Sugar

Listening to a local radio talk show yesterday, I heard a heart specialist talk about the health negatives with sugar.

Over the years, as someone who once managed a health food store, I have heard many reasons why one must give up or limit one's intake of sugar.

I once quit sugar cold turkey for over a year. I didn't eat a speck of it. When I resumed I will never forget the first taste of sugar after not having any for over a year. It tasted terrible, but that soon yielded. It tasted like something out of a cleaning solutions cabinet.

The big problem I know about is the way sugar causes the body to produce insulin. The problem with insulin is that its great for chilling out the sugar but it has a deleterious effect on cells. Some people call it the death hormone. Some say that inflammation in the body can be reduced by eliminating sugar. The thought is that all disease originates in inflammation.

Anyhow, turns out that there are websites promoting the use of sugar. One might expect that to be the case for just about anything, why not sugar.

I will probably continue to eat sugar but in little doses here and there. I want to stay at a lower weight. The other thing is this, I can't really recall a time when I ever felt full or satisfied after eating some big sugary dessert. I always want more and more and more...

It is addictive.

Sugar.org

Institute of Medicine: No Scientific Justification for Sugar Intake Limits

Government officials finalizing guidelines for Americans' diets and exploring possible front-of-package food labels received a clear signal yesterday from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) – there is no scientific justification for targeting sugar.


"Obesity is a problem that America must address," said Andy Briscoe, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, "but government dietary policy must be the result of sound science and common sense, not emotion or speculation. As the IOM has highlighted, having information available about serving size and calories is important in the fight against obesity."


"There is a lack of scientific agreement about the amount of sugars that can be consumed in a healthy diet," it noted in yesterday's report. "Thus, it is difficult to conclude that total sugars intake is of sufficient public health concern to be included in FOP [Front of Package] rating systems."


Briscoe applauded the IOM for putting science first. "All-natural sugar is a healthy part of a balanced diet," he said. "The IOM has reinforced this time after time."


Sugar is all-natural, has just 15 calories per teaspoon, has been used safely for more than 2,000 years, and remains the world's sweetener of choice.