Not Such a Sweet Deal

Back in the 1960s, the Sugar Research Foundation not only funded a study intended to refute any claims that sugar played a role in heart disease, but actually paid Harvard scientists to provide the desired conclusion, specifically that heart disease was caused by saturated fat, not sugar. A bold lie with grave consequences.

This led to widespread adoption of the idea, considering its publication in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1967. Of course, the study's sponsorship was omitted from the report. From that point onward, the sugar industry has continued to fuel the fires that incorrectly blame dietary fat for heart disease.

According to a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, whose work was pulished in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 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.

And now here we are nearly 60 years later, where 40% of adults are overweight or obese, and 20% of children are in the same condition.

Skyrocketing obesity aside, we see a dramatic increase in heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay, not to mention depression and dementia.

The sugar holidays run from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas to Valentine's Day to Easter, and there are birthday cakes and desserts scattered along the way. No wonder we are all so sick.

Pastries and candies are obvious souces of sugar. But hidden sugars are pervasive in processed foods and in meat products like bacon and sausage. Don't forget condiments and sauces either.

Here are some of the many names for sugar that are lurking behind strange sounding phrases or even innocent words that might seem ok.

So, what are we to do to reclaim our health? First, be aware and read all food labels. Second, take decisive measures to reduce and even eliminate sugar from your diet.

Sugar is highly addictive and sure, it tastes great. But are those sweet hits really worth the long-term damage?

You may find that health and vitality taste much sweeter.

Cravings will disappear when you stop feeding them, when you eat healthy organic foods and grass-fed beef or lamb, when you stay hydrated, when you spend time outdoors... in other words, when you invest in your health today for a better life tomorrow.