Robert Lustig, the physician and YouTube sensation who once wrote that sugar should be regulated like alcohol, is on a new crusade to kill the sweetener. In a packed, standing-room-only discussion at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Lustig called sugar an addictive, toxic substance that has no place in consumers' diets. He also hinted that he's ready to step up his fight to push for legislation to cut sugar consumption. "We have to do something about our diets," he said. "We have to get control."
Lustig's basic argument is simple: Calories are not created equal. He posits that the calories from a can of sugary soda are not the same as those that come from eating a bag of almonds. That's because "sugar calories" affect the body differently.
The brain is biologically programmed to become dependent on sugar, Lustig says, wanting more and more of it over time. That excess sugar can lead to diabetes, obesity, heart disease and a host of other illnesses.
Not all physicians agree with this thinking, of course; some say a calorie burned is a calorie burned. But few critics have a platform like Lustig's. He is omnipresent in the media, making frequent appearances on radio programs and TV shows. His 90-minute anti-sugar lecture has been viewed more than three million times on YouTube.
And he's working on a cookbook, due out next year, that follows the publication of his bestseller, "Fat Chance," released in late 2012. He aimed much of his scorn at food manufacturers, which he says have "hijacked our taste buds" and contributed to a tripling in American sugar consumption over the past 30 years.
"They knew when they added more sugar, we bought more of their products because of the addiction phenomenon," he said. "What if you had an unscrupulous cereal manufacturer who laced your Cheerios with morphine? Would that be OK? This is the legal equivalent."
The average adult ingests 22 teaspoons of sugar a day. The American Heart Association recommends that be cut to just six teaspoons for women and nine for men.
Solving the problem gets tricky, though. Consumers need to do their part to eat more healthy "real foods" and less pre-packaged items. But Lustig acknowledges that may not be possible for people with low budgets or limited access to better food.
Government efforts to limit substances have also had mixed results. A 2010 recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration to reduce the amount of salt in processed foods has largely been ignored by food manufacturers. The Center for Science in the Public Interest reported earlier this month that sodium levels in many foods remain higher today than in 2005.
Then there's the issue of taste: Consumers crave sweets. Lustig's own wife is an avid baker, yet she's managed to cut sugar by a third in all of her recipes. Lustig says pastries are better that way — it's easier to distinguish the oats, raisins and other ingredients.
In the past, Lustig has advocated for taxes and age limits to prevent people from buying sugary products. He said Friday he considered regulation "a last resort," but "unfortunately, we're at that last resort." "Medicare will be broke by 2026 if we do nothing," he said. "You know what? I want my freaking Medicare."
The audience embraced much of Lustig's message. During a rapid-fire question-and-answer session, so many hands went up that the interviewer, The Atlantic's Corby Kummer, had to take questions in batches.
Among them: How do you detox from sugar? (Exercise to work it out.) Are artificial sweeteners like Equal safe? (It's unclear.) Is juicing a good idea? (It's fine for vegetables, but not recommended for fruits, because juicing removes fiber, making the sugars easier to absorb in the body.)
Lustig's final piece of advice? When shopping for pre-packaged foods, never buy anything labeled "light" or fat free. "That is truly poison," he said.
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