Sugar is killing us – and few of us are aware of it.
As school starts up, students find themselves on the quest for healthy food options. But whether they realize it or not, many foods that are deemed “healthy” are not so.
Most of us are consuming far more sugar than we realize.
The Canadian Sugar Institute estimates that the average Canadian consumes between 51 and 53 grams of added sugar per day.
That is the equivalent of more than nine two-kilogram bags of sugar per year.
Added sugars are found in many of our seemingly healthy foods. So while we might think we are making healthy choices, we are in fact poisoning our bodies with excessive amounts of sugar.
That Sugar Film is a documentary about an Australian man’s journey from eating no added sugars, to consuming the national daily average. After 60 days of this diet, he had significant weight gain, his liver was failing, and he carried the signs and symptoms of a pre-diabetic.
But the man didn’t eat any candy or junk food during the experiment. He consumed the sugar from seemingly healthy foods alone.
The film states that nearly 80 per cent of the foods we eat have added sugars in them.
One needn’t look far to discover the adverse effects sugar has on the body. Studies have linked sugar consumption to heart disease, diabetes, cancer and more.
Ultimately, it’s important to make informed decisions and be aware of the gravity of this issue. An awareness of our sugar consumption is necessary to lead healthy lives.
After all, the first step to finding a solution is admitting there is a problem.
The recommended maximum daily intake of added sugars for a woman is around 25 grams. A pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks has double this amount of sugar in a regular serving size.
If you were to drink one of these every day for a week, you will have had the equivalent of nearly two cups of sugar.
This isn’t including the added sugar you might consume in other varieties.
The solution to the sugar crisis is not a simple one. With added sugars sneaking into most foods we eat, it is immensely difficult to find ways around the sugary catastrophe. It’s imperative that we read nutrition labels and pay close attention to how much sugar we are consuming.
You are the only person who can choose what food you put into your shopping cart and into your mouth. Only you can decide to take charge of your health.
And you should before it’s too late.