An average person...
...eating a western diet consumes on average 120 grams of sugar per DAY!!!!
Can you believe that?
Though the recommended dose is only 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men.
How did we get this far?
Why is has it become normal to consume so much sugar? As mentioned in an earlier post, this is due to the simple fact that sugar is addictive as hell. So in order to make a product more attractive, or rather addictive to consumers, the manufacturers add sugar to virtually EVERYTHING!
It is even common for a product to undergo a series of prototype testings. They do this to figure out which amount of sugar is best for the product to reach the so called "bliss point" before it hits the market. The bliss point is reached by adding sugar until it creates a composition with all the other ingredients that makes the product "irresistible".
And you wouldn't believe it, but this technique is applied in all foods, ranging from tomato soup to cereals to packaged bread.
But who can blame the manufacturers...
All they want to do is sell their product...
But what the frustrating thing is, that even if you would like to make a conscious decision, you can have a hard time figuring out if the product you are buying actually contains added sugar for these reasons:
- The sugar labeled in the food facts is not distinguishable
- Sugar in the ingredients list goes under many synonyms such as Corn syrup, fructose, maltodextrin and about fifty others (actually not even exaggerating)
- Even if the sugar is naturally occurring, like in orange juice, the sugar is not added, but rather the other nutrients are stripped, leaving the sugar, which is essentially as bad.
I think there has something to change. I mean manufacturing unhealthy food is the one thing, but trying to trick the customer in thinking the product is healthy is a whole other pair of shoes.
What do you think, should there be warning labels on unhealthy foods like on cigarette packages? Probably this would be gone a bit too far. But something should happen, or else we will soon collapse as a society, if all we have to do is pay medical bills.
Join me...
... on the sugar free diet, where I will go without ANY sugar for 30 days. This includes added sugar, commonly found in processed food, and also concentrated natural sugars like honey or maple syrup. The only exception is whole fruit and berries (in moderation).
Currently on day (10)
Also in on the challenge:
@psyonicphoenix
This is part (15) of the 30 days writing challenge by @dragosroua. I combined this with a mindfulness challenge. My goal with this is to improve writing & english skills as well as becoming more self aware.
I completely agree. Even as a health conscious person, trying to read an ingredients label is a complete minefield dues to tactics such as renaming ingredients / disguising ingredients etc. Which is why it is better to try to make as much as you can from scratch using whole ingredients. So in that respect is it the manufacturer who has to change or the consumer? Just thinking out loud.
Anyway you've reached the halfway point of your challenge and doing a great job at raising awareness of the effects of sugar and labelling issues! Well done and keep going :)
Thanks this means so much to me! :)
I think both should change. Manufacturers should do a better job labeling products so the consumer can make an easier decision. But in the end, this is a free world, and every body should be able to eat what he wants. This beeing said, i think its wrong to "damage" yourself by eating a very unhealthy diet, and then expect other people to pay for your medical bills. This system will collapse anyways if the number of people who needs diabets treatment and things like that continues to grow at the current rates. Well, we still got a lot to figure out...
Hey Robin, as much as I love sweets, I completely agree that sugar is making us sick. It's crazy when you think how many products have it. It's not only the sugar, though, I have been paying attention to the labels for quite some time now, and most products include hydrogenated oils, which are probably even worse than sugar.
Yeah sugar is not the only problem. The wrong kind of fat, especially transfat are often found in processed food. Those products should only be consumed on special ocasions, and not make up our whole diet. Thaks for sharing your thoughts Dan!
Oh well, I eat snickers and ice creams a couple of times a week, and they all have transfats :/ You are welcome :)
@lackrobin
Beautiful writeup!Thanks for sharing.