Cigarettes vs. Sugar?

An article by Mark Hyman and Ron Gutman entitled “It’s Time To Treat Sugar Like Cigarettes,” came out in TIME magazine May 1, 2024. This is what I have been saying for years and I am so excited to see this in print in one of the most widely read magazines in the US!

There is no nutritive value in refined sugar; it is simply an addictive substance that puts money in the pockets of corporations who have no investment in your actual health and wellbeing.

“The FDA recommends adults consume no more than 50 grams of added sugar per day (based on a 2,000 calorie diet), but the average American consumes closer to one-third of a pound of sugar daily, more than three times the recommended amount. To put that into perspective, the average American consumes over 100 pounds of sugar per person per year. With that much sugar consumption, it is no wonder that 49% of American adults are diabetic or pre-diabetic. What’s worse is that much of the sugar we consume occurs without our even realizing it. There are over 60 different ways sugar is identified on nutrition labels, making a consumer’s attempt to regulate their sugar intake unfairly complicated.”

It’s no wonder people are confused! Sugar is hidden everywhere. Processed/packaged "foods" make up the majority of what people are eating in the US. This is a great reason to learn to cook, make meals from fresh, whole ingredients, and  nourish every cell in your body with prana (life-force energy). Eating actual foods vs. addictive, dead, non-nutritive, chemically based, adulterated substances labeled as food, does nothing helpful for our physiology. Our bodies do not recognize substances made in labs as food, if we define food as as substance that nourishes growth and repair of an organism. Processed, sugar laden products do the exact opposite. 

“Seventy four percent of packaged foods in the U.S. contain added sugar, including seemingly healthy foods, such as salad dressing, coleslaw, and even baked beans, marinades, and yogurt; some sweetened yogurts contain more sugar than a can of soda. The fact that sugar is so biologically addictive — studies indicate it is eight times more addictive than cocaine — makes the reality that it’s hidden in so many foods even more harmful. Most of us are addicted to sugar and we don’t even know it.”

In another piece of writing I read recently, investigative journalist, filmmaker and humanitarian, Jonathan Otto shares, "Several studies have indicated that sugar is a major contributor to the growth of cancer.

Sugar is cancer’s favorite fuel…

And while we often think of sugar as just empty calories, it’s doing WAY more harm than you realize. You see, cancer cells consume up to 200X more sugar than normal cells.

This means that every sugary treat you consume is potentially feeding cancer cells, helping them grow and spread more rapidly."

If you need a reminder to steer clear of sugar, here it is. Once you are liberated from its clutches you will notice how foods like nuts, grains, and even some vegetables are very sweet. The complexity of flavors come alive and your physiology and future will be better off for it. Sweet taste is found in abundance in the juicy fruits of Summer. Maybe you are up for running an experiment of not eating sugar for a day, week, or month, or year, and noticing how you feel?

Ayurveda teaches us that adding in more bitter and astringent foods to our meals (like kale, chard, arugula, legumes, and wild greens) helps to shift the palate away from craving sweets. Eating mostly plants will also support the healthy gut microbes instead of feeding the ones addicted to sugar. In the Summer season, sweet taste is available in so many fresh foods, its a great time to try out letting go of refined sugar and see how you feel. 

I am cheering you on as you take a stand for your health by acknowledging sugar is a dangerous and life-threatening drug. Remember, if your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize something as a food/drink, you probably would do best to not to put it in your mouth. Let's take a stand for health by not (literally) buying into the fallacy that just because something is sold as food, it is safe to eat. Be a rebel this Pitta season!

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