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The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast

#95 Weight Series (Part 2 of 2). The Sugar Episode with Professor Michael Goran & Dr Emily Ventura

The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast
The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast

SUGAR. It’s everywhere and in everything and in various guises. Fake sugar, artificial, refined, raw, natural, low calorie sweetener and table. Over 200 names for it exist. And if you google sugar and health you could be told it’s as innocuous as water or it’s as dangerous and as addictive as cocaine and worse than alcohol for your liver.


To get to the crux of what’s really going and how dangerous sugar is in our food system (and it’s artificial counterparts) I’m speaking with Professor Michael Goran - Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and Dr. Emily Ventura a nutrition educator, public health advocate, writer, and cook with a Masters in Public Health and Doctorate of Philosophy in Preventive Medicine. They’re also co-authors the fantastic book “Sugarproof” in which they explain the hidden danger that sugar poses to a child’s development and what options there are for parents and carers to mitigate sugar consumption.


Professor Michael Goran has also published over 350 peer-reviewed articles and reviews. He is the Editor of the “Childhood Obesity: Causes, Consequences and Intervention Approaches” published in 2017, co-editor of “Dietary Sugars and Health” published in late 2014, and currently serves as Editor- in-Chief for Pediatric Obesity. 


This is the podcast I’ve been asked to do so many times. So finally we can lift the lid on sugar and its impact. Listen to the end for my top tips and do check out the book Sugarproof on the podcast show notes


On the show today we talk about:


  • Types of sugar and their various forms
  • Why Artificial sweeteners could be just as problematic
  • Why children are uniquely vulnerable to sugar
  • How problems with sugar can be independent of weight
  • Why sugar IS addictive
  • Refined carbohydrates and how they can have similar effects
  • Sugar, Inflammation and the brain
  • The mechanisms of how sugar impacts the liver, behaviour and mood
  • Policies to protect ourselves in the future
  • Tips to lessen our sugar burden


Check out The Doctor's Kitchen website for full show notes on this and all other episodes


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