Is Sugar Becoming the Next Tobacco?

Andre Evans
NaturalSociety
February 24, 2012

Recently it has been recognized that high levels of sugar consumption can be the culprit for a number of health defects and issues faced today. Many individuals also agree that the rampant levels of sugar consumption among the populace seem to suggest that there is an issue with individuals maintaining or exercising self control.

Most ‘organic’ sugar is not necessarily bad in the case of produce (as it comes in low doses along with a cocktail of empowering nutrients), though fructose is heavily embedded within the American diet and elsewhere. Many fruits and vegetables often contain small amounts of unprocessed sugar that is acceptable and fair for consumption. Despite this, processed chemical sugar concoctions like high-fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners like aspartame are generally the norm and are often more readily available than pure or healthy sweeteners.

Many reports find that these forms of sugar are often addictive; creating a chemical craving in you that fuels your desire to have more of the same product. In this respect, some would even say that there is a legitimate cause for concern when considering the ability to consciously mitigate and eliminate sugar from one’s diet.

Some suggest taking regulatory actions to show and forcibly create a level of discretion against sugar consumption, though this is not the most effective answer on an individual level. While the industry needs to address the dangers of excess sugar consumption (and the presence of mercury in high-fructose corn syrup), change also begins starting with the consumer. It takes education to sway the decisions of consumers away from highly marketed sugary products that are harming their health.

One of the problems is that sugary products and empty carbs are more featured in the food supply than ever before. Various junk foods, candies, and ‘sugar water’ drinks with added flavor are pushed and placed across the consumer base. These foods do nothing for nutritional intake as a whole. As a result, people often desire more nutrient dense foods and proteins, which are scarce in the general consumer market.

For most of the day, people are replacing their need for real nutrition with a placeholder of sugar and junk, which is often easier, cheaper and more plentiful to supply than ‘real’ food. Thus overall sugar consumption increases. The other major issue is the prominence of artificial sweeteners used within foods. High fructose corn syrup is not raw sugar cane, but a highly refined form of chemical sugar product that produces a number of health problems.

Sugar is not particularly harmful when derived from fruits and vegetables, though the risk increases when over-consumed or eaten in one of its dangerous refined chemical product forms. Despite this, there is a real need for sugar intake to be mitigated across the board, and replaced with real nutritional foods. Balanced diets should be utilized with more emphasis on protein and nutrient intake, as opposed to any form of tasty gratification that is offered to us by the food industry.

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