Did you hear recently about the actor who took on a “low fat, healthy diet” and the negative effect this had on his body?

Australian Damon Gameau made a documentary – due for release next year – called That Sugar Film. In it he relates the dire mood swings and weight gain he experienced after taking on the low-fat, high-sugar health food diet for 60 days.

We need to be clear about the main reason why our society is becoming obese and costing the NHS billions. It is because of the amount of sugar that is being consumed and not the amount of fat.

I will explain more about the correct fats to eat in next week’s article but today I want to stress the importance of avoiding many of the low fat processed foods.

The reason they taste good is often due to the amount of sugar, or sugar equivalent, they contain.

Within weeks of adopting his diet – where the sugars he was eating were in perceived healthy foods like low-fat yoghurts, muesli bars, cereals and fruit juices – the actor experienced fatty liver disease, he felt lethargic and had terrible mood swings. All these are the effects of too much sugar.

All this highlights the amount of sugar that can be found in low-fat supermarket products. So even though he was avoiding all the typical “bad” foods he was still consuming ridiculous amounts of sugar, or sugar equivalent.

There are many different diets out there that promote low fat products. But I believe that in the long run they will make you fatter and unhealthy.

Don’t be taken in by advertising campaigns, they are out there to make money rather than to make you healthier.

Not only can sugar, or sugar equivalent, make you fatter long term but it will also have a huge effect on your moods and mental stability.

Sugar is addictive. It can cause mood swings and depression.

The government recommends no more than six teaspoons of sugar a day but, if you eat processed or low fat foods, it is impossible to stay within these guidelines. For example, a small bottle of fruit juice can contain up to five teaspoons, a “healthy” cereal bar up to three teaspoons, a jar of pasta sauce seven teaspoons, 150g of low fat zero per cent fat yogurt five teaspoons, a 30g bowl of branflakes three teaspoons.

As a nation we are consuming up 40 teaspoons of sugar a day per person.

The only way to avoid this is to cook real food, homemade from scratch.

If you care about your own health and the health of your children you need to make that change.

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