Do you ever wonder how much sugar is consumed by the average American in a year? Even as you try to cut out sugar from your diet, are some of the ways we consume it not as obvious as others? Both of these questions weighed heavily on my mind as I read this article. According to a study conducted by Dr. Robert Lustig the average American consumes a skyrocketing amount of 130 pounds of sugar a year! That to me is just insane and mind-boggling! Dr. Lustig’s research not only has the high amount of sugar consumption as a basis but also further shifts the focus that it is beyond weight gain and that sugar can be a very serious and potential threat to your health.
In the interview conducted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta continues to intrigue yet chill me at the same time. It is obvious that sugar can lead to various diseases such as obesity, type II diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. However, Dr. Lustig goes as far to not only claim that sugar is a toxin, but that about seventy-five percent of it is indeed preventable. It further develops into avoiding the obvious sugars as much as you can such as syrup, honey, sugary drinks, desserts, table sugar and the like. However, it is also hidden in everyday items of consumption such as yogurts as well as bread. The article states that since the 1970s, sugar consumption has gone down about 40 percent, but has been made up for it with substances such as high fructose corn syrup. Yikes!
The article further introduces a nutritional biologist at the Univeristy of California by the name of Kimber Stanhope. She is currently conducting a five-year study that backs up nearly every claim of Dr. Lustig, which shows that there is a major and strong link that high fructose corn syrup consumption increases the likelihood of risk factors in heart disease and stroke. The study in depth was monitored closely and the results were shocking. Within two weeks Ms. Stanhope stated that she found that “those who consumed high fructose corn syrup had increased levels of LDL cholesterol along with other factors for cardiovascular disease.”
I believe this has been wake up call for me as I am the usual cinnamon dolce latte drinker at Starbucks. I believe if we have this information and know the harm that this is causing, we cannot be surprised when something unfortunate comes out of it. We must be proactive and truly mindful of what we consume. We only have but one body, and we must take optimal care of it in order to have better health, which in turn results into a better quality of life.