amount of sugar in a cola
Researchers at USCF think so. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241061.php
What is wrong with a little sugar or some dessert now and then. Sugar has not been in our diets for very long. It was introduced 40 00-5000 years ago, but its use in food was rare until recently. At the turn of the last century, sugar was very expensive and was not added to foods unless you were very rich. The average American ate 1 pound of sugar a year. How much sugar do we eat now? The average American eats 1/2 pound or more sugar EVERY day! That is over 180 pounds of sugar each year in the form of added sugars in foods and drinks. One 12 ounce soda has 10 teaspoons of sugar, a 36 ounce drink has 1/4 pound of sugar, so you can see how easy it is to eat 1/2 pound a day.
So what is the problem with being so sweet? First of all, sugar has a very high glycemic index. It causes the blood sugar to rise followed by insulin levels. This causes the glucose in the blood to be converted to fat but obesity is not the only problem. Sugar not only increases our weight but leads to metabolic syndrome, the precursor to diabetes and heart disease. It causes people to be overweight, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, it causes inflammation in the blood which leads to damage of the blood vessels and heart, and increases the risk of cancer.
So why don’t people just stop eating sugar? It is not always that easy. Sugar causes the release of endorphins and dopamine in the brain. This causes pleasure and an increased drive to get more sugar. It causes addictive behavior in animals and humans. All in all, this sweet subject becomes very sour for hour health.
What to do? The researchers suggest societal controls like those for tobacco and alcohol. I think this is a step in the right direction. There does not need to be an end to sweets, but we are now consuming 180 times more sugar now than 100 years ago and we can see the results. Natural sugars in fruits or low glycemic index sweeteners like agave juice would be substitutes to help curb the problem. What are your thoughts?
We know the Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.This study published in the Archives of Neurology was the first to study the brain for evidence of small vessel disease or mini-strokes. This makes perfect sense since studies show the Mediterranean diet makes blood vessels healthier. There are three reasons for this; fruits/vegetables, olive oil, and fish consumption. All three of these are good brain food. They improve blood vessel function, help to decrease cholesterol and blood pressure and decrease inflammation/oxidation. This is one of the healthiest diets available. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241760.php
