Sugar Addiction
Yes, I use the word addiction because that is what happens when we eat large amounts of sugar. One hundred and fifty years ago, the average American consumed about 30 pounds of sugar per year. Today the average American consumes a shocking 150 pounds of sugar per year!
Where is all this sugar, you may ask. It is not just in the spoonful you may add to your tea or coffee in the morning. It is in virtually every processed food on the market, including but not limited to bread, cereal, salad dressings, croutons, ketchup, commercial soups, pretzels, soda, juice, cookies, bagels, cakes, ice cream, yogurt, jelly, jam and peanut butter.
When consumption of fat was discouraged in the early 1980's, manufacturers quickly developed low fat products for their cookies, crackers and other product lines. The fat was replaced with sugar. While it was a good thing to eliminate some of the trans fats present in commercial treats, manufacturers presented these new products as healthier and better to eat. Consumers relaxed about eating these new "healthier" cookies and treats, but sugar does not satisfy hunger as effectively as fat does. As a consequence, we began to eat more cookies than we did when there was more fat in them. There is a direct correlation between the onset of the low-fat craze and the uptick in overweight and obesity.
Can the body adapt to all this sugar?
While the human body is an amazing machine, it is simply unable to adapt to such a dramatic increase of any food in just 150 years. As a consequence we have seen the unfortunate outcome of excess sugar consumption:
- Sugar causes fluctuations in energy level
- Excess sugar contributes to obesity
- Excess sugar contributes to Type II diabetes
- Excess sugar contributes to heart disease
- Excess sugar contributes to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate and colon
- Excess sugar exacerbates any inflammatory disease, including fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, excess yeast and periodontal disease
- Excess sugar depletes essential minerals from the body
- Sugar causes tooth decay
Should I use Splenda, Equal, Aspartame or Sweet N Lo instead?
This question is often raised. My response is that if you want to eat healthy, consider eating only food, not chemicals.
Sweetness recipe: Leave the sugar behind and make your life sweeter with 3 hugs a day.