Sugar, we’re going down

‘That Sugar Film’ aims to show the health dangers of sugar consumption

Student Activities at Liberty University will be showing the documentary, “That Sugar Film,” Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. in the LaHaye Event Space.

screen-shot-2016-10-05-at-7-11-55-am

“That Sugar Film” is about a man who has not eaten any refined sugar in years, and for two months he slowly added sugar back into his diet by eating foods with organic, healthy labels, according to Erin Diaz, an event supervisor for Student Activities.

The point of this man’s experiment was to prove that even foods with healthy and organic labels still have sugar in them that negatively affect our bodies, Diaz said.

She added that this film calls sugar a “silent killer.”

“It just kind of shows that a lot of times people think that fat is the problem in food but really it’s … the sugar,” Diaz said.

Drew Snavely, an event supervisor for Student Activities, said that during this documentary, the man starts in Australia and then moves to America — “the Mecca of sugar” — and eats at popular restaurants.

According to Snavely, it was Diaz’s idea to show the film at the Student Activities’ Doc Film Night.

Diaz said her friend’s mom found the documentary over Christmas break, and Diaz became passionate about the film after watching it.

“The timeline worked out really well to when this issue is kind of becoming important,” Diaz said.

“There was an article (in The) New York Times … that talked about how sugar should be blamed, but fat is always blamed. … I think it’s a really cool time to show (the film) because (sugar is) definitely becoming more noticeable and more prominent.”

screen-shot-2016-10-05-at-7-12-28-am

The Doc Film Night is held once a semester where a documentary is shown and experts are brought in after the film to discuss the importance of the documentary in the daily lives of Liberty students, according
to Snavely.

For the showing of “That Sugar Film,” Student Activities has partnered with Live Healthy Liberty. Dr. C. Anna Henderson, registered dietitian from the Department of Public Health, and Jamie Swyers, director of the Recreation Centers, are scheduled to speak after the documentary.

Snavely and Diaz hope the showing of the documentary will be popular.

Snavely believes the film is important but also believes that many people will not want to see it because “ignorance is bliss.”

“Companies have really taken advantage of people’s ignorance towards sugar, … (and) people don’t understand or realize the effects that it can have,” Snavely said.

Any student, faculty or staff member can attend the event. Guests who want to attend are encouraged to come with someone affiliated with the university, since the documentary is being shown for students, faculty and staff, according to Snavely.

Viewers who attend the showing of this documentary do not need to sign up.

Snavely believes that the film is eye-opening and will create a change in the daily habits of those who come watch “That Sugar Film.”

RAMEY is a feature reporter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *