‘A shock to everyone’
The film-maker who risked death by sugar is fighting fit again.
For his 2015 documentary That Sugar Film, Melbourne actor and film-maker Damon Gameau consumed 40 teaspoons of the sweet stuff a day – the same as the average Australian – and documented the health effects. He reached his target, not by downing cans of fizzy drinks, but with a diet made up of foods perceived as healthy but actually rich in hidden sugar: muesli bars, breakfast cereals, fruit juice.
At the start of this experiment he was in good health; just 60 days later, he’d gained 8.5kg, his body fat had increased 7% and his waist had expanded by 10cm. His insulin levels had doubled and doctors said that, if he carried on the same way, he’d be pre-diabetic in six months.
Even more worrying, his liver was in terrible shape, pumping fat into his bloodstream, and laying the foundations of cardiovascular disease. He was on the edge of cirrhosis. And he was prey to terrible mood swings.
After he went into sugar rehab, all of Gameau’s health markers turned around and he was back to normal within three months.
How is your health now?
Apart from life stress – juggling making
Even more worrying, his liver was in terrible shape, pumping fat into his bloodstream.
a new film with having a toddler – I’d say my health is good. I haven’t changed my diet or fallen off a cliff and developed a Mountain Dew addiction. I’m fortunate enough to be able to eat well.
How it will be in the longer term only time will tell, but right now, in terms of my liver, insulin and pancreas, all that has cleared up. I have medical follow-ups every six months and the symptoms have gone. So that’s a great story for other people: you can change your health for the better.
Are you still surprised at how quickly your health deteriorated?
It was a shock to everyone. In hindsight, if I’d known how badly it was going to affect me I’d never have done it.
When is the last time you ate sugar?
On Christmas Day, I had a vanilla custard thing. On the doctors’ advice, I gave [sugar] up completely while I was trying to get healthy again, but now I’m not extreme about avoiding it. I do have to be careful, as I notice it the next day – it affects my mood. So I just make sure I’m smart. I’ll have it every now and then. If I go to a restaurant, it’s probably in some sort of sauce, but I don’t worry about that, and if someone makes me a beautiful dessert, I’ll try it.
What was the impact of That Sugar Film?
Scientists were interested, because at the time there were very few human trials with excess fructose – just a lot that had been done in rats. I think the film came out at the right time. It rode a wave and because it was accessible, it opened the door to a slightly different audience. It’s now much more accepted that sugar is detrimental. The Australian Medical Association just declared war on it [calling for a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks]. I’d like to think we contributed to that change.
What are you up to now?
I’m two years into making a film called 2040. I’ve been going round the world and talking to children about the world they want to live in and looking at what the future will be like if we put these things into practice. It’s been hopeful and heartwarming. The film will have the same fun and playfulness as That Sugar Film, and will aim to provide a more positive alternative to the dystopian vision that we’re getting right now.