Australian actor Damon Gameau has undergone a food feat in the name of film. The actor and filmmaker ate the equivalent of up to 40 sugar cubes every day for two consecutive months, which resulted in his developing a hepatic condition, Youth Health Mag reports.
Gameau’s sugar binge was for a 2015 Australian documentary titled That Sugar Film. The film hopes to prove that the sugar overwhelmingly present in most of the foods we’re eating today can have dire health consequences if consumed indiscriminately.
Case in point: Sixty days after starting the sugar challenge, Gameau had gained significant weight and was diagnosed as “mentally unstable” by his doctor. He also developed early-stage fatty liver disease, (a.k.a. non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD), which could lead to liver failure if left unchecked.
The end stage of the disease is non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is tied to obesity and already affects up to 30 percent of the U.S. population. The American Liver Foundation estimates NASH could affect as many as half of Americans by 2030.
In the film, Gameau only ate products labeled as “low-fat” and “healthy.” The documentarian ate yogurt, energy bars, juices, sweet spreads and sandwiches. He did not have cake, ice cream or soda. Gameau said he hopes the film shows people that their snack habits are not nearly as healthy as they might think.
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