The Anti-Nourishment

I still have memories as a kid when my parents would advise me to watch my sugar intake. I always thought it was to prevent tooth decay or hyperactivity. Who knew they were actually protecting me from eating too much poison? According to University of California, San Francisco endocrinologist Robert Lustig—interviewed in a recent National Geographic (2013) article—“sugar is a poison by itself when consumed in high doses” (p. 96). Unfortunately we cannot avoid this affinity for sugar—the average American consumes roughly 77 pounds of sugar per year (Cohen, 2013). This is a staggering statistic with even more tragic consequences. In the last 30 years, the incidence of diabetes has skyrocketed from 153 million to 347 million (Cohen, 2013). Nephrologist Richard Johnson from the University of Colorado believes that sugar can be pinpointed as the culprit for several health disorders including diabetes, hypertension, and obesity (Cohen, 2013). The human body, although quite resilient, is not meant to utilize sugar in high doses. In the case of diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, the bloodstream is shocked with overwhelming amounts of sugar that ends up destroying the cellular receptors—better known as insulin receptors—needed for its utilization.

So should you avoid sugar altogether? When making this decision consider the long-term effects of too much sugar. Indulging in sweet treats and sinful desserts is only human. The problem lies in those sugar-filled foods and beverages that have invaded the day-to-day American diet. Sugar has the potency to evoke an addictive response by triggering the brain’s pleasure center in a similar—yet less intense—manner as drugs like cocaine and heroine (Cohen, 2013). The average American that consumes 77 pounds of sugar annually is consuming about 22 teaspoons per day (Cohen, 2013), and the key is for sugar seekers to wean off of sugar. The first, and most important, step is to check food labels. One can of cola packs a whopping 9.3 teaspoons of sugar. An eight-ounce serving of fruit on the bottom yogurt—including the highly touted Greek variety—has about 6.7 teaspoons of sugar.

If all this information doesn’t make a nutritional impact, consider the lasting effects of too much sugar on energy levels. A sedentary lifestyle is just as debilitating to health as 22 teaspoons of sugar per day. And the combination of the two is the recipe for a perfect storm. According to Johnson, although sugar can provide a jolt of energy, the eminent crash that follows depletes energy levels and deters physical activity (Cohen, 2013). Sugar is a serious matter that won’t fix itself. The State of New York already tried to cut down on the sizes of sugar-sweetened beverages but this took away from certain peoples’ personal freedom. People are going to have the make their own decision about poisoning their bodies over time or nourishing their bodies for sustained health. 

For more information on Sugar Love: A Not So Sweet Story, I encourage you to read the article at NationalGeographic.com.

Primary source:

Cohen, R. (2013). Sugar Love: A Not So Sweet Story. National Geographic, 224(2), 82-97.