None of us could eat.
The day before, we had been sent a Canvas announcement to bring candy and popcorn for a movie we would watch in our Food Science class. Diligently, we showed up that Thursday with an array of gummies and chocolates. We got two bites into the faux-meal.
After seeing the impacts of sugar on the human body within the first 30 minutes of the documentary “That Sugar Film,” I doubted I’d have a strong appetite for the rest of the day.
As addictive as smoking, alcohol or drug use, refined sugar is a deadly delicacy that should have further regulations and increased awareness among Americans.
The facts about refined sugar’s effects on the human body speak for themselves: refined sugar is digested by the body faster than natural sugar, but, like alcohol, the liver metabolizes sugar by converting dietary carbohydrates to fat, which can lead to greater accumulation of fat. Too much refined sugar can also raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, which are two paths to heart disease. Refined sugar poisons your body by increasing risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, heart disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Mentally, refined sugar plays a role in mood problems, anxiety, depression and cognitive decline.
In moderation, these effects are less likely to take place; however, the average American consumes almost double the recommended amount of refined sugar. In fact, one bottle of Coca-Cola already gets to the recommended 10 teaspoons a day. That’s not mentioning the amount of refined sugar in everyday products: Heinz Tomato Ketchup has 32 teaspoons per bottle, a cup of low-fat yogurt contains 11 teaspoons and Powerade contains 8.7 teaspoons. Some of these foods, such as the low-fat yogurt, are marketed as “healthy,” when they are anything but.
While citizens should maintain their own healthy diet, it is an uphill battle when refined sugar is as prominent as it is. “Healthy” choices promote their products as fat-free, but replace the fat with sugar, eliminating any true benefits to the body. America’s obesity epidemic is not just from consuming fast food — true healthy options are few and far between.
Instead of just requiring added sugars to be listed on the Nutrition Facts label, the U.S. should follow the footsteps of other countries, like the United Kingdom and India. It should lower the recommended amount of refined sugars from less than 10% of total calories to the 5% recommended by other countries, and implement taxes on soft drinks based on sugar content, similar to the UK.
Refined sugar is OK in small doses, but a serious change needs to happen regarding its prevalence in American society and grocery stores. Students should look at what they’re putting in their body before consuming, and shop more carefully with their parents. Furthermore, schools should educate students on the dangers of sugar the same way they do with smoking, alcohol and drug abuse.
Despite how sweet sugar might taste, its effects are poisonous.
