Back in 60’s and 70’s the medical establishment were pondering why there was an increasing number of heart related health problems in the West. The incidence of heart disease and related factors was increasing alarmingly.
The eventual finger of blame descended on fat with a piece of research done by Ancel Keys a nutritionist from the University of Minnesota. The food industry grabbed this “evidence” and so the “Fat makes you Fat” mantra was born. It sparked an avalanche of low fat / no fat products that provided the food industry with a new angle to sell to the public.
In 1972 a British professor called John Yudkin who founded the nutrition department at the University of London’s Elizabeth College wrote a book called “Pure White & Deadly”. He challenged the theory of fat issues and pin pointed sugar as the problem. The lobby against him was immense and basically went into overdrive to discredit this sugar thinking. The food industry had a lot to lose and went the full mile to dismiss his thinking. By the end of the 70’s nobody dare publish anything that had sugar as a headline item for cardio health. At that time Yudkin knew more research was need to fully understand the sugar link but the vested interests of the food industry were not listening. Are they now?
Not all sugars are the same of course. The body cells need sugar to function ideally in the form of Glucose. We all need to be aware of other forms of sugar which are often hidden in the products or small print.
Some common names to look out for are as follows:
High fructose corn syrup, Fruit juice concentrate, Evaporated cane juice, Crystalline fructose, Corn Sweetener, Syrup, Maltose, Lactose, Sucrose.
Beware Artificial Sweeteners
There are a number of low-calorie artificial sweeteners on the market, which are frequently used in diet drinks and sugar-free products. These sweeteners are lab-created chemicals and have been linked to cancer and other adverse health effects. They are also thought to mess with your metabolic pathways making you hungrier and leading to higher overall calorie consumption. These include:-
Aspartame (NutraSweet and Equal): Used in most diet drinks, this has been banned in many countries.
Sucralose (Splenda): Often found in protein powders and other such products.
Saccharin (Sweet’N Low): Created in the late 1890s, this is much sweeter than sugar.
So that’s a very short history of how we are with sugar. There is now no doubt that sugar, and particularly hidden sugars, are a big health issue across the Western world. We have become accustomed to the tastes and the food industry has not taken any responsibility for the shift in nutrition that modern foods fail to deliver.
Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Obesity, Cardiovascular Disease are all linked to this issue. We need to get higher quality nutritional foods into the everyday diet and also recognise there are a number of actions and products that can help to control cravings. Appleseeds can help with further advice, Just ask.