Sugar Pros And Cons

Sweet & Sour: The Contentious Debate About Sugar

In our contemporary world, there is an abundance of sugar and it is something we eat regularly; however, things were not always this way. Arriving in Europe roughly 1000 years ago, sugar was rare, highly sought after, and was used as medicine, as well as food. This paper explores the history of sugar in Europe, outlining the ways it was first introduced, as well as its usage in the medical field. Moreover, resistance to sugar as medicine by certain theologians, led by Miguel Serveto, began a contentious debate in regards to sugar’s place in the European diet.

Contrary to what most people think, sugar was not first introduced to Europe during the Crusades; prior to the 11th century, small portions of sugar were

However, after sacking Jerusalem in the late 1000s, Crusades brought back the spice and it began to gain traction among those who could hope to afford it. Soon after, Crusaders began to grow their own sugar, and the sugar production would become of the dominant markets in the history of Europe in the following centuries. Sadly, the sugar trade was often bloody and exploitative, with slave labor being employed to satisfy the appetite for the spice in Europe (Abbott, 2011).

Although we today understand sugar to be a sweetener for food and drink, many Europeans believed sugar was best used as medicine. Before even arriving in Europe, many thinkers in the Arab world used sugar as medicine for various ailments and thoroughly explored its benefits. The Arab world was at the forefront of pharmacology during the first half of the 2st millennia, creating massive advances in science similar to