We may be smart, but when it comes to sugar, our brains tend to go a little gooey. Sugar is the original sweetener, and the average American shovels in over 135 pounds of it per year, much of it from sugar-saturated soft drinks; children may put away even more. Our addiction to sugar has fueled the burgeoning rates of diabetes and obesity in adults and kids alike. Pancreatic cancer has also been linked to high levels of sugar consumption. How can something so sweet be so wrong?
Despite its bad rep, sugar delivers only 15 calories per teaspoon. So a teaspoon or even two in your tea is really no big deal, unless you’re a diabetic. But a soft drink is not such innocent fun. Chug a single can of pop, and you’ve bought yourself the equivalent of a whopping 10 teaspoons of table sugar. And when taken in quantities that large, sugar, the ultimate simple carbohydrate, provokes wild swings in blood glucose levels, setting you up for the cycle of sugar highs followed by those awful sugar cravings that will inevitably sneak in, fooling you into thinking you’re hungry for more.
Corn syrup is the base for most commercial sugar sweeteners. Manufacturers prefer high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) because it is less expensive than sugar, mixes well with other ingredients, and helps to retain product freshness. It is one of the ingredients that keeps commercially baked goods, like breads and cookies, soft and chewy. On average, Americans glug and gobble about 63 pounds of high fructose corn syrup each year, or up to 10% of our total calorie intake.
That is why a recent study from UCLA, just published in the medical journal Cancer Research, is so alarming. In this study, scientists reported that cancer cells from the pancreas were able to use the fructose in HFCS to divide even more rapidly than they did when they were exposed to a glucose solution.
Other studies and statistics also highlight the harmful effects of HFCS. Women who drink at least one non-diet soda a day (most of which are full of HFCS) are nearly twice as likely to become diabetic as those who rarely drink these beverages. And it is a sad commentary on our society that children 13 and up drink more soft drinks than fruit juice or milk. Over 25% of beverages consumed in the US are carbonated drinks, with the average American weighing in at 52 gallons of carbonated soft drinks, including diet drinks, yearly. Juice drinks don't get off easy, either, since many are sweetened with HFCS (check the label to be sure). A 12 oz serving of fruit flavored punch will provide about as much sugar as a can of soda, with minimal health benefits. As an occasional treat, a soft drink or juice box probably won’t hurt, although there are certainly much better treats to be had. But as a way of life, drinking soda is one of the easiest ways there is to pack on the pounds. Drink 23 sodas in a month, less than one a day, and you’ve just bought yourself one pound. Voila!- in a year, you’ve gained 12 pounds, without even trying.
What's the best solution? Not diet drinks, which are full of chemicals, and don't really solve the issue of the overactive sweet tooth. No, the answer is simple and pure- water, carbonated or not, is the smartest choice. And if you need a little sweetness, it's ok to mix in a little bit of natural fruit juice for flavor.
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