The Importance Of Sugar Consumption In America

In their 2012 article, "The Toxic Truth about Sugar," Lustig et al argue that sugar, like alcohol, ought to be regulated by governments due to the harm it can cause to individuals' health and the public good. Their argument, at first glance, appears to be highly logical and virtually unassailable: alcohol is regulated because it is bad for health and causes other problems for society, and so sugar which is the cause of much greater and more pervasive health problems and is also detrimental to the social and cultural fabric of the peoples of the world in a variety of ways involving the agricultural industry and global development should also be carefully regulated and controlled. The researchers cite actions taken in other countries along the same lines as a further justification of their call for more control when it comes to sugar content and consumption, and clearly spell out some of the concrete harms that increased sugar consumption has had and will have on the world's population, not just in developed/industrialized countries but in all countries adopting similar diets. This adds up to a very compelling picture of the threat that sugar specifically and "junk food" (calorie-dense and nutritionally-lacking consumables) generally constitutes to the world population.

The past fifty years has seen a spike in the consumption of sugar, that number totaling a tripling increase. However, sugar is not the only risk factor here, alcohol and tobacco can also be attributed with the spike, albeit not as prevalent as sugar. The biggest question that Lustig et al. poses to its’ readers is this: “What aspects of the Western diet should be the focus of intervention”? (par. 3) The current USDA has been deemed “boogeymen” of diets, as well as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Lustig et al. all believe that our attention should be turned towards “added sugar”, which is a sweetener that has fructose in it. Perhaps the biggest controversy from the past fifty years has been none other than a severe culprit that experts know as high fructose corn syrup or HFCS.

Sugary beverages suggest a poor dietary quality; they are loaded with added sugars and attribute to the body’s energy density. “A 20-year study on 120,000 men and women found that people who increased their sugary drink consumption by one 12-ounce serving per day gained more weight over time—about 4 pounds per year” (19). Through increasing the daily intake in trivial increments, the body substantially results in an increased BMI (body mass index) and an increased body fat percentage score. Another study conducted at Harvard found that a 60 percent increase occurs in children for each 12-ounce they additionally drink daily. (________) The growing correlation between obesity and sugar has led to further studies, and statistical data. Researchers have revealed that in total, “half the people in the U.S. consume sugary drinks; 1 in 4 get at least 200 calories from such drinks; and 5% get at least 567 calories.” It was additionally found that one-fourth of Americans are consuming more than 135 grams of sugar per day from soda and other sweetened beverages, which compares to people of the past who only had 10 grams of fructose a day (_____). Such a high daily intake of sugar and calories illustrates the risk that arises when people consume too much sugar; that is, sugary drinks result in weight issues and medical consequences.

Sugar is everywhere in our lives. When you eat, sugar is in the food such as hamburger, sandwiches, pizza, bread, etc. When you drink, sugar is in the beverage like soda, juice, coffee and even milk. Furthermore, sugar exists in snacks such as cookies, cupcakes, biscuits and so on. I cannot list everything with sugar here. Actually, when we eat, we eat sugar. Unfortunately, sugar is now considering a toxic to our bodies. It causes diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart attack and cancer, etc. As sugar threatens the public health, government is considering curb sugar consumption by taxes on sugar; restrictions placed on food production and even age requirements on purchasing sugary foods. For this research project, I decided to pursue the question, Should sugar be regulated? This question deserves to be examined because we need to make some change for life to reduce sugar intake but at the same time it’s controversial that whether the government should intervene and regulate sugar. I wonder how the government will take appropriate measures to regulate sugar as well as improve public health.

Ultimately, the debate continues as to whether the US government should create strict sugar regulations or not. Sugar regulations should be enforced in order to decrease the rate of diabetes, risk of liver failures, and sugar addiction problems. These problems outright can ruin a person’s life, even leading to death. These problems give the necessary reason for the government to take action for a stricter sugar regulation for population

One of the common disease in America caused by the excessive consumption of sugar is obesity. In America, the obesity rates had increased in the last decades and affects different on each person. The effects of sugar on people depends on the race, gender, and age of Americans. According to an

She challenges the basic assumption of the work by Ian Leslie, in which he seemingly claims that because sugar is the true cause of health issues in Dr. Key’s findings that his work should be discredited. Pett correctly points out that dietary decisions are rarely so objectively one sided, and instead postulates that perhaps both sugar and saturated fats could produce similar effects.

Thesis As I said earlier high fructose corn syrup is commonly used for a cheaper sugar substitute. But government subtitles aren't the only price we are paying. Fructose corn syrup is much more fattening than sugar. Michael pollen states in omnivore's dilemma that “Kids in the us today may turn out to be the first group of Americans with life spans that are shorter than their parents.” This important because fructose corn syrup is part of that. If we keep eating the way we do things are not going to go well. Already “momently 17% of children and teenagers are obese in 2015b compared to 5% back in the 1970s”. If we keep eating way it could lead to debits heart problems and more food policies need to be change so there is not even a possibility of choosing colorful high fructose corn slurp over an apple

Gary Taubes argues that sugar is a killer. The major flaw of his argument is that he doesn’t have any concrete evidence that shows that sugar is indeed the killer. However, a lot of the evidence hints that sugar may be the cause of many of the catastrophic health problems. He has built a case that leads back to the 1600’s about different studies and how they have might of hinted to the dangers of sugar. He shows how places like Southeast Asia who once lived off a lot of reined grains had a low level of obesity and health problems, but once they adopted a Western diet those rates increased. Sugar may not be the only possibility this happened, but it has a lot of potential to be. Another key point to this whole argument is how a lot of studies

When most people think about sugar, their first thoughts are not: heart disease, addiction, or slow and painful death; yet, unfortunately, these conditions are very real consequences of the unregulated and excessive consumption of sugar. In Nature’s article, “The Toxic Truth About Sugar” (2012), Robert Lustig, pediatric endocrinologist; Laura Schmidt, Professor of Health Policy at UCSF; and Claire Brindis, Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy at UCSF, evaluate the world’s ever-increasing and toxic struggle with the substance sugar – also discussing counter measures to promote healthier diets amongst American’s and other societies. Lustig and his colleagues develop their argument using statistical evidence as they address the global impact of sugar, refuting minor oppositions, before dissecting each harmful aspect of the substance – even comparing it to substances more known for their toxicity. Eventually, presenting readers with possible routes of regulation, the authors firmly suggest government intervention in the production and sale of sugary foods. Although the argument is well executed, I remain unconvinced that government intervention is actually necessary.

Fat was viewed as the original epitome of evil when it came to health issues. However, as of recently, the tides may have changed and redirected towards sugar. The American diet has been reducing fat but sugar-related issues like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease has continued to plague Americans. Some scientists put the blame on sugar and the increasing sugar content in all the foods that are being consumed. Still, it is hard to prove this and studies are tackling the issue. However, studies and journals are being published to analyze the difference in health when we replace sugar with starch and the possible patterns that will be revealed.

This documentary was a very interesting one. What I learned that I wanted to reflect on was sugar. Sugar was pointed out many instances in the film. It didn’t matter if it was high fructose corn syrup or cane sugar, any type of sugar is not good for the body. The film pointed out that we eat twice the amount of sugary foods than in 1977, and it is startling to know the amount of sugar were consuming is still on the rise.

Is sugar toxic? Is it directly related to diabetes, heart disease and obesity? While I enjoyed this film, that hypothesis ran through my head. As someone who struggles with obesity, I found this documentary to be fascinating and on a deeper level, personal. Not only does the documentary, Sugar Coated, teach us that although sugar is an extremely addicting ingredient and that consuming it in excess is dangerous and can lead to obesity-related diseases, it also vividly explores the relationship between what the film calls “The Sugar Association” and what we believe to be the truth about the effects of sugar. It really makes you think and ask the question, “are we being lied to about sugar and the dangers of excess, for a profit?”.

Purpose: I want to persuade my audience that sugar is a dangerous drug that is damaging America?s health.

What they do not put into account is just this, which was stated in an article by Anahad O’Connor, “It has been found that at least 73 percent of Americans report working out one or more times per week. Twenty-nine percent spend between 30 minutes and an hour working out, whereas 18 percent spend between one and two hours a day exercising.” This study was performed in 2013, where now we can come to believe that those rates are decreasing in the amount Americans are working out based on our country being number one on the spectrum of obesity rates. Those low rates of the people that workout have no control over telling people that sugar is an okay substance. Of course no matter what if you have a low intake of sugar then it means no harm to you, but as previously discussed it is virtually almost in every food item on the market especially in the fast food market, which is an exceptionally large growing market. The average Americans spends close to $1,200 on fast food each year which is equivalent to three months worth of food being purchased at these food chains. With that being said, with our eating habits with the way that they are there is a near impossible movement that can be done in order to stop the fast food crisis serving us a meal full of unhealthy sugar. The other thing is that when all of the cells are rejuvenated and are energized from the sugar, then that excess sugar has nowhere to go so it is stored at that fat as we have talked