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SAN FRANCISCO -- For anyone who has tried, the battle of the bulge can often end in failure. Part of the problem may be the added sugars and sweeteners you may not even know you're consuming.
Playing music comes easy for Carlos Reyes, but losing weight does not. It's a battle he's fought since he was a child. "Food was a comfort," he says.
Now a father and desperate to lose weight, Carlos asked a good friend about gastric bypass surgery, but Walnut Creek Chef Cindy Gershen was against it. Cindy is now half her former size. "I was 100 pounds overweight," she admits.
Now she's nudging her friend into a new way of life and in just two months, Carlos has lost more than 40 pounds. "Now, what's making me feel great is I'm in control," he explains.
Cindy says her approach is to get the sugar out and the fiber back in, a technique based on medical advice she got from her mentor, obesity expert Dr. Robert Lustig at University of California, San Francisco. "We have to get the surreptitious sugar out of the food supply!" Dr. Lustig says adamantly.
Dr. Lustig taught Cindy about the concern over fructose, a molecule found in sugars and sweeteners and how fiber is nature's antidote.
But fiber--plentiful in fruits and vegetables--is sorely lacking in our modern diet. "We, as human beings walking the earth 50,000 years ago, used to consume anywhere from 100 to 300 grams of fiber a day," Dr. Lustig explains. "Currently we consume 12."
Cindy is now teaching Dr. Lustig's approach to others. "I want you to mostly eat fresh fruits, veggies, protein and dairy," she reminds Carlos. Also, eat fewer processed and packaged foods and sugary, calorie-packed beverages.
"If you eat anything that's in a box or processed--anything--make sure your read the label," Cindy adds. Labels are key. If sugar is found in the first three ingredients, Cindy says it's a dessert.
But be prepared: sugar comes in many forms, including organic cane, white, brown, high-fructose corn syrup. Also, if the label does not show three grams of fiber for every one hundred calories, Cindy says, don't eat it. And avoid trans fats altogether by watching for hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated ingredients.
Coming up Friday, Dr. Kim Mulvihill will report on how some public health experts believe we need to regulate, even tax, sugary foods.
E-mail: drkim@ksl.com
