Sugar and Sweetness - Why are They Bad?

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Sugar and Sweetness - Why are They Bad?

 

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2007/04/05/sugar_and_sweetness_why_are_they\

_bad.htm

 

 

With Easter coming up in a few days to bring us sugary eggs and sweet

chocolate bunnies, perhaps this is a fitting time to talk about our collective

sweet

spot - sugar addiction.

 

 

Personally I am keenly aware of the dangers of sugar and the craving for

sweet things associated with it - I did great damage to many of my teeth before

I

really knew. Yet, I have not written much about this ... but this morning, I

found a letter - yes, a letter, not an email - from Austin Linkinhoker, a

student who asked the question: He said

 

" I am focusing on how sugar affects the society; specifically, is it bad? "

 

Of course I had to answer, and since there is no well rounded single source I

could point Austin to, I did a little search and found that when you really

start looking, the situation may be much worse than many of us think it is. My

conclusion in a nutshell:

 

SUGAR IS POISON AND SWEETNESS

PROVIDES IT WITH THE HANDLE OF ADDICTION.

 

Two years ago, in Food Additives, Sugar and IQ

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/01/15/food_additives_sugar_and_iq.htm

I referred to a study that

assessed " The Impact of a Diet Low in Food Additives and Sugar on the Academic

Performance in 803 New York City Public Schools " (see a graph of changes

induced by the diet here

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2007/04/05/sugar_and_sweetness_why_are_they\

_bad.htm ), but there is much more to sugar than school

performance.

 

My friend Chris Gupta has several articles on his site that discuss the

dangers of the sweet stuff. Sugar negatively impacts

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2004/08/04/the_negative_impact_of_sugar_on\

_vitamin_c.htm levels of

vitamin C in the human body, and we all know how important

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/07/09/researchers_vitamin_c_deficiency\

_widespread_link_t

o_heart_disease_infections_cancer.htm vitamin C is. Cancer cells just love

sugar http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/nutrition/sugar.htm , but don't look for

government to tell you how bad sugar is - after all, there is a powerful sugar

industry

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2004/06/30/why_the_government_just_said_no\

_to_less_sugar.htm that lobbies those bureaucrats.

 

We know that sugar has few nutrients and the calories it provides can be

obtained from other, less damaging foods. But it is the sweet tooth that gets us

-

against all better knowledge.

 

Anyway, just for the record and for what it might be worth in preventing some

of the future damage sugar is sure to be doing yet for some time to come,

here is the letter I received and my answer:

 

- - ---

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

Upon conducting research on the topic of sugar and artificial sweetness: its

effect on our society, I came across your company's name and wanted to contact

you for possible information, referrals, and/or suggestions. I am focusing on

how sugar affects the society; specifically, is it bad?

 

I am a student in the Leander ISD, in Texas, and am conducting research for a

dependant study in the QUEST (Quality Utilization and Enrichment of Student

Talent) program; a program for advanced research. I have selected sugar as my

area of study, focusing on the effect it has on humans. I will be making a

multimedia 45-minute presentation in the month of May as a result of my

findings.

Therefore, it will be greatly appreciated if you could send me any

informational materials and/or referrals you might be able to share on this

subject.

 

Please use the above address, in care of my instructor, Ms. P. for any

materials you may send. You may also e-mail me at my instructors school e-mail

address, and she will forward your correspondence to me...

 

Thank you in advance for your considerations.

 

Respectfully submitted, Austin Linkhoker

 

----------------------

 

A spoonful of sugar - Image and article by Mike Hunter.

http://www.todayscacher.com/2005/feb/health2.asp

 

- - ---

 

Hello Austin,

 

I have received your letter asking for information on " how sugar affects the

society; specifically, is it bad? "

 

You have a worthwhile theme of research there, although you may well run into

very established (financial) interests that might not like what you find.

They are doing what they can to sell us sweetness as a " natural " craving.

 

Sugar and - by extension - sweetness probably constitute one of the most

negative factors in our quest for good nutrition, good health and a long,

untroubled healthy life. Starting with cavities in our teeth, the effects of

sugar

extend to the whole organism and in time are often the cause of premature

invalidity and death.

 

Some sources on where to start with sugar:

 

http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/nutrition/sugar.htm

 

http://www.aces.edu/dept/extcomm/newspaper/mar12a03.html

 

http://www.healthyteeth.org/cavities/sugar.html

 

THE DEADLY DIET

 

Circling the world in the 1920s and '30s, Dr Price and his wife found the

same sinister pattern among 'primitive' populations, whether isolated Irish

fishermen, tribal Africans, Pacific Islanders, Eskimos, North and South American

Indians or Australian Aborigines. Those groups that followed their traditional

nature-based diets enjoyed good health and vigour, and those that turned to the

'civilised' diet of processed, sugar-laden foods soon developed a variety of

ills, including misshapen bones and teeth - and the situation worsened with

each generation.

(from http://www.rejoiceinlife.com/books/bookNutrit.php )

 

 

But it does not seem that sugar as such is to blame. It's the " sweet tooth " ,

our desire to eat sweet things, which unfortunately is drilled into just about

every child from the time they're born until it's too late to stop... Mothers

are putting sugar into baby bottles, and giving sweets to kids as a " reward " .

They do not realize what they are doing.

 

Once conditioned, we think we " need the sweet " . When we find out the harm

sugar does, often we turn to artificial sweeteners. But there we find a whole

new

world of side effects that are different but perhaps not less serious than

those of sugar...

 

Some links to start looking:

 

http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

 

http://www.newstarget.com/sweeteners.html

 

Don't take my word though when I say sugar and sweetness are bad. Do your own

research and make your own decisions.

 

Anyway, I wish you fun on your voyage of discovery.

 

- - ---

 

See also:

 

Savoury foods high sugar warning

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6528995.stm

Researchers found meals such as Tesco crispy beef with sweet chilli and

Asda's sticky chilli chicken had more sugar content than vanilla ice cream. They

said labelling was confusing as sugar could be classed as dextrose, fructose,

glucose and sucrose.

 

 

--

 

posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Thursday April 5 2007

 

URL of this article:

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2007/04/05/sugar_and_sweetness_why_are_they\

_bad.htm

 

 

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http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2007/02/05/sugar_consumption_and_pancreati\

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http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/10/09/sugar_fao_scientific_consultatio\

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