The Case Against Sugar

The Case Against Sugar advocates against the use of sugar in the food industry and offers a critical look at how this harmful substance took over the world under the eyes of our highest institutions, who are very well aware of its toxicity but choose to remain silent.

A common misconception is that calories are all the same, no matter their origin. And that it is how much we consume that matters most. Once these assumptions became widely spread, the sugar industry profited from them, advertising that three tablespoons of sugar have fewer calories than an apple.

Common sense and intuition tell us that this cannot be true. You’ve heard of the phrase ‘’Listen to your gut!’’ in your life, and this is exactly what you should do. Scientists have later discovered that when we eat sugar, our body produces insulin and thus stores fat cells instead of turning them into energy.

Moreover, our blood glucose rises when we ingest sugar, making us feel agitated and unsettled as our insulin goes up. Eventually, things go back to normal when the insulin levels drop. Keep in mind that you can find glucose not only in the refined sugar you see on the shelves. It’s also in carbohydrates.

Therefore, eating meals that are high in carbs will spike up your blood glucose levels as well. Be aware of the macronutrients that make up the foods you eat to avoid ingesting too much of a substance, such as sugar, which can harm you. Also, remember that not all calories are created equal.

Many studies point out the risks associated with eating sugar by highlighting the link between its consumption and Western diseases, including cancer. So it’s no secret that this substance is not suitable for you, but it wasn’t always like that. People only began to acknowledge its harmful effects after 1960, when an increased percentage of people developing heart diseases signaled a concerning phenomenon. Until then, they blamed saturated fats, although this was a biased assumption. Therefore, people developed a sugar culture, and fatal diseases started to shorten their lives. Let’s take the example of Tokelau, an island located off the coast of New Zealand. In 1968, they were granted permission to emigrate to their nearby state. Their normal diet consisted of 50% fat and roughly eight pounds of sugar per year. Three percent of the men were diabetic at this point. However, by 1982, sugar consumption increased to 55 pounds per year. Then, 11% of the men had diabetes, and others started developing new diseases. In 2014, this small community had the highest rate of diabetes in the world — 38%. Therefore, we can observe how once they discovered the sugary…