On September 12, journalist Anahad O’Connor, New York Times, wrote the article entitled “How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat”, based on a recent discovery and paper published by Stanton Glantz, a professor of medicine at U.C.S.F. and an author of the JAMA Internal Medicine paper.
The paper suggests that five decades of research into the role of nutrition and heart disease, including many of today’s dietary recommendations, may have been largely shaped by the sugar industry.
“The documents show that a trade group called the Sugar Research Foundation, known today as the Sugar Association, paid three Harvard scientists the equivalent of about $50,000 in today’s dollars to publish a 1967 review of research on sugar, fat and heart disease. The studies used in the review were handpicked by the sugar group, and the article, which was published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, minimized the link between sugar and heart health and cast aspersions on the role of saturated fat. Even though the influence-peddling revealed in the documents dates back nearly 50 years, more recent reports show that the food industry has continued to influence nutrition science.” –Anahad O’Connor New York Times
The article was instantly interesting to me as I have recently been feeling the negative effects of consuming sugar. I have never been great at “keeping an eye” on my diet. The first time I actually really physically felt how food makes a difference in not just your physical appearance, but your mood as well, was after a long sailing trip. For three months, we only ate freshly caught fish, freshly bought vegetables from the market and maybe here and there some rice. After those three months we arrived at a marina, which was adjacent to a McDonald’s, and excited for a burger, our group of six ordered six happy meals. We weren’t happy for long, though, because 30 minutes later, we all felt sick as nausea and fatigue set in.
The second time I felt the effects of you-are-what-you-eat was during and after the time I did a two-week vegan challenge. I noticed that the hardest craving I had to beat was the one for sugar. I also felt how it negatively affected my energy levels and mood once I began eating it again after my two-week cleanse.
Also during that time, I was forced to look at all product-labels; only then did I notice the ridiculous amount of sugar that is added to everyday products. Here’s the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day, according to the American Heart Association (AHA): Men: 37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons. Women: 25 grams or 6 teaspoons.
One thing’s for sure: Just because there’s a nutrition-oriented statement on the package (like "contains whole grain," "excellent source of calcium," "fat-free," "100% juice" or "25% less sugar") doesn’t mean it does not contain a shocking amount of sugar.
Yogurts, my favourite breakfast food, often have 10-20 grams of added sugar per cup (8oz). Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars (all flavours): 1 bar = 12 grams sugar. Kellogg’s Smart Start Strong Heart, Toasted Oat: 1¼ cup = 17 grams sugar. Prego Fresh Mushroom Italian Sauce: ½ cup = 11 grams sugar, 90 calories.
But the real sugar-surprise came in beverages. We all know that Coca Cola is bad for us with 26.5g sugar in a 250ml can! But others that I did not expect were just as bad or even worse! Arizona Iced Tea: 16 ounces = 48 grams sugar, 180 calories. Glaceau Vitamin Water: 20 ounce bottle = 32 grams sugar, 125 calories.
Without being aware, I had been consuming way more sugar than recommended. This is a serious problem, still unbeknown to many, something that this recent study also reminded its readers about.
“As of 2016, sugar control policies are being promulgated in international, federal state, and local venues. Yet CHD risk is inconsistently cited as a health consequence of added sugars consumption. Because CHD is the leading cause of death globally, the health community should ensure that CHD risk is evaluated in future risk assessments of added sugars.
“Policymaking committees should consider giving less weight to food industry-funded studies, and include mechanistic and animal studies as well as studies appraising the effect of added sugars on multiple CHD biomarkers and disease development.”
Now more than ever, we have the power and information at our fingertips to find out what is and what is not healthy for us. As this recent paper proves, it is dangerous to assume something is good for us just because we are told it is. Read between the lines, look at who published the study, look past the labels and listen to your body.
Read the full JAMA Internal Medicine paper online at: http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2548255
