1
00:00:08,049 --> 00:00:11,678
[narrator] The story of humans
is really a story of extraction.
2
00:00:13,430 --> 00:00:18,184
Take copper, which we learned to mine
and hammer into plows and tools,
3
00:00:18,268 --> 00:00:20,478
and mix with tin to make bronze.
4
00:00:21,855 --> 00:00:23,648
Or coal and petroleum,
5
00:00:23,732 --> 00:00:26,067
which allowed us to tame fire.
6
00:00:26,985 --> 00:00:29,237
But in order to shape the world,
7
00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:31,573
first we needed to survive it,
8
00:00:31,656 --> 00:00:35,452
and for that,
the most precious resource was this.
9
00:00:36,453 --> 00:00:37,620
Sugar,
10
00:00:37,704 --> 00:00:40,540
the closest thing we have to pure energy.
11
00:00:40,623 --> 00:00:43,877
Think of our ancestors.
They were hunters and gatherers.
12
00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,422
And for them, sugar was
one of the fastest sources of energy.
13
00:00:47,505 --> 00:00:51,134
So we evolved to crave sugar
and, when we found it, to eat it.
14
00:00:52,052 --> 00:00:54,262
[narrator] But they weren't eating
sugar like this.
15
00:00:54,763 --> 00:00:56,973
It was just found in other foods.
16
00:00:57,056 --> 00:01:00,143
Fruits and vegetables,
and tough stalks of sugarcane.
17
00:01:00,226 --> 00:01:05,315
It was over a thousand years ago
that some enterprising humans
18
00:01:05,398 --> 00:01:09,819
learned to extract the sugar
out of the sugarcane,
19
00:01:09,903 --> 00:01:12,530
evaporate it, crystallize it.
20
00:01:13,156 --> 00:01:16,493
[narrator] And turn it into an ingredient
that you could add to anything.
21
00:01:16,576 --> 00:01:17,869
And we did.
22
00:01:18,328 --> 00:01:22,040
[Long] Now we could get the white stuff
straight up whenever we wanted.
23
00:01:22,123 --> 00:01:23,458
Problem was,
24
00:01:23,541 --> 00:01:27,295
we still had the Neanderthal brain
and Neanderthal body
25
00:01:27,378 --> 00:01:31,299
now living in a tech 2.0,
sugar 5.0 environment.
26
00:01:31,382 --> 00:01:33,676
And our bodies and brains
can't keep up with that.
27
00:01:34,260 --> 00:01:37,222
[narrator] The calories that were once
vital to our survival
28
00:01:37,305 --> 00:01:39,265
are now a public health menace.
29
00:01:39,349 --> 00:01:42,060
[reporter] Sugar is responsible
for the high rates of obesity,
30
00:01:42,143 --> 00:01:45,563
diabetes, heart disease and cancer,
and should be regulated.
31
00:01:45,647 --> 00:01:47,398
Sugary drink consumption
32
00:01:47,482 --> 00:01:50,902
is a key driver of the obesity epidemic
in the United States.
33
00:01:50,985 --> 00:01:51,945
Sugar is addictive.
34
00:01:52,028 --> 00:01:54,697
We're literally
poisoning ourselves with sugar.
35
00:01:54,781 --> 00:01:57,325
[narrator] So scientists have been
on a quest
36
00:01:57,408 --> 00:02:00,203
to create something
that can do what sugar does.
37
00:02:00,286 --> 00:02:02,580
Give us that sweetness and pleasure,
38
00:02:02,664 --> 00:02:05,500
but without all the calories
we no longer need.
39
00:02:05,583 --> 00:02:09,963
We sometimes forget
that sugar is not just sweetness.
40
00:02:10,046 --> 00:02:12,423
Sugar is energy.
41
00:02:12,507 --> 00:02:15,260
Sugar is happiness.
42
00:02:15,343 --> 00:02:17,345
Sugar is mouthfeel.
43
00:02:17,428 --> 00:02:20,765
Sugar is many, many things in food
44
00:02:20,849 --> 00:02:22,934
and replacing it...
45
00:02:23,017 --> 00:02:25,436
I mean, can you replace the heart?
46
00:02:26,521 --> 00:02:30,400
[narrator] So can we satisfy
our deep, ancient craving for sugar
47
00:02:30,483 --> 00:02:31,985
without harming ourselves?
48
00:02:32,652 --> 00:02:35,738
Can we actually have our cake
and eat it too?
49
00:02:40,076 --> 00:02:41,786
[man 1] It's coated with golden sugar.
50
00:02:41,870 --> 00:02:43,788
[boy 1] Too good for leprechauns.
51
00:02:43,872 --> 00:02:45,623
[boy 2] Silly rabbit. Trix are for kids.
52
00:02:45,707 --> 00:02:48,251
[man 2] Sugar doesn’t have
any nutritional value whatsoever.
53
00:02:48,334 --> 00:02:50,712
I'd argue that you couldn’t
even call it a nutrient.
54
00:02:50,795 --> 00:02:52,630
[man 3] Some sugar is converted into fat.
55
00:02:53,214 --> 00:02:57,385
[man 4] He shouldn’t let candy and sweets
substitute for other foods.
56
00:02:57,927 --> 00:02:59,429
My tummy wants some yummy.
57
00:03:12,734 --> 00:03:14,944
[Russell] These are sugar sculptures.
58
00:03:15,695 --> 00:03:19,198
Elaborate scenes
constructed entirely of sugar,
59
00:03:19,282 --> 00:03:21,492
sometimes over 20 feet high,
60
00:03:21,576 --> 00:03:23,870
displayed at medieval royal banquets.
61
00:03:25,413 --> 00:03:27,165
They were known as subtleties,
62
00:03:27,248 --> 00:03:30,627
because they were
a subtle statement of wealth and power.
63
00:03:31,711 --> 00:03:33,171
But it wasn't that subtle.
64
00:03:34,255 --> 00:03:37,091
Sugar was really expensive and rare.
65
00:03:38,551 --> 00:03:41,304
That all changed
about 150 to 200 years ago,
66
00:03:41,387 --> 00:03:44,933
when we started being able
to distill beet sugar and cane sugar
67
00:03:45,016 --> 00:03:47,518
into very highly processed,
highly concentrated sugar.
68
00:03:48,436 --> 00:03:50,605
[Russell] It was no longer
a symbol of power.
69
00:03:51,189 --> 00:03:54,943
Sugar was an energy food
for health and strength.
70
00:03:56,236 --> 00:04:01,157
Physicians excitedly reported
on its unexpected stimulating properties.
71
00:04:01,241 --> 00:04:05,078
Fashionable ladies were encouraged
to sip sugary cordials,
72
00:04:05,161 --> 00:04:09,040
the only healthy beverage
that can be safely taken after cycling.
73
00:04:09,666 --> 00:04:12,710
And soldiers marveled
that it acted like a charm,
74
00:04:12,794 --> 00:04:15,296
relieving fatigue and quenching thirst.
75
00:04:16,047 --> 00:04:19,008
Nobody was looking
for something to replace sugar.
76
00:04:19,092 --> 00:04:21,552
It happened entirely by accident.
77
00:04:24,138 --> 00:04:26,391
One evening in 1878,
78
00:04:26,474 --> 00:04:28,810
a research chemist sat down for dinner,
79
00:04:28,893 --> 00:04:32,397
bit into a bread roll,
and tasted something sweet.
80
00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:34,190
It wasn't the bread.
81
00:04:34,274 --> 00:04:35,942
It was his fingers.
82
00:04:36,025 --> 00:04:39,279
He'd spilled a solution
all over his hands earlier that day.
83
00:04:40,571 --> 00:04:44,701
It was a coal tar derivative,
which we now know as saccharin,
84
00:04:44,784 --> 00:04:48,621
300 times sweeter than sugar
and zero calories,
85
00:04:48,705 --> 00:04:52,208
which would end up filling
those pink packets of Sweet'N Low.
86
00:04:52,292 --> 00:04:55,003
At the time, though, its biggest customers
87
00:04:55,086 --> 00:04:58,798
were diabetics and canners
looking for a cheap preservative.
88
00:04:59,924 --> 00:05:04,095
But then, Americans' consumption
of sugar started shooting up.
89
00:05:04,178 --> 00:05:07,306
It dipped during the world wars
when sugar was rationed,
90
00:05:07,390 --> 00:05:09,058
but quickly recovered.
91
00:05:09,642 --> 00:05:12,562
And Americans' waistlines shot up too,
92
00:05:12,645 --> 00:05:14,230
as did the number of heart attacks.
93
00:05:15,106 --> 00:05:16,649
By the 1960s,
94
00:05:16,733 --> 00:05:21,029
heart disease was responsible
for a third of all American deaths.
95
00:05:22,322 --> 00:05:25,908
Doctors started suspecting
that sugar might play a role,
96
00:05:25,992 --> 00:05:28,578
and lots of Americans
were looking to cut back.
97
00:05:29,370 --> 00:05:32,957
Fortunately,
lab safety still wasn’t that great,
98
00:05:33,041 --> 00:05:37,295
so scientists continued to stumble upon
new substances that could replace it.
99
00:05:37,795 --> 00:05:40,715
In the 1930s,
a drug researcher on a smoke break
100
00:05:40,798 --> 00:05:44,719
happened to taste his fingers
and discovered cyclamate,
101
00:05:45,344 --> 00:05:48,598
less sweet than saccharin,
but still sweeter than sugar,
102
00:05:48,681 --> 00:05:51,726
which gave us the first no-calorie soda.
103
00:05:51,809 --> 00:05:54,896
[announcer] Yes, there's a party
in every bottle of No-Cal,
104
00:05:54,979 --> 00:05:58,232
the first, the finest
sugar-free soft drink.
105
00:05:59,192 --> 00:06:01,027
[Russell] Then, in the 1960s,
106
00:06:01,110 --> 00:06:05,531
another drug researcher licked
his fingers and tasted something sweet.
107
00:06:05,615 --> 00:06:07,492
[interviewer] Does that happen a lot?
108
00:06:07,575 --> 00:06:10,745
Do scientists just forget
to wash their hands and lick them?
109
00:06:10,828 --> 00:06:12,747
[laughs] Not anymore.
110
00:06:12,830 --> 00:06:14,415
[Russell] But thanks to that guy,
111
00:06:14,499 --> 00:06:17,835
we got aspartame,
roughly the same calories as sugar,
112
00:06:17,919 --> 00:06:20,755
but 200 times sweeter,
so you needed much less.
113
00:06:21,923 --> 00:06:23,925
And then, in the 1970s,
114
00:06:24,008 --> 00:06:27,345
a scientist was working
on a compound of sugar and chlorine,
115
00:06:27,428 --> 00:06:30,223
and was reportedly asked to test it.
116
00:06:30,306 --> 00:06:33,226
He misheard and tasted it instead.
117
00:06:33,851 --> 00:06:37,480
The researcher survived,
and we got sucralose.
118
00:06:37,563 --> 00:06:39,816
Zero calories, unbelievably sweet,
119
00:06:39,899 --> 00:06:42,527
and marketed as the ultimate substitute.
120
00:06:42,610 --> 00:06:44,362
[man] Splenda brand sweetener.
121
00:06:44,445 --> 00:06:47,323
You can say sugar or you can say Splenda.
122
00:06:48,449 --> 00:06:51,327
[Russell] Artificial sweeteners
seemed like a magic trick.
123
00:06:51,953 --> 00:06:53,704
Thanks to the wonders of chemistry...
124
00:06:53,788 --> 00:06:55,873
[woman] You can enjoy all
these sweet sensations
125
00:06:55,957 --> 00:06:57,625
without all the calories.
126
00:06:57,708 --> 00:06:59,419
[Russell] Guilt-free pleasure.
127
00:06:59,502 --> 00:07:01,796
[man] Sounds just too good to be true.
128
00:07:03,464 --> 00:07:06,968
[Russell] For many, that did indeed
sound too good to be true.
129
00:07:07,635 --> 00:07:10,430
In a couple studies in the '60s and '70s,
130
00:07:10,513 --> 00:07:12,473
they gave rats bladder tumors,
131
00:07:12,557 --> 00:07:16,018
leading to a panic
that these sweeteners caused cancer.
132
00:07:16,102 --> 00:07:18,604
The US banned cyclamate,
133
00:07:18,688 --> 00:07:20,690
put a pause on approving aspartame,
134
00:07:20,773 --> 00:07:23,359
and made saccharin products
add a warning label
135
00:07:23,443 --> 00:07:25,987
saying it may be hazardous to your health.
136
00:07:26,654 --> 00:07:29,574
To many, sugar seemed like a safer option.
137
00:07:30,366 --> 00:07:33,327
And the sugar industry had done
a lot of damage control,
138
00:07:33,411 --> 00:07:35,705
claiming sugar was actually a diet food,
139
00:07:35,788 --> 00:07:38,207
the smart way to stay slim and trim.
140
00:07:38,916 --> 00:07:41,419
Anytime you were tempted to overeat,
141
00:07:41,502 --> 00:07:44,046
sugar could instantly curb your appetite
142
00:07:44,130 --> 00:07:46,799
because it was only 18 calories a teaspoon
143
00:07:46,883 --> 00:07:48,467
and all energy.
144
00:07:49,093 --> 00:07:52,972
This Domino ad even claimed
that three spoonfuls of sugar
145
00:07:53,055 --> 00:07:55,558
was less fattening than an apple.
146
00:07:55,641 --> 00:08:00,354
But while it might have fewer calories,
not all calories are created equal.
147
00:08:01,772 --> 00:08:05,776
When you eat an apple,
your blood sugar levels rise gently.
148
00:08:05,860 --> 00:08:08,070
[Long] You get the sugar,
but you also get it
149
00:08:08,154 --> 00:08:11,491
with fiber and water,
and a whole host of macronutrients.
150
00:08:12,325 --> 00:08:14,619
[Russell] Which takes a while to digest.
151
00:08:14,702 --> 00:08:18,998
But pure sugar is more instant energy,
followed by a crash,
152
00:08:19,081 --> 00:08:22,126
so you can actually
feel hungrier than you did before.
153
00:08:22,210 --> 00:08:24,128
And if you eat more and more,
154
00:08:24,212 --> 00:08:27,131
all that instant energy
can start to strain your body.
155
00:08:27,215 --> 00:08:30,885
That means your insulin responds
by staying chronically elevated as well.
156
00:08:31,636 --> 00:08:35,348
[Russell] Insulin is the hormone that
tells your body what to do with sugar,
157
00:08:35,431 --> 00:08:38,476
unlocking your cells
so they can use it as energy.
158
00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:43,272
And if they have enough,
you store the energy for later as fat.
159
00:08:43,356 --> 00:08:46,609
But if insulin is constantly
pumping through your body,
160
00:08:46,692 --> 00:08:50,321
your cells start becoming resistant to it
and eventually...
161
00:08:50,404 --> 00:08:55,034
The pancreas is pumping out
lots and lots of insulin,
162
00:08:55,117 --> 00:08:57,787
but the insulin's not working.
163
00:08:58,329 --> 00:09:01,082
That's when you get the type 2 diabetes.
164
00:09:01,165 --> 00:09:03,793
[Russell] Your cells can't get
the fuel they need.
165
00:09:03,876 --> 00:09:07,672
Unfortunately, this high insulin level
166
00:09:07,755 --> 00:09:12,802
is still working at some of the other jobs
insulin is supposed to do.
167
00:09:12,885 --> 00:09:15,304
And one of those is fat-making.
168
00:09:16,013 --> 00:09:19,183
[Russell] So it's easier to gain weight
and harder to lose it,
169
00:09:19,267 --> 00:09:21,435
and your blood sugar also builds up,
170
00:09:21,519 --> 00:09:24,564
which can damage
parts of your body, like your heart.
171
00:09:26,983 --> 00:09:30,319
Back in the '60s and '70s,
that wasn't well-known.
172
00:09:30,403 --> 00:09:33,698
We were getting
a lot of mixed messages on sugar,
173
00:09:33,781 --> 00:09:36,659
but we got one message very clearly.
174
00:09:37,410 --> 00:09:41,414
The culprit behind our scourge
of heart disease was saturated fat.
175
00:09:42,707 --> 00:09:44,792
The food industry responded
176
00:09:44,875 --> 00:09:48,337
with all kinds of products
labeled "fat-free"
177
00:09:48,421 --> 00:09:49,964
or "heart healthy."
178
00:09:50,047 --> 00:09:53,884
But when you take out fat,
you lose flavor.
179
00:09:53,968 --> 00:09:55,595
So, in many cases,
180
00:09:55,678 --> 00:09:58,139
companies added sugar in its place.
181
00:09:59,098 --> 00:10:02,685
But artificial sweeteners
were also recovering their reputation.
182
00:10:03,269 --> 00:10:05,563
Study after study after study
183
00:10:05,646 --> 00:10:08,983
hadn't found any evidence
that they cause cancer in humans.
184
00:10:09,692 --> 00:10:11,944
The rats in those earlier studies?
185
00:10:12,028 --> 00:10:16,324
They were given the equivalent
of hundreds of cans of diet soda a day.
186
00:10:17,033 --> 00:10:18,034
And also...
187
00:10:18,117 --> 00:10:20,328
Rats and mice aren't humans.
188
00:10:20,411 --> 00:10:25,416
[Russell] When Coca-Cola released
an aspartame-based soda in 1983,
189
00:10:25,499 --> 00:10:27,209
it was a landmark event.
190
00:10:27,293 --> 00:10:29,712
[man] The world premiere of Diet Coke.
191
00:10:30,463 --> 00:10:34,008
♪ You’re gonna drink it
Just for the taste of it ♪
192
00:10:35,259 --> 00:10:39,764
[Russell] Within a decade, aspartame had
replaced over a billion pounds of sugar
193
00:10:39,847 --> 00:10:42,016
in foods and drinks in the US.
194
00:10:42,099 --> 00:10:46,062
But artificial sweeteners
weren't replacing sugar in our diet.
195
00:10:46,145 --> 00:10:48,731
They were largely an excuse
to eat more of it,
196
00:10:49,357 --> 00:10:52,276
and we'd figured out
even cheaper ways to make it,
197
00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:53,861
like out of corn.
198
00:10:53,944 --> 00:10:59,033
Sugar is now added to three-quarters
of packaged foods in the US,
199
00:10:59,116 --> 00:11:01,911
going by more than 60 different names.
200
00:11:01,994 --> 00:11:04,038
[Long] Dextrose, fructose, sucrose,
201
00:11:04,121 --> 00:11:07,750
high-fructose corn syrup. Anything
that ends with “ose” is a form of sugar.
202
00:11:07,833 --> 00:11:11,420
Or one of my favorite euphemisms
for sugar,
203
00:11:11,504 --> 00:11:13,756
evaporated cane juice.
204
00:11:13,839 --> 00:11:16,133
[Russell] There was no chance
artificial sweeteners
205
00:11:16,217 --> 00:11:18,803
were going to replace sugar
in all these foods.
206
00:11:18,886 --> 00:11:21,055
I think anybody who has tried
an artificial sweetener
207
00:11:21,138 --> 00:11:23,724
knows that we're not really
fooled by them.
208
00:11:23,808 --> 00:11:26,185
They don't taste exactly like sugar.
209
00:11:26,268 --> 00:11:28,979
No, I don't like the way that fake sugar,
210
00:11:29,063 --> 00:11:31,857
you know, leaves that taste in your mouth.
211
00:11:31,941 --> 00:11:34,193
-How bad is it?
-Sweetened chemically.
212
00:11:34,276 --> 00:11:36,737
Super sweet
that your mouth can’t really handle it.
213
00:11:38,322 --> 00:11:41,158
[man] I'm not a fan
of artificial sweeteners.
214
00:11:41,242 --> 00:11:43,536
I’ve had saccharin before
in sodas and chewing gum.
215
00:11:43,619 --> 00:11:47,373
It makes my mouth chalky and dry,
and needing to drink more water.
216
00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:52,169
[Russell] Pichet Ong has spent his career
trying to make desserts with less sugar,
217
00:11:52,253 --> 00:11:54,463
without ever compromising on taste.
218
00:11:54,547 --> 00:11:57,049
When I was consuming
the ones with aspartame,
219
00:11:57,133 --> 00:11:59,218
it also had a similar effect to me.
220
00:11:59,301 --> 00:12:02,388
It’s not quite, you know, natural tasting.
221
00:12:03,347 --> 00:12:06,392
[Russell] A big part
of how sugar tastes is time.
222
00:12:06,475 --> 00:12:10,646
The time it takes for the sweetness
to peak after you take a bite,
223
00:12:10,730 --> 00:12:13,983
how long it lingers,
and how fast it declines.
224
00:12:14,608 --> 00:12:17,903
It's called temporal sweetness profile.
225
00:12:17,987 --> 00:12:19,947
This is how it looks for sugar.
226
00:12:20,030 --> 00:12:24,285
It peaks really fast
and disappears really fast.
227
00:12:24,368 --> 00:12:27,204
And this is how it looks for sucralose.
228
00:12:27,288 --> 00:12:29,623
The sweet taste comes on slower
229
00:12:29,707 --> 00:12:32,001
and takes its sweet time leaving.
230
00:12:32,710 --> 00:12:36,630
Aspartame hits even later
and loiters even longer.
231
00:12:37,381 --> 00:12:39,759
The difference is fractions of a second,
232
00:12:39,842 --> 00:12:42,845
but for our taste buds,
that's an eternity.
233
00:12:43,637 --> 00:12:46,223
And sugar is about
more than just sweetness.
234
00:12:46,307 --> 00:12:48,100
It makes icing glisten
235
00:12:48,184 --> 00:12:50,853
and cakes moist and fluffy.
236
00:12:50,936 --> 00:12:54,231
[Baniel] If you take
all the sugar out of a cake,
237
00:12:54,315 --> 00:12:57,318
the cake would come out like a pita bread.
238
00:12:57,401 --> 00:13:00,780
So the challenges are huge.
239
00:13:00,863 --> 00:13:04,617
The one sweetener that's worked
for me in many recipes is stevia.
240
00:13:04,700 --> 00:13:07,745
[Russell] Stevia is a natural
calorie-free sweetener.
241
00:13:07,828 --> 00:13:11,582
It comes from a South American plant,
and it can make a decent pudding.
242
00:13:12,166 --> 00:13:15,628
But the sweetness comes on
even later than artificial sweeteners
243
00:13:15,711 --> 00:13:19,507
and overstays its welcome,
revealing itself as fake.
244
00:13:20,549 --> 00:13:24,678
There is one sweetener
that tastes uncannily like sugar,
245
00:13:24,762 --> 00:13:26,889
just a little less intense.
246
00:13:26,972 --> 00:13:31,310
Allulose,
the rising star of sugar substitutes.
247
00:13:32,228 --> 00:13:34,104
Technically, it's a sugar,
248
00:13:34,188 --> 00:13:38,192
a rare kind found in tiny amounts
in foods like figs and raisins,
249
00:13:39,109 --> 00:13:41,737
but it doesn't act like sugar
in our bodies.
250
00:13:41,820 --> 00:13:45,824
We can't fully break it down,
which makes it nearly calorie-free.
251
00:13:46,408 --> 00:13:48,327
It performs well in the kitchen,
252
00:13:48,410 --> 00:13:50,663
and early studies suggest it's safe.
253
00:13:51,288 --> 00:13:55,084
But only a few producers make it.
Most countries haven't approved it yet.
254
00:13:56,293 --> 00:13:59,088
And it's priced like gourmet health food.
255
00:14:00,172 --> 00:14:02,842
And none of these sweeteners,
even allulose,
256
00:14:02,925 --> 00:14:05,928
can replace the most magical thing
about sugar.
257
00:14:07,513 --> 00:14:12,184
[Long] So sugar acts in the same part
of your brain as sex and addictive drugs.
258
00:14:12,268 --> 00:14:14,103
The reward zone of your brain.
259
00:14:14,186 --> 00:14:17,815
So you eat sugar, you've released
dopamine, you feel happier.
260
00:14:17,898 --> 00:14:20,943
[Russell] It isn't just hunger
that drives us to eat sugar.
261
00:14:21,443 --> 00:14:22,778
It's desire.
262
00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:25,489
That's why, even when we're full,
263
00:14:25,573 --> 00:14:28,701
we still perk up
when someone offers us dessert.
264
00:14:28,784 --> 00:14:29,952
[Baniel] Isn't that funny?
265
00:14:30,035 --> 00:14:32,746
We have a special space
266
00:14:32,830 --> 00:14:35,791
for the indulgent taste
267
00:14:35,875 --> 00:14:37,668
at the end of a meal.
268
00:14:38,502 --> 00:14:41,922
[Russell] One study found
that the reward zones of our brain
269
00:14:42,006 --> 00:14:45,926
only get activated
when sweetness comes with calories.
270
00:14:46,969 --> 00:14:50,014
If you want the pleasure,
you have to pay for it.
271
00:14:51,307 --> 00:14:54,268
The bitter truth is we can't mimic sugar,
272
00:14:54,351 --> 00:14:56,854
just leaving out the parts we don't like.
273
00:14:56,937 --> 00:14:59,565
So some people
are taking a different approach,
274
00:14:59,648 --> 00:15:02,818
trying to reinvent
the sugar crystal itself.
275
00:15:06,155 --> 00:15:08,824
In 2013, at age 95,
276
00:15:08,908 --> 00:15:12,494
Professor Avraham Baniel
was reflecting back on his life.
277
00:15:13,370 --> 00:15:17,791
He'd been an industrial chemist and worked
on many things over his long career.
278
00:15:17,875 --> 00:15:20,336
Extracting copper from desert sand,
279
00:15:20,419 --> 00:15:22,046
minerals from the Dead Sea,
280
00:15:22,129 --> 00:15:24,465
fertilizers, biofuels,
281
00:15:24,548 --> 00:15:26,300
carpet fiber, citric acid,
282
00:15:26,383 --> 00:15:28,761
and a long stint as a professor.
283
00:15:29,428 --> 00:15:32,681
And he remembered something
that happened a long time ago
284
00:15:32,765 --> 00:15:34,850
when he was a young man just starting out.
285
00:15:36,018 --> 00:15:37,853
The world was at war,
286
00:15:37,937 --> 00:15:40,397
and sugar was severely rationed.
287
00:15:40,481 --> 00:15:44,360
There was no sugar,
or hardly any sugar, to be had.
288
00:15:44,443 --> 00:15:46,904
[Russell] Professor Baniel
is Eran’s father.
289
00:15:47,571 --> 00:15:52,201
At the time, he was working near Haifa,
helping the war effort by making bombs.
290
00:15:52,868 --> 00:15:55,621
One day, he got a strange visit
from a friend's wife,
291
00:15:55,704 --> 00:15:57,873
who asked if he could get her some starch.
292
00:15:57,957 --> 00:16:00,834
[Baniel] My father said,
"Why do you want starch?"
293
00:16:00,918 --> 00:16:02,628
[Russell] It was a trick she knew.
294
00:16:02,711 --> 00:16:05,130
If you made a sticky pudding out of starch
295
00:16:05,214 --> 00:16:07,758
and then added
whatever little sugar you have,
296
00:16:07,841 --> 00:16:09,927
it would magically taste sweeter,
297
00:16:10,010 --> 00:16:12,179
as if it had a lot more sugar in it.
298
00:16:12,262 --> 00:16:13,973
[Baniel] So my father thought,
299
00:16:14,056 --> 00:16:16,558
"Funny. I must remember that."
300
00:16:16,642 --> 00:16:18,936
And, of course, he forgot all about it.
301
00:16:19,019 --> 00:16:22,189
[Russell] Until that fateful day in 2013,
302
00:16:22,272 --> 00:16:24,566
when it hit him like a revelation.
303
00:16:24,650 --> 00:16:28,445
So my father said,
"The only way to cut sugar
304
00:16:29,405 --> 00:16:32,241
is by using sugar in a different way."
305
00:16:34,243 --> 00:16:36,954
[Russell] You see,
sugar has a dirty secret.
306
00:16:37,037 --> 00:16:39,498
You don't actually taste most of it.
307
00:16:40,082 --> 00:16:41,875
When you take a bite of cake,
308
00:16:41,959 --> 00:16:44,461
the sugar crystals dissolve in your mouth,
309
00:16:44,545 --> 00:16:47,464
and the sugar molecules
go all over the place.
310
00:16:47,548 --> 00:16:51,135
Only a fraction of them
ever touch your taste buds.
311
00:16:51,218 --> 00:16:53,679
The rest? You just swallow it.
312
00:16:53,762 --> 00:16:56,557
It goes where you don't want it.
313
00:16:57,182 --> 00:17:00,060
[Russell] The reason starch
made pudding taste sweeter
314
00:17:00,144 --> 00:17:03,063
is that it coats your tongue
and makes it stickier,
315
00:17:03,147 --> 00:17:05,607
so more of the sugar hits your taste buds.
316
00:17:06,275 --> 00:17:09,611
Eran's dad thought
he had a more efficient solution,
317
00:17:09,695 --> 00:17:12,990
embedding something
into the sugar crystal itself,
318
00:17:13,073 --> 00:17:14,408
which would act like...
319
00:17:14,491 --> 00:17:17,911
[Baniel] A sponge for the sugar molecules.
320
00:17:17,995 --> 00:17:21,623
[Russell] Soaking them up
and creating a new kind of crystal
321
00:17:21,707 --> 00:17:24,543
containing giant clumps
of sugar molecules.
322
00:17:25,753 --> 00:17:29,048
So when you take a bite,
and the crystals dissolve,
323
00:17:29,131 --> 00:17:33,052
more of those molecules have a chance
to reach our sweet receptors.
324
00:17:34,219 --> 00:17:36,764
Eran was so convinced by his dad's idea,
325
00:17:36,847 --> 00:17:38,557
he started a company.
326
00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:40,267
DouxMatok.
327
00:17:40,350 --> 00:17:42,227
"Doux" is "sweet" in French,
328
00:17:42,311 --> 00:17:44,813
and "matok" is "sweet" in Hebrew.
329
00:17:44,897 --> 00:17:47,399
And "du" also means "double" in Hebrew.
330
00:17:47,483 --> 00:17:50,903
[Baniel] So "sweet sweet"
or "double sweet."
331
00:17:51,528 --> 00:17:53,363
[Russell] They discovered that silica,
332
00:17:53,447 --> 00:17:56,283
a common food additive,
was a great sponge.
333
00:17:56,867 --> 00:17:58,827
And the result was Incredo,
334
00:17:58,911 --> 00:18:01,080
nearly 100% sugar,
335
00:18:01,163 --> 00:18:04,708
but because we taste more of it,
we don't need to eat as much.
336
00:18:05,417 --> 00:18:07,419
It's got a lot of people excited.
337
00:18:07,503 --> 00:18:10,839
Time named it
one of the best inventions of 2020.
338
00:18:11,423 --> 00:18:13,425
But it has its limitations,
339
00:18:13,509 --> 00:18:15,302
namely water.
340
00:18:16,011 --> 00:18:20,516
With Incredo, the sugar and the silica
break apart as soon as they get wet.
341
00:18:20,599 --> 00:18:22,726
[Baniel] Boom! The couple is broken.
342
00:18:22,810 --> 00:18:25,562
Sugar on one side,
carrier on the other side.
343
00:18:25,646 --> 00:18:27,106
The miracle is gone.
344
00:18:28,190 --> 00:18:30,818
[Russell] Our bodies evolved
for this compound
345
00:18:30,901 --> 00:18:33,362
in ways that are hard to trick or hack,
346
00:18:34,196 --> 00:18:36,073
and that we still don't fully understand.
347
00:18:37,699 --> 00:18:39,868
But we keep learning more about sugar,
348
00:18:39,952 --> 00:18:43,330
and some common assumptions
are due for another update.
349
00:18:44,164 --> 00:18:45,457
In the 2000s,
350
00:18:45,541 --> 00:18:49,336
high-fructose corn syrup
was considered the most evil of sugars.
351
00:18:50,003 --> 00:18:52,130
It's been called "the Devil's candy,"
352
00:18:52,214 --> 00:18:55,509
a "sinister invention,"
and "the crack of sweeteners."
353
00:18:56,093 --> 00:18:58,137
But a lot of high-fructose corn syrup
354
00:18:58,220 --> 00:19:01,181
is basically the same
molecular structure as sugar.
355
00:19:01,265 --> 00:19:02,766
No better, no worse.
356
00:19:03,475 --> 00:19:05,394
Things like agave nectar and honey
357
00:19:05,477 --> 00:19:08,730
are widely seen as healthier
alternatives to sugar, but...
358
00:19:08,814 --> 00:19:13,152
The truth is, whether it's fructose,
sucrose, glucose, or the other forms,
359
00:19:13,235 --> 00:19:14,820
your body sees it as sugar.
360
00:19:15,404 --> 00:19:18,448
[Russell] Brown sugar has some
trace nutrients that white doesn't,
361
00:19:19,158 --> 00:19:21,201
but we're talking really trace.
362
00:19:22,161 --> 00:19:24,246
Raw sugar isn't better for you, either.
363
00:19:24,329 --> 00:19:26,540
It's not even really raw,
364
00:19:26,623 --> 00:19:28,792
just slightly less refined.
365
00:19:29,501 --> 00:19:31,003
And to be clear,
366
00:19:31,086 --> 00:19:34,298
artificial sweeteners
won't give you cancer.
367
00:19:34,882 --> 00:19:36,592
By the early 2000s,
368
00:19:36,675 --> 00:19:40,846
saccharin products were no longer
required to carry a warning label.
369
00:19:40,929 --> 00:19:43,390
Compared to a sugar-sweetened beverage,
370
00:19:43,473 --> 00:19:45,851
an aspartame-sweetened beverage
371
00:19:45,934 --> 00:19:48,812
is a much safer,
372
00:19:48,896 --> 00:19:50,439
healthier choice.
373
00:19:50,522 --> 00:19:51,565
And I
374
00:19:52,649 --> 00:19:55,235
will probably go to my grave saying that.
375
00:19:55,819 --> 00:19:57,571
[Russell] But recent studies also suggest
376
00:19:57,654 --> 00:20:00,657
that artificial sweeteners
aren't a great way to lose weight,
377
00:20:01,325 --> 00:20:05,495
possibly because they change
the composition of bacteria in our guts.
378
00:20:08,123 --> 00:20:10,834
The taste of sweet never comes for free,
379
00:20:10,918 --> 00:20:12,753
but there is some good news.
380
00:20:13,420 --> 00:20:18,008
Sugar actually isn't as bad for us
as we may have been led to believe.
381
00:20:18,842 --> 00:20:21,678
You may have heard
that sugar makes kids hyper,
382
00:20:21,762 --> 00:20:24,514
but that idea was based
on pretty weak data.
383
00:20:25,641 --> 00:20:27,809
Later studies couldn't find any evidence
384
00:20:27,893 --> 00:20:31,271
that sugar affects kids' behavior
or cognitive function.
385
00:20:31,980 --> 00:20:34,858
Very often these days,
386
00:20:34,942 --> 00:20:36,818
someone will say,
387
00:20:36,902 --> 00:20:39,696
“Sugar is the new tobacco,
388
00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:42,115
and we should banish it.”
389
00:20:42,199 --> 00:20:45,244
[Russell] You may have heard
that sugar's wildly addictive.
390
00:20:45,327 --> 00:20:47,829
The science is coming in now where we know
391
00:20:47,913 --> 00:20:51,083
that sugar is more addictive than cocaine.
392
00:20:51,166 --> 00:20:52,751
Eight times more addictive than cocaine.
393
00:20:52,834 --> 00:20:54,753
Addictive like heroin, rock cocaine.
394
00:20:54,836 --> 00:20:58,674
[Russell] But that evidence, once again,
comes from mice studies.
395
00:20:59,508 --> 00:21:02,052
If you had to pick
between sugar withdrawal
396
00:21:02,135 --> 00:21:03,929
and cocaine withdrawal,
397
00:21:04,012 --> 00:21:05,806
definitely pick sugar.
398
00:21:05,889 --> 00:21:08,850
[Stanhope] Clearly,
there's a greater level
399
00:21:08,934 --> 00:21:11,520
of addiction
400
00:21:11,603 --> 00:21:16,316
and physiological effect
with cocaine compared to the sugar.
401
00:21:20,862 --> 00:21:22,823
[Long] As I always say,
"Sugar isn't poison."
402
00:21:22,906 --> 00:21:24,533
"The dose makes the poison."
403
00:21:24,616 --> 00:21:26,618
A little bit of sugar is not the problem.
404
00:21:26,702 --> 00:21:30,122
It is the large, constant, chronic
quantities that create the problem.
405
00:21:30,205 --> 00:21:31,290
[Russell] In the US,
406
00:21:31,373 --> 00:21:35,627
sugar consumption has actually
been going down for the past two decades.
407
00:21:35,711 --> 00:21:40,841
But fast food and junk food consumption
is not going down.
408
00:21:40,924 --> 00:21:44,052
[Russell] So obesity rates
keep trending upwards.
409
00:21:44,136 --> 00:21:46,430
People are still eating
410
00:21:46,972 --> 00:21:51,768
horrifyingly little amounts
of fresh fruit and vegetable,
411
00:21:52,519 --> 00:21:54,896
whole grains, beans.
412
00:21:54,980 --> 00:21:56,690
Nobody eats beans.
413
00:21:57,983 --> 00:22:00,819
[Russell] We may never be able
to have our cake and eat it too.
414
00:22:01,528 --> 00:22:03,697
That's just not how cakes work.
415
00:22:04,239 --> 00:22:07,492
But we're getting closer
to making healthier cakes.
416
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,954
On November 27th, 2020,
417
00:22:11,038 --> 00:22:15,042
Eran's father
celebrated his 102nd birthday.
418
00:22:15,125 --> 00:22:17,794
He's eating a brownie.
419
00:22:17,878 --> 00:22:20,922
The sugar was 35% reduced.
420
00:22:21,006 --> 00:22:22,591
I mean, he loved it.
421
00:22:22,674 --> 00:22:26,303
He was really beside himself
with happiness.
422
00:22:26,803 --> 00:22:29,181
Mazel tov!
423
00:22:29,264 --> 00:22:32,684
[Russell] We should all be aiming
for a more balanced diet
424
00:22:32,768 --> 00:22:34,936
without too much sugar.
425
00:22:35,020 --> 00:22:37,481
But declaring war on a single ingredient
426
00:22:37,564 --> 00:22:39,733
is a recipe for defeat.
427
00:22:39,816 --> 00:22:43,528
You're not going to stick
to any diet that makes you miserable.
428
00:22:44,279 --> 00:22:48,283
Dark chocolate, especially
dark chocolate bars with nuts in them.
429
00:22:48,367 --> 00:22:51,787
That, without a doubt,
is my most favorite.
430
00:22:52,621 --> 00:22:55,749
[Ong] It makes me feel
energetic and happy.
431
00:22:55,832 --> 00:22:57,084
When I go to bed at night,
432
00:22:57,167 --> 00:22:59,795
I will be thinking I can't wait
to wake up and have some dessert.
433
00:23:00,754 --> 00:23:04,424
We need to cut
the overconsumption of sugar.
434
00:23:04,508 --> 00:23:06,009
Absolutely.
435
00:23:06,093 --> 00:23:07,928
But the overconsumption,
436
00:23:08,512 --> 00:23:12,099
not the essential consumption of sugar.