Prevalence of sugar in our food stuff
When was the last time you looked at the contents on a can of baked beans? Or read the label on a loaf of whole wheat bread . . . you know the one that’s suppose to be so much better for you than regular bread? Check the label next time you are in the supermarket. You might be surprised at the amount of sugar in these products.
Forget the sodas and other sugary drinks and the cereals on the shelf that’s full of sugar . . . milk and the very formula that’s fed to our young children is loaded with this stuff. It’s no wonder there has been such an increase in the incidences of diabetes.
Further proof of the link between sugar consumption and diabetes
Recent research continues to highlight and confirmed the direct relationship between the increased consumption of sugar and diabetes. For years it has been talked about and speculated and even proven with certain scientific studies. Now, using available geographic and socioeconomic data, a team of researches have established further proof of this relationship.
We are not talking about just any sugar, however, but specifically fructose, which has been proven to be the culprit in many health related problems including weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease and of course diabetes.
The researchers followed the movement of people in certain regions of the world as they transitioned from rural settings to more urbanized lifestyles. As a result of this transition they became exposed to more sugary products which resulted in an increase in cases of diabetes and it’s related complications.
These people were use to eating a more natural diet and have now adopted the westernized eating habits whereby they consumed such sugar filled products like sodas, cereals, breads, and a multitude of other food stuff. They could also afford to buy these products in large quantities at affordable prices.
The findings were reported in the journal PloS One and Dr. Robert Lustig, who is a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, is to be credited along with other researchers, in bringing them to the public’s attention. You can watch his video which brings to light many of the dangers of excessive sugar consumption.
Of course the sugar industry is not going to let this go without some arguments as to why sugar is good for you. As a matter of fact they’ll probable try to find more reasons why we should increase our use of sugar.
Read the labels on all products brought in the markets for consumption
The contents shown on products labels are listed in the order of the amount of ingredients. Invariably, sugar will be near the top on countless items found on your supermarket shelf. It comes with many names and you need to recognize them if you want to avoid excess sugar in your diet.
For example, look at the label on your bottle of tomato ketchup. There you will find sugar listed as high fructose corn syrup or just corn syrup and it’s listed as the second or third ingredient on the label . . . meaning that something (tomato) that’s generally ok to eat has now been adulterated.
We know that consuming anything in excess will cause you to gain weight, however, from the research described above and the many other studies done on this disease, the increase presence of fructose in our food supply has been directly linked to type two diabetes. Know how to identify this ingredient and avoid it like the plague.
How to deal with excess dietary sugar
How can you deal with this proliferation of sugar in our diet? It starts by understanding diabetes . . . its root causes, how it can be avoided, what are the complications if left untreated, who are most likely to get it and etc.
Secondly, it’s necessary to know how food is labeled and, as mentioned above, specifically how sugar is disguised in our food ingredients. Always make it your duty to read the food contents label. You will find sugars labeled as:
- sucrose
- Raw sugar
- Cane sugar
- Sugar cane syrup
- Beet sugar
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Molasses
- Fructose
- Maple syrup
- Cane sugar
- Agave nectar
- Confectioners sugar
- Powdered sugar
- high fructose corn syrup (also called corn sugar)
- rice syrup or brown rice syrup
This is just a partial list. It will be listed under other names but the above are some of the more common names.
Thirdly, just understand that you must limit your consumption of sugary drinks including sodas, fruit juices, energy drinks and sports drinks . . . they are loaded with in some cases up to the equivalent of 10 spoons of sugar.
Finally, after you have done your best to avoid all these excessively sweetened products, you must become involved in some form of organized physical activity.
In spite of our vigilance we will invariably take in sugar – whether from the fruits we eat (which is the best kind of sugar to have by the way) or the sugar in our coffee. By undertaking an organized physical activity you are giving your body on opportunity to use up any stored excess glucose for energy (which is its intended purpose) or to get rid of it through natural pathways.
For more information on diabetes and how exercise can help visit exercises for diabetics today.
This is a wonderfully written article. You must have done a lot of research in this area. You have made this topic easy to read, interesting and easy to understand.