Is Sugar Evil?

Is sugar evil? Yes and no. Is fat evil? Yes and no. Are carbohydrates evil? Yes and no, that’s my answer to this question. As I read the New York Times Magazine article, “Sweet and Vicious”, I was struck by the notion that vilifying food simply does not make sense. Robert Lustig, University of California, San Francisco expert on childhood obesity, talks about high-fructose corn syrup as the “most demonized additive known to man”. But over the last 5o years, we have isolated and then “demonized” one dietary substance or another.

Remember when every package had “low-fat” plastered across its packaging. So we demonized fat for a while and people went out and bought tasty low-fat treats like baked potato chips and cookies. What happened? We discovered that the American population continued to gain weight despite the vast consumption of low-fat food. The low-fat label made people forget about the old “calories in, calories out” concept so they tended to overeat low-fat food because they believed that it was “healthier”. We also discovered over time that simple carbs can be more dangerous in the body, as compared to fat alone. And we discovered that there are fats that are good for us such as monounsaturated fats and Omega-3′s. We need them in our diet in moderate quantities to improve health health, satiety, and blood sugar control.

In the early 1980′s sugar replaced high-fructose corn syrup (HCF) as HCF too was vilified as an unhealthful sweetener. In recent times, experts have promoted that sugar is the healthier alternative to “bad” HCF. Gary Taubes in the NYT article points out that research shows that our bodies treat sugar and HCF in the same way, breaking down into fructose and sucrose. Fructose will be processed by the liver, the liver will convert it to fat. This induces a condition called Insulin Resistance. The bottom line is that sugar is not better than HCF AND both are harmful in large quantities.

My point is that we cause an unintended volatility in people’s health habits when we demonize any given food, whether high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, fat, carbs etc.  Over- consumption of any given substance will cause lifestyle-related health conditions. The truth is that we will all die eventually. But the goal is to live a healthful life which can only be achieved through a balance in all things:

• Natural foods that nourish and help the body to sustain itself (with good fats in the mix)
• Activity, periods of stress, and intense work followed by calm and relaxation
• Communication with others AND contemplation focused on the self

Would love to hear your comments on any other foods that have been unnecessarily demonized or foods that are prematurely praised.

References:

New York Times Magazine, 4/17/11, Is Sugar Toxic?

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fat/NU00262