Put down the donut: When Americans became hooked on sugar instead of natural fat, obesity ballooned – Salon
This article originally appeared on AlterNet.
In recent times, public awareness regarding the dangers of sugar is increasing daily. But why is this anti-sugar movement only gaining enough strength and support to make a real difference now?
The truth is that we haven’t had access to the full set of data until recent times. Additionally, we have been lied to and deceived by the food industry. This deception is especially the case regarding the sugar industry and select scientists who have covered up sugar’s ill effects. In essence, these people sold out our health for corporate and personal profit.
Unfortunately, the American (and worldwide) public are experiencing the consequences. As we replaced natural sources of fat for sugar (and excess carbohydrate in general), soaring rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other conditions of the metabolic syndrome soon followed. This also has been happening as Americans have been trying many different things to try to combat obesity. Some have tried traditional methods like diet and exercise, while others have tried more unorthodox methods such as hypnosis. There have been advances in this medical field, with procedures like bariatric surgery designed to help those with excess weight combat it effectively. Still, even as people have been tried to curve this seeming epidemic, it has shown little signs of slowing down.
If we take a look at the charts, based on datasets by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a federal program of studies that assess Americans’ health and nutritional status conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is evident that, as we increased sugar consumption and cut back on animal fats, obesity skyrocketed.
The rise of American obesity
In the chart below, we can see how dramatically sugar intake has increased in our diet:

(Source: Wholehealthsource)
As sugar intake increased, our consumption of animal fats plummeted:

(Source: NHANES)
The result: rapidly growing rates of obesity.


(Source: Wholehealthsource)
In addition, the CDC shockingly predict that one in three American adults will have diabetes by 2050.
An important question to ask is this: Why are we advised to restrict animal fat but told that sugar can be part of a “healthy, balanced diet”?
Dietary guidelines are not helping
Remarkably, the 2015-2020 dietary guidelines for Americans suggest that it’s acceptable to eat up to 10 percent of total calories from added sugar. This amount is approximately 12 teaspoons per day based on a 2,000-calorie diet. It’s important to realize that this number is solely related to added sugar, and ignores the possibility of large amounts of dietary sugars coming from fruit juice—which can also be harmful in excess.
Contrary to this advice, we have studies showing the perils of sugar everywhere. These studies include randomized controlled trials (RCT) recognized as “the gold standard” of science.
Although we are advised to minimize the amount of red meat in our diet, not one RCT finds danger in unprocessed red meat consumption. In fact, red meat is one of the most nutrient-dense foods in our diet and contributes an enormous amount of beneficial nutrients.
In short, the science is now in, but we are still waiting for public policy to catch up. The majority of educational institutes are still teaching our dietitians that fat needs to be restricted. Nutrition policy tells us we should strive for a “balanced” diet (that may include industrial foods high in sugar).
Generally speaking, this education translates into the health advice given to the public. Despite following this health advice, people then wonder why they are gaining weight despite adherence to the dietary guidelines. While following a diet, it is recommended to also go through a weight loss program for faster results.
In this regard, it’s particularly important to understand that many people suffering from obesity are metabolically broken. Following years of over-indulgence on refined foods, they have slowly become insulin resistant. Essentially, they are intolerant to carbohydrate. Despite this, they are recommended to eat the same one-size-fits-all high-carbohydrate diet as everyone else.
So why is such a relaxed attitude taken to sugar restriction? Perhaps it is because sugar is more profitable and has a massive industrial juggernaut behind it? It’s certainly worth questioning why our society normalizes sugar consumption. Especially when we have an inherent fear of saturated fat. In fact, the answer to this issue requires only one word: Politics.
Politics and public health
Unfortunately, politics heavily influences public health and nutrition. There are countless examples of big money dictating public policy. Over the past few weeks, you may have seen headline stories in the press regarding nutrition politics. These stories all revolve around a shocking reveal in a recently published academic paper.
The year was 1967 and America was in a panic over the emerging cardiovascular heart disease epidemic. While considered a rare occurrence just a few short decades prior, a media frenzy now surrounded the recent spate of heart attacks. Even the U.S. president himself was not immune; President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered a very public heart attack in the 1950s.
Understandably, the terrified public was desperate to reduce their risk and craved to know the cause of this rapidly increasing phenomenon. The finger of blame hovered over two potential dietary culprits: saturated fat and sugar.
Two prominent scientists of the time clashed over which of these culprits was the actual cause. Ancel Keys, an American scientist, had identified saturated fat as the culprit a decade earlier with his ‘lipid hypothesis‘. In contrast, a British professor of nutrition named John Yudkin highlighted sugar as the real villain. Yudkin was to posthumously become ‘the man who tried to warn the world about sugar.’
With hindsight, Ancel Key’s hypothesis is controversial, and many people view it as bad science. At the time, though, the theory had many supporters. Similarly, the theory of sugar being the cause of heart disease was quickly garnering popularity with several research papers supporting Professor Yudkin’s theory.
from Advanced Medical Imaging |