‘That Sugar Film’ Will Have You Rethinking Your Diet

Sandra Miska

Every once in a while, a documentary comes around that makes one want to rethink his or her diet and throw out half the contents of one’s refrigerator.  The Australian “That Sugar Film,” that opens stateside July 31, is one such doc.

“That Sugar Film” follows Australian actor Damon Gameau as he is about to embark on a potentially dangerous dietary experiment.  Gameau, who is not yet well know in the U.S., is a charming personality who looks like a healthy version of Russell Brand.  At the beginning of the film, Gameau’s girlfriend Zoe Tuckwell-Smith is three months away from giving birth to the couple’s first child.  He explains how is was Tuckwell-Smith who inspired him to start eating healthier at the start of their relationship five years earlier, and that he eventually cut refined sugar out of his diet altogether.

Now he is facing impending fatherhood, Gameau is more aware than ever of the debate in the media about unhealthy foods, namely sugar.  Since President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack in 1955, there has been debate about which is more harmful, fat or sugar.  To set the record straight, Gameau makes the decision to alter his diet for two months, without changing his calorie intake or exercise routine, to include foods that would up his daily sugar consumption to 40 teaspoons a day, the intake of the average Australian.

The first third of the film feels much like a lecture, although plenty of interesting information is given.  The fact that Coke us full of sugar is a no-brainer, but it’s surprising to hear that savory foods such as pasta sauce also contain unhealthy amounts of the sweet stuff.

The most fascinating parts of “That Sugar Film” take place after Gameau hits the road and sheds light on communities most affected by unhealthy sugar consumption.  He visits the town of Amata, where consumerism has shorten the life spans of the Aboriginal inhabitants who only 40 years ago lived almost entirely off the land.  In Western Kentucky, soda addiction has become such an epidemic that a local dentist has dubbed the kind of tooth decay found in the region as “Mountain Dew Mouth.”  A 17-year-old boy who is about to get almost all of his teeth pulled describes how he has consumed a 12-pack of Dew a day since he was a little kid.

“That Sugar Film” doesn’t put the blame so much on the unhealthy consumer, but rather the greedy corporations who develop and advertise addictive sugary products.  Even more disturbing, these companies often pay scientists to say otherwise, that sugar is not addictive and it’s up to the consumer to moderate his or herself.  In one of the more unsettling scenes, Gameau interviews a scientist who freely admits that he has been paid off by Coca-Cola.

“That Sugar Film” touches on how poverty leads to an unhealthy diet, but what’s left unsaid is that high costs of healthier foods makes a sugar-free diet unattainable for many.  Gameau’s sugar -free breakfast of eggs, bacon and avocado looks to die for, but not a realistic option for large families struggling to make ends meets and/or workers who have to bolt out the door most mornings.

Not surprisingly, Gameau, whose pre-experiment blood tests put him in the above average range of healthiness, is in a deplorable state at the end of the two months.  But don’t worry; “That Sugar Film” ends on a high note (not a sugar high, fortunately).

Overall, “That Sugar Film” is an eye-opening doc that will leave the viewer thinking next time he or she reaches for a fizzy beverage or a fruit smoothie (yes, fruit smoothies contain about as much sugar as soda).  The film isn’t a total downer, as it contains plenty of eye candy in the form of visual effects and a blingy music video.

“That Sugar Film” opens in theaters and VOD July 31.