Why is Sugar so Bad for You

Raena Morgan: Frank, you've been writing about diabetes for many years have you? Dr. Frank Murray: Yes, that's true. Both in Better Nutrition, Great Life, and other magazines. Raena Morgan: Quite simply, why's sugar so bad for you, especially, for diabetics? Dr. Frank Murray: Terrible, it has no nutrients. Raena Morgan: Has no nutrients. Okay? Dr. Frank Murray: Zilch nutrients, yeah, just carbs. Raena Morgan: Just carbs. Dr. Frank Murray: I think if people want to avoid diabetes, throw the sugar bowl in the garbage, throw those sweet drinks in the garbage, give the white rice to the pigeons, exercise, take supplements, and, you know, lose weight. If you do those things, you're halfway on the way of avoiding diabetes, unless you inherited it, of course. And sugar is pervasive it's in everything. Raena Morgan: That's true. Dr. Frank Murray: It's in peanut butter; it's in ketchup; it's in baked beans. Why do they put sugar in these things? I don't know. When you're shopping in the grocery store or health food store, you should read the labels carefully. Anything ending in o-s-e is sugar. Glucose, maltose, dextrose and so forth. So, you need to read labels and avoid the sugar and all. It's nothing but calories. I mean, we all have a sweet tooth obviously. But if you want to avoid diabetes, you do the things I just mentioned. You lose weight. And you can't lose weight if you're eating a lot of sugar. Raena Morgan: Well, sugar causes the body to store those calories as fat, right? FM: Well, yeah. Yes. Oh, yes. RM: They're just empty calories. Dr. Frank Murray: And the body needs sugar to function, unfortunately. But we're talking about glucose. The insulin converts into glucose which the body needs. The brain can't survive without it. But sugar has practically nothing but calories. And if you want to lose weight, you have to stop the sugar and white bread and white rice. Gaylord Hauser once told me never eat anything white. Raena Morgan: They say that in overeaters anonymous, too. They used to have a white list. Dr. Frank Murray: Yeah. I think he's right. I mean, as they say, sugar the unfortunate thing about sugar as you know, on a label it's the, the first entry is supposed to be the largest amount of that for substance. But these manufacturers are clever. They spread the sugar around. So, you read through, there's a bunch of sugars if they were added up, they would be at the top of the list. So these manufacturers are very clever. But I always look for I should mention there's sugar in milk, of course, lactose that's another o-s-e. But, I think people should drink milk, unless they are obviously lactose intolerant. They don't have the enzyme to metabolize the milk, the milk sugar. Raena Morgan: Okay. Well, thank you Frank.