1 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: Everyone before we get into this week's podcast, We've got 2 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:15,240 Speaker 1: a pretty cool announcement to make you are now able 3 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: to connect with us. We have a pretty cool little 4 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 1: widget that's on the website. Just go to Paultaylor dot biz, 5 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: Forward Slash Podcast and near the top of the page, 6 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: you'll see a little icon that says send a message 7 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 1: to the Paul Taylor Podcast. So what we can do 8 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: with that You just click on that and then you 9 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 1: send us an audio message and we will get the 10 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: audio message. 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Hey everyone, welcome to 26 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: another edition of Wisdom Wednesdays. 27 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 2: So today I want to dive into an area that 28 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 2: has had researchers and health experts raising red flags for 29 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 2: years and then there's been backlashes against it from the industry. 30 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: And the topic is added sugar. So it's actually one 31 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,240 Speaker 1: of the most prevalent ingredients in processed food and beverages, 32 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: particularly ultra processed food and beverages. And why most of 33 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: us know about the obvious risks such as diabetes and obesity, 34 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: there is now growing evidence that the damage from sugar 35 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: may start much earlier than we think. So one recent 36 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: study reveals that sugar exposure in the very first stages 37 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: of life, so think about in utero and during the 38 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: first couple of years after birth. This exposure to sugar 39 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 1: can actually set the stage for lifelong health issues. And 40 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:21,359 Speaker 1: this is particularly concerning when you see now the increase 41 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: in sugar in fructose that is added to lots of 42 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: kids foods, our kids, our foods for toddlers, including actually 43 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: formula milk, which is just bonkers. But what this research 44 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,399 Speaker 1: has shown that we're seeing lifelong increase risk for diabetes, 45 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: high blood pressure, and obesity, and actually start with that 46 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: early sugar exposure but manifest decades down the line. So 47 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: could it really be that the sugar we're supposed to 48 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 1: his infants and even before birth has this lasting effect 49 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 1: on our body. So let's take a little bit of 50 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: a look at the research so they understand how early 51 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,640 Speaker 1: life sugar exposure can impact us long term. Let's start 52 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: with some numbers. So right now, in the United States, 53 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: nearly three quarters of adults are consuming over seventy grams 54 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: of added sugar per day. That's more than three times 55 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: the recommended amount, which people think that recommended much should 56 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: be a lot lower. Some people think that. Now. The 57 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,239 Speaker 1: data is similar in the UK and in Australia. In Australia, 58 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: the data from two thousand and eleven to twenty twelve 59 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 1: showed that on average, people in Australia consume sixty grams 60 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: of sugar per day and that's added sugars and we 61 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: know it's been increasing, so it's probably on par with 62 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: the US. So this is a widespread problem, and particularly 63 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: with countries with high exposure. Are high instance, our eatings 64 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: I should say of ultra processed food and the worst 65 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: countries in the world. I've said this before the United States, Kingdom, Australia, Canada, 66 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: New Zealand, and Mexico. Now we all know that excessive 67 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: sugar contributes to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. But what's 68 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: not widely understood is that high sugar intake is linked 69 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: to a whole range of other health risks, from a 70 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: whole range of different cancers and disruptions of hormones, and 71 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: even shrinkings of brain what we call brain atrophy, and 72 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:27,840 Speaker 1: that's in adults. But here's where the research gets really interesting. 73 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: This study showed that restricting sugar intake in the first 74 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: thousand days of life, so from conception to around the 75 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 1: age of two, so if you include that nine months 76 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: in the womb, that had a powerful effect. Researchers found 77 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:48,599 Speaker 1: that limiting sugar during this critical window actually reduced lifetime 78 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 1: risk of diabetes by a whopping thirty five percent, reduced 79 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: lifetime risk of hypertension by twenty percent, and lifetime risk 80 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:02,279 Speaker 1: of obesity by thirty percent. And those numbers are massive. 81 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,600 Speaker 1: So what are the researchers uncover that might explain it well. 82 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: The study that we're talking about was actually inspired by 83 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 1: what researchers call a natural experiment that happened in the 84 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: UK during the nineteen fifties. After World War Two, Britain 85 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,360 Speaker 1: imposted sugar rationing for a number of years, and this 86 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: meant that young children and pregnant women were consuming far 87 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: less sugar than they typically were before the war and 88 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,920 Speaker 1: before the rationing, and the researchers took a closer look 89 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: at children who were conceived and born during this rationing period, 90 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: comparing them to those that were born shortly after sugar 91 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,480 Speaker 1: rationing ended. Now think of it as a high sugar 92 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,840 Speaker 1: group and a low sugar group. Now, interestingly, the children 93 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,839 Speaker 1: in a low sugar group who were exposed to restricted 94 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:53,160 Speaker 1: sugar intake both in the womb and his infants ended 95 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: up with much lower rates of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity 96 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: as adults, and they also developed these conditions. When they 97 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,920 Speaker 1: did develop them, it was later in life than the 98 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: high sugar group. So, for example, diabetes and hypertension typically 99 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 1: emerge two to four years later on average in the 100 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: low sugar group compared to the high sugar group. And 101 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:18,559 Speaker 1: as I said earlier, on much less incidents as well. 102 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,719 Speaker 1: So these findings suggest that there's what we call a 103 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: dose dependent relationship between early sugar exposure and those health risks. 104 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: In other words, the longer that we can protect young 105 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: people and particularly children from added sugar, the greater the 106 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 1: reduction and disease risk that they experienced later on. But 107 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: it's not just the amount of sugar. It's also about 108 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: when that sugar is consumed. So early development, particularly the 109 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: first thousand days of life, is a critical time when 110 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: nutritional exposures can permanently affect health. And we've seen this 111 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:57,280 Speaker 1: over and over again in different bits of research, and 112 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 1: this is what researchers called the develop mental origins hypothesis. 113 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: And basically, what a mother consumes during pregnancy and what 114 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 1: an infant eats in the first two years of life 115 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: can set the stage for health or disease down the road. 116 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 1: And the size behind this involves some pretty fascinating biology. 117 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: And one big piece of this puzzle is a process 118 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: known as epigenetics, which you've heard me talk about before. 119 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: So this is where environmental factors, in this case, a 120 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: high sugar diet, can actually change how our genes express themselves, 121 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: whether they're turned on and how long they're turned on 122 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: or switched off. Now, these changes aren't easily reversible, meaning 123 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: that they can actually lock in health risks long term, 124 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: making a child more prone to obesity or diabetes later 125 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: in life. And we've seen the same thing with other 126 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: research around mental health issues as well. And it's not 127 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: just theory. These epigenetic effects have been demonstrated in multiple studies. 128 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: So what does this mean for parents or for anybody 129 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: planning to start a family. Well, the studies findings reinforce 130 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: the importance of minimizing added sugar in the dad of 131 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:10,240 Speaker 1: young children, and especially in pregnant mothers. And now that 132 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: might seem pretty hard to do, particularly about how much 133 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: sugar is around in our food, but we can actually 134 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: have big effect with a few basic strategies. So here's 135 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: the first few things. If you're pregnant or you're thinking 136 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: about getting pregnant, is really about limiting added sugars. And 137 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: this is really about focusing on real foods. I've banged 138 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,720 Speaker 1: on about this over time, having low HI stuff, so 139 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: stuff that has been minimally interfered with by humans. And 140 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: then absolutely critical is to avoid giving toddlers any type 141 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: of sugary drinks or snacks, and just be aware of 142 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: all of these toddler foods. If you just look at 143 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 1: the labels, you'll see how much sugar is in these 144 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: ready to eat toddler foods. And as I said, now 145 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:05,319 Speaker 1: it's starting to creep into formula milk, particularly in some 146 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:09,200 Speaker 1: third world countries, which is really concerning. And I think 147 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: the key thing, particularly when I reflect back and when 148 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 1: we were bringing up our kids and Cary was a 149 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 1: big driver of this, and we just did not give 150 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: them those process foods that you buy in the supermarkets. 151 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: I know they're easy, they're very convenient, and it's really 152 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: frigging hard whenever you are our children of young parents, 153 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,560 Speaker 1: life is bloody hard, and it's so easy just to 154 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: reach for those little snack foods, but they are just 155 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:43,319 Speaker 1: nutritional disasters. And what the research is showing now is 156 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: that a early life exposure, As with lots of things, 157 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: early life exposure has much greater of an impact than 158 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: exposure later in life. And for me, there's no reason 159 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 1: to think that this doesn't extend not just for the 160 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,160 Speaker 1: first couple of years, but that our early life. So 161 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:07,560 Speaker 1: any researcher will tell you that there are big epigenetic 162 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: periods in the womb that early life, and then another 163 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:17,079 Speaker 1: massive epigenetic period is when they actually go through puberty. 164 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,880 Speaker 1: And when you look at the diet of kids going 165 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 1: through puberty. We know in the United States and in 166 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:25,560 Speaker 1: the United Kingdom, and I think it's going to be 167 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: very similar here once we get the data in Australia. 168 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 1: I mean is that sixty six percent of all calories 169 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: consumed by teenagers are ultra process crap. And all you 170 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,680 Speaker 1: have to do is go to the school that your 171 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,319 Speaker 1: kids go to and go into the talk shop and 172 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: see the sort of stuff that is sold. And yes, 173 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:51,040 Speaker 1: it is a lot harder to prepare lunches and to 174 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:53,679 Speaker 1: not give in to your kids saying that they won't 175 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,080 Speaker 1: buy the stuff in the talk shops. It is a 176 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: hell of a lot harder, but it's pretty important stuff 177 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: and the researchers show just how important that is. That's 178 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:04,680 Speaker 1: it for this week, folks, Catch you next time.