That Sugar Film: One Man’s Journey to Discover the Bitter Truth about Sugar

As you probably know, Game on Mom is committed to promoting healthy living. Eating well and using products that are as environmentally-friendly as possible is very important to us, and we know it’s important to many of you, too.

Healthy living, on the surface, seems like it’s easy enough to do once you make the decision to commit to it. Exercise, eat healthy foods, use natural products that are good for both you and the earth…if only it were that easy.

Have you ever really looked at the labels on the “healthy” foods you buy at the store? I’ve been guilty of focusing too much on calories and fat, and looking for those components that are supposed to be good for you. But what about sugar? Sugar is absolutely everywhere. It’s infiltrated our diet and culture, and it can be ridiculously hard to find healthy foods that aren’t loaded with it.

To draw attention to the sugar problem we find ourselves facing, filmmaker Damon Gameau has documented his journey to discover the truth about sugar in That Sugar Film. The movie chronicles his unique experiment to document the effects of a high sugar diet on a healthy body, and here’s what makes it really special: he consumes only those foods that are commonly perceived as healthy. Before I tell you more, have a look at the trailer:

Throughout the film, Damon discusses some of the issues that affect the sugar industry, and helps us pinpoint where sugar lurks, even in the shelves of the “healthiest” supermarkets. Under the guidance of scientists and nutritionists, Damon begins to consume a high-sugar diet of 40 teaspoons of sugar for a period of 60 days. To put that number in perspective, 40 teaspoons is only slightly above the average daily sugar consumption of a teenager. You know this would be easy if he drank sodas, ate ice cream, and snacked on candy, but that’s not the point; we already know those food products are smothered with sugar. Damon instead eats “healthy” foods like low fat yogurt, muesli bars, juices, and cereals.

Damon travels to Aboriginal communities in South Australia to look at the effect sugar has on indigenous healthy, and also to the US to meet sugar experts and a boy with a condition called “Mountain Dew Mouth” from too-frequent soda consumption. He also looks at how food companies use sugar in their products and exposes the techniques they’ve used to keep sugar awareness at a minimum.

That Sugar Film is fascinating and informative, and truly provides a unique look at sugar in our foods. I love that Damon looks behind the curtain, and goes above and beyond to blow open the doors on the sugars hiding in our “healthy” foods. It’s too easy to walk down the organic aisle and grab boxes off the shelves without thinking too much about them, but That Sugar Film will break you of that habit in short order. This movie isn’t intended to shame sugar, or to put people off sugar altogether: it’s meant to change the way we look at sugar, and since it’s present in about 80% of all processed foods, that’s incredibly important.

I hope you’ll watch this movie, because it will absolutely change how you think about sugar and the foods we’re consuming and feeding to our children. To check out That Sugar Film, you can find it in select theaters and On Demand for those in Australia and New Zealand; for US viewers, you can grab the film at the iTunes Store. You can also learn more about the film and creator Damon Gameau on ThatSugarFilm.com. If you watch it, please let us know what you think!