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Sugar Buns Nerd fact for a dinner party: Glucose is not just used for animals but also plays a role in the plant kingdom. The chlorophyll in plants synthesizes glucose using carbon dioxide from the air and energy from the sun’s light. The plant then stores it as starch for future energy use. Somehow I … Continued

Milkshake brain Today I drank a low fat chocolate milkshake inside an FRMI machine. My brain lit up like a Christmas tree in the exact same reward centres as nicotine, cocaine and sex. (I did not have sex in the machine to prove it though, it was far too cramped a space and my lady’s … Continued

Debate and Action We have learnt through history that science is constantly in need of updating as we discover more and more and understand that some things we thought of as a solid truth don’t sustain under more developed microscopes and investigation. In truth we can only really ever have our own experience of something, … Continued

Feeding the Geese Fitting that I was in San Francisco today. Day 49 and home of the 49ers. No wonder it was such a magnificent day.   I met with two esteemed scientists on the subject of fructose and these are a few things I learnt: Both glucose and fructose go to the liver but … Continued

Sweet suppression “Sugar releases beta endorphins in the brain. These are the same endorphins that love releases. We live in a world where people need love, especially for self. Sugar provides this feeling but it is short lived and no replacement for the real thing. I help people not by telling them to quit, but … Continued

Cokay Such is the success of the Coca Cola ubiquitous marketing strategy that the word ‘coke’ is the 2nd most recognizable word across all languages on this planet. It still trails the word ‘okay’ and I hope it always does. How you feeling? Oh, I’m coke. Perhaps the two will merge. Oh, I’m cokay.   … Continued

Home savoury home The prize for the most questionable soft drink ever made has to be ‘Kidsbeer’. This is the beverage equivalent of candy cigarettes for children. It is a Japanese cola-style drink, aimed at children, that has been chemically designed to look like beer – complete with a frothing head. Its tagline reads: “Even … Continued

FFF “I swear to tell the whole bullshit and nothing but the bullshit like everyone else you are going to interview. If I do what you tell me, I will be paid in gummi bears.” The remarkable Howard Moskowitz in our interview. Howard invented cherry vanilla Dr Pepper and 36 varieties of tomato pasta sauce … Continued

Captain Sugar Face Over 5, 500,000 Australians are now effected by fatty liver disease. Only 6000 of these cases are caused by alcohol. This disease was first identified 30 years ago. I will find out next week if I already have it or am on track to getting it. The good news, according to Dr … Continued

The Sugar Free Athlete Coca Cola have around 650 products in their cannon of work. I wonder what percentage of these contain fructose? I might do the math. Actually, I am now aware that they have been following the blog closely so perhaps someone from the office could leave a comment? I interviewed a scientist … Continued

The Gummi Bear Vitamins If I still feel a deep need to have sugar in my life in some capacity after sunday, here are some other uses for it: If I store my cheese with sugar cubes it will not go mouldy.  Handy. When added to warm water sugar is terrific at removing grass stains.  … Continued

Shugar Shores ‘Sugar’ and ‘sure’ are the only two words in the English language that are spelt with ‘su’ but pronounced ‘shu’. ‘Shugar Shores’ would be a terrifically bad name for a television drama series set in a North Queensland coastal town about a family of sugar cane farmers. So close, so very very close. … Continued