Sugar Is Not the Enemy. We Are the Enemy.

Holidays should have been a more pleasant experience for me as a young girl. “There’s enough sugar in that candy to make your teeth rot and fall right out of your head.” Dad was emphatic and relentless. Long after the sweetness of the sugar subsided, the fear and guilt remained. Harsh as those words might have been at the time, I believe that those underlying values taught by my Father have guided my healthy lifestyle all along.

Let’s skip the debate for now about the possible toxicity of sugar and focus on the CONSUMPTION of sugars (including high fructose corn syrup and others). But if you wish to delve further into the toxicity issue, read this discussion from Scientific American: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/brainwaves/2013/07/15/is-sugar-really-toxic-sifting-through-the-evidence/

In the case of my argument here, the reality is, it could be anything that we consume that is harmful, not necessarily sugar. Consumption is a choice, made by us as individuals. I understand that children don’t have an equal opportunity in making food choices, and neither do those with limited means. They are, in fact, at the mercy of the choices made by the majority of adults. That’s where the market goes. If there wasn’t the demand, there wouldn’t be the ubiquitous supply.

http://sheknowsathletics.com/tricky-nick-names-for-our-worst-enemy-sugar/

How Do We Change, Then?

If our food suppliers are giving us what we demand, and some of it is harmful in excess, it makes sense that we need to start demanding less of it. And don’t blame the advertisers. It’s their job to glamorize the product of their client so they can tempt you to buy it. Each and every day, the path unfolds with every step we take. The small steps woven together define the line we have traveled. Life involves decisions at every level and there’s always something pulling you in the wrong direction. Develop the correct habits and deny the bad ones, one decision at a time.

At Some Level, You Are a Leader

This is important. Leaders create change, whether for good or for bad. Maybe your leadership role is as a parent, or simply as a trusted friend whose words influence another. Lots of individual decisions directed toward doing things differently is what we call momentum, a movement. Create the change in yourself first and lead by example. But there’s no sense in bemoaning our sugary fate as a society and continuing to feed the machine. It really does start with individual choices.

Sweeteners Are Everywhere

Making the choice to consume less sugars in the food you eat will mean more work for you. You will also have to transition your tastes. You will have to educate yourself to make better food choices. Fast food is always easier than slow food. You might be inconvenienced. But, as always, you make the choice.

I buy a flatbread in Supermarket that has these ingredients: whole kernel rye, water, rye flour, sunflower seed, iodized salt, oat fiber, and yeast. Nothing else.Try reading the label on the bread you eat. Please. You probably would not like this flatbread. It’s not sweet. The texture is very different from a normal piece of bread. I didn’t enjoy it either, at first. Now when I try what I used to eat, the sweetness is evident and unwanted. I made the same transition cutting back drastically with the use of added sugar, although it was primarily in coffee. Not a big deal, but over time, even this small change becomes significant.

There’s no need to win a debate about whether or not sugars are toxic. Too much of anything can be toxic to our bodies. The evidence is overwhelming that we consume too great a quantity of sugars, and the problem, at this point, is worsening. There is not a doubt that this is a critical lifestyle choice for you and for our society. I don’t know that anyone can accurately calculate the cost to our society of our habits and choices of excess. There is no quick and easy solution, but as with any solution, you can make it begin at home. And most likely at home, you are the leader.

PS When I sit down to share thoughts with you, I imagine it as a meeting of friends…old friends. We share an unstated love of ideas, in the exchange of which we might sometimes disagree. Nevertheless, we smile and keep on going. When it’s time to go home, we shake hands, part again as friends, and on the way home feel glad that we met together one more time.

Thank you for stopping by, old friend!