A TikTok video by Israeli presenter Michal Tsafir comparing common foods to sugar cubes has ignited controversy over how different carbs affect blood sugar and health, prompting experts to clarify the nuances of nutrition and metabolic risks.
An Instagram video by Michal Tsafir, an Israeli television presenter, singer and actor who has built a large following around fitness and healthy living, has triggered an online row over how the body processes carbohydrates and whether ordinary foods should be framed as sugar risks. In the clip, Tsafir lined up rice, pretzels, cornflakes and orange juice beside piles of sugar cubes, saying the exercise was meant to show how food can affect blood glucose levels.
The response was swift. Critics, including viewers and nutrition specialists, said the presentation blurred important differences between starches and simple sugars and risked making familiar foods seem more dangerous than they are. Yardena Ovadia, a clinical dietitian who publishes health content on social media, argued that rice and other starches should not be treated as equivalent to table sugar, even though they are eventually broken down into glucose during digestion.
Tsafir defended the video, saying her point was that the body ultimately converts different forms of carbohydrate into glucose and that people should think more carefully about blood-sugar spikes. She said her content is aimed at adults who want better metabolic balance, not children, teenagers or people with eating disorders, and that the clip reached a far wider audience than she intended. She also said she plans to publish a follow-up and believes the debate may prompt some people to seek medical or dietary advice.
Ovadia countered that the main issue is not simply whether carbohydrates become glucose, but how quickly that happens and what else is eaten with them. He said the rate of absorption depends on the type of starch, the level of processing and the presence of fibre, fat and protein. That distinction matters because a meal built around rice, vegetables and protein behaves differently from a spoonful of sugar, even if both ultimately influence blood glucose. He also rejected the idea that healthy people should try to avoid all post-meal rises in sugar, saying such swings are a normal part of digestion when the body regulates glucose properly.
The wider debate lands at a moment when prediabetes remains a major public health concern. Health sources such as Harvard Health and GoodRx describe prediabetes as a state in which blood sugar is higher than normal but not yet high enough for a diabetes diagnosis, and say it can often be improved through weight loss, exercise and dietary changes. Other guides, including advice from Healthline and Zimmer Medical Group, stress that practical steps such as increasing fibre, reducing refined carbohydrates and working with a health professional can help bring levels back towards normal. Both Tsafir and Ovadia, despite their disagreement, say too much sugar is a problem; their dispute is over how best to explain that without oversimplifying nutrition.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
