The food industry does not want to talk about it. Appeasing the shareholders is what matters most.
We know we need to talk about it. Or are you willing to accept those ever-increasing health insurance premiums?
We can see it when walking down the streets. Compare a beach picture from the 1970s with one from this decade. Spot the waist differences, I dare say.
Too dramatic for words? It depends.
But I am not far off.
The matter of how much sugar we consume annually is growing at an alarming rate. Where initially the soft drinks and candies are the causality of incremental growth in pre-diabetic cases, these monstrosities of conglomerations for nourishment are getting hold of your sweet tooth. Or better yet, the sweet receptors in your body.
I am not saying that sugar is inherently bad. It is all contextual and subjective, depending on the individual and the situation. It is just that humanity is fooled by how all lesser-preferred versions of sucrose and variations of high fructose corn syrups are added to more and more food, you are not aware of.
Hamburger buns, crisps, ready-to-eat pasta sauce, fruit drinks, and more of those amazingly presented products all have that well-balanced amount of the sugary stuff mixed into them. And now, the growing branch of energy drinks and so-called “health drinks” is taking over the baton to touch your palette. They want more of the same – consume. Well-known soda companies are now buying up those trending liquid sellers, again to hold on to that piece of the commercial pie.
The facts don’t lie.
Over 75% of the processed food industry is using by default any type of sugar in their final product. And I am not even talking about the additional salt intake.
The incremental cases of children under the age of 12 years gaining fatty liver diseases are on the rise. Initially exclusively connected to alcohol (alcohol is still distilled from sugar sources), it shows how much we eat and continue to eat.
You read it well. Children are getting alcohol-related ailments from not drinking alcohol but from eating (processed) food.
We have less time, we work more, and therefore, we order more online. Or go for that deep-frozen, ready-to-be-smacked-in-the-microwave TV dinner.
Still curious how obesity rates continue to rise after the TV dinner was introduced?
The rise of insurance premiums was rising at the same time, the processed food industry entered the worldwide market. There are ample reports online available supporting this. In short, you actually pay for your own deteriorating health by increasing your sugar intake.
Not convinced? You can do two things:
- Check out the research done by Dr Robert Lustig. One example is right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM (1.5 hours long, so grab yourself a couple of beers, some sugary snacks, sit back, and be amazed);
- Reach out about how you can control your sugar intake.
We don’t want to talk about it as most of us don’t want to eliminate the sweetest taboo out of our lives.
And that’s okay.
Or is it?
Sugar is the next tobacco, without a doubt, and that industry should be scared. It should be taxed just like tobacco and anything else that can, frankly, destroy lives. | Jamie Oliver
