Are You a Sugar Junkie?

                   

I don't know about you (unless you're famous), but I'm of the opinion that most people eat way too much sugar. However, I'm not going to try and dissuade a sugar junkie from harming his health or even slowly killing herself by consuming excessive amounts of sugar. It's a free world, and truth be told, I don't really care enough to convince a sugar addict that drinking sugary sodas and eating candy bars everyday is a surefire way to rot his or her teeth, get fat, and increase the risk of coronary disease and type II diabetes. But I will try to inform those who, for some reason or other, may not be aware of the dire consequences of eating jelly filled donuts and other sugary foods and drinking carbonated liquid sugar on a regular basis.

In a previous web log entry, I talked about the adverse affects to one's health from consuming foods containing such food additives as trans-fat (used mostly in fast foods), and from the use of tobacco products, especially where it concerns artificially increased levels of nicotine. Now it's time to say a few things about sugar. To be fair, sugar is not a bad thing if the food item or beverage that contains refined sugar does not exceed an amount that would be considered reasonable by health experts (assuming that the sugar industry does not strong arm or bribe the experts into saying that ten teaspoons of sugar in a can of soda pop is not really unreasonable). But therein lies the problem, because when it comes to lobbying, the sugar industry is quite a big player and a huge influence on "the Hill". It has contributed millions in donations in the federal elections for decades, and in turn, the sugar industry has been subsidized by the U.S. government for about just as long. For those who would like to see less sugar in food products and beverages, they would have to take on a formidable foe. But where these concerned citizens might stand a chance against the sugar industry lobbyists, is if the facts are brought out about the health risks and adverse effects of excess sugar consumption and presented by a panel of experts, possibly in the form of a class action law suit.

No reasonable person can say that a little sugar in one's coffee or tea is a bad thing. In fact, a small amount of sugar is good for the brain. But when the per capita consumption of sugar has increased twice as much in the U.S. since the last century, and kids are consuming more sugary sodas than ever before, while dentists reap the financial benefits by fixing more and more rotted teeth because people have become addicted to too many sugary foods and drinks, then it's safe to say we have a national health crisis on our hands. Of course, one only has to look around on a crowded street or in a shopping mall and see the numerous fat people going hither and thither to note the empirical evidence (of a health crisis).

 

"But what about artificial sweeteners?" You might ask. To which I say,"Fuggedaboudit!"