That Sugar Film

In an attempt to cut through all the conflicting scientific opinions, as well as in preparation for impending fatherhood, Damon Gameau decides he wants to find out what effect sugar really has on human health. The Australian actor and director, who has lived on foods without any added sugar for some years, carries out a remarkable experiment on himself. For a period of 60 days, he eats 40 teaspoons of sugar a day: the daily intake of the average teenager. This sucrose can only be hidden in products generally regarded as healthy. So sweets, chocolate, ice cream and soda are out, but fruit smoothies, yoghurt with granola and a lot of “light” products are all fair game. Alongside the experiment – the striking interim results of which he discusses with a team of medical experts – Gameau examines the infamous sweet stuff with fellow actors, animations and special effects. For instance, Stephen Fry gives a rhyming performance on the difference between glucose, sucrose and fructose, and Gameau (or a “nano version” of himself) undertakes a journey into his own brain to find out exactly what an influx of sugar does there. This snappily edited film also contains relaxed interviews, including with an activist in the sugar-addicted Aboriginal community and a scientist sponsored by Coca Cola.