Should it be regulated? Taxed? Latest study have health activists in rage
Sugar is toxic according to current blaring of media headlines. This latest news has health activists in an uproar over sugar.
What has caused this latest uproar among health activists? Answer; researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, latest released study entitled “The Toxic Truth about Sugar” that appears in the journal Nature.
According to researchers sugar consumption is a health hazard just like that of alcohol and tobacco. It is a poison that should be tightly regulated. Along with their warning that sugary foods and drinks are responsible for health conditions such as obesity, heart disease, cancer and liver problems. Researchers are laying claim to the fact that sugar contributes to 35 million deaths a year worldwide. Sugar is a slow poison containing dangerous fattener and therefore should be banned.
These are however, the same researchers who in a past study had found that McDonald's Happy Meals and Goldfish were unhealthy to consumed and should be banned. They also had found other types of food that people find delicious and pleasant to eat are unhealthy which cause numerous diseases and a restriction should be placed on them.
In this study researchers note "A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that fructose can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases. A little is not a problem, but a lot kills – slowly”.
They warn that about obesity being a larger issue than malnutrition on a global scale and other than sugar making people fat it changes the bodies metabolism, puts hormones off balance, raises blood pressure and causes harm to the liver.
Dr. Lusting, M.D., Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology, Director of Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health (WATCH) Program at UCSF and lead study author stated that like alcohol, sugar is widely available, toxic, easily abused and harmful to society. Also in the report he notes Over the eons sugar was available to our ancestors as fruit for only a few months a year at harvest time, or as honey “which was guarded by bees.”
According to researchers teaching children about diet and exercise is most likely not to be effective. The answer according to the researchers would be such as a tax on all food that contains sugar, doubling the price of fizzy drinks with an age restriction of being over 17 or 18 to make the purchase. Banning sales in or near schools.
Dr. Laura Schmidt, researcher also at UCSF stated "We're not advocating a major imposition of the government into people's lives. We're talking about gentle ways to make sugar consumption slightly less convenient, thereby moving people away from the concentrated dose”.
Also revealed was that sugar consumption has tripled over the last fifty years and that responsibility lies with food companies noting they may resist change but shifts in policy are possible if the pressure is great enough.
Researchers note that was is particularly toxic is sucrose, the natural compound produced from glucose and fructose which is refined to produce table sugar along with the processed sugar called high fructose corn syrup.
High fructose corn syrup has been noted in research such as the study from Princeton that appeared in late February 2010 in the journal of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior had caused a uproar among critics. That study had noted that when lab rats consumed high fructose corn syrup in water over a span of eight weeks had greatly gained more weight than the rats that had consumed water and regular sugar.
The issue of fructose from refined sugar being so dangerous according to researchers is the fact it is primarily broken down in the liver that is slowly released from complex carbohydrates during digestion
The refined sugar puts a strain on the liver starting a process that can lead to fatty liver disease and liver failure. They note most importantly is that its presence can trigger the development of type 2 diabetes.
So what do experts think of this latest news?
Director of Food Safety and Science at the UK Food and Drink Federation, Barbara Gallani stated they recognize the world health burden of non-infectious disease and agreed action was needed. Gallani does note “However, the causes of these diseases are multifactorial and demonising individual food components does not help consumers to build a realistic approach to their diet.”
Gallani states that a balanced and varied diet is the key to good health in the context of a healthy lifestyle that includes plenty of exercise.
Dr. Peter Scarborough of the British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group at Oxford University weighed in on his thoughts of this study by noting taxing particular food products was something policymakers should consider.
However, he notes that by taxing one food you can have unintended consequences such as people cutting back on purchasing fruit and vegetables to save money for other purchases.
Dr. Scarborough had told the BBC "If you tax fat, salt and sugar, combined with subsidies for fruit and vegetables, you'll get healthier diets."
So how much sugar should a person consume?
The American Heart Association recommends about six teaspoons of sugar for women and nine teaspoons for men.
The August 2009 issue of Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association provides detailed information and guidance on sugar intake limitations.
Fresh fruits and vegetables such as carrots, beets, grapes and apples contain natural sugars.
In Detroit:
Joe Randazzo's Fruit and Vegetables
5240 East Outer Drive
Detroit
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