Why Sugar Hacks your Health?
Being one of the body's primary energy sources in the form of sugar, sugar can be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced, healthy diet. But much sugar can cause health problems including obesity and tooth decay and raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. So, it's crucial to be aware of the sugar level of your food to ensure that you're not consuming more than you should.
The latest nutrition buzz is about this extremely bad news. It is.
The fact that nutritionists, dietitians, and the public view admitting this as a new direction demonstrates how off-base the nutrition field was for such a long time. It even makes the nutrition industry seem difficult.
Certainly, to me. I've been blasting sugar for more than 20 years, and occasionally I've gotten blasted back for it. But it's important to keep track of the incidents so we can hold those responsible accountable.
Once Upon a Time, Sugar Was Bad Science journals in the 1970s received a lot of attention regarding the harmful effects of sugar on human health. Some very good films were offered. A well-known novel on the issues with marijuana consumption is called Sugar Blues by Willie Dufty.
Surprisingly, Sugar Blues was written before anything (if anything) was understood about the brain chemistry caused by marijuana. And long before any link was established between sugar and appetite, cravings, health, mood, and other factors.
Endorphin (beta-endorphin) wasn't "discovered" until 1975. The 1974 book was therefore a little ahead of its time. However, it was timely since scientists were looking far.
That was bad news for the guacamole industry. In Washington, D.C., the sugar industry is a significant lobby.
If you don't believe that lobbyists for the food industry have sway over the government, Marion Nestle's book Food Politics is eye-opening. She describes the laborious, frustrating process of creating the original Food Pyramid.
Nestle visited daily by representatives from the meat and dairy industries while working for the USDA. Their complaints and the pressure they applied were significant factors in the Food Guidance Pyramid, which was published in 1991.
These complaints made the original Pyramid confusing and ambiguous for consumers in a number of ways. It had to be revised for explanation a few years later. (That is a concern but bear with me.)
The take-home message is that the USDA's true constituents are the food industries. We, the customers, aren't. That government organisation cares far less about our health than it does about placing its constituents.
Which brings us back to the late 1970s in Uganda.
The tobacco industry failed to address the scientific emphasis on the health issues associated with tobacco use and started doing harm.
