Sweet tooth

Got the Sugar Blues?
I remember reading a book several years ago 'The Sugar Blues' by William Dufty in which he refers to sugar as being an addictive agent comparable to cocaine! Additionally, he highlights interesting research that determines another cause of motor vehicle accidents/deaths - sugar. A high sugar diet leads to such disruption to the human physiology that it can cause drowsiness and poor reaction time. Time for the police to start 'pancreas testing' alongside random breathalyzer testing!

The Fifth Estate Documentary
Thank you to a good friend who shared a recent Fifth Estate, eye-opening documentary about the negative impact that sugar consumption is having our health.

Now if you are truly wishing to improve your health, the health of your family and those you know I highly recommend you watch the full documentary. However, I'm summarizing below the key points that you need to know about:

• The average Canadian is consuming 26 teaspoons of sugar per person per day or 40 kg per year (that works out to be 20 bags of sugar per year)
• Sugar is prevalent in highly advertised food products that are literally 'designer foods' with high sugar content designed to sweeten the products and spike the profits generating a near $3 trillion per year revenue in North America alone.
• Dr. Robert Lusting author of 'Fat Chance' states that sugar is a 1000 times worse than fat. The latter of which gets all the attention in media and nutrition books.
• Dr. Lusting estimates that 100 million + in North America are either diabetic or pre-diabetic and predictions are that by 2026 there will be nothing left in health care funds as diabetes will have chewed (pardon the pun) through it all.
• Dr. Lewis Cantley of Carnell University is a cancer specialist and believes cancerous tumors have insulin receptors that essentially increase the demand for sugar in the diet and that through the average North American diet this supply is being provided leading to a perpetual growth of any existing cancerous tumors.
• Professor Suzanne Delamonte of Brown University is finding more evidence to support their theory that Alzheimer's is another version of diabetes that directly affects the brain tissue. I highly recommend you review this segment of the documentary at 28-minutes in to the documentary.
• Bruce Bradley, a food industry insider and author of 'Fat Profit$', declares that food manufacturers are quick to retort that 'if you're getting sick, it's your fault' placing full responsibility on the part of the consumer. However, if we are not provided with the correct information it can be challenging to make the right choice. http://www.brucebradley.com/

The full documentary can be viewed at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mzf4KSG6oQ&feature=share

The Way Forward

It's all about supply and demand. The more we continue to buy these 'designer foods' the more foods will be supplied. I recall a few years ago a McDonald's restaurant in the UK that had to close its doors within a few months of opening as most of the people in the village refused to eat the fast-food. I believe that if we each take accountability for our own health and avoid buying the designer foods then similarly without the demand, the supply will eventually disappear. 

Health is your choice.

Jason.