Abstract Is sugar a drug and should it be regulated like one? Do many people believe that since sugar affects the mind of an individual the same as some drugs that it should be regulated like one? Do individuals want to treat sugar as if it's alcohol and not make it illegal but put a age limit? People know that if they make regulated sugar people will still get it easily because it is everywhere. If sugar was regulated or was needed to be reduced in foods many companies would be mad. Many food companies rely on sugar in there foods for better sells and money. Sugar in foods is what makes their products addictive and liked to consumers. Researchers believe that sugar can be more addictive than hardcore drugs. Body “Almost everyone’s heard But it’s doubtful that Americans will look favorably upon regulating their favorite vice. We’re a nation that’s sweet on sugar: the average U.S. adult downs 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, according to the American Heart Association, and surveys have found that teens swallow 34 teaspoons.” By consuming sugar consumers can experience what's known as a “sugar high” a sugar high can have the same effects drugs and alcohol cause. But since sugar is in our everyday lives it would be hard to regulate it. Research shows that the average adult consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar a day the average teen consumes 34 teaspoons of sugar. America is a country that loves sugar from soda to cereal everything has sugar. “Robert Lustig, an endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, argued in the journal Nature that sugar is addictive and toxic—that it can poison the liver, cause metabolic syndrome (increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes), suppress the brain’s dopamine system, and cause us to crave more. Lustig concluded, controversially, that sugar should be regulated like a drug. Alcohol is regulated because of its ubiquity, toxicity, abuse, and negative impact on society, he wrote, and ‘sugar meets the same criteria.’” Robert Lustig wrote a journal saying that sugar is addictive and a toxin. It says that it poisons the liver and it suppresses the dopamine Alcohol and tobacco are a little different. They affect the lives of not only the individual, but others around them. Drunk driving and abuse, as well as secondhand smoke, affects the lives of non drinkers and non smokers. The amount of sugar a person consumers, well, that’s a personal problem.” Consuming sugar is not bad for your body if you know your limits and know when to start. Sugar should not be regulated because not everyone abuses it. Why would we regulated a substance that only affects the person consuming it. Unlike smoking where not only the person smoking is getting affected but also the people who are near him. Also alcohol can affect others because if a person is drunk and drives they are putting everyone's life at risk who is on the road with them. “there’s a fundamental difference between the sugar that you find in fruits & vegetables and the sugar that you find in a large Mountain Dew. The sugar in a lot of these carbonated drinks is highly concentrated simple sugar, the kind that will spike your blood glucose levels, reduce your insulin response over time (leading to Type 2 diabetes) and almost immediately get stored in your body as fat.” There is a difference between sugar from nature and sugar that is processed. Sugar that is processed is highly concentrated because of this it tends to increase your blood glucose levels higher than natural sugar. With high
Imagine this, it is the 1800’s and you’re shopping for sugar. You see the sweet, pure white sugar and look down. Wham! The price makes your stomach drop. You need a cup of sugar, and the price is five dollars per teaspoon. That’s two-hundred and forty dollars, and you only have two dollars with you! In the articles, How Candy Conquered America by Lauren Tarshis and This Cupcake is Trying to Hurt You by Kristin Lewis and Lauren Tarshis it talks about how the consumption of sugar changes over time from the 1800’s to today. Two ways sugar consumption in the United States differed in the 1800’s than today is how much sugar we eat and how it affects our bodies.
The article,“ Battle lines drawn over soda tax,” by Associated Press , the Press explains how there is an ongoing “national fight about taxing sugary drinks.” According to Associated Press, “ Health experts say the beverages contribute to health issues such as diabetes, obesity, and tooth decay.” This quote demonstrates that sugary drinks can lead to health issues. Since sugary drinks leads to health issues, people are considering soda tax. This is because thirteen percent of adult minorities are diagnosed with diseases such as diabetes.
Jon Gabriel explains how sugar has become an addictive drug like nicotine, the only difference is that its legal. Once we become hooked on it we become habituated to its effects and need more and more to satisfy ourselves. As a result of the increase in marketing and the on going dependence on sugary foods and beverages, children are taking in more and more sugar and obtaining less and less nutrients. According to Gentry Lasater,
However, the outcome was different from his desired result due to strong protest from the dairy and livestock industry, so the Congress instead urged people to buy lean meat and less fat food so the dairy and livestock industry do not go out of business. This created the fat-free boom in the market in the 1980s. However, food companies began to put more sugar in their products because the taste was bad when they reduced fat in the food. Now, the sugar intake of Americans has doubled compared with before. In the American market, there are approximately 600,000 different food products, and 80% of those include sugar. Although sugar is written in various forms and names, one suggests that it’s bad in any form, especially if taken too much. Sugar consumed naturally through fiber-rich fruit or vegetable should be fine, but the added sweeteners stimulate the hormones that increase insulin. High insulin prevents people from thinking they are full, and thus crave more food. This causes many diseases. Of course one meal high in sugar will not kill them, but the problem is that people generally exceed daily sugar intake in one meal alone when consuming process food. We eat more processed and convenient food instead of fruits, vegetables, and
From the government, the media, and the sugar industry, he mentions the significant role of sugar in our society. He described how sugar play a role in the rise of adolescent type two diabetes from year 1980s of zero case and year 2010 of more than 50,000 cases. Citing the movie, he talks about the overwhelming political influence of the sugar lobbyist, convincing Americans to consume more sugar. He mentioned how addictive sugar in comparison to the effects of cocaine. Also, he explains how sugar consumption is greater than the sugar intake of Americans in the
You can find sugar in most foods. Everything from salad dressing to canned soup. Even the bread we eat has a high concentration of sugar. All of the sugar that America is intakes is starting to add up. Today two out of three adults and one out of three children in the United States are overweight. These illnesses would be far less prevalent if we dialed back our consumption of sugar. Not to say that sugar is the main reason for diabetes, but it is definitely a determining factor. Eating too much of
Sugary soft drinks should be taxed in order to change people’s habit of drinking these towards the goal of
Hyman, Mark. (2014). Sweet poison: How sugar, not cocaine, is one of the most addictive and dangerous substances. Daily News. Available at: www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/white-poison-danger-sugar-beat-article-1.1605232 (Accessed on 10 February 2014).
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.
Everyone likes soda and candy, they are enjoyed by students as well as student adults. The bad part is that they impact the eater’s health tremendously. Soda and candy are particularly major issues in students health. When students drink soda or eat candy, their chance of catching diseases increases as they develop. And then teachers deal with kids that go crazy in the class, can't concentrate and are aggressive. School should teach healthy habits and give positive examples. The most obvious negative effect of candy is cavities and soda can dissolve teeth How can this be prevented this and keep these students safe? The government should ban soda and candy from schools.
Obesity has been directly linked to sugary drinks.(Fit Day). As reported by the CDC, “ Sugary drinks have been linked to poor diet quality, weight gain, obesity and, in adults, type II diabetes.” (Consumption of Sugary Drinks in the United States, 2005–2008). The sugar from the drinks aren’t being used as energy, so they are being stored away and becoming fat. This causes weight gain, which can lead to obesity, which in turn can cause Type II Diabetes. It is true that sugary drinks aren’t the only leading cause in obesity and weight gain, however it does play a key role. The CDC stated that the “consumption of sugary drinks in the United States has increased over the last years among both children and adults.” ( Consumption of Sugary Drinks in the United States, 2005–2008 ). When the sugar is broken down in the liver, and it can’t be used, it turns into fat, which tends to stay around the stomach area. With the growth in the consumption of sugary drinks, the kids and adults of this country are going to become obese and end up spending thousands of dollars on medical service. Which would be better? Spending thousands of dollars on medical services or saving up for their kid’s college, or saving up for retirement or your dream
A ban was passed in New York City restricting the fluid ounces at which a sugary drink can be sold. This ban only applies to restaurants, fast food chains, and any other place that falls under the Board of Health’s regulation. It is not meant to restrict freedom but to only guide people to make healthier choices. What the government has a say in this has been an ongoing controversy. The government is doing what it can at the moment but it should have much more control over the food and drinks that people put in their bodies.
The assumption that people who have a degree are aware of the harm of sugary drinks comes naturally. Besides, when people are empowered to make their own decisions, they are far more likely to embrace change once they are intrinsically motivated to commit to it (Monica Frank). This stands in stark contrast to what the ban offers us. Consider: would you rather do something because of conviction, or because someone told you
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
Have you ever thought how much soda you consume and how bad it can be for you? Many people will drink soda instead of water, simply because it tastes better. The government should limit the intake of sugary beverages because it can lead to many different problems such as heart disease, obesity, and overall it is an unhealthy life-style. “The average person consumes almost 100lbs of sugar a year, with the single biggest source being soda.” A sugary beverage occasionally would be ok, but drinking it every day would cause problems for you overtime. People drink, more soda than they do water. People should be consuming at least eight 8-ounce glasses a day. Mostly no one will drink that amount of water a day. In today’s society, it can be easy to grab a soda for one dollar and carry on. They may taste better but they are not better for your health. “Sugary drinks include soda, fruit punch, lemonade, and other “aides” sweetened powdered drinks, and sports energy drinks.”