The Sugar Problem in America

Sugar is bad for you. We’ve all heard the saying.

But sugar isn’t only in sweets. Try checking the labels at the grocery store.

It’s in our bread, sauces, and even our meats. Sugar is in everything we eat: Bread, yogurt, bacon. You name it and sugar is in the ingredients.

The up-rise in sugar is hurting our physical and mental health.

Sugar is everywhere

I have been on a sugar-free diet for the past six months.

I scavenged through the ingredients like a deranged animal searching for a snack. I glean my eyes through aisles of ingredients hoping for the golden words sugar-free.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some labels.

Yoplait Yogurt has 18 Grams of sugar.

Wonder Classic White Bread has four grams of sugar.

Yogurt and bread aren’t the only offenders. Sugar is in most sauces, processed meats, breads, canned soups, microwave dinners, yogurt, and beverages.

I challenge you to go the store and check the back of labels. Sugar is hard to miss.

You get the point. Sugar is everywhere, but what’s the big deal?

Why does it matter?

A little bit of added sugar never hurt anybody. Compared to candy, it isn’t much sugar content.

The truth is that little bit of sugar is hurting our health.

According to the University of California San Francisco, “scientists are actively studying a wide range of health problems that is linked to the over consumption of added sugars.” [1] They found it is linked with increased risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and aging faster. [3]

You already knew that. Sugar is bad for you. It increases the risk for disease and has addictive properties.

But it’s not a simple problem, it’s an epidemic. Americans eat too much sugar which can in turn lead to problems. The average American consumes 82 grams of sugar each day (reference). [3]

Where is the sugar coming from?

Processed Food and Sugar

Processed food is the biggest cause for over consumption in sugar. The added ingredients in processed foods are full of added sugars and words you can’t pronounce.

Check out the article on processed foods by Medical News Today. Or better yet — let’s look at a healthy food bar.

That is not food.

In addition to sugar, it is full of harmful chemicals and preservatives that aren’t good for us. No wonder its bad for us — it’s 50% chemicals and preservatives. I can’t pronounce half of the label.

If we took time to pay attention to ingredients, perhaps the food industry would not put chemicals and preservatives in our food.

But it’s not giving us diseases and filling us with chemicals.

Sugar Changes our Brain

Sugar impairs our brain function.

Studies have looked into the negative affects of sugar. According to the Huffington Post, sugar “impairs memory and learning skills” and “it may even cause or contribute to depression and anxiety.” [4]

Sugar is addictive. Have you ever felt a gnawing desire that you need sugar? Followed by a drop in excitement and a crash. This crash can lead to mood swings, depression, and anxiety.

It gets worse. Research suggests that sugar “can also mess with neurotransmitters that help keep our moods stable. Consuming sugar stimulates the release of the mood-boosting neurotransmitters serotonin.” [4] By releasing serotine pre-maturely, we do not have this mood stabilizer available and can experience increased chances of depression.

Sugar is prohibiting us from living free of mood swings and unneeded emotional stress.

Let’s Stop Eating Sugar

When we pay attention to labels, food manufacturers are forced to pay attention.

More and more people are dealing with cancer, depression, and sugar addiction everyday. Sugar can impair our health, our brains, and give us unsustainable mood swings.

The next time you go to the store, look at the food label. It probably has sugar.

Citations

1. “How Much Is Too Much?” SugarScience.UCSF.edu, University of California San Francisco, 18 Dec. 2014, sugarscience.ucsf.edu/the-growing-concern-of-overconsumption/#.Wp01A-dOlPZ.

2. Gunnars, BSc Kris. “9 Ways That Processed Foods Are Harming People.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 1 Aug. 2017, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318630.php.

3. “Too Much Can Make Us Sick.” SugarScience.UCSF.edu, 3 May 2015, http://sugarscience.ucsf.edu/too-much-can-make-us-sick/#.Wp05t-dOlPY

4. Gregoire, Carolyne. “This Is What Sugar Does To Your Brain.” Huffington Post, Huffington Post, 6 Apr. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/06/sugar-brain-mental-health_n_6904778.html.