- Obesity and diabetes, the twin epidemics facing of the 21st century are closely related to the increased per capita consumption of sugar.
- A diet high in sugary beverages and other refined carbohydrates can contribute to poor health, obesity and heart attacks or stroke.
- Excessive fructose (common in processed food) is metabolized differently from glucose and contributes to hypertension, gout, abdominal fat and diabetes.
Human “sweet-tooth”
The sugar economy has been around for thousands of years and in the past it was reserved for only royalty and the wealthiest members of society. Scientist have worked out the biochemistry and although carbohydrates (sugar and starch) serve as an excellent energy source, too much gets stored as fat and can derail many natural bodily processes leading to major abnormalities in our internal chemistry such as insulin resistance. With an enormous increase in added and hidden sugars in the Western diet often in the form of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) there is a clear relationship to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, gout, heart attacks and strokes. In the past 50 years, the obesity and diabetes epidemic has been largely caused by two drastic changes in the way we eat:
- The fear of a high fat diet has led to a huge increased consumption of refined carbohydrates.
- Foods high in artificial sugars, like in sugary beverages and other processed foods, have replaced real foods like fruits and vegetables.
Since sugar tastes so good and is cheap to make, manufacturers add huge amounts of sugar to processed food products. As a result, sugar intake in the US is up 30% in the past three decades. Manufacturers are sneaky and give added sugar names like agave syrup, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice concentrates, and high fructose corn syrup. Even cereals and granolas with the label “healthy” or “whole grain” can hide massive amounts of sugar. Don’t be fooled: sugar is sugar and check out all the aliases.