If there is one other thing I’m most passionate about next to travelling, it is health and food (or well-being). And I don’t mean this in a “I’m-a-health-guru” kind of way. Not at all. I’m so far from being a healthy eater.
It’s not uncommon for people to have a sweet tooth. I certainly have a sweet (and cheesy) tooth.
But here’s the elephant in the room that I struggle to come to terms with: I COME FROM A DIABETIC FAMILY.
My mother developed Type 2 Diabetes from a very sedentary (and overly relaxed) lifestyle. It’s scary to know that she did not get hers from genetics. Her family line is quite healthy but the lifestyle she had got her diabetes. For as long as I can remember, she has been giving herself insulin shots every single day (on top of a myriad of medication).
My father, who passed away in 2005, was also diabetic. His own mother (my grandmother) was diabetic and passed away due to complications from diabetes.
So yeah… the chances of me getting diabetes (if not already) is about 98%.
When I was growing up in the Philippines, we lived just beside the American Naval base, so our diet (brought about by parties, social gatherings, family friends) was heavily American-influenced. In a very bad way. Imagine the 80’s — the heyday of Pop Tarts, KFC, Baskin Robbins, Dairy Queen, Frito Lay chips and French Onion Dip. These were staples inside our household.
Miraculously, none of us in the family grew overweight and this is both a blessing and a curse. It’s mostly a curse because well, we ate all the bad food we wanted but because we weren’t physically growing, there was no physical warning for you to stop. We were killing our bodies from the inside but there’s no outwardly evidence of it.
I’m not in any way blaming my parents, or my parents’ parents for this. They were all busy and tied to the thriving family business and back in the day, people were not as informed about health and nutrition as we are now.
My lifestyle and diet changed when I moved to Australia. On the surface, it’s easy be misled to think that I am a healthy eater.
I don’t drink coffee, no alcohol, no sodas, no Starbucks or any frappes, lattes, I don’t eat red / processed meat, (2016 update: I’ve now been a pescetarian for 7 months and counting) no smoking, no drugs. My staple food is seafood, grains and vegetables. Unfortunately, chips and chocolate also make quite a staple appearance.
I try to undo this by doing working out almost every night. But I know that what you consume is what is more important. This formula (eat sweets = work out harder) so far works, but I know it’s not for long.
The struggle of weaning myself off sweets and junk is Real, and it’s not about weight loss.
I just don’t want to end up making doctors filthy rich later on in life. (My mom’s doctor hates me as I keep researching on alternate ‘super foods’ to get my mom off some of the medication).
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Now I usually turn down non travel-related media events, but when I received an invite for the media screening of “That Sugar Film”, I said yes in a heartbeat.
Given the health background I just mentioned above, my family and I should be first in line to see this film. I’m a sucker for documentaries like this. I’m a visual person, and even though I’d already read most of the facts stated in the film, it’s still more awakening to watch it in the big screen.
If you have seen Super Size Me (2004), it is a similar concept. Except “That Sugar Film” is more of a game-changer. Super Size Me is a documentary about this guy who eats nothing but fast food and junk for a month. The medical results were hardly surprising at the end of the film.
“That Sugar Film”, explores in-depth how the world became a fat-hating, sugar-loving society, and how this now led to a generation of overweight and diabetic population.
Damon Gameau embarks on a low-fat diet containing natural /(supposedly good) sugars. Granola bars, fruit juices, cereals, yoghurt…things that are normally considered healthy. And he maintained regular exercise throughout this 2- month experiment.
The results are quite scary. No, actually the entire movie was scary for me. The documentary, similar to Super Size Me’s style , is filled with facts that are presented in a very modern visual presentation that will inculcate alarming data in your mind.
Although it had some bits and clips that I thought were unnecessary (music video type insertions that are there to add pizzazz probably), the entire message is very important.
I love how it opened my eyes to not just rely on research (some of which are heavily funded by Coca-Cola!) that are fed to us. Do your own research, eat things in moderation, and know which food contains hidden sugars- are the main takeaways of this film.
Watch the trailer:
That Sugar Film is touring Australian cinemas in March.
Hi Jean
This is a very interesting blog.
We certainly have a sweet tooth too & Laura a (cheesy) tooth, But she hasn’t eaten cheese since 25th Dec 2014 & restricts her eating of cheese to the festive season…
Your healthy relationship with junk food photo LOL so funny. That one made me laugh, you Holding the two Sweet drinks with that HUGE!! GRIN!! On your face LOL… Your mum can reverse her type 2 Diabetes with a change of diet but it will take dicipline… My Grandfather had diabeties and died of gangarine. One of my Nephews was born with type 1 Diabetes…Sorry to hear of the loss of your family…You can reduce your chances of getting diabetes by 85% by changing your diet and regular exercise. It’s all about discipline… You don’t have to go crazy or extreme but just watch your intake of food type and exercise…
the heyday of Pop Tarts, KFC, Baskin Robbins, Dairy Queen, Frito Lay chips and French Onion Dip, LOL Regular eating of this type of food encourages a slow degrading of the body. You have been blessed and can undo most of the damage by radical change of eating habits and exercise. The not drinking of coffee, no alcohol, no sodas, no Starbucks or any frappes, lattes, not eating of red / processed meat, no smoking, & no drugs is awesome. We are the same.. We only drink some fizzy drinks and a small amount alcohol at Christmas… What you consume is definately the important factor.. 85% of it is diet and 15% exercise unless you are training like me a boxer where it becomes 50% Diet & 50% exercise.. We burn so many calories and work much harder than the average gym person… Seafood and white meat is much safer than red meats… Make sure your fish is not farmed and are free swimming fish… The artificial feed they give to farmed fish and the cramped condition they live in make the fish unhealthy to eat… Chips and chocolate LOL the taste buds Yummy LOL…
Eat sweets & work out harder LOL. I once ate 2 large bars of chocolate and then worked on a cross trainer for 4hrs 6min non stop burning 5004 calories… When other gym member saw the digital readout on my crosstrainer they nearly passed out LOL 3000 calories consumed in chocolate and 5004 calories burned in 4hrs and 6min… The resistance of the cross trainer was set to the highest maximum resistance. The weaning yourself off sweets and junk is definately not all about weight loss but also about the toxic damage you can do to your body…Many of the sweets people consume have additives which are syntheic or chmemicalised and can cause harm in the long term… We are our own doctors by what we eat and can make doctors rich by choice in the foods we eat… It’s great that you are researching on alternate ‘super foods’ to get your mother off some of the medication.. A Raw Fruit and Veg Diet would rapidly heal your Mom, but you would have to introduce it to her slowly.. Too much too soon can make you want to give up and eat even more junk foods. That Sugar Film is good for people to see what poisons that they are eating… It’s nice to see that you are health concious, I never seen you like this before, congratulations to you for waking up and being more aware of it… Fructose IN!! & Sucrose OUT!! Artificial Foods OUT!! & Real foods IN!! Sugar is a killer… If it can damage your teeth, just imagine what it does to your body… I’m aware of all hidden sugars and junk foods… Sugar is an addictive drug that rots your body…
I wish you and your family a healthy life good luck & thanks for sharing this blog
Tony & Laura
Hi Tony, thanks so much for the advice!!! I know you and Laura are very health conscious and I do need the tips! Sorry to hear about your grandfather and nephew too. Its so true isnt’t it, that diabetes is the silent killer! You are right in saying that while there is no cure for diabetes, it can be prevented by discipline! I really need to tone down on the unhealthy snacks and sweets because extreme work out won’t do it alone.
My mom is pretty good that she doesn’t eat junk food but she loves WHITE BREAD which is the real enemy and probably one of the causes of her diabetes (she is a bread person). I just recently taught her the ‘right’ kinds of breads but of course being in her late 60’s her tastebuds have grown accustomed to the sweeter taste of white bread. Agh. Anyway thanks again and I’ll keep your words of advice in mind.
I need to show the film to my teenagers. I love good chocolate and cake too, but that’s ok in moderation..
Yes! Moderation is the key (I try to chant that mantra every day) haha!
OMG… that’s flamin terrible, I couldn’t imagine living with diabetes, although, doctors suggest that chefs get checked because of the way we pick at bits and pieces all day, often not looking after ourselves properly. I do love that picture of you with the giant drinks, are they coke spiders or coke floats?
I have been hearing rather a lot about this film, the foodies are raving about it. Best haul butt off to the cinema for a cheeky viewing. Anyways, look after you lady, have a great week too.
Wow Anna that’s interesting, but makes sense that chefs get regular testing! I think it’s scary we think small bits here and there are fine but we don’t realise how it all adds up! Oh the drinks, they were rootbeer floats after a long hot day of driving in Montana! Oh man, they were sooo good. but probably soooo bad for you as well! man, why do bad things have to taste so good??? #dilemma
So interesting to read your review of the film. Hubby and I found it really interesting and certainly informative not to mention shocking!
Yes! Very shocking!!! I really wish it can make me completely stay off sweets!
I have been hearing about this movie – after reading your review, I’ve decided it must be a whole family event to go and watch it . I had success with Super Sized Me, my boys never asked for McDonalds again after seeing it.. These days you can barely turn sideways without being confronted with sugar – kids don’t understand it lurks everywhere (tomato sauce….), not just in the obvious, sweets and soft drink…look after yourself, I’m here to tell you it gets harder as you get older – but it is worth it. xxx
Hi Monique, so glad to hear about the success with Super Size me! And good on your boys for never touching Mc Donalds again. This Sugar Film is more graphic if anything (new technology and more catchy), I think to try to reach to the younger audience too. Yes the hidden sugars!!! Gosh those are the tricky ones.
Hi Jean, I saw you the other night at the GA talk and you were really great! I saw this film last week at the screening in Cremorne and it’s brilliant. I am quite passionate about health and have completely changed my diet since moving to Australia (especially in the last year) and I’ve seen a lot of documentaries about food. Anyway, I thought seeing as you come from a family with diabetes I thought you’d be interested in this documentary if you haven’t already seen it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pjkC71exKU . It’s pretty amazing! xx
Hi Annabel, thanks so much for the visit and for attending the talk! Wish we could have chatted then! Thanks so much for the link to the YouTube documentary video. I started watching it last night (am continuing tonight). Same with you I have changed my diet since coming to Australia but temptation still lurks. I just watched the first 15 minutes of the video and agree with the message so far!
Hi Jean,
I’m glad you’ve started watching it, I really loved that doco, it’s so fascinating. Would have loved to chat to you at GA but it was pretty busy. I am so keen to turn my blog into a living. If you have any tips on my blog, that would be amazing help for me. It started off fashion focused but it’s going down the expat route more and more now. Thanks again! Annabel xx