012: Dr Peter Brukner – Sugar By Half

Dr Peter Brukner OAM

 is a specialist sports and exercise physician whose most recent position has been Australian cricket team doctor from 2012-17. Peter is the founding partner of Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre in Melbourne and Professor of Sports Medicine at LaTrobe University. A founding Executive Member of the Australasian College of Sports Physicians, he served two terms as President and played a key role in establishing sports medicine as a medical specialty in Australia. Peter is the co-author of the widely used text book Clinical Sports Medicine and has been team physician for professional football clubs as well as national athletics, swimming, soccer and men’s hockey teams including Olympic and Commonwealth Games. Peter was the Socceroos Team Doctor at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and subsequently became Head of Sports Medicine and Sports Science at Liverpool Football Club. He is the co-founder of the public health campaign SugarByHalf and is committed to the challenge of improving the nation’s health with improved diet and increased physical activity. His most recent book A Fat Lot of Good was published in May 2018.

Living and working in Liverpool, UK in 2012, Dr Peter says that he has a strong family history of Type 2 diabetes.  Despite being borderline obese with a BMI of 30, blood tests showing he had a fatty liver, he still considered himself to be in good health, doing the right thing with eating low fat foods and exercising.

It was through his long standing academic friendship with Prof Tim Noakes, that he read Gary Taube’s ‘Good Calories Bad Calories’ that challenged the idea of the low fat diet.  

Embarking on his own journey, reading and self experimentation, Dr Brukner was able to see first hand the impact of eating real food. He lost weight, more energy, mentally sharper as went from eating three meals and three snacks to two meals and a small snack of a handful of nuts.  Blood tests showed that his fatty liver had resolved and was completely normal. 

Frustrated by the mixed messages in the public space, he wanted a platform to campaign for dietary change.   He founded the not-for-profit organisation ‘Sugar By Half’ as a public health campaign to promote and advocate for healthier eating by reducing sugar consumption.  

He authored ‘A Fat Lot of Good’, a best seller book which provides an engaging and easily accessible approach to eating real food.  

Dr Peter's Book

A Fat Lot of Good: How the Experts Got Food and Diet So Wrong and What You Can Do to Take Back Control of Your Health - Dr Peter Brukner OAM

https://amzn.to/3lZM489

Peter’s podcast 

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/brukie-and-burgo-the-podcast/id1519942623

Dr Peter's Top Tips

J.E.R.F. - Just eat real food

Avoid vegetable / seed oils - go back to cooking with butter, lard, beef tallow, coconut oil, olive oil

If you do have Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease or metabolic syndrome - there is a real chance that you will be able to reverse your condition.

Resources Mentioned

Good Calories, Bad Calories - Gary Taubes
 https://amzn.to/37fPKhp

The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor - Mark Schatzker