The USDA Makes Kids Sugar Addicts
Sugar Is Worse than Tobacco, Drugs, Alcohol
Ancient people consumed less than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day, but our kids get many times that.
The US Dept of Agriculture requires school food to provide kids with the three macronutrients
in this PFC ratio:
· 30% Protein
· 30% Fat
· 40% Carbohydrates (starch + sugar)
Regarding sugar, research shows that fructose is a super villain, and glucose is a close
runner up because all starch breaks down during digestion into glucose. So why has the
USDA and the World Health Organization (WHO) ignored the hazards of all carbs, since
there is plenty of evidence that carb addiction harms everyone?.
Nevertheless, it’s progress that the WHO has a new guideline on free sugars, which are
the combination of (1) natural sugars found in fruit plus (2) added sugar (cane, beet,
corn, honey, maple syrup, etc.). http://who.int/nutrition/sugars_public_consultation/en/
Namely, the WHO says that the combination of natural and added sugar should not
exceed 5% of total calories. That means an adult shouldn’t consume more than 25 grams
of sugar, or 6 teaspoons, a day. At 16 calories per teaspoon, that’s a total of 100 calories.
We once ate low amounts of sugar; in the early 1900s the average American daily diet
contained about 30 grams of sugar (glucose and fructose), or 8 teaspoons, most of it
from fruits and vegetables. http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Heart_Letter/2011/September/abundance-of-fructose-not-good-for-the-liver-heart
We are sooooo far from that ideal, and few realize the cost! The WHO's 6 teaspoons is a fraction
of the actual current average intake, which ranges from 20 to 30 teaspoons of sugar!. No matter
what sugar it is— cane, beet, or corn— they are all about half fructose and half glucose. So
10-15 teaspoons are fructose (which damages the liver, see photo) and 10-15 teaspoons are
glucose (which causes the yo-yo swings of insulin levels that eventually lead to diabetes). http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Heart_Letter/2011/September/abundance-of-fructose-not-good-for-the-liver-heart Dr. Mark Hyman points
out that 15 years ago 3% of new cases of diabetes in children were type 2 diabetes: not it is 50% !
Karen Kaplan of the LA Times reports that “A single tablespoon of ketchup has about 1 teaspoon
of added sugar. A Quaker chewy granola bar with chocolate chips has almost 2 teaspoons of
sugar. A single cup of apple juice…would take up your entire recommended daily allowance”
of 3 teaspoons. http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-added-sugar-who-six-teaspoons-per-day-20140305,0,4431783.story#axzz2v9fNXRXA
Today, our intake of sugar is the highest ever, because it’s 8 times more addictive than cocaine,
and triggers the same brain receptors. http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/dr-mark-hyman-shows-deadly-sugar-addiction-article-1.1608553
Dr. Weston A. Price found that traditional cuisines included carbs-- but bread was sourdough, nuts
were soaked (then dired), and grain-beans-legumes were soaked prior to cooking (to deactivate
phytates that block absorption of nutrients). Nutritionist Nora Gedgaudas, author of Primal Body,
Primal Mind, explains that decades on a high sugar diet is so damaging that a person may need
to temporarily cut out all sugar and all starch to regain health. Some people (such as alcholics)
may even need to totally avoid carbs for the rest of their lives. She also explains why most cells in
the body prefer to burn fat.
Ancient hunter-gatherers consumed about the same amount of protein then as now, about
25% of their calories. The difference is that they got up to 60% of their daily calories
from fat (sea food, moths and other insects, the fat of grazing animals, which our
distant ancestors preferred to muscle flesh). Jared Diamond points out that pre-agriculture
humans were taller, had larger brains, and showed almost zero signs of tooth decay or
degenerative diseases.
Modern people get only half that amount of calories from fat, and it’s from animals fed
CAFO (confined animal feeding operation) ‘junk food’ instead of natural grass in sunny
pastures, so it's not good for us. Worse, many pesticides are shored in fat. Certain vitamins
cannot be absorbed without the fat they are found in— A, D3, E, K2— which explains why
Americans are now so deficient in these nutrients.
Harvard says a third of Americans have damaged livers because of this. The top photo shows
normal liver tissue (magnified). The lower photo looks just like an alcoholic’s fatty liver. But it is,
in fact, what a fructose-holic’s liver looks like.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter/images/H0911d-1.jpg
We know it’s serious because most people with fatty liver are obese or have diabetes, either
of which shortens life by 10 years.
Initially, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can be reversed by eating minimal sugar. However,
with no dietary change, the liver will become inflamed, which leads to cirrhosis— when
scarring seriously impairs liver function.
Besides the insulin-resistance, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes, high consumption of
fructose also leads to high blood pressure and heart disease (America’s top killer), due
to the consequent sharp rise in uric acid levels. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/4/895.full
When someone cuts back on carbs, it takes one to two weeks for the body to smoothly
reconvert to burning fat instead of glucose. Without a daily deluge of carbohydrates, a
person can maintain the steady energy of our ancestors, with these key traits:
1. Missing meals does not make a person ravenous, cranky, or desperate for carbs.
2. Fewer caleries will be stored in adipose tissue.
3. A person can exercise in a fasting state.
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2012/08/17/human-body-favors-fat-adaptation.aspx?e_cid=20120817_DNL_artNew_1
Remember, most humans did not eat excess carbohydrates until a hundred years ago, and we
didn't know the consequences until now. In this health crisis, we must protect our children
from sugar and starch. Reducing carbs doesn't mean protein intake should increase. Instead,
let's eat more fat, which burns more efficiently than carbs. America's current PFC ratio, 30:30:40,
makes kids and adults very sick. Alas, the best PFC ratio-- 30:55:15-- won't happen. Next best
would be to cut carbs in half, to 30:50:20, which would prevent many chronic diseases and
millions of early deaths.(BTW, sugar cravings fade after about a week of burning fat.) If the USDA
doesn't change their unscientific standards soon, California should sue them for negligence.
Forward to the past!
We know it’s serious because most people with fatty liver are obese or have diabetes, either
of which shortens life by 10 years.
Initially, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can be reversed by eating minimal sugar. However,
with no dietary change, the liver will become inflamed, which leads to cirrhosis— when
scarring seriously impairs liver function.
Besides the insulin-resistance, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes, high consumption of
fructose also leads to high blood pressure and heart disease (America’s top killer), due
to the consequent sharp rise in uric acid levels. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/4/895.full
When someone cuts back on carbs, it takes one to two weeks for the body to smoothly
reconvert to burning fat instead of glucose. Without a daily deluge of carbohydrates, a
person can maintain the steady energy of our ancestors, with these key traits:
1. Missing meals does not make a person ravenous, cranky, or desperate for carbs.
2. Fewer caleries will be stored in adipose tissue.
3. A person can exercise in a fasting state.
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2012/08/17/human-body-favors-fat-adaptation.aspx?e_cid=20120817_DNL_artNew_1
Remember, most humans did not eat excess carbohydrates until a hundred years ago, and we
didn't know the consequences until now. In this health crisis, we must protect our children
from sugar and starch. Reducing carbs doesn't mean protein intake should increase. Instead,
let's eat more fat, which burns more efficiently than carbs. America's current PFC ratio, 30:30:40,
makes kids and adults very sick. Alas, the best PFC ratio-- 30:55:15-- won't happen. Next best
would be to cut carbs in half, to 30:50:20, which would prevent many chronic diseases and
millions of early deaths.(BTW, sugar cravings fade after about a week of burning fat.) If the USDA
doesn't change their unscientific standards soon, California should sue them for negligence.
Forward to the past!