Razing Cane

You’ve seen this trick before: Man eats unhealthy food, gets sick and makes a movie about it.

The 2004 Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me pioneered the format, but Damon Gameau’s brand-new That Sugar Film is here with a whole new sugar-fueled flourish.

At the start of the film, Gameau hasn’t eaten refined sugar for three years. Under the guidance of doctors, he embarks on a diet consisting of 40 teaspoons of sugar a day (a common daily average) for 60 days while maintaining his exercise routine.

The truly bitter twist is that he does it easily without drinking any soda or eating candy, cookies or ice cream. He only eats foods that are perceived and marketed as “healthy” like low-fat yogurt, muesli bars, juices and cereal. For instance, a post-flight treat of Jamba Juice clocks in at 139 grams (34 teaspoons) of sugar. The World Health Organization recommends no more than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) of added sugar a day.

The results are just what Gameau expected—and his worst nightmare: fatty liver disease, early type 2 diabetes and extra girth around his body.

With sugar-frenetic energy, music from Depeche Mode and cameos from the likes of Hugh Jackman, the movie is an easy watch. It’s in the changing of the diet, after you watch the film, that’s so hard.

Gameau shared with us his favorite foods that will banish sugar cravings:

• A spoonful of coconut oil
• A handful of pecans, macadamias, walnuts or almonds
• A scoop of avocado
• A sip of apple cider vinegar (foul, but does the job)
• A warm sweet potato
• A piece of cheese
• A glass of L-Glutamine powder (this helps the neurotransmitters in the brain to alleviate cravings.)

For more good choices, download a free e-book of Gameau’s post-experiment recipes here. Every single one is sugar and refined carbohydrate free.