Watch Now: "Sweet Revenge: Turning the Tables on Processed Food " Airing on WPBT - Channel 2

(VIDEO: Recent studies continue to expose the dangers of sugar in the American diet. Listen to what Dr. Robert Lustig says about what he calls the “poison” at the root of the obesity epidemic.)

A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism suggests that eating sugar may help quiet stress signals in the brain. This, in turn, may lead some people to seek comfort by eating more sweets and making the habit very hard to break.

Another recently published research study finds that fructose could make the brain yearn for high-calorie foods. Fructose occurs naturally in honey, fruits, vegetables and their juices — and is found in “high fructose corn syrup” — the much-maligned ingredient added to many packaged foods. The study, published in the journal PNAS, found that compared with glucose, consuming fructose produced greater responses to food cues in the orbital frontal cortex of the brain, a region that plays an important role in reward processing.

Robert Lustig, M.D., a neuroendocrinologist and professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, is a worldwide leader in the fight against the consumption of sugar. He classifies it as an “addictive poison” that is damaging public health in the United States to dangerous levels requiring societal and government action. He blames much of the problem on the food industry, accusing them of sweetening much of the food we consume to make it taste better.

Dr. Lustig is a world-renowned expert on obesity and diabetes and is the author of many academic works and the popular books: “Fat Chance: Beating The Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity and Disease,” and the “Fat Chance Cookbook.”

Baptist Health South Florida is once again partnering with WPBT – Channel 2 to air an eye opening documentary hosted by Dr. Lustig.

Get the facts by watching Sweet Revenge: Turning the Tables on Processed Food on PBS Channel 2, presented by Baptist Health South Florida.  In the documentary,  Robert Lustig, M.D., addresses the health problems associated with the average American diet and how poor food choices affect children and adults in the U.S. and worldwide.

The program, presented by Baptist Health, will air on WPBT- Channel 2:

• Sunday, May 17, 6-7 P.M.
• Wednesday, May 27, 8-9 P.M.