Did you know that the average American consumed 152 POUNDS of caloric sweetener (table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc.) in 2001? Did you know that, per day, that averages about 52 teaspoons of added sugars ingested per person? This is almost a 40% increase from the consumption of added sugars in the 1950s. And no, these figures do not include the consumption of fruit (which, of course, also contains sugar). And no, these figures are not bogus…in fact, they’re taken from chapter 2 of the 2001 USDA Factbook! If you’re interested in reading it online, the link to this particular chapter is here: http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:CgabIdDcsSMJ:www.usda.gov/factbook
/chapter2.pdf+sugar+consumption+america&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=
us&client=firefox-a
So by now, you’re probably asking yourself how much this matters… and you probably already came up with a few answers. For instance, you probably realize that the increasing prevalence of added sugars in our diets is most certainly contributing to the American obesity epidemic. And you probably also realize that sugar isn’t making our teeth any healthier. But did you know that our most prevalent added sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup, has also been linked to diabetes and high cholesterol? And did you know that excessive consumption of sweeteners and sugars is also linked to premature aging of the skin?!
When you think about it, it’s almost a wonder that we still eat sugars, let alone in such huge amounts. But once you start looking at labels, you realize that it’s almost difficult to avoid sweeteners. High-fructose corn syrup, for example, is in just about every processed food you can imagine. Sure, it’s in many ice creams, some jams, many candies…but did you know it’s also in many breads, sauces, and savory processed foods?
The fact is, high-fructose corn syrup is very cheap, and it even helps to preserve processed food. So it’s convenient for companies to add it to their processed concoctions. But do we really want to be eating it?
Tags: cavities, diabetes, diet, high cholesterol, high-fructose corn syrup, obesity, skin aging, sugar, sweetener
July 21, 2008 at 7:43 pm |
Obviously theres so much other crap that isint good for you, but sugar REALLY is bad. It can cause so many diseases, symptoms, cavities etc. Absolutely horrid. I havent used sugar in years tho. I use something called Stevia its a type of “sugar” that comes from plants. No calories. No Sweeteners. No CRAP!
Its the best. I wouldnt use anything else.
April 12, 2009 at 8:59 am |
Stevia has been presented as a good alternative to sugar. I have heard, however, that it may not be as healthy as it’s made out to be. I guess the science is on the fence with this one…we’ll just have to wait it out.