Growing up, my family had a second home in Calistoga, a small city in Napa County, which is a bit north of San Francisco in Northern California. I can remember driving up to that house on weekends, which was only about an hour drive, but when you are 8 years old, an hour seems like five hours. My dad would always stop at a local gas station along the way, and my sister and I would get to pick out a candy of our choice. I remember how excited I would get to eat that piece of candy. There was a certain one I always liked and I would eat it slowly and with joy the entire rest of the drive. I can recall other life events where sugar played a major role in my recognizance of the event.
There were always beautiful cakes at birthday parties, fancy desserts at graduation dinners, boxes of See’s candies at Valentines Day and jumbo Hershey’s Kisses during the winter holidays. Even in the grocery store yesterday, I saw a recent stocking of those goo-infused Cadbury eggs on the shelves and I got a little warm and fuzzy inside thinking about growing up, and even though we didn’t celebrate Easter, my mom would always doctor up cute little candy baskets with sparkly green grass and candy eggs so we could be like all the other kids in school…she would even send us these baskets when we were away at school. So for me…sugar always has a lot of good memories. Sugar is warm. Sugar is fuzzy. Sugar is love. So how can sugar possibly be considered toxic?
Last week, a high-profile science journal called Nature published a commentary by three academic professionals. They argued that sugar is a toxin and that it should be subject to similar kinds of public-health mediations just as alcohol is. Put more simply, sugar should be taxed and restricted just like liquor.
Robert Lustig is one of the main authors of this commentary. He runs an obesity clinic at a children’s hospital, which is part of the University of California, San Francisco. Lustig has gained an online following since 2009 for a lecture entitled ‘Sugar: the Bitter Truth’. While Lustig’s tone throughout this video is rather melodramatic, it is apparent that there is a growing body of evidence linking refined carbohydrates to a group of related symptoms – obesity, fatty liver disease, type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This wonderful little collection of symptoms can also be called ‘metabolic syndrome’.
These chronic diseases have increased in importance in recent decades as has consumption of refined carbohydrates – specifically, sugar. We in America have a very large sweet tooth. The average American consumes 131 pounds of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) per year, up from 113 pounds per person in 1966. And some consume even more than this average. One of many examples--for people who love their huge daily soda fix, A 7-11 convenient store 44-ounce Big Gulp weighs in at 128 grams of sugar. In my opinion, that is what a few days worth of sugar intake should look like, not a few hours.
So, we have rising rates of diseases related to metabolic syndrome, alongside increased sugar consumption. Sucrose, which is the kind used as table sugar, and HFCS are regarded as particularly problematic by many researchers because they are both made up of two simpler sugars, glucose and fructose. Glucose activates the production of insulin and would seem to be a reasonable suspect in problems of insulin resistance and diabetes, and therefore also obesity. Fructose, which is a sugar that is also found in fruits, is public enemy number one for some health researchers because of its effects on the liver and in relation to heart disease. That being said, some see the consumption of fructose, sucrose and HFCS as a dietary triple threat that significantly increases the risk of the numbers of chronic diseases.
So yes, there is a body of evidence that suggests sugar and HFCS are culprits in some common health problems. But is government action really necessary? In some areas I think it is. For example, I don’t think it is necessary to add sugars to vegetables, meat and fish dishes. I don’t think there should be added sugars in sauces. I can think of a few sauces I can make on my own for dishes with no sugar that taste amazing. I think the government should try to help with some of those specific food items and why there is so much added sugar in them.
It is a good thing to advise the population on what may be good or bad for our health. Education is key and something I happen to be very passionate about. Many people have chosen to quit smoking, for example, for health reasons even though they might have enjoyed it at one point. They were educated about their habit, perhaps saw pictures and facts and made their own decisions. No one forced them to stop. It is quite another issue to demand that adults should change their habits at the whim of medical researchers, politicians or campaigners.
I believe it is up to YOU how you lead your life. It is up to you to create a balance, recognizing excess and practicing moderation. After all, for most people, these chronic health problems are largely diseases related to genetics and even more likely, old age. The trend in recent years seems to be to take choices out of our hands or punish us financially with “sin taxes” for things like drinking and smoking. I am not saying drinking and smoking are good, but honestly, people are going to smoke and drink, and it is a choice people can and should be able to make as free adults.
People are going to eat sugar. Even I am going to eat sugar. What should be done? Should we just tax people who end up in the hospital with health problems and massive bills due to a lifetime of overeating? Should we withhold health treatment from the general population for their own self-inflicted health problems? Maybe this would scare people into taking responsibility for their own actions. Maybe it would do nothing.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this blog, sugar has a lot of memories for me. I grew up with a little bit here and there and I know that once in awhile I can have a slice of cake or a piece of candy. But I can have just one slice, not the entire cake and a box of donuts after. I also know I am planning to stay physically active on a regular basis, cook for myself and pay attention to additives in my food as much as I can. I would rather do these sorts of things on my own and keep some balance of health and sanity than have the government slap me on the wrist for buying a cake or cookies for a personal affair, wouldn’t you?
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