Dr. Aaron Hartman (podcast) argues that added and ultra-processed sugars are major drivers of stroke, cancer, and obesity. He cites specific numeric claims: a recommended daily sugar limit (~6 tsp for women, ~9 tsp for men), that every 5% increase in calories from sugar raises stroke risk by ~10%, obesity has quadrupled since 1975 and is associated with 13+ cancers, and that cancer incidence has risen ~80% since 1990. He also notes processed meats and moderate alcohol are Group 1 carcinogens, stresses that ~60% of the American diet is ultra-processed, and asserts ~80% of cardiovascular disease can be prevented by diet/lifestyle. The episode mixes epidemiologic claims, chemical exposure concerns (PFAS, phthalates, bisphenol A), a Costa Rica anecdote, and a promotion for his book Uncurable.
Questions this episode answers
About six teaspoons per day.
About nine teaspoons per day.
Every 5% increase in sugar calories increases stroke risk by about 10%.
About 80% (speaker states cancer incidence has skyrocketed 80% since 1990).
Obesity has quadrupled since 1975.
Chapters
Added sugars, extra sugars are the actually number one food to limit to prevent your stroke. Print strokes. What's a safe amount of sugar every day? It's about six teaspoons a day for women and nine for men. But every 5% increase in sugar calories increases your risk for stroke about 10%. So today I want to talk about the sugar trap and how ultra processed foods are hijacking your body. Now, over the last couple of weeks, there's been more and more stuff popping out about ultra processed foods, especially in light of some of the government changes and policy changes that are coming. Making America healthy again has become a topic of conversation regardless of your political standing. So I want to talk about some data. Drop it out there. This is one of our Friday mini deep dives. People have been coming asking us questions about some stuff. And so I want to give you some data points and some things to think about. To answer the question, is processed food actually hijacking our bodies? Is sugar actually killing us, increasing our risk of cancer? The short answer is yes, but let's actually dive into some data. The first thing is to think about cancer back in the 1950s. The incidence has skyrocketed 80% since 1990. In those over 50, I want you to think about that just a little bit if you're over 50. Cancer has skyrocketed over 80% since 1990. Now that's, you know, let's go back a little further. In 1900, 1 in 100 people got cancer in their life 1991 and 3. Now 1 and 2, you know, those are two different sources that actually correlate with. So the question is, what is potentially going on? The thing is, we've seen the biggest jumps in breast cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer and uterine cancer. And so the reality is my wife right now, she has friends, you know, where my daughter goes to therapy. There are people there who've had breast colon cancer and it's getting more common, individuals younger. So this is not just a statistic. It's actually a lived experience by many of us that we know. People. I'm 52 and, and I have friends that actually are passing away at, you know, in the early 50s. And so it's a little, a little crazy. So the question is, what is driving this? Well, it's interesting because processed meats are now classified as far as the risk, their cancer risk category in the same classification as tobacco and asbestos. So process. What's one, what do you mean by processed meat? These are your lunch meats that have Nitrates, nitrosamines. An interesting aside on this, when I'm my family, this is pre pandemic. But we actually went down to Costa Rica to study Spanish on a little mission compound down there, Tuiste Tor Alba and La province de Cartago was actually where we're at, Cartago, Costa Rica. And little did I know that while we were there, we actually went to one of the three gastric cancer capitals of the world. And my teacher was out, she found out what I did, start asking me questions, you know, why do we have more cancer here? Yada, yada, yada. So I started talking to her, asking her things. Come to find out one there part of the culture, your sausage, processed meats was a huge, huge, huge part of the diet. And it's kind of makes you wonder like you know, life experience kind of backing up data. And that's one of the things we hear, data, statistics. You know, statistics are just a number until you know someone who has something. That's where sharing the numbers as well as showing stories I think helps makes make things a little more impactful.
Have you ever lost trust in your own body or in the doctors who were supposed to help you heal? It happens to millions of people who are stuck in the cycle of prescriptions, tests, and more questions than answers. That's why Dr. Aaron Hartman wrote his new book Uncurable. As a physician and a parent, he's lived through the pain of being told there's nothing more we can do. But instead of accepting that, he built a new path, one that combines traditional and functional medicine to uncover what's really driving illness. Uncurable is more than a book. It's a roadmap to help you find the root causes your doctor might have missed, reactivate your body's natural healing systems, and finally believe in what's possible. Again, if you've lost hope or trust in the system, this book will help you take back control. Go to UncurableBook.com and grab your copy along with Dr. Hartman's free resources to help you start your healing journey today.
The other thing is that obesity has quadrupled since 1975 and obesity by itself is related to over 13 cancers. So just having more obesity, which again, four times greater now. I was born in 73, so there's four times more obesity now which is associated with 13 plus cancers. So these are all concerning data points. And it's also finding out that the combination of different cocktails, so to speak, of chemicals in our environment, phthalates, bisphenol, a PFASs, which are polyfluorinate alkyl substances. All these things actually damage our DNA. They can actually cause instability in our DNA. And when you have that, what happens is over time that these genetic instabilities can result in mutations that ultimately form cancer. And even moderate amounts of alcohol is now considered a Group 1 carcinogen. So Group 1 carcinogens are tobacco, asbestos, moderate alcohol, and processed meats. Just think about that for a second. These are category one, group one carcinogens. So don't recommend smoking, don't recommend asbestos, and don't recommend processed meats or moderate alcohol, which is kind of a bummer because, you know, a good glass of wine can be enjoyable, but just if you drink it, you should be knowing you're increasing your risk of cancer. And the thing about it is when you throw sugar on top of this, this increases your risk for. So you got cancer and you have neurological issues like stroke. Added sugars, extra sugars, are the actually number one food to limit to prevent your stroke. Print strokes. What's the safe amount of sugar every day? It's about six teaspoons a day for women and nine for men. But every 5% increase, this is what is crazy. Every 5% increase in sugar calories increases your risk for stroke about 10%. Okay, that's crazy. Now things in perspective. You know, back 250 years ago, people weren't consuming, you know, maybe half a teaspoon of sugar a day. Now these cokes and pops, you're getting tablespoons, sometimes 15 or 20 teaspoons of sugar a day. Our sugar consumption is excessive. And again, every 5% increase in consumption results in a 10% increase stroke risk. Sugar triggers inflammation. It also, and this inflammation is also related to damaging your vessels. For those of you who know about endothelial dysfunction, which your vessels, for your endothelial go to every part of your body. So what can you do? Remove these things, remove processed sugars, remove lunch meats, remove obviously alcohol, tobacco. These small things, they don't seem like major things, but they can have a massive impact on your risk for strokes and cancer. And so ultra processed foods, you know, is just another kind of thing. 60% of what Americans eat is ultra processed. And just the food aspect, the dietary, about 80% of cardiovascular disease can be prevented by diet, lifestyle alone. So all of a sudden these simple things you can do at home can have a massive on your health. So hope this information was helpful. If you have questions, please drop your questions below. If you have something you'd like to talk about take a deep dive on. Please let us know. We'd love to take these little deep dives to educate you more about things, small things you can do, that can radically change your health trajectory. Take care, and we'll talk to you soon.
