What is sweet? People in this country have strayed from what Mother Nature provides as sweet and delightful. The consumption of fruits was once gratifying enough to quench the curiosity of the sweet tooth without consequence. Nowadays people don’t have the time to eat organic foods and instead opted for the convenience of mass-produced, heavily processed and nutrient deprived fast foods and beverages. Most of these factory produced food products today are extremely sugary. That sugariness is a contributing factor to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity and tooth decay. Many low calorie sugar substitutes have been developed, approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and consumed in large quantities by the general public as a solution to decrease these health epidemics. But because of an increase consumption of sugar substitutes in a variety of foods and drinks, government agencies and health-conscious consumers now ask are these sugar substitutes safe in large quantities, and are they relieving or contributing to the health epidemics?
Sugar substitutes are often referred to as “intense” sweeteners. Their intense sweetening power allows for very small amounts to be used, therefore only adding a small amount of calories to foods and beverages. As a result, they substantially reduce or completely eliminating the calories in certain products such as diet beverages, light yogurt and sugar-free pudding. In addition to lowering calorie intake, sugar substitutes do not contribute to cavities or tooth decay. When the body eats more than the allocated calorie intake of 2300 kcal, depending on body mass and metabolic rate, it starts storing it as fat therefore increasing the obesity rate in this country. Lower calorie intake is t...
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...any other high-potency sweeteners, and is likely to become a major source of high-potency sweetener for the growing natural food market in the future (1-10)”.
History has proven that people have been consuming sugar substitutes for centuries without any adverse affects. Unless there is a global conspiracy against a healthy future for mankind, sugar substitutes are the new way to combat diabetes and obesity worldwide. Sugar substitutes allow consumer to maintain a level of sweetness in their food without the calories, tooth decay and diabetes associated with table sugar. Some individuals consuming low-calorie sweeteners may feel more satisfied with their eating plans, helping them to lose weight and keep it off. This ultimately gives the consumer the power and knowledge that these chronic epidemics can be beaten with little sacrifice of the sabotage sweet tooth.
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
High fructose corn syrup was first created in the 1970s by the Japanese as a form of sweetener. Combining 45% glucose and 55% fructose it was the sweetest substance yet and its cheap production, longer shelf-life, and versatility helped it over the next three decades emerge as the dominant sweetener on the market. However, despite its success, it has most recently been noted that effects of the substance are extremely detrimental to consumers, and its increased use directly correlates to the rise in obesity and diabetes among Americans.
Sweetness is usually correlated with sugar. The problem with sugar, otherwise known as sucrose, is that it has a lot of calories. These calories lead to weight gain if not spent by exercise, but now that humans have the knowledge and technology to create various substances, there are artificial sweeteners that do not have calories at all and taste even sweeter than sucrose. Many Americans avoid sugar-sweetened drinks by drinking beverages filled with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame to avoid weight gain. However, studies have shown that the adverse neurological and visceral effects of aspartame demonstrate that artificial sweeteners are more harmful than helpful; therefore, artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame, should not be ingested.
"Why single out sugar-sweetened beverages when cookies, candy, and other products with lots of added sugar and fats are equally unhealthy, consumed in large quantities
Walking down the streets of the United States, it seems impossible to avoid the sight of a major problem that is growing at extreme and fatal rates. This problem is known as obesity, which can lead to many other health problems such as diabetes and high cholesterol. One of the many causes for this is an unbalanced diet filled with foods high in fat and sugar. When given the choice, it is safe to say that many would be quick to grab a chocolate bar over a chai kale smoothie when hunger strikes. Many food companies have tried to follow the trend of the love of sweet foods by adding a fatal ingredient to their products. This ingredient is sugar.
The Sugar Busters diet claims that sugars, such as refined sugar and sugar processed by the body-starches and complex carbohydrates, are toxic to the body. The Sugar Busters diet operates under the belief that only a certain amount of insulin is necessary for survival, and too much will have a negative impact on the body. The intent of the Sugar Busters diet is to lower cholesterol level, obtain weight loss, increase energy, and improve the body’s health; the diet achieves this by eliminating food high in sugar from the diet. Sugar is eliminated from the diet because it stimulates excess insulin to be produced by the body, which increases cholesterol level and allows the body to store fat. By controlling the insulin, the body can use stored
High-fructose corn syrup is fructose produced from corn and concentrated for use as a sweetener for such commercially made food items as fruit-flavored drinks, carbonated beverages, baked goods and spaghetti sauce. High-fructose corn syrup is close to naturally occurring fructose found in fruits and vegetables, but this sweetener is slightly higher in fructose. In addition, the fructose is "free," meaning it is not bound to glucose the way it is found in nature. While HFCS serves as a cheap and readily available sweetener, it has also been linked to the epidemic of obesity that has plagued the world since shortly after HFCS was introduced to the market. Though there are likely many causes for the obesity crisis, this discussion will focus
The Sugar Overload video is a very interesting report which intends to demonstrate how food industries and health organizations work hand in hand. Since both industries are enormous, they have discovered that it is better to work together than against each other. They have done so by deceiving consumers about the amount of sugars in their supposedly healthy foods and by diminishing the health problems related to sugar consumption.
“Sugar addiction is a rapidly growing epidemic (Teitelbaum, 2010).” According to researchers, on average an individual consumes one-hundred pounds of sugar each year. Americans spend billions of dollars a year on gym memberships, healthy foods and beverages, and exercise equipment. Despite the economic strain, Americans continue to make room in their budgets for weight loss products.
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
In 1999, it was generalized by the (FDA) as to be used as a general purpose sweetener in the United States along with 80 other countries. Sucralose is used in many different types of sugary foods and beverages such as carbonated soft drinks, low calorie drinks, maple syrup, yogurt, breakfast cereal, ice cream, and dietary supplements. Low calorie drinks may not seem like they would be sugary, but often times more sugar is placed into low calorie foods and beverages to make up for the lack of calories. According to the Sucralose Fact Sheet, studies have shown that Americans are incorporating sucralose more so into their diets in order to increase their healthy eating, and lower their calorie counts. As a result of the addition of the chlorine atoms, the Sucralose doesn’t affect the body in any beneficial way. Sucralose cannot be broken down or made into energy, and because of the chemical composition it isn’t considered a sugar or a carbohydrate. As a result of this sucralose does not raise blood glucose or insulin levels, making it safe for people to use with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. In addition to Sucralose being beneficial to people with diabetes, no effect on metabolism, safe for the environment, can be used in a weight reduction program, it also doesn’t cause tooth decay, is compatible with common food seasonings, and is
You are out for a quiet lunch with your family, the waitress walks over and your 6 year old child asks for a lemonade with their lunch. Sure, you think one glass of soft drink won’t hurt right? Wrong. That one, seemingly innocent glass of lemonade contains a whopping 6 teaspoons of sugar. I doubt that you would let your child eat 6 teaspoons of sugar from a bowl, so why would you allow them to consume it in the form of a sugary soft drink? Sugar is highly addictive, can cause cancer and is causing childhood obesity. The proliferation of sugar in society is causing widespread problems like obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancers, tooth decay and acid wear. Additionally, Rethink Sugary Drink claims that one can of soft drink a day can lead to an annual
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.
Sugar, the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, is found in almost everything. Sugar is found in cake, candy and soda as well as in other less obvious food items such as hot-dogs, mayonnaise and hamburgers. In North America, sugar is consumed in extreme quantities and the consumption rate is only growing larger. Doctors and health professionals warn people about the horrible effects of sugar on the body, but what about on other aspects of our being? What exactly are the effects of sugar? This essay will attempt to prove how large amounts of sugar is our daily diet have negative effects on our physical health, as well as in our emotional health and mental health.
The first step is to understand the effects of sugary drinks on the human body. Daines states that, “Many factors contribute to obesity, but there’s one pernicious one: added sugar” (632). Consumption of sugary drinks alone has held an increasing placement in our daily eating routine. As stated in A Tax That Invests in Our Health, “We consume about 300 calories more a day than we did 30 years ago, and most of those calories come from sugar-sweetened sodas, energy drinks or fruit-flavored drinks” (632).