You may remember David Gillespie from previous discussions such as Why Sugar is Really Grim For You. He’s the author of Sweet Poison and over the past 13 months since I quit sugar we’ve been in regular dialogue.

image via Bon Appetite

Sometimes we talk about the fact that much of what we know about sugar and fat is a big fat lie. Wonderfully, David has now published a book on this very point. Today we’re chatting about his new book Big Fat Lies: How the Diet Industry is Making You Sick, Fat & Poor. If you’ve been wondering, if sugar is bad and saturated fat is actually good, then why are we not been told as such, then this is your weekend read.

But curl up now with a nice buttery piece of toast and enjoy our “fact or fiction” rundown of some common nutritional advice we all get fed…

David Gillespie Podcast [ 17:36 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The five myths we cover off are:

1. eating fat causes heart disease

(For a little more background on the bodgy science that tried to convince us of this myth, see my blog on Ancel Keys‘ fat study.)

2. cholesterol is bad

3. egg yolks are the devil!

Six weeks in, some of you might have sugar out of your system. Some of you won’t, though. The cravings might still be there. What are you feeling? Are you feeling like you’d like to continue. To keep sugar out longer? Not in a draconian-I-must-be-vigilant way, but in a let’s just see how it goes for a bit longer way. Read on…

image via Unruly Things

Some housekeeping:

• My second IQS webinar will be on Monday 13th Feb – next Monday at 6pm. You can sign up here. Click ‘join crowd’ to be signed up for my webinars, and hit ‘attend’ on next Monday’s event to receive a reminder email. Got it?
• If you’re interested, 180 nutrition (a sugar-free, “clean” protein powder…great in your coconut smoothies) has a 15% discount on at the moment, for any readers of this blog. Simply click here for more info.

Some extra soundbites for you

Many of you liked the elevator pitch statements from last week’s newsletter. Here are a few little soundbites to fire off when those around you want to know more about your IQS excursioning, but don’t want to get freaked out. As I say over and over in the ebook: it’s worth being careful that you don’t get too draconian or bozzy or holier-than-thou with this no-sugar business. It’s a crook look. And it puts people off. Go gentle. Suggest some starting points. I’ve found this top 4 list of things to look out for gets interest going:

* Fruit juice.

There’s 8-12 teaspoons in a small bottle/glass. And, yes, freshly squeezed is the same as packaged. Fructose is fructose. Besides, it’s expensive. And a waste of packaging.

* Low fat dairy.

When fat’s taken out of, for example, yoghurt, it’s replaced with sugar to achieve the same fullness of flavour as full-fat. A small individual serve of low fat PLAIN yoghurt can contain 6 teaspoons of sugar.

* Sauces.

Some pasta sauces have more sugar than chocolate topping. Barbecue sauce…oh, you all know the drill.

* Muesli.

Unless it’s a sugar-free (fruit free) version. A lot of muesli contain more sugar than Coco Pops.

A thought on adding sugar back in:

This week in the program you add some sweetness in. I get asked this a lot: will it upset the apple cart just to experience sweetness – even if it’s fructose free? Will it tip dominoes

Yes and no. As always, you need to feel what your body can cope with. Hopefully after six weeks your body can answer this for you. That’s the whole point.

Yes, it will upset things if you head off to back dextrose cakes every day and particularly if your attachment to sugar tends to be emotionally based.

And remember this from the book:

No, however, everything’s cool if you’re playing with a few new flavours and allowing some treats into your life so you don’t feel you’re missing out. This is not a mean diet. It’s an experiment.

Following on from my recent why i get excited about coconut oil post, I’m sharing some of the things I do with coconut oil…a few of you have asked the difference between oil and butter. It’s the same thing. The stuff does become an oil in the warmer months, so store in the fridge if you prefer the harder, smoother consistency.

photo via My New Roots

1. Fry and roast your roots!

As I mentioned the other week, coconut oil is by far the safest, healthiest and tastiest oils to cook with (along with ghee). But it’s particularly tasty for cooking sweeter vegetables like pumpkin and carrots. I really like this recipe from My New Roots, which I’ve tried without the dressing she suggests, and the maple syrup.

coconut roasted carrots

zest of 2 oranges
juice of 1 orange
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp. maple syrup (or some stevia)
1 tbsp. coconut oil or ghee, melted
1 tbsp. sesame seeds
pinch sea salt

Whisk all marinade ingredients together, add the carrots and toss to coat. Pour carrots and marinade out onto a baking sheet, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and place into preheated HOT oven. Roast for 15 minutes.

I love pumpkin fried off in coconut oil. I’ve shared this recipe here.

Also, brussel sprouts!!!!

2. Eat it straight from the jar (my #1 fail-proof craving curber)

After lunch I still get sweet/”I need something more” cravings. So this is my failproof trick. I eat two tablespoons of coconut oil. It satisfies my need for something sweet and KILLS appetite for about 4-5 hours. I really challenge you to try it (allow about ten minutes to feel the effect).

3. Use it as a moisturiser, especially in summer!

I scoop straight from the jar (I keep a jar in the bathroom) and apply onto moist skin. I mix in a few drops of Vitamin E oil, too. The wonderful health properties seep through the skin, too. In ayervedic terms, it’s a cooling oil and so is perfect at this time of year – it will help you sleep at night (PS in winter I use untoasted sesame oil, which is a warming oil).

You know I quit sugar, right? And you know I’ve stuck to it? And you know I’ve written an ebook on how to do it?

photo via pinterest

For those of you who haven’t read it yet, the main thrust of my 8-week program is replacing sugar with fat. It’s an approach I really find worked for me, and for many others. But I keep getting asked:

“is it really ok to eat fat?”

“how can you say saturated fat is OK?”

“how much fat do YOU eat?”

Alright. Let’s clear a few things up, then…

1. This short video sums up a fair bit of the misconception around saturated fat:

The gist is this: in the 1950s, a random scientist called Ancel Keys published a dodgy study that told us saturated fats were bad. The study was a total furphy. But we latched on to it. It’s important to realise that at that time the edible oil industry in the US seized the opportunity to promote its polyunsaturates. The industry did this by developing a health issue focusing on Key’s anti-saturated fat bias. With the help of the edible oil industry lobbying in the United States, federal government dietary goals and guidelines were adopted incorporating this mistaken idea that consumption of saturated fat was causing heart disease. This anti-saturated fat issue became the agenda of government and food industry groups around the world.

Coconut oil is getting a lot of very good press lately…much of it from me! I thought I’d clear up WHY it’s good and WHAT I do with the stuff. This first post will tick off the former.

Coconut oil roasted sweet potato...recipe below

So, know this:

It doesn’t make you fat

Coconut oil is a short-medium chain saturated fat. But saturated fat is bad, right? No. Not the naturally occurring saturated fats, like coconut oil. It’s the artificially adjusted trans fats you want to avoid, like vegetable oils and seed oils. I’ll be posting on this next week, if you’re not quite convinced! Also, when I mention coconut oil, I’m talking virgin coconut oil, not the hydrogenated version (which is bad).

In fact, it helps you LOSE weight

How so? Coconut oil is mostly made up of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs. These types of fatty acids produce a whole host of health benefits:

• MCFAs are smaller. They permeate cell membranes easily, and do not require special enzymes to be utilized effectively by your body.
• MCFAs are easily digested, thus putting less strain on your digestive system.
• MCFAs are sent directly to your liver, where they are immediately converted into energy rather than being stored as fat.
• MCFAs actually help stimulate your body’s metabolism, and increases the activity of the thyroid,
  leading to weight loss.

It stops sugar cravings and energy slumps

Your body sends medium-chain fatty acids straight to your liver to use as energy. This means that coconut oil

Well, my I Quit Sugar ebook has been on sale now for 3 weeks. So, there’s a bunch of you who’ve already seen results.

Here’s some of what you’ve been saying:

“I can’t believe how many tasty foods there are that don’t have any sugar!” Kerry

“I’m in week 3 of I Quit Sugar – feeling really good and skin is clearer and brighter, whoo!” Jasmine

“I have been sugar free for five days now. I am starting to experience that clarity that you and so many others have talked about, and it is a nice place to be – instead of thinking about chocolate and biscuits all the time!” Sally

One of the main tricks I share for quitting sugar is to get used to using other sweeteners (but only healthy ones). In I Quit Sugar, I share recipes and supply a shopping list of things to keep in your cupboard. Funnily, Huffington Post recently ran a list of simiilar sweeteners, some of which I’ve included here…

• crushed berries…instead of jam. Crush some fresh or frozen berries (perhaps with a little stevia; I find frozen ones work) and spread on toast.
  
• vanilla powder… with yoghurt instead of icecream. In my ebook I share other tips, including where to buy the stuff.
• cinnamon…instead of sugar in your coffee. Try adding a dash of it to coffee as it brews. Toss it into the french press or coffee maker and let it infuse into the grinds.
• coconut flesh and flakes...to sweeten porridge.
• licorice root tea…in chocolate treats and baked things. A small teaspoon of the root (ie not after it’s made up into tea) adds instant sweetness.