least,
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3:38 - 3:39try to pay attention to food labels,
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3:39 - 3:43so you can keep your sugar intake at a healthy level.
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3:43 - 3:45Because in this game of hide and seek,
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3:45 - 3:47every time you don't find added sugar,
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3:47 - 3:49you win!
- Title:
- Sugar: Hiding in plain sight - Robert Lustig
- Speaker:
- Robert Lustig
- Description:
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View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/sugar-hiding-in-plain-sight-robert-lustig
While sugar is easy to spot in candy, soft drinks and ice cream, it also hides out in foods you might not expect -- including peanut butter, pasta sauce and even bologna! Robert Lustig decodes confusing labels and sugar's many aliases to help determine just how much of that sweet carbohydrate makes its way into our diets.
Lesson by Robert Lustig, animation by The Tremendousness Collective.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:04
Caroline Cristal approved English subtitles for Sugar: Hiding in plain sight | ||
Caroline Cristal accepted English subtitles for Sugar: Hiding in plain sight | ||
Caroline Cristal edited English subtitles for Sugar: Hiding in plain sight | ||
Caroline Cristal edited English subtitles for Sugar: Hiding in plain sight | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Sugar: Hiding in plain sight |