I know, I know, what’s with me all of a sudden posting these long audios/videos and asking you to sit through them?

Well, it’s because I know you can.  If we can manage to find hours to watch TV, to surf the web,  to let all our Facebook friends know we just got our tires rotated, and to pass on adorable frolicking puppy videos, every once in a while we can sit still long enough to listen to some information that just might change or even prolong our lives.  Right?

I consider myself a a really, really typical person. So I’m pretty certain that anything I struggle with, there’s a fair number of other people who are struggling with the same thing. I’ve said it many times already and I’m certain I’ll say it many more: I get up every day and have to decide all over again to make the choices that I believe will give me the best shot at living a high energy, high quality, high vibe, healthy life. And it is not always easy. I hear the siren call of processed foods, yummy desserts, pizza, and one more cocktail the same way that many of you do.

This video I’m sharing with you today is about sugar. Yes, we all kinda know sugar is bad. We’ve heard things. It’s fattening. Diabetics aren’t supposed to have it. It does something to insulin that’s bad. It might have something to do with cancer. It maybe even accelerates the aging process. Etc.  A whole bunch of blah blah that ends with, “Sugar is bad; you should avoid it.”

But holy cow, sugary foods and drinks taste good. Eating them is fun and makes us happy, at least for a minute. Doesn’t that count for something?

I’ve noticed that for myself, the more I start to really understand, on a deeper level and not just in my head, that something really does not serve my highest good, the easier it is for me to say no to it the majority of the time if not permanently. I then am making my choices from a place of power and information as opposed to a place of weakness or lack of understanding.

So back to the sugar. This video is a talk given by Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology. Dr. Lustig runs a children’s obesity clinic, and I promise you, he makes this topic — biochemistry and all — interesting and incredibly compelling.  Okay, admittedly, there are a few minutes where the biochem gets to be a bit much, but please just do as the good doctor suggests and stick with him — the overarching point is well worth sitting through it.  And some of  you will actually dig it.

Please give it a few minutes of your time, by clicking on the link below, even if you decide not to watch the whole thing. But I hope you’ll watch the whole thing, just so that going forward your choices around eating sugary foods will be more deeply informed ones.

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

Tags: behavior change, childhood obesity, decision making, diabetes, Dr. Robert Lustig, improved eating habits, obesity, sugar, UCSF Integrative Medicine