Have you ever noticed how children get excited by the thought of eating lollies? The sugar isn’t even in their systems and they’re bubbling with joy. Their eyes widen, their expressions carry anticipation and they’ll suddenly become compliant with a parent’s wishes prior to consuming the prize. All that and the sweetness hasn’t even danced on their tongues.
Or has it?
Human physiology has muscle memory. The mention of sweets and the sound of the crackling cellophane that contain them prompt a conditioned response of impending pleasure. We are subjected to this from the day we are born through the sweetness of breast milk and the packaged lollies we consume early in our lives.
But what are we actually consuming? What are we actually feeding to our children? And importantly, what does it do?
Well, here’s the deal…
Refined white sugar is what scientists classify as an empty carbohydrate. That means all food value is gone. The refining process removes the naturally occurring nutrition and replaces it with, well… nothing. Yet it’s still a carbohydrate.
So, what does your body do with carbohydrates? When insufficient numbers of the right nutrients are available to use carbohydrates, your body stores them –by the kilo! And you can guess where!
If you eat too much refined sugar, chances are your…
- bra size has increased,
- thighs are tighter in your jeans,
- panties have become bloomers and
- you’ve begun wearing over-sized jumpers and T-shirts.
Not to mention normal seats seem too small, you sweat uncomfortably and your walk is becoming a waddle.
Worse than all this, the build-up of fatty tissue puts pressure on your organs and, with nowhere to go, their functionality is compromised by the squeeze.
Is this the future you’re sending your children to?
Sugar has addictive qualities that rival cocaine. The immediate rush it provides is extremely satisfying making it one of the most trafficked poisons known to mankind. And, it’s legal. In fact, some agricultural economies would be decimated if it was declared illegal yet the damage it is doing to humanity is on display every time the young fast food attendant asks, “Would you like to super-size your order for an additional 50 cents?”
Poison? Yes.
The difference between a medicine/food and a poison is often just the dosage rate. At low dosage rates, common aspirin will act to thin the blood and reduce the likelihood of stroke and hypertension. At higher rates, it will cause salicylate poisoning which has led to many deaths. The same can be said of many snake venoms. At low dosage rates, many have therapeutic effects. At higher rates they cause illness and death. Refined sugar is no different making it the Sweetest of All Devils.
As parents, we don’t want to remove all the joy in our children’s lives. To balance this, we owe it to them to teach them healthy habits with sugar and all other foods.
Devils in Our Food is a comprehensive reference book covering sugar, salt, food additives, caffeine, trans fats and more. Click the link to learn more.
