The Overloading of Sugar in America
Today's average American consumer ingests 2 to 3 pounds of sugar a week! We say "ingest" because in many of the cases, we're not even aware we're "eating" sugar. This is a dramatic increase even in the last two decades. In the 1980s, we, as a nation consumed some 26 pounds to 135 pounds per person in a year! Now compare this to the late nineteenth century ? specifically the years from 1887 to 1890 ? when the average American ate only five pounds of sugar in an entire year! It comes as no surprise then that cancer and heart disease were virtually unknown back then!
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Additionally, too much sugar increases our risk of developing diabetes as well as a host of other health problems not normally associated with sugar consumption. Eating too much sugar suppresses your immune system, which then makes you more susceptible to colds and other illnesses. An excess of sugar consumption has also been associated with an increase in the development of cancer.
But its hazards don't end there. Excess consumption of sugar has also been linked with making existing asthma conditions worse, increasing the severity of arthritic conditions, as well as exacerbating mood swings, even prompting personality changes.
And if those aren't enough reasons to make you stop in your tracks when you see any form of sugar, here are a few more. Sugar has been associated with an increased cholesterol level and that can lead to a heart attack.
Then there are the "hidden" problems you'll discover when you eat too much sugar, like finding it hard to sleep at night. When you eat much sugar ?even inadvertently ? your heart rate increases and your body finds it extremely difficult to relax. Even your mind refuses to slow down. Think about the last time you had trouble sleeping, finding it hard to turn your mind off. Could an over consumption of sugar have been the cause?
Perhaps you've noticed that you've been retaining a bit more water than usual. It could very well be because of your sugar consumption. Those last five or ten pounds you can't lose on your diet may be due to the ubiquitous sugar in our society.
Ever get into one of those mental funks when you just can't think clearly? Recent research has confirmed that sugar actually interferes with brain wave function, making it more difficult to concentrate at long stretches at a time. The consumption of sugar also makes it harder to learn as well. Many times, sugary snacks and soda drinks are the reasons why some children struggle in school.
As a nation, our sugar consumption is growing by leaps and bounds. The sad ? and frightening ? aspect is that for the most part we are not aware of all the ways that sugar "creeps" into our diets. Even when we make an honest attempt at limiting the amount of sugar we consume, we're receiving this potential poison from the most unlikely of foods. Our lifestyle and the level of processed foods we eat make it difficult for us to completely drop the sugar habit.
