28 Comments
Jul 11Liked by Unbekoming

As a true sugar addict, I can attest to its allure and desire. It has been a life long struggle. I have found that the Carnivore diet is helping me manage that addiction by not consuming any carbs at all, or very few. It’s easier for me to have none, then try and ration my choices. Plus I feel great.

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Jul 11·edited Jul 11Liked by Unbekoming

Sugar. Salt. Fat. Carbohydrates. Vegan. Keto. Organic. Low Fat. Hi Fat. All have been either esteemed or decried for their impact on health. It's a wonder the human race has survived. People want to live forever, I guess, and there's no end to those who will capitalize on that.

Business has one purpose: to make a profit. Some do it honorably (many small businesses) and some do not (most Big Business with shareholders to pacify).

I think about people and groups who have experienced extreme dietary deprivation over long periods, and somehow survive it, sometimes living to a ripe old age. Will the perfect diet put an end to much of the health problems in modern day society? Is there a perfect diet? Not likely. Diet is only one piece of the puzzle, though admittedly a major one. Personally, at the age of 76, healthy, vigorous both mentally and physically, totally med free and no chronic conditions, I credit a good, minimally processed diet and a moderate lifestyle which means some of everything, but not too much of anything.

Good as life is, and my fortunate circumstances for which I am very grateful, I have concerns that I will live too long!

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LIve forever? No, but live without unnecessary pain and suffering, yes. Live well enough to be a blessing to the grandkids, and not a burden.

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Otto Warburg won a Nobel Prize showing that the fermentation of sugar blocked oxygen to the cells.

This causes cancer.

It raises the acid levels of the body, which is why I take sodium bicarbonate regularly to increase my ph.

SB was a medical staple before Rockefeller came along in the 20th century. Sugar addiction should be monitored along with using ph strips.

Can't give it up totally.

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Jul 11Liked by Unbekoming

I read Sugar Blues decades ago and it was eye-opening, life-changing.

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i gave up sugar for over 35 years. when you are older tho, it is not so wise.

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Interesting. I believe it all. But you gotta draw the line somewhere, doncha think? I worked at Anheuser-Busch for over 20 years in the 70's & 80's, greatest job I ever had. My boss Milton would walk thru my office every afternoon to get the tally of barrels and cases going out the following day to coordinate with the drivers delivery routes. One day he caught me eating a Milky Way, my blood sugar had hit basement level and I needed a shot of adrenalin to make it to dinnertime. I think we've all been there. Thank God for vending machines.

Milton started to expound to me on a book he just read on the evils of sugar and how it will eventually kill me. I said, "OK Milton, but maybe not today". Milton was tall and gangly, still had his senior year waistline and no one ever saw him eat. Ate in his office, did not fraternize. He had a boat and traveled to Bimini every year to fish, even wrote fishing books. An avid sportsman, a man who practiced what he preached.

The Wholesale Operations Division, staffed by all women, male bosses only, and we had all of them by the short hairs. Two women engaged in a verbal fist fight and Milton would walk in, hear the goings-on, make a complete u-turn and exit till the dust settled. Funny as hell.

Weddings, birthdays, baby showers, holidays, any reason was a good reason for the 2 best bakers to bring in a cheesecake, cookies, pies, donuts to celebrate. First in line for these treats? Milton.

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author

😊🙏

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"Answer: Dufty suggests that the introduction of high fructose corn syrup led to a significant increase in overall sugar consumption in the U.S., as the cheap sweetener was added to a wide range of processed foods and beverages. It argues that this shift had disastrous consequences for public health."

In my view there are two totally different products that should never be considered substantial equivalents. Not only does HFCS have entirely different metabolic effect in the diet American corn has been over 90% gmo corn since 1998 and gmo w its novel proteins and pesticide residues is not sugar.

Fun fact.. king corn is ADM lobbyists grift.. public health irrelevant

"At least 43 percent of ADM’s annual profits are from products heavily subsidized or protected by the American government. Moreover, every $1 of profits earned by ADM’s corn sweetener operation costs consumers $10, and every $1 of profits earned by its ethanol operation costs taxpayers $30"

https://web.archive.org/web/20210506232642/https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/archer-daniels-midland-case-study-corporate-welfare

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Irish not African slaves.

Film made with Errol Flynn called Captain Blood.

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that was a fun movie.

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That was his first.

The Empire not happy showing Irish slaves.

Never another with that theme.

Read To Hell or Barbados.

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such a great writer, thank you!

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Try

They Were White and They Were Slaves by Hoffman

And

Proclamation 1625 by Boyd

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Thank you, thomas sowell, has some very comprehensive book that include the slave trade in the muslim world and professor tony martin has very thuroughly documented who owned the slave trade ships in africa….quite an eye opener.

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Jul 11Liked by Unbekoming

Hi Unbekoming!

Wow! Congrats on your 40th Book Summary!

And Thank You for enlightening us with every one of them!

So grateful I found you on Twitter and then found your Substack during Covid.

Much respect and appreciation!

Cory B.

USA

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author

Thank you Cory 🙏

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This book changed my life about 30 years ago… written by a journalist, whose girlfriend was an aging Hollywood star… full of amazing history and truth. I teach nutrition in the school districts and I always tell people about this book and Try to get them to read it.

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you are hitting it out of the park, again and again and again. Did you pass by here, and search my bookshelf?

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author

🤣

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Jul 11·edited Jul 11Liked by Unbekoming

Nyoiti Sakurazawa is better known in the English-speaking world as George Ohsawa. Or the French spelling of his first name, Georges, as he was active in France. He was the founder of Macrobiotics which is a dietary practice and spiritual philosophy based on an idiosyncratic interpretation of yin/yang that in the west developed a cult-like following. I know, I was a participant back in the 80's.

The community was similar in a lot of ways to other Eastern spiritual movements that developed in the 60's-80's, including a charismatic leader named Michio Kushi who was Ohsawa's student, but with a stronger focus on diet. Ohsawa put Macrobiotics on the map with his books Zen Macrobiotics and You Are All Sanpaku, the latter of which I think was co-written or translated by Dufty, but it was Kushi who was responsible for spreading it in the West.

While they made a lot of claims about healing various illnesses, I did not observe much in the way of robust health among the adherents, there were several deaths at early ages of some of the leading figures, and it tended to attract neurosis and anxiety about diet. The diet was not easy to follow and "binging" was common.

The diet is mostly vegan, allowing for a bit of seafood for the healthy, and based on whole grains. Sick people were recommended a strict form of the diet. Its day in the sun has come and gone and nowadays keto and similar diets, which are very much the opposite, are all the rage.

They also rationalized cigarette smoking.

I have a sweet tooth, enjoy sugar in moderation, and would never give it up completely. At various times I tried giving it up entirely and I did not notice any benefits.

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author

Great comment, thank you for sharing this.

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You're most welcome.

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Yes they've lied

C-Span2 April 6 1992

US Israel Relations

AIPAC conference with

Senator Joseph Biden D-Delaware

C-Span.org

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Thanks for this enlightening article!

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I read this book in 1991, it seems good in isolation. You have to factor in industrial seed oils like canola tho, and humans have used honey since time immemorial, maple syrups, birch tree sap is sugary too. balance this out with Ray Peats work and weston Price. there is no one diet for everyone, even the same diet will make a person ill, who it helped before.

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