THE NOT SO SWEET TRUTH 10 Things You Should Know About Sugar
SILENT KILLER 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 11 13 14 15 17
Introduction Types of Sugar Missing Nutrition Hidden Sugar Body Health Obesity Sugar Consumption Sugar Addiction Sugar Marketing Bad Alternatives Better Options Conclusion
INTRODUCTION People love sugar. It is the main ingredient in our favorite baked goods, making them sweet and irresistible. Just a taste of sugar can bring one back to their childhood, with memories of trick-or-treating on Halloween or eating cookies on Christmas. However, this thing we love so much is hurting us. The real problem arrived in the last 50 years when the food industry discovered that they
could use sugar as a tool to raise their profits. Now, sugar is in everything, not just candy and cakes, and our societies health is showing it. Even the most unsuspecting person can fall victim to sugar’s control. Sugar is a direct cause of many health problems such as obesity, brain fog, acne, stress, heart disease, and even death. Sugar has a dark side and is a true silent killer.
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TYPES OF SUGAR There are more types of sugar than just your average table sugar. Sugar is a master of disguise. It can appear in different forms such as high fructose corn syrup and cane juice. Sugar is made up of fructose and glucose. It has been found that fructose is the more dangerous ingredient when it comes to our health. In a study people drinking fructose beverages vs. glucose showed a greater risk of heart disease in just two weeks and also gained 3 pounds, while glucose drinkers did not. Fructose is found in sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup, agave, and honey. Other forms of sugar also have this dangerous effect. Even though high-fructose corn syrup is also composed of both glucose and fructose,
Corn syrup may originate from corn, but is made up of unnatural chemicals
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it still has the same effect. This alternative also has many other added chemicals that are not healthy. Sugar can occur naturally in foods such as fruits and vegetables. Natural sugars are very different than added sugars. They do not contain dangerous chemicals that poison the body. Fruits and vegetables have nutritional value and are made up of fiber, water and many micronutrients. While these foods still contain “sugar,� the body processes it differently from added sugars. It forms complex carbohydrates, which retain nutrients and are actually good for you. Added sugars are made up of simple carbohydrates, which are just empty calories.
MISSING NUTRITION
Table sugar is commonly made from processed sugar beets but contains no nutritional value.
There is a reason why organic merchants want nothing to do with white sugar and its tricks. Sugar has no nutritional value and should never be considered a food group. Nobody would die without sugar. It is gives your body nothing but empty calories. It contains 99.6% of the chemical sucrose which is harmful to the body when taken in. Sugar has always been referred to as an energy food but it is quite the opposite. White sugar robs the body of B vitamins, disrupts your metabolism and damages the nervous system. The “energy� you may experience from eating sugar is only a false high, and is always accompanied by a bad crash later.
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HIDDEN SUGAR Companies use sugar’s addictive qualities in order to hook in consumers. They know that the more hidden sugar they add, the more likely you are to keep coming back for more. In order to spot hidden sugar, you must look at the ingredients list on the product. Sugar hides under terms like high fructose corn syrup, maltose, glucose, fructose, rice syrup, lactose, and many more. The higher up on the ingredient list it is, the more of it there is in a product. Looking around the supermarket, it is easier to find products with added sugar versus products without it. And many times, these products are the ones you would least expect to have sugar in and would never describe as sweet. From peanut butter, to frozen chicken dinners. Added sugar is common in processed foods, low-fat diet foods, ready-made foods, even some apples and fruits have been bred to contain more “natural” sugar. Products like ketchups are about 23% sugar, salad dress-
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ings 29%, and fruit roll ups are about 50%. A bottle of barbecue sauce can contain up to 168 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to four cans of coke. A Starbucks Frappuccino can contain 69 grams of sugar, which is more than the amount in two Snickers bars. Cliff bar, a “healthy” granola bar, contains 23 grams of sugar, the same amount as Poptarts.
95%
SUGAR Soda
23%
SUGAR Ketchup
35%
SUGAR Pasta Sauce
15%
SUGAR
It is nearly impossible to find products without added sugar.
Venti Latte 5
BODY HEALTH The consumption of sugar and sugary foods is a leading cause of many health issues today. For many people, it is very hard to resist its sweet taste, causing them to eat more and more. Unfortunately there is really no safe amount of added sugar. Almost any amount can take a toll on the body in some way. The main side effects people usually think of are obesity and diabetes. Since sugar contains calories and carbohydrates but no nutritional value, it is very easy to eat the same amount of calories that are contained in a meal without even realizing it or getting full. This lack of nourishment causes you to eat more, while also raising blood sugar levels making you hungrier. If the body is constantly overloaded with sugar, you can develop diabetes. Sugar also increases bad cholesterol and stresses the liver by blocking it with fat, leading to fatty liver disease.
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There are many other dangerous effects that are not as commonly recognized. Sugar can actually increase the aging process. After hitting the blood stream, it attaches itself to proteins creating new molecular structures and reducing skin elasticity. Sugar also has a huge impact on dental health. After eating or drinking something sweet, leftover sugar attaches itself to your teeth and gums causing decay and gum disease. Negatively affects your bones, mood, heart and brain.
Sugar causes tooth decay and gum disease. It clings to your teeth, slowly eating away at enamel.
“Foods with added sugar can actually make you gain more weight than if you were to eat the same amount of calories in foods without added sugar.”
OBESITY Obesity is a major problem in the world today. Millions of our tax dollars go towards the treatment of obesity related ailments. Many blame it solely on the consumer, suggesting a simple solution, eat less. This may sound easy to some, but for others who’s diets consist primarily of sugary processed foods, it can become more difficult.
It is a lot harder to feel satisfied after a meal containing sugar, because eating it actually causes you to crave more food. It tricks your brain into thinking your are hungry when you actually are not. It’s addictive qualities also force people to reach for these sugary foods instead of more nutritious options, worsening the cycle.
The consumption of foods with added sugar can actually make you gain more weight than if you were to eat the same amount of calories in foods without added sugar. Many people do not even realize that their food has added sugar, some just do not care.
A lot of people who try to lose weight with popular diet foods also have trouble because of sugar. In order to cut out fat and calories, companies add sugar to keep the food from tasting bad. However, even though the food maybe less calories, the sugar in it counteracts the low calorie attempts.
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CONSUMPTION “America’s sweet tooth has increased about 40% in the last 60 years.”
SUGAR CONSUMPTION The average American eats about four times the recommended amount of sugar per day. The World Health Organization recently dropped their suggested average to about 25 grams per day versus the previous 40 grams. However, recommended amounts cannot limit how much people will actually eat. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American consumes around one hundred and fifty-six pounds of added sugar per year. That’s the equivalent of 31 five-pound bags for everyone. American’s consume about around 3,550 pounds
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of sugar in an entire lifetime. This is equivalent to 1,767,900 skittles. The average yearly sugar consumption in the 1950s was about 110 pounds, meaning that America’s sweet tooth has increased about 40% in the last 60 years. This raise was strongly influenced by the use of corn sweeteners. We consume about 500 calories from sugar a day and ten times more sugar than other food additives. It is not that hard for someone to eat more than the recommended amount. All it takes is one can of soda to put you over the limit.
182
18 POU
PER YEAR IN THE U.S.
20
UNDS
NOW
156 POUNDS
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SUGAR ADDICTION
“Sugar is 8 times more addictive than cocaine.”
Ever wonder why you can not stop eating after just one cookie? Indulgences such as these taste so good that it is hard to stop. We strive to get that sweet taste on our tongues again. However, there is more to this lust. Sugar is actually very dangerous drug. It is eight times more addictive than cocaine. Sugar, just like a drug, stimulates the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain’s reward center. Dopamine drives reward and makes you feel happy when it gets what it wants. When a substance starts artificially triggering happiness, it is hard to resist it. After continuously indulging in this taste, you start needing more and more to satisfy the craving. It is also possible to get a physical dependency on it. After sugar is ingested
into the body, it causes a spike in blood sugar levels, creating a false sense of energy. This feeling is followed quickly by a crash. Instead of reaching for something that will provide substantial energy, many go for more sugary foods to get that feeling again. The food industry knows about sugar’s addictive qualities and uses it as a tool. Studies have shone how highly addictive sugar is. However nothing has been done to limit the population’s intake. People involved in the “sugar industry” have used many dirty tactics in attempt to keep their records clean. They have spent billions of dollars to try to deceive the public with false information.
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406
SUGAR RELATED
VIEWED BY TEEN 12
6
D ADS
NS PER YEAR
SUGAR MARKETING There is a bigger issue than personal choice when it comes to eating sugar filled foods. The food industry uses sneaky tactics in order to subliminally sway people into buying their products, and they spend billions in the process. The top ten food companies spent 6.9 billion dollars all together on advertising in 2012. Pepsi Co. spent 1.1 billion dollars just marketing soft drinks, which is about a third of their total budget. These labels know that sugar sells, making it a good investment for them, and even harder to find sugar free items on the shelves. With the growing health trends around America, the food industry feels the need to catch up and stay relevant, using dirty tricks to do so. Many companies are marketing their products as healthy and beneficial in order to appeal to a larger crowd and compete with actual healthy food. Ambiguous words are slapped on to labels with no basis or factual information, tricking consumers into thinking the product is good for them. This tactic actually causes people to eat more of it because they believe if it says healthy
or natural, then it must be true and is okay to indulge on. Coca-Cola’s marketing for “Vitamin Water,” uses words like “defense,” “energy,” and “enhanced,” even though it still contains massive amounts of sugar and is not good for your health. General Mills labels their Fruit Roll-ups packaging with the statement “made with real fruit,” when in reality it is all chemicals and sugar. They also use phrases like “whole grain” or “high protein,” to trick the consumer into buying more products that are actually higher in sugar than usual. These are just a few of the numerous false nutritional claims made by the food industry. Companies rely strongly on their product’s packaging to draw in consumers. Colors such as red and yellow are known to increase appetite, so therefore they are used a lot for advertising food. Packaging can also be used to target specific groups. Green is associated with health and nature, so it is used when a company wants to appeal to the healthier crowd. A child is going to be more inclined to pick up something that has their favorite
cartoon character on it. Brands like Special K are famous for targeting women. They know that desire to lose weight is very common among most women, so they play it up on their packaging. They even went as far to create the “Special K Challenge,” which tricks women into eating their products every day. Television ads are a huge tool for marketing high sugar foods. The addition of sound and motion allows companies to target even more people. This tool is very useful for them because they do not have to just rely on someone stumbling across their product in a store. Everyone sees commercials and can be subliminally swayed by them. In 2010, preschoolers viewed an average of 213 commercials for sugary drinks. Children viewed around 277 and teenagers viewed 406. There is no way that these subliminal marketing tricks used by the food industry do not have some sort of effect.
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BAD ALTERNATIVES Replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners is not the answer. Even though they may have zero calories and seem like a good way to cut sugar out, they actually make the problem worse while increasing the lust for sugar. They have many negative side effects too.
Sucralose
Aspartame
Sucralose, which is marketed as Splenda, Equal, and other brand names, is made by processing ordinary white sugar with chlorine. Ingesting sucralose is like ingesting a small amount of pesticide DDT. Chemical compounds found in chlorine are linked to cancer, birth defects and immune dysfunction. These compounds stay in the body and accumulate over time.
Aspartame is a common sweetener found in many diet sodas and other low calorie foods. It is a dangerous chemical that is used to sweeten foods without the added calories. Even though it may have fewer, aspartame actually contributes to weight gain more than sugar and can cause you to crave more sugars and carbs. Drinking just two diet sodas a day can lead to a 500% increase in waist size. Aspartame is primarily composed of aspartic acid and phenylalanine, and is synthetically modified to be sweeter. It also contains methanol, which our bodies convert into the chemical formaldehyde. Since humans lack the ability to convert formaldehyde into harmless formic acid, like other animals can, this toxic chemical is free to cause damage wherever it is stored. These chemicals within aspartame can cause headaches, vertigo, memory problems, pains, behavioral changes, vision problems, and even cancer.
Alternative chemical sweeteners are found in many diet food, but actually contribute more to weight gain than regular sugar.
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Honey
Stevia
Fruit
Although honey is still a form of sugar, it does not consist of empty calories. It contains many health benefits and affects the body differently than regular sugar. It has a glycemic index off 55 and does not raise blood sugar levels dramatically, unlike table sugar that cause dangerous spikes in blood sugar levels and has a glycemic index of 100. However, not all honey is equal. It is important to buy it raw and unpasteurized, because most of its benefits are removed when it is processed. Raw honey contains active phytonutrients and has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. It also provides antioxidants that protect body cells from structural damage from toxins, helping to prevent diseases such as cancer. Honey can also be used as a cough suppressant, a sleeping aid, and an immunity booster.
Stevia is an all natural sweetener that contains no calories or sugar whatsoever. It is extracted straight from the stevia plant and can be found in both powder and liquid form, allowing for more versatile use. It can be up to 400 times sweeter than actual sugar allowing you to use less. Just two drops is usually enough to sweeten a drink. There are no known side effects to using stevia, which makes it an ideal substitution for sugar.
Fruit is also a good option for sweetening food. Even though it contains sugar, it is all natural and not added, making it very different. Fruit has a very high nutritional value, containing water, fiber, antioxidants and vitamins. Eating it can help protect against heart disease, cancer and other ailments. Fruit can be added to many things for that sweet taste everybody loves. Unsweetened applesauce is great sugar replacement to use in baked good. Bananas are also good for baking. Almost any fruit can be added to foods such as oatmeal, smoothies, yogurts, salads, and many more.
Consuming natural sweeteners can actually be beneficial to your health. Many contain vitamins and anti-inflammatory properties which help to prevent diseases.
BETTER OPTIONS 15
FREE YOUR
RSELF
CONCLUSION Sugar is the root cause of many problems in the world today. It has control over our minds, our bodies and the food industry as a whole. The best way to evade all these problems that sugar causes is for people to cut it out of their diets completely. This is a challenging process, but very worth the struggle. However, if this is too much of an undertaking, limiting your sugar intake by swapping it with better options and making smarter choices is still beneficial. After just a couple weeks you will start to notice an elevated mood and better energy levels. You may also notice a positive change in your waistline. Cutting out sugar limits your ability to consume processed food, leaving you with more nutritious options. These changes will have nothing but a positive affect on your health. Besides the short term benefits, you cutting out sugar will lower your risk of long term ailments, diseases and even death.
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Canon, Gabrielle. “Sugar-Coated Science.” The Huff-
Malin, Andy. “Is Sucralose a Dangerous Sugar Substi-
Zerbe, Leah. “The 5 Best, and 5 Worst, Sweeteners to
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NUTRITION
Bonnie Lawrence