Let’s start with some definitions (taken from Google):
Food: any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink or that plants absorb in order to maintain life and growth.
Poison: a substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed.
Added sugar: processed sugars that are added to processed food (as opposed to natural sugars found in fruit and vegetables) such as sucrose, dextrose, maltose, treacle, maltodextrin, invert sugar, fructose, and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
According to these definitions, added sugar should be classed as a poison not a food. It does not contain nutrients and while it may contribute to maintaining life in that it provides calories, it certainly doesn’t contribute to growth. On the contrary, it contributes to illness and death.
Dr Peter Osborne lists ten of the biggest reasons you should eliminate added sugar from your diet in his video Sugar is terrible for you - here are 10 reasons why! (see below).
- Sugar suppresses the immune system. For five hours after eating sugar, the immune system becomes less responsive. If you consume sugar regularly, the immune system is weakened and you become more susceptible to colds and flus.
- Sugar contributes to fatty liver disease. This is especially true of fructose. HFCS is the worst contributor because it is very concentrated. (Just to give an example, Coca-cola and Heinz Tomato Ketchup are high in HFCS.)
- Sugar accelerates aging. It creates a free radical kind of reaction that damages the proteins which are needed to help your body repair itself.
- Sugar impairs memory. It is also linked to dementia.
- Sugar can cause oral inflammation. (Inflammation of the gums.)
- Sugar causes vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Sugar is an empty calorie. The body uses up nutrients to process sugar, but it receives no nutrients from the sugar. Therefore, sugar depletes the body’s store of vitamins and minerals.
- Sugar increases the risk of cancer. There are numerous major studies on this. Sugar feeds cancer and suppresses the immune system.
- Sugar causes type 2 diabetes. The research is clear. Sugar causes type 2 diabetes. Dr Peter Osborne says, “Type 2 diabetes is 100% a disease of choice. You have the choice not to have it and if you do have it, you have the choice to put it in remission, but you have to change your diet.”
- Sugar increases the risk of cardio-vascular disease.
- Sugar can lead to obesity.
And, on top of all this, sugar is addictive. If one were cynical, one might even assume the manufacturers of processed foods keep the sugar content high to make sure you come back for more!
So, where can you find added sugar?
EVERYWHERE.
If you start reading the ingredients labels on the back of the boxes and bags of ‘food’ you consume, you will be surprised. And sugar is not just in sweet products. It’s in savoury products too.
Let’s look at one obvious example — the favourite UK snack, Jaffa Cakes. Here are the ingredients:
Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Plain Chocolate (19%) [Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Vegetable Fats (Palm, Sal and/or Shea), Butter Oil (Milk), Cocoa Butter, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E476), Natural Flavouring], Sugar, Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Whole Egg, Water, Dextrose Monohydrate, Concentrated Orange Juice (8% Orange Juice Equivalent), Glucose Syrup, Vegetable Oils (Sunflower, Palm), Humectant (Glycerin), Acid (Citric Acid), Gelling Agent (Pectin), Emulsifiers (E471, Soya Lecithin), Raising Agents (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Dried Whole Egg, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Natural Orange Flavouring, Colour (Curcumin)
The first ingredient is glucose-fructose syrup, and sugar is listed another four times. Each Jaffa Cake contains 6.4g of sugar. Take another look at the definitions at the beginning of this article and decide whether Jaffa Cakes should be classed as food or as slow-acting poison.
So, I have a few suggestions:
- Go to your cupboard and start reading ingredients labels.
- Weigh the convenience and pleasure of eating processed foods against your long-term health goals.
- Throw your Jaffa Cakes in the bin.
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