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Solving Mystery #3 - Why does sugar cause “HCOD?”

or, “Is it a good idea if I buy It’Sugar’s 8 foot, 27 pound Giant Gummy Party Python?”

We’ve seen data that shows the relationship between sugar consumption and obesity and diabetes. High sugar consumption also causes high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, which we’ll learn even more about in an upcoming unit.

It’s vital for us to understand the way excess sugar affects our body. In this project, we will:

  1. Act out what happens in our bodies when we consume sugar.
  2. Learn exactly how sugar can cause obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
  3. Create an advocacy tool to educate our Middle School community about the reality of excess sugar consumption

1. What happens when you eat the Party Python?

The Party Python is loaded with sucrose. When you eat it, the sucrose is digested by

______made in your ______. The sucrose molecules are

digested into ______and ______.

These molecules are then small enough to ______

First, we’ll act out what happens to GLUCOSE. You will play one of the following roles:

● glucose molecule

● insulin molecule

● insulin receptor

● glucose doorway

● The presence of glucose in the bloodstream makes the pancreas release insulin.

● Insulin first escorts glucose to cells like neurons which need it for energy.

● Insulin contacts an insulin receptor on the cell.

● The insulin receptor signals a glucose doorway to open which allows glucose to enter.

● The glucose is burned in the cell’s mitochondria; this powers the cell to do its work.

2. But what if you do more than just nibble on the Party Python? If you eat a big chunk, you will have WAY more glucose in your bloodstream than your cells can possibly use for the moment. So what will happen next?

a. excess glucose gets sent back to your large intestine and is released as part of your solid waste.

b. excess glucose gets carried by insulin to your liver and muscles where it is stored in a form called glycogen as a fuel reserve for later on. And if you have a high blood glucose level, this can dramatically lower your blood glucose level, causing you to “crash”.

c. excess glucose is concentrated in the brain and helps fuel the growth of your pre-frontal cortex. This is why it is a good idea to eat a Party Python!

d. that’s a lie; there is no such thing as more glucose than your cells can possibly use.

3. So what happens if you eat really significant chunks of the Party Python?

a. your liver and muscles simply fill with more and more glycogen.

b. your liver and muscles reach their maximum glycogen storage, and the remaining glucose is converted to fiber and sent to your colon.

c. your liver and muscles reach their maximum glycogen storage, and the remaining glucose is converted to fat and is stored in fat cells all around your body as a fuel reserve for later on.

d. your brain makes connections at an astounding rate! It is believed that Einstein developed the Theory of Relativity after consuming an entire Party Python.

4. Suppose after many years of eating Party Pythons you have become obese and you wish to lose some of the fat you have accumulated. You decide to exercise. When you exercise, in which order does your body fuel the exercise?

a. you burn fat first, then glycogen from liver and muscles, then blood glucose

b. you burn glycogen first, then fat, then blood glucose

c. you burn blood glucose first, then glycogen, then fat.

5. So why is it so hard for people to lose fat once it’s been stored? Why is this actually a great evolutionary triumph for humans?

6. Let’s step back for a minute. For some people, early in life the immune system destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. We will act out what happens when this occurs; this is called Type 1 diabetes.

We’ll watch a short video which shows how cells are supposed to process glucose and what happens in Type 1 diabetes.

If a person has Type 1 diabetes, glucose remains in the bloodstream instead of moving into the cells. There is then disequilibrium; the blood is too sugary. The blood has a lower concentration of water than its neighboring cells. The cells are like a watery egg immersed in syrup.

So what will happen in this scenario?

7. What happens if you eat Party Pythons for years and years and years? We will act out this scenario.

● Excessive glucose damages insulin receptors and makes cells INSULIN RESISTANT; their insulin receptors are so overused they fail to open up and allow glucose in.

● The pancreas tries harder to produce more insulin, and the overworked pancreas quits.

● This is Type 2 Diabetes.

● We will see a video on Type 2 diabetes.

Now we know what happens to the glucose from the sucrose you eat. What about the FRUCTOSE?

FRUCTOSE does NOT make your pancreas produce insulin. It has a different fate. The following six sentences are out of order; place them in order so they make a sensible paragraph:

a. The fat causes the liver to pump out LDL.

b. Clogged brain and heart arteries can lead to strokes and heart attacks.

c. Fructose in your bloodstream travels to your liver.

d. Once your liver has stored as much glycogen as it can, excess fructose in your liver is converted to fat.

e. LDL accumulates in brain and heart arteries.

f. The first fructose to reach your liver is converted to glycogen for storage.

Finally….

Why does starch consumption NOT contribute to Cardiovascular Disease at all?

Why does starch contribute to Diabetes less than than sugar does?

Why is starch also a contributor to Obesity?

An Advocacy tool for Middle School

Your challenge is to create an advocacy tool (poster, pamphlet, flyer, comic strip, storybook, video, electronic presentation, screencast, animation, assembly skit, speech, song, poem, play, other form not previously mentioned) that educates our community about some aspect of sugar consumption. What is the most important thing people need to know from this lesson?

Criteria (Given the variety of options, exceptions are certainly possible)

The advocacy tool must be factually correct.
It should strive for 100 to 200 words of text.
Paper and electronic items should have engaging and clear visuals, including anatomical and/or cellular representations.
The tone should be caring and concerned, not frightening or chastising.
Other?

Additional sources are available on the Food, Nutrition and Digestion page of the course website under the heading “Dangers of Excess Carbohydrates.”