What Is The Sugar Busters Diet?
Sugar Busters’ dust jacket proclaims, “Cut Sugar to Trim Fat!” The book also states that sugar is toxic. This is the basis of the diet. Because they can cause havoc to your biochemical system, the authors recommend that you eliminate sweets with refined sugar as well as certain fruits and vegetables high in sugar. This diet promises to lower cholesterol, improve your health, boost your energy, and treat diabetes and other conditions.
This is the story of Sugar Busters Diet, a New Orleans diet that was self-published until a major publisher published it! In 1998. The hardcover edition is still very popular and the paperback is not yet out. H. Leighton Steward (a former CEO) and three Big Easy doctors are the authors: Morrison C. Bethea MD, a cardiothoracic surgery; Samuel S. Andrews MD, an endocrinologist, and Luis A. Balart MD, a gastroenterologist.
The Sugar Busters authors don’t recommend counting calories or measuring food. They suggest that you “look at portion sizes,” which is another method of cutting calories, even though they say that calories are not the solution to weight loss. The authors also point out that moderate exercise won’t significantly impact weight loss if you continue eating foods high in sugar. The authors caution that this diet is not suitable for those who are obsessed with exercise.
What You Can Eat
Although there are few foods you can’t eat, the authors state that these foods include many of the staple American foods. This is a short list but you must not eat any refined sugars.
You should eat high-fiber vegetables and stone-ground whole grain foods, lean and trim meats, fish, as well as fruits. Red wine is the best alcohol choice. You can grill, broil, or broil meat using an oil high in mono-, polyunsaturated fats. It is also good for cooking with low levels of saturated fats such as canola. Three meals per day are recommended. You can also eat snacks like nuts and fruit, but you should eat the whole thing. Fruit is better than fruit juice and should be eaten at least half an hour before your meal.
Eat:
Meats, Including:
- Lean pork and beef
- Canadian bacon
- Poultry
- Venison and other game meats
- Shellfish and fish
Vegetables, Including:
- Beans
- Lentils
- Peas
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Squash
- Zucchini
- Mushrooms
- Asparagus
- Artichokes
- Cabbage
- Celery
- Cucumbers
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Eggplant
- Onions
Fruits, including:
- Apples
- Lemons and limes
- Pears
- Cherries
- Raspberries
- Kiwis
- Grapefruits
- Apricots
- Other than watermelon, melons
- Tomatoes
- Oranges and tangerines
Dairy products and whole grains, as well as cereals, are allowed. However, you should not add sugar to these foods. You can also eat dark chocolate and spices.
These Are Not Allowed To Be Eaten:
- Baked beans
- Carrots
- Corn
- Ripe bananas
- Raisins
- White bread, pasta, and rice
- Potatoes
- Beer
- Bacon, fried chicken and most cold cuts
How It Works
To explain their theories, the authors use basic science — to a certain extent. High levels of carbohydrates in a snack or meal (of which sugar the basic building block) can quickly raise blood glucose levels. This causes the pancreas and insulin to release more insulin. According to the authors, this release causes too much insulin in the body so that it is unable to convert the glucose into glycogen, which is needed for immediate energy requirements. The body can only store and hold about 700 grams of glycogen, which is an average of 600 grams in the liver and muscle.
Insulin production results in stored fat. The body can store fat, whether you like it or not. This is because of the spare tire in one’s middle, the thunder thighs and the belly fat. The body can store thousands upon thousands of grams of fat, you wouldn’t believe it. This was extremely useful for our forefathers before fast food joints. Fat could be converted to energy and the next meal would be a long time away. We don’t need this system of packaging anymore, but we still have it.
The authors claim that a high-protein, low carbohydrate meal does not cause a noticeable rise in blood glucose. There is, however, an imperceptible increase in insulin and a small rise in blood sugar. However, there is a significant rise in glucagon levels. What is glucagon? According to the authors, glucagon is another hormone that the pancreas secretes. It helps regulate blood sugar levels and “promotes mobilization of previously stored fat.” High levels of glucagons are necessary to burn food reserves and provide energy between meals. This will enable you to draw energy from your stored fats. The elevated glucagon levels stay high for a long time, “so that you can continue to burn that mobilized fat.”
Insulin, however, is said to “inhibit the mobilization of previously saved fat,” even if one follows a very low-calorie, but glucose-generating diet. This explains why white-flour pasta can cause people to gain fat even if they eat less.
This is the most controversial claim made by the Sugar Busters! The Sugar Busters’ most controversial claim is that insulin resistance can be reduced by limiting or eliminating certain foods. Insulin resistance results in obesity and frequently is the culprit behind type 2 diabetes, or the non-insulin-dependent form of the disease. The authors state that insulin resistance can be reversed or reduced by as much as 50%, even though it is not completely dependent on our genes.
What Experts Say
They don’t like Sugar Busters much. The Sugar Busters can help you avoid diabetes, according to the authors. diet. This is a myth,” says Maureen L. Storey PhD, associate director at the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy, Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Storey also doubts the fundamental claims of weight loss made by the authors. “When we gain weight it doesn’t really matter from where the calories are coming from. Too many calories will result in weight gain.
Storey adds, “Furthermore, the diet perpetuates a myth that your body can tell the difference between sugars naturally occurring in food products or sugars added to manufactured products.” It doesn’t. Even high-fiber cereals like Kellogg’s All Bran have some sugar. As we all want to eat less sugar, it is important that there is more fiber in our diets.
Theresa Nicklas PhD, a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (Texas), says that her main complaint is the diet’s claims about insulin resistance. She claims that insulin resistance is not caused by diet. Insulin resistance must be diagnosed by a doctor. You cannot diagnose it by simply reading a book.
She also worries about the high protein diet. She notes that high protein diets can increase calcium excretion, and could worsen gout. Side effects possible include liver and kidney damage, fatigue, weakness and irritability. This diet is why people lose weight. Each meal has an average of 1,200 calories. You can lose weight with just 1,200 calories per day.
