#4 - What Sugars Don't Cause Belly Fat

Hi, I'm Jorge Cruise, number one New York Times bestselling author and celebrity trainer, and I want to welcome you to the all-new Jorge Cruise Podcast. Every week I'll bring you the shortcuts to work better, reduce pain, improve memory, garden more, and even sleep better. It's not just about intermittent fasting or getting a flat belly. My mission is to give you simple ways that will empower you to live as you choose. Welcome to the Jorge Cruise Podcast. Everyone, happy Monday! I can't believe it's October 14th already. It is a beautiful Monday in New York City, and welcome to the Jorge Cruise Podcast. And I have my special guest here in New York, co-host today, Dr. Joffrey, Dr. Darryl Joffrey. And he is one of my dearest friends, and Dr. Darryl really has become almost like a brother of health. And, and he's here today, and he's gonna be with us for the next couple of weeks. I'm so excited to have you at my side here because I have I've learned so much from us working together since, I don't know, like 2 years ago in Malibu and all that. And he is a bit of a celebrity nutritionist and chiropractic, and he's been doing this for how many years? You can tell everyone the backstory, because we haven't been together in at least a month.

Right.

So share with everyone a little bit of your nutshell. And he's also the author of a brilliant book that you guys know I love, and Miss Kelly Ripa wrote the foreword to. It's called Get Off Your Acid. And we're both advocates, I think, of low-sugar lifestyle, obviously.

100%.

And we know that sugar causes belly fat, it breaks up fast, so it goes on and on. But tell 'em a little bit about your work and where we're at, 'cause we're at your office here. I love New York, but tell 'em where we're at and where your office is. Give 'em a little, a minute or two about your work, and then we're gonna dive in, 'cause we're talking today about what sugars don't cause belly fat. And it's a play on words, because sugars do cause insulin to go up. We're gonna talk about alternative sugars on today's podcast and things like stevia, lohan, which is monk fruit, erythritol, xylitol. We're gonna talk about all the options that won't break a fast, that won't cause belly fat, that won't raise insulin. But Dr. Joffrey, Dr. Darrell, as you like to be called, tell everyone a little bit about where we're at and what's going on in your life.

Thank you, my man.

Give a sense of what you've been doing.

So good to see you and thanks for being up here. Yeah, of course. And the feeling is mutual. Every time I'm with you, you know, I'm learning just as much from you. I think that's why we really just kind of vibe off each other and get along so well. So well. We're always seekers of truth and seekers of truth in health, of course.

100%.

So it's just great. And as far as my history, I've been practicing 19 years now.

That I don't believe. I find out— because you look like my younger brother. And when I mean younger brother, I mean younger brother. Because I'm 48 and I know you look like you're 28. But I think part of what you've been doing— because I've gotten into the nutritional aspect of health probably 10 years ago, more than fitness training. But you've always been very conscious, and your gorgeous wife and kids. I mean, I feel like you guys have been on the forefront of nutrition for such a while. But I don't want to interrupt, so I'm interrupting, so dive back in because—

Well, I'm not that far. I'm 44, but my biological age is 34. That's so cool. So it's really not about the chronological age, everybody. It's about your biological age, which is based on your epigenetics, which is your lifestyle choices. And the better lifestyle choices you make, obviously we can turn back the clock on aging.

And tell them about your book really quick because I want to make sure we mention the title again because it is such a pivotal book about Restoring Health. And you know, Dorinda Medley, one of my dear friends and clients, has now become one of your dear friends and clients.

Love Dorinda.

And she's amazing. And I know her health has improved and, and people in her life's health has improved as well. But you started in Manhattan, like you said, 19 years ago. You wrote the book with Kelly. She wrote the introduction. How many years ago was the launch?

2018, January 2018.

All right, and tell them about the book because the premise is powerful. Get off your acid. What does that mean?

And then we're going to dive into sugar here, but Yeah, I mean, we are surrounded by acidity and the problem that's plaguing us, as you know, you talk about this all the time, is inflammation. It's at the root cause of every single health issue people are having, from weight gain to skin issues to digestive issues, sleep issues, all the way up to chronic degenerative diseases from heart disease and cancer and diabetes, Alzheimer's, so—

It's inflammation.

It's inflammation. You look at the core of this, where does that come from, right? We throw this word around, inflammation. Inflammation heals in the short run, but when it's there on a chronic basis, that's what kills. And you have to trace it back to where does it derive from, how does it get into the system. You have to look at things like dietary acids. You know, 90% of the standard American diet, which we all know is the SAD diet.

It's the saddest acronym out there, right?

It is.

SAD.

And it's sad because it's pumping up people's bodies every single day with these acidic, acid-forming foods. You talked about sugar.

Yep.

Hands down the most acidic substance you could put into your body, including artificial sweeteners.

Totally.

Things like grains. Grains will pump your sugar in your blood your insulin as much as sugar will. So we gotta avoid the grains, you know, and other foods obviously. But there's other forms of acid. There's metabolic acid. So if we work out too hard, you have that lactic acid. If you don't breathe because we're stressed, there's that carbonic acid. And that's why I say avoid CO2, carbonated water. And that's one of the big things Kelly wrote about in the foreword. She was drinking carbonated water.

So tell everyone, pause for a second, because everyone knows America's sweetheart. We love Kelly.

We love Kelly.

And I know she was in your office earlier this, uh, month. I saw it on Instagram Monday. You know, she's amazing. So you met her, and I know— I mean, what— tell us what she said in the— into the foreword of the book, right? Introduction of the book.

Yeah.

Because what you were just about to say, you know, Kelly is a warrior.

You know, you, you know her. You did an amazing segment on her show just a couple months ago. It was fantastic. And she, she works hard, she works out hard, she plays hard, she families hard. She just lives her life, and that's what I love most. But she defines balance. But when she first came came to me and she talked about this in the foreword of the book, it was because of her daughter. And it was after her daughter got back from camp, so in solidarity, Kelly decided to do my 7-day alkaline cleanse with Lola.

Lola, her daughter.

Her daughter, and she was having some unusual aches and pains. She wasn't feeling at her best. Her energy wasn't quite the same it always was. She was having these weird aches and pains for a while in her joints, in her muscles, nobody could figure it out.

But someone did though, who?

That'd be you. Thank you. The genius. It's no different with what we do with everybody, is that you just got to get rid of the things that are making the body toxic, inflamed. It's based on deficiency and toxicity. And we talked about the plant, Jorge.

Oh yeah.

The plant wilts, right? Most doctors give it drugs and surgery. If it's a crisis, obviously that's when we need those things. But most of the time, we got to give the plant the things it needs, the things that it's not getting. So give it sunlight, give it nutrition, give it, you know, some more water, take the toxins out of the soil. And if it's not too far gone, the plant will heal itself. And we're no different. So that's exactly what we did. We literally got her on our program. She started alkalizing her body. And within 3 days, she literally went on her show.

72 hours, yeah.

Didn't know she was going to do this. And she said that she was pain-free. And she swore that this alkaline diet was responsible for her not being in pain. Plus, her energy was through the roof. And that's for hers.

Mad energy, yeah. And I'm addicted to your minerals, your daily minerals that you have. Green products that I use when I'm, you know, once I'm eating in my 8-hour eating window. I love, you know, if I can't have a proper salad, I always use your products because it's better than a salad, you know, on the go. And, and I know you've created this whole line of products that are part of Get Off Your Acid that really are designed to help people alkalinize, which takes you out of inflammation. But if we segue now to our topic today about sugar, tell everyone from your humble opinion, because I've preached for years, 20 years, about how sugar causes belly fat, it causes inflammation. Obviously it breaks a fast. I mean, it tastes good. That's about— I mean, if we're gonna— if we're gonna try to see the glass half full, it is sweet, there's no question, and it is addictive. But you know what I love is that we live in a day and age where there's some ways to stay sweet without the sugar. And you know, guys, write down these 4, uh, plant-based options that we both have recommended to our celebrities, our clients, our everyone online and everything. I've talked about stevia for years, which comes from a plant. Lohan, which is monk fruit, which it's not Lindsay Lohan.

I knew you were going to say that.

I'm joking, I'm joking. But monk fruit, we're going to talk about that, guys, so listen up on that. And then there are two sugar alcohols that I've used as well, and one more in gums and things like that, xylitol, which I know has a nice cleansing effect on the oral hygiene of our mouth and nose, and then erythritol, which is out there as well. And they all work well, and there's so many brands. I don't think we're going to get into brands today, guys, but let's go through the four big guys out there because you can be sweet. Without the sugar using, do you want to start with stevia? Should we talk about that? I mean, from your perspective, it's one that I've recommended. I love it a lot. You as well. Talk to us about stevia from your perspective.

What I love about stevia, and I like to use an unbitterized form of stevia because it does have a little bit of a bitter aftertaste. I think that's why it scares some people away. So guys, there is an unbitterized form of it, which actually tastes great. And the thing about it that's amazing is there's zero glycemic index. Yes. And what that means is that it's not gonna pump the insulin into the blood because the insulin is what's taking you out. It's hijacking your body, it's hijacking your brain, and it's making you age prematurely.

Yeah.

So it's been proven that the more insulin you dump into your blood over the course of your lifetime, the faster and earlier you're gonna die.

Yeah.

So that's what's great about it is that it has that zero glycemic index, so—

And it really is a plant, a little plant. Yes. And now I've read online, you can Google this guy, Stevia. But it's from South America. It's a little green plant, and I mean, they were using it for many hundreds and hundreds of years, and I've used it, and there's so many versions, and thank God it's almost 2020, where stevia is not as bitter as it should be, and if you guys haven't tried it in a while, they've updated it, and I think, I mean, gosh, anyone who sells stevia hopefully doesn't make it bitter. What are you guys thinking? Come on.

Jorge, you can actually, it's so easy to grow. I've actually grown this. What? All right, all right, talk to us.

Yeah, we've actually grown this in our New York City apartment. So like a garden, you can have a stevia plant? You can have it in like a little— Alright, this I haven't done yet. So tell them, your wife Chelsea, shout out to Chelsea, the beautiful Chelsea.

I mean, it's hard in New York City because we don't have kind of a space for this big garden which we would love to have. So we just pick and choose little things like basil, but we actually did grow stevia. And when you taste the actual stevia leaf, it is amazing. Like, you put that in your mouth, that's like nature's gum, right? Wow. And it's just so delicious. So you really realize like what true health from nature provides. And that's the thing that's different from nature is that it has all the different things involved in that leaf. The fiber, it has the nutrients, the phytonutrients, and that's what these manufacturers a lot of the times take out. So that's what they do with high fructose corn syrup. That's why that's the worst food on the planet for you.

Evil, guys, it's literally the stuff that unfortunately has been in, for decades, in sodas. It's what, when I worked with President Clinton for a while, we did a campaign with the Clinton Foundation to help remove sodas. That was a big thing he did for the Clinton Foundation. Rachel Ray was a part of it to help childhood obesity, because how many of us C corn syrup. And I have a friend, uh, I don't know if you do this with your kids. I've done it with my sons where, you know, they go to like a grocery store or some fast food place, or like, I don't know, they're like on a, like, uh, like if you go to like a gas station, like, oh, we want a treat, Dad. Like, you can have anything, just make sure it doesn't have— and say it again— that the official one is high fructose corn syrup. And it's hard if you just say that to your kids. They're like, oh yeah, that sounds weird, I don't want that, I just want sugar or something.

And it's in everything, it's in everything still today, 2019, 2020. Yeah. And the biggest problem with it is that it creates something called glycation. It's 30 times more glycating than glucose. And what that means in English, when you have these fructose molecules, they kind of hang around your body. They like to attach to proteins and they cause plaquing. And that plaquing goes up to your brain and it creates something called Alzheimer's dementia. And there's actually research out showing now that people over the age of 28, all adults in America, are exhibiting some signs in one way or another of dementia, which is crazy. So it's coming from the fructose, which is in all these products.

You know, and it's to be avoided. So avoid that, but go for stevia. Our second plant-based solution to stay sweet without the sugar, monk fruit, but you call it, give it the official name.

Lindsay Lohan.

No, no, no.

Lohan.

Lohan. Tell us about, from your perspective, the lohan.

Well, lohan is— Monk fruit. It's great because it's even sweeter than stevia. It's a traditional Chinese super berry. And it really has, again, no glycemic index, so it's similar to stevia. But for me, it just tends to have a little bit of a better taste. That's what we use in all of our products to put in as a healthy sweetener.

So you use monk fruit in all your products?

Yeah, in Acid Kicking Coffee we use stevia, unbitterized stevia, but all the rest we use Lohengrin. To me, they're kind of both equal. But my preference, if I'm gonna go for one or the other, I tend to go for the monk fruit. It just kind of tastes a little bit better. They're both tremendous.

And it's in a lot of your products, both of them are. So they're obviously what you recommend to your clients. So let's talk about the last two. Uh, let's do xylitol first. Xylitol, I was introduced to a couple years back as a way to— it was originally recommended to me as a nasal rinse to help improve my breathing, cuz I had issues with that. I had asthma and all this. And then it was recommended to me for oral hygiene cuz it helps remove bacteria. So I like gums and mints that have that in there. I've used Spry over the years, but without mentioning brands. Do you— how do you use xylitol? Do you use it? I know some people say avoid it because it can, it can harm pets, but you know, we're hopefully not giving this stuff to our pets in any way. I mean, we shouldn't be giving them sugar at all. We shouldn't, we shouldn't be doing this.

We shouldn't be doing it. Yeah, I love it. I love when people say like, oh, I would— I'm not going to give that to my pet, but then they eat that. Like, yeah, I want to give the chips to the pet, but then they give it to their kids.

I know, I know.

It's such a contradiction.

So tell us about xylitol from your perspective as, as how it helps the body and when you use that, if you use it.

Yeah, it's, it's I think it's definitely better. I always approach these things, Jorge, as good, better, best. So I, I always have Lohan and Stevia. That's our kind of go-to. So I don't use that that often, or really— yeah, I really never kind of use it.

Yeah, yeah.

But I like that we're seeing this more and more in products now, especially like the gums.

Right.

As opposed to— well, it's so smart because what's the alternative? It's these artificial sweeteners, things like aspartame. I mean, aspartame is a neurotoxin that they used in chemical warfare back in like World War II.

Do you guys hear this? And that's what's in diet Yeah, diet everything, sugarless everything, all right?

And people are trying to drink Diet Coke thinking that it's going to actually make them lose weight, but the problem is it's actually going to make them gain more weight because things like aspartame has such heavy sweetening properties to them. Your body and your brain senses that sweet sensation, but the problem is it never got the sweet.

Yep.

So then those people tend to go for more of these heavy carbohydrate foods.

You never get satiated.

You never get satiated, exactly. So that's why I love the brands using more of the xylitols. And the erythritols because it's just a better, better option. Yep.

And we're going to do a whole show about Halloween in a couple weeks, uh, about what to, what to enjoy whether you have kids or not. And you, I know for Halloween you do things with your family. I've done stuff with my boys. They're so old now, they're like, Dad, we don't do this anymore, we're too old. He's 15, Parker, and all that. But you know, for the kids at heart, and if we're going out to parties, we're going to talk about that in a couple weeks. But, uh, but so great on xylitol. I love it, and I use it even in my toothpaste. Paste. I don't know if you've done that. Have you ever done the spray in the nose?

I've never done that.

Oh, I'm going to get you some stuff because that stuff can— it really seems to help with the membranes and, and, and helping you breathe better. I use it when I travel on the airplane because, you know, there's a lot of bacteria out there and it help— helps remove bacteria. So for me, xylitol has become a go-to, especially— it's kind of funny, but to clean my nose with, you know, I spray it up there, but it works, it works. And then the last one is erythritol. Erythritol, you know, a lot of people— I've seen people bake with it. I've had people on different TV shows create all sorts of amazing diabetic desserts with it. Have you ever baked with that, or the family, or what do you guys do? No.

Yeah, we don't use that one ever, but again, I think it's a great option for people, and it's good that we have more than one option. Options, yeah. That's the key, is like, you don't want to be stuck, and I think variety is always a good thing as well, and I think for you guys out there, experiment, see which ones you like. Totally, I love this. Yeah, you might try one, it might work for you, then if you like, Jorge, like stevia, it might not be good for someone else. So it's really adapting this to your taste profile, see what works for you and for your family, and then just go with it.

Yeah, and I think that's the key. And then obviously, again, the 4 are the best out there in the sense of they're plant-based, they have no excitotoxins, they're not going to cause issues, they're not going to be used in chemical warfare. Warfare like aspartame was, or all these. And I always avoid, without mentioning them, the pink, the yellow, and the blue packets. You know what I'm talking about, right?

Yes, big time.

Those artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, saccharin.

Splenda, uh, Swerve.

So avoid that, and then avoid, on that point, what you started with, which is corn syrup, right?

And one note, guys, is when you're buying these things, you gotta buy the organic ones because you mentioned that they're chemical-free, but they're only chemical-free if they're organic, because when they're not organic, they're going to be laced with things like fungicides and herbicides and pesticides, glyphosate, which is a huge thing. They're finding that in so many different forms of foods these days. So you just got to be very, very mindful. I know it's more expensive, but you need to invest in your health. It's really worth it because at one point, if you get sick from the bioaccumulation of these toxins over time, then that's going to be an even more bigger—

yeah, health is wealth, guys. I feel like, you know, when I'm working with health, whoever appreciates that. I mean, and I know people that you work with, from Kelly Ripa to who I work with, I feel like people get that, you know, when you get to that age in life, you gotta invest in your health. It's the best resource we have. I mean, there's nowhere else where to live except in your body, right? I don't know where else we're gonna go. I mean, they say in 2032, I was reading this article about the, what do they call it, about us merging. I know Tony Robbins is a big fan of the singularity. Have you heard of about all this? How in the future we're going to become more, uh, I don't— I mean, do you— have you heard what Tony talks about, about the singularity? About how he wants to download himself into a chip? Yeah, I'm like Tony Robbins.

I mean, here's the— here's the reality is whether we—

right now, this is what we got.

I mean, at our age right now, whether we like it or not, 40s, you're a little younger though, please.

Early 40s. I'm almost—

yeah, but you're biological age, you're in your 30s too. Well, here's the thing, Jorge, is whether we like it or not, we are all living longer and longer and longer. I mean, right now we have the largest segment of the population, these centenarian populations, people becoming 100. It's crazy to even think about that. And when I tell my clients that you have this ability to live to 100, many people say, oh, I don't want to do that, because their vision of someone who's older, someone that is sick and arthritic and not healthy, but it doesn't have to be that way. So the quality of the choices we make now with the foods that we buy, how we treat our bodies, it's going to make a huge impact how we age.

Yep. And I know Tony's an advocate of that. And people— you know, I had the pleasure in January to hang out with Jane Fonda.

No way.

The godmother, she says, of fitness, which she really did. She told me, like, we talked over coffee, and, you know, she's in her 80s, mid-80s, you know, she looks better than ever. And not that I ever get political, but, you know, a lot of people running for office right now are, are the oldest people ever, and they're doing great for the most part. I think most part. So I feel like you're absolutely right. Age is a number, and we got to invest in ourselves. So guys, do that. And I want to invite you guys tonight, um, As we wrap up here at 5:30 PM Pacific time, to join me at JorgeCruise.com, you're gonna have to join me on one of these meetings for my members. But let's do it, join me, get a free week. Just go to JorgeCruise.com and we're going to be talking about cheat meals. I think this week's cheat meal is going to be super yummy. It's a cheat meal made with, uh, chocolate.

Oh, that looks good.

It's going to be yummy. And we do with chia seeds, and you're a fan of the chia seeds.

Oh, it's one of my favorites. Got them right here.

Oh, you've got— see, the chia seeds are everywhere. Oh, look at that. And Kelly Ripa loves her chia seeds. I mean, she was crazy. Wendy Williams. This is one of the things we're doing tonight. We're going to make some meals that you can eat while you're fasting, and we're going to use a variety of different sweeteners from stevia to monk fruit, things like that, to make them delicious. So join me tonight, totally free. Just go to jorgecruise.com, and I'll see you guys tonight, hopefully. Thank you, buddy, for joining me.

And thank you, Jorge.

We'll be back next Monday, looking forward to another, uh, Jorge Cruise podcast here, guys. And it's been a pleasure talking to you guys. Tell them where they can find you, your web and your social, really quick, uh, because I want them to make sure they can Listen and get your incredible products, so give them a shout out right now.

Thank you so much, so you can find us at getoffyouracid.com, and our tags are @getoffyouracid on Instagram and Facebook, and the book is Get Off Your Acid, which of course is in all major retailers, and of course Amazon.com.

Yeah, and if you guys are in New York like I am, and you ever need your back adjusted, or your live blood cells looked at, because you've done this too.

Or your biological age, so by the way, Kelly, she talked about this on the show this week, Oh, tell us. She just turned 49 October 2nd. Woo!

Kelly!

Her biological age was 35.

Yes!

And I wasn't surprised because of how she takes care of her health.

Of course, of course. So, and if you guys are in New York, give them a— do you want to tell them where we're at or is this a secret location?

Yeah, of course. No, no, we're at 1020 Park Avenue, which is between 85th and 86th. We're in the Batcave, by the way.

Yes, the Batcave. It's very secret.

Between 85th and 86th.

And the address one more time.

It's 1020 Park Avenue between 85th and 86th. 63, and, uh, the office here is joffreychiropractic.com.

And they have the best team, the best, uh, staff, and the best— I mean, when you've adjusted my back over the years, I feel like a baby when I leave.

We'll have to adjust you today.

Oh, I'm ready. So, all right guys, we'll see you soon. All right, we'll see you next Monday.

Take care, everybody.

Have a great Monday.

Bye, guys.

Have a little quick announcement I wanted to add here at the end of the show, and that is for you to join me every single week for my 8-minute yoga routine that is on the web. It's free. I usually post it up on Instagram, so you'd have to follow me on Instagram, but you can also see it on Facebook. It's also on YouTube. On Instagram is where we put it first. It's Monday mornings. You can use it all week long. It's an 8-minute free a full flow routine that's designed to help you work better, reduce pain in your body, improve your memory. It'll help you end up sleeping better. You'll even garden better. And you will need no equipment, although you can use kettlebells if you like. I use kettlebells at times. I love, uh, the strength option of doing that. But for many of my clients at Over 50, just using your own body weight is all you need. Keep it simple. You don't need a fancy yoga mat. If you have one, use it, bring it out. Just, you can wear your pajamas. You know, I do, I just wear my yoga pants and then we do this and I post it on Mondays live in the morning. It's recorded, but then it's posted and I do it just for you. So check it out. Go to instagram.com/jorgecruise. If you're on Facebook, it's @jorgecruise. If you're on YouTube, it's @jorgecruise. And again, Jorge Cruise is spelled J-O-R-G-E-C-R-U-I-S-E, and it's everywhere. And if you go to my website, I put it in my blog as well. So check it out because it is a resource. That I feel is going to give you the, the empowerment you need to not just feel healthy. It's about really just living as you choose. It gives you that power, that edge to come from the right perspective that's going to give you the advantage over, say, 20-year-old, because you're going to have the confidence, the endorphins, the strength for you to move forward. And I feel like sometimes, you know, we forget how powerful movement is for our own mental well-being. And if you want good mental health, yoga is life-changing. I've been doing it for 15 years because I got adhesions and knots in my back, and I had this severe pain that was debilitating. I wasn't able to work or type. So for me, it was critical. And in 8 minutes, you can transform all that, literally. And it's just like brushing your teeth, you do it every day. But join me, and every week there's a new one. So check it out. You can use it all throughout Monday through Friday. It's a great 8-minute flow. You're gonna love it. Hashtag is #8MinuteYoga. Check it out. I'm the 8 Minute Guy. I've been doing it for 20 years. Come join me, guys. You're gonna love it. All right, have a beautiful rest of your day. God bless, take good care, peace and purpose.