Sugar consumption in the U.S. has increased by 19 percent since 1970. Americans consume around 30 teaspoons of added sugar per day that’s about a half of a cup! When the A.H.A. (American Heart Association) only recommends about six teaspoons daily, that’s pretty horrific. How is it that we Americans are so used to consuming more than we need? Is it the fact that we are oblivious to what we are consuming, or in all reality, are we just addicted to sugar?
There are three main types of simple sugars to look out for; Glucose, which is produced when, starches and carbs are broken down by the digestive system, this is one of the body’s preferred sources of energy. Next is Fructose, it’s common in fruit and also packaged treats you can find in a store. When too much is consumed it can in a sense flood your bloodstream and enter your liver which processes excess sugar into fat! This is of course leads to weight gain, especially around the abdomen, where your liver is located. Last is Sucrose, most-commonly known as your table sugar that most people add to their cereals or coffee. With that these three types of sugars are the most-commonly consumed ones throughout the states. Another way to recognize there are to think, anything that ends with ‘ose’ is considered sugar. An easy way to remember it by is to think ‘ose’ is gross!
It’s reasonable to understand that if a sugar glazed doughnut is sitting right in front of you, calling your name, especially the fact that the doughnut just seems to be there the day that you skipped out on breakfast. You’re going to eat it! Unfortunately that’s the case for 90 percent of us. With that though come consequences! People who consume high amounts of high-fructose corn syrup are 20 percent more-likely to...
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Just remember the next time you hear about sugar, spice, and everything nice. It might not be all it’s cracked up to be. Instead, just look over your decisions that put you in trouble towards your diet. One thing that I came across during this research paper was by a man named Jeffrey Rossman, who has his Ph.D., his words towards this topic was to be kind to yourself. To end the struggle with sugar, learn to nourish your body well and respond compassionately to your own feelings. The best sugar substitute is genuine self-acceptance. By learning more on the problems we Americans face by consuming too much sugar, I have made myself more aware on self-decisions towards my eating habits. Hopefully every ones’ eyes will open when they hear about how much excess sugar we consume, but in all reality it’s only going to help a few. That’s better than none though!
The Sugar Busters diet claims that sugars, such as refined sugar and sugar processed by the body-starches and complex carbohydrates, are toxic to the body. The Sugar Busters diet operates under the belief that only a certain amount of insulin is necessary for survival, and too much will have a negative impact on the body. The intent of the Sugar Busters diet is to lower cholesterol level, obtain weight loss, increase energy, and improve the body’s health; the diet achieves this by eliminating food high in sugar from the diet. Sugar is eliminated from the diet because it stimulates excess insulin to be produced by the body, which increases cholesterol level and allows the body to store fat. By controlling the insulin, the body can use stored
American's spend millions of dollars on sweets, ice-cream, cakes, pastries, soda, and chocolates as the holiday's and birthday's season approach. A recent study indicates that cutting back sugar for 10 days has significant impact. When a study conducted with 43 kids, diet, it was noted that after 10 days of cutting back sugar, their bad cholesterol dropped, reduced risk of diabetes, blood glucose and insulin levels were back to normal. This was a very significant result just by cutting back sugar for 10 days. It suggests that adults can also benefit from this study.
The average American eats 156 pounds of added sugar each year. Sugar is delicious and once we have it, our body constantly wants more. Added sugar has become an American epidemic. “Eighty percent, or 480,000 of the 600,000 food products sold within the U.S. have added sugar, which, according to researchers and medical doctors, is why we have the world 's highest obesity rate is at 31 percent,” (Fed Up). The addictive quality of added sugar makes our brains want more of it constantly; however, our bodies are being negatively affected by its consumption in many ways.
“Sugar addiction is a rapidly growing epidemic (Teitelbaum, 2010).” According to researchers, on average an individual consumes one-hundred pounds of sugar each year. Americans spend billions of dollars a year on gym memberships, healthy foods and beverages, and exercise equipment. Despite the economic strain, Americans continue to make room in their budgets for weight loss products.
The Sugar Overload video is a very interesting report which intends to demonstrate how food industries and health organizations work hand in hand. Since both industries are enormous, they have discovered that it is better to work together than against each other. They have done so by deceiving consumers about the amount of sugars in their supposedly healthy foods and by diminishing the health problems related to sugar consumption.
In addition to sugar affecting our concentration, sugar could also get people seriously addicted. It is very hyper rewarding, which allows people to continuously eat them
The USDA reports that the average American consumes between 150-170 lbs. of refined sugar per year.
To be exact, there are 56 hidden names sugar has. I am not going to tell everyone all of the 56 names because that would take quite a while, but a few major ones are: corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose, syrup and table sugar (Soechtig). Now, if everyone where to look at the products they have in there house, a majority of people would have one of these ingredients located on quite a chunk of the food they have and this really does prove that 80% of the products in America have added sugar. Another label to look for when watching sugar intake, “Reduced Fat”. Companies that advertise that their products have reduced fat have extra sugar within them. Finding foods and products without added sugar may seem pretty difficult, but, the benefit definitely outweighs the
For years doctors have been saying that refined sugars are empty calories and consist of absolutely no vitamins or minerals that people need to survive. Dentists warn that sugary foods encourage tooth decay. Many people avoid sweet food because it can lead to obesity, heart problems, diabetes and cancer. These negative responses by people’s bodies are actually warnings. Maybe people eat sugar for other reasons than the sweet taste. The human body's negative responses to sugar may be a similar purpose to the reason kids feel pain when they are playing too roughly. People’s consumption of sweet foods might also serve as a sign of defiance against their bodies’ health limitations. What many people do not realize is that their tasty treats can affect their mind and emotions.
Have you ever thought that all sugars are the same? If so, you would be wrong. Did you know that not all sugars come from the same place; some sugars come from fruit whereas others are manufactured. Contrary to people beliefs, natural and artificial sugars both have glucose and fructose. While others still argue that artificial and natural sugars are the same, artificial sugars can cause the body to go on sugar lows and sugar highs and can have more calories than natural sugars. Natural sugars are better for the body; they can have a positive effect on your blood sugar and overall health.
She states “that when it comes to sugar the average adult consumes 23 teaspoons a day”. She explains that the excessive sugar intake can lead to obesity and other health issues (Mansfield Sugar Surprise). This can pose as a major health concern in adults and children. In the Sugar Overload: Corporate Profits vs. Public Health, Serge Ahmed, a researcher in Southern France, states “that a child consumes an average of 100 grams per day of sugar”. He also concludes that children are at risk 60% more than the average adult and sugar has been a direct link to obesity. (Ahmed Sugar
As some parts of this judgment are true, what stays important is the reason why sugary foods make people so excited to consume them. Studies from Princeton University have noted how rats change their eating behavior if they are allowed to drink sugar water, and 40 out of 43 cocaine-addicted laboratory rats chose sugar water over cocaine (Avena et al. 313). That means that sugar makes food hyper-palatable and gets people to come back for more and more. Similar studies conducted in California State University conclude that “[c]raving, tolerance, withdrawal and sensitization have been documented in both human and animal studies” (Fortuna 148). Those study had the same results as the studies from Princeton University: the brain actively responses to sugar intake and lights up with sugar just like it does with cocaine or heroin. In fact, sugar is eight times more addictive than cocaine according to Dr. Nicole Avena and her colleagues (314). Moreover, sugar contributes to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, hypertension, obesity, and Alzheimer’s disease (Bermudez et.al 216). So is sugar really the best way to deal with psychological tension? Evidently, sugar negative impact on human’s health overshadows all pleasant feelings associated with
We are all familiar with sugar. It is sweet, delicious, and addictive; yet only a few of us know that it is deadly. When it comes to sugar, it seems like most people are in the mind frame knowing that it could be bad for our health, but only a few are really taking the moderate amounts. In fact, as a whole population, each and everyone of us are still eating about 500 extra calories per day from sugar. Yes, that seems like an exaggerated number judging from the tiny sweet crystals we sprinkle on our coffee, but it is not. Sugar is not only present in the form of sweets and flavourings, it is hidden in all the processed foods we eat. We have heard about the dangers of eating too much fat or salt, but we know very little about the harmful effects of consuming too much sugar. There still isn’t any warnings about sugar on our food labels, nor has there been any broadcasts on the serious damages it could do to our health. It has come to my concern during my research that few
Sugar undoubtedly has a negative impact on the human body, but the sugar industry is the real mastermind behind this issue. Though the world has heard the cautionary tales of obesity, not many know how deep America’s sugar problem is. Thankfully, it is now understood that sugar is not an ideal food item for the human body. However,
The National Center for Biotechnology Information wrote an article on the evidence of sugar addiction. In this journal the team defined sugar as a “psychological dependence… not just a physical dependence”. For example, a stressful day at work could lead to eating a pint of ice cream upon arriving at home; not because of hunger, but simply because of the satisfying taste and the reward felt upon eating something sweet. According to Laura Schmidt’s speech, entitled “Why We Can’t Stop Eating Unhealthy Foods”, “Food corporations hire scientists to engineer the most irresistible habit-forming foods. Sugar is currently their go-to ingredient.” In fact, research has found that sugar far more transcends in the quality of addictiveness than cocaine. Sugar not only surpasses the level of addictiveness than that of cocaine, but it also holds a household name and does not hold a taboo reputation. Nearly everyone consumes sugar on a regular basis. Sweets have a presence in the checkout aisle at the grocery store, at athletic events, and at the gas station. Additionally they require little more than a dollar spent to find their way into the hands of an unsuspecting person. This accessibility makes becoming addicted to sugar exponentially easier, much easier than becoming addicted to crack cocaine (Werdell; “Is