“It seems like every time I study an illness and trace a path to the first cause, I find my way back to sugar.”
– Richard Johnson, nephrologist, University of Colorado Denver
The worst possible ingredient we consume daily could be sugar which everyone knows is detrimental to health and is the root cause of diseases, including diabetes and cancer, among many others.
Worldwide, people are consuming sugar equal to about 500 extra calories per day. That is just about what you would need to consume if you wanted to gain a pound a week. No wonder we have many obese men, women, and children around us.
Dietitians and nutritionists have established that four grams of white granulated sugar are equal to one teaspoon of sugar. In the United States, the American Heart Association recommends a daily allowance of no more than six teaspoons a day for the average woman and no more than nine teaspoons a day for the average male. However, an American consumes an average of 27 teaspoons of sugar per day.
Why do some people add sugar to almost everything they consume? Perhaps they think that the lack of sodium or fat in sugar makes it less harmful or harbor a false notion that the risk of excess sugar consumption is less than that of having too much saturated and trans fat, sodium or calories in their diet. Some even espouse the adage “what you don’t know won’t hurt you.”
Sugar specifically promotes obesity. In the past 30 years, obesity in children has doubled and the rate of adolescent obesity has tripled. The main factor is fat accumulation in the trunk of the body. One cause may be the wide consumption of fructose-laden beverages. In 2010, a study in children found that excess fructose intake (but not glucose intake) caused visceral fat cells to mature that set the stage for obesity at a young age leading to heart disease and diabetes.
In contrast, there are many who know that excessive sugar in the diet is not good for healthy living and consume it in recommended amounts and place it at the top of their list of “foods to avoid”. They know that sugar specifically promotes obesity.
A typical sugar packet in the United States contains two grams of sugar while all soft drinks have an excess amount of sugar with absolutely no nutritional advantage. For example, Coca-Cola contains 10.6 grams or five sachets of sugar per 100ml. So, a 250 ml can has 26.5 grams or 13 sachets of sugar and a 330 ml can has 31.8 grams or 16 sachets of sugar.
To curb rising obesity, some sectors want beverages having high sugar content taxed in the same way as cigarettes.
In the following video, Jeremy Paxman with his forthright and abrasive interviewing style speaks to James Quincey, president of Coca-Cola Europe about the sugar content in their regular Coke on BBC Two’s Newsnight.
Gallup Analytics, the publisher of the Gallup Poll, a widely recognized barometer of American opinion, provides market research and consulting services around the world. In July 2015, as part of its annual Consumption Habits poll, Gallup asked 1,009 Americans about the foods they try to include or avoid in their diet.
In her article “Coca-Cola says its drinks don’t cause obesity. Science says otherwise“, Marion Nestle says:
“Sales of sugar-sweetened and diet drinks have been falling for a decade in the United States, and a new Gallup Poll says 60% of Americans are trying to avoid drinking soda. In attempts to reverse these trends and deflect concerns about the health effects of sugary drinks, the soda industry invokes elements of the tobacco industry’s classic playbook: cast doubt on the science, discredit critics, invoke nanny statism and attribute obesity to personal irresponsibility.“
In late September 2015, the American Academy of Pediatrics ended its partnership with Coca-Cola after evidence emerged that the Coca-Cola company paid for research to downplay the role of Coke in obesity. The academy’s website, healthychildren.org was sponsored mainly by the Coca-Cola company. Of the $100 million the Coca-Cola company gives to various medical and health groups, the academy received $3 million.
Members of the American Academy of Pediatrics were upset after the New York Times looked at financial data that revealed the extent of the relationship between the Academy and the Coca-Cola company.
Many pediatricians aligned to the Academy who saw childhood health problems related to obesity on a daily basis, like type 2 diabetes and hypertension were surprised to find that their organization was aligned with Coke. New York Times reporter Anahad O’Connor said: “Some pediatricians said it was analogous to a major lung association group or university partnering with the tobacco industry.”
Recently I came across the following quote purported to be that of John D. Rockefeller:
Disgusting crap just like the idiots that drink it. More salt than a pizza. More sugar than a wedding cake to cover up the salt. Why salt? Cos it makes you thirsty and what do you do when you’re thirsty? Grab a Coke. The sugar makes you pile on the pounds. I hate this drink and all the other billion dollar fizzy brands that are filled with caffeine and other shit. Drink water for god sake. They did an experiment and took fizzy drink vending machines out of some school and guess what? The kids there were less fat than the ones that kept the vending machines. If you want to be fat, Coke is it! Just avoid it, guys… It’s what the Elites want us to do EAT & DRINK but not THINK.
- Are You Addicted to Unwanted Calories? (tvaraj.com)
- History of Cane Sugar (tvaraj.com)
- The Different Avatars of Sugar (tvaraj.com)
- Oh, Sweet Poison, Thy Name Is Sugar! (tvaraj.com)
- Sugar (en.wikipedia.org)
- On Live TV BBC Journalist Shows Coca-Cola President How Much Sugar Is in Their Drink. (collective-evolution.com)
- Jeremy Paxman (en.wikipedia.org)
- How Many Grams of Sugar in a Teaspoon? (newhealthguide.org)
- Sugar is ‘addictive and the most dangerous drug of the times’ (telegraph.co.uk)
- ARE YOU DRINKING EMPTY CALORIES? (tribesports.com)
- How much sugar is in a Coca-Cola supersize cup? On Live TV BBC Journalist Shows Coca-Cola President (missiongalacticfreedom.wordpress.com
- Reports reveal Coca-Cola funded Pediatric Association and child obesity research (pbs.org)
- Coca-Cola says its drinks don’t cause obesity. Science says otherwise (theguardian.com)
- Majority of Americans Say They Try to Avoid Drinking Soda (gallup.com)