Is sugar slowly killing you? Read this and add years to your life.
One thing’s for sure, over the last 50 years we have increasingly become sugar addicts. We have spent so many years thinking that fat made us fat, when actually it’s the huge amounts of sugar that we consume on a daily basis that is causing us to pile on the pounds.
People in general appear to be bulkier. Something you’re probably not going to dispute if you’ve been to the local supermarket or shopping centre recently.
So what gives? Did people just start eating more?
On the surface it would appear that way. Over the last twenty years, studies have shown teenagers are eating 275 calories more per day; adult men 187 more calories per day; and adult females 335 calories more per day.
We are increasingly eating less fat, but still the incidents of the non-alcoholic liver disease and metabolic syndrome which increase your risk of cardiovascular disease (particularly heart disease and diabetes) keep rising.
Note: Metabolic syndrome is when you have three of the following five things: 1) abdominal obesity; 2) elevated blood pressure; 3) elevated fasting glucose; 4) high serum triglycerides; and 5) low high-density cholesterol levels. So it doesn’t appear that it was the fat that was the problem.
So what else has changed?
To answer that question, I’d first like to talk about sugar. Sugar is made up of two molecules: glucose and fructose. When they reach your stomach, they separate. Glucose is good. It’s the “energy of life.” It circulates throughout the body and feeds your muscles and your brain.
Fructose, on the other hand, goes straight to your liver. When there’s too much of it going to your liver, your liver turns it into liver fat. And it’s liver fat that is the cause for disease such as cancer and heart disease.
There are two important things to take away from this: 1) Too much fructose in your diet is extremely harmful to your future well-being; and 2) About 50% of the sugar you consume is made up of fructose.
It’s important to note that natural sugars are preferred over refined sugars because when you include fruit in your diet you also receive vitamins, minerals, and fibre.
Fructose intake has dramatically risen over the last forty years or so.
Prior to World War II it’s estimated that Americans consumed between 16 and 24 grams of fructose per day. A 1977-78 USDA Nationwide Food consumption Survey found the number had risen to 37 grams per day. In 1994, that number had skyrocketed to 54.7 grams per day according to the NHanes III study. Even more alarming was the intake by adolescents which is now 72.8 grams per day.
Again, keep in mind, the above numbers refer to fructose. The numbers would be double that for sugar, totalling approximately 109 grams of sugar for adults and 155 grams for adolescents.
So what do these numbers mean to you?
The American Heart Association recommends that women should have no more than six teaspoons a day, men no more than nine teaspoons a day. With one teaspoon of sugar equalling 4.2 grams that translates into 25.2 grams for women and 37.8 grams per men.
Or if you’re talking strictly fructose the above numbers would be cut in half. In other words, on daily a basis, American adult fructose intake is over 54 grams, when the recommend daily amount is 12.6 grams for women and 18.9 grams for men.
So how did this happen?
Let’s take a look at two changes that have taken place over the years. The first being the size of soda drinks. In 1915, Coca Cola was sold in 6.5 oz glasses. If you drank one a day it would translate into 8 lbs/3.6 kg a year; in 1955 the 10 oz. bottle was introduced (one a day=13 lbs/5.9 kg per year); in 1960 the 12 oz can came into being (one a day=16 lbs/7.25 kg per year); in 1988 the 44 oz cup appeared (one a day=57 lbs/25.9 kg per year); and in 1992 the 20 oz bottle was introduced (one a day=26 lbs/11.8 kg per year)
Each can of Coke contains caffeine, a diuretic which makes you urinate and 55 mg of salt which makes you thirsty. If you take on sodium and lose water, you get thirstier – which, of course, is exactly what beverage companies want. To cover up the taste of the salt they add in lots of sugar.
The next big change that has occurred in food over the past forty years or so is High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). Developed in Japan in 1966.
The mix of HFCS is slightly different than regular sugar in that it’s made up of 55% fructose and 45% glucose. Studies and statistics show that each American consumes 63 lbs of HFCS per year.
The good news for U.K. residents is that HFCS is not widely used here. The bad news is that sugar is still very prevalent and has found its way into over 80% of processed foods.
And instead of HFCS in soft drinks, they are still packed with sugar. About 44 grams in a 491 ml (16 oz.) bottle. And, as mentioned, sugar is about 50% fructose.
“We’ve had our food supply adulterated …contaminated …poisoned …tainted …on purpose. And we’ve allowed it….through the addition of fructose…”
A September 2012 Daily Mail story, aided by data from The National Diet and Nutrition Survey, put average UK consumption at 96.5 grams per day.
So what’s to be done?
This goes without saying, make sure your daily intake of sugar is within the recommended levels. We need to start retraining our brains, after a meal do you really need to eat something sweet, when you feel upset or even when you feel your energy levels dip in the afternoon? The answer is no but we have got into the sugar cycle and need to get out of it.
The key take-home is this…
When it’s something as important as your health, the key is to do your own research.
Educate yourself on what the food you’re eating contains. And come up with a healthy strategy for you and your family. Look up foods that are high in fructose and where you can eliminate processed, packaged food.
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