Sugar consumption is on the increase, if I look back over my life I cringe at my own sugar intake. Is this what I want for my kids. People ask Nic and me, why are you doing this? Our main reason is to catalogue global health information, for our family and anyone else who is interested.
This article will show the sugar contents in baby foods. Some of you will find quite shocking, I know I did. This is the follow on from ‘The History of Sugar’, and will give a brief explaination of the effects of sugar on the body and the effects of sugar on the brain.
High Sugar Diets
I have come to the conclusion, that governments and industry will never stop selling sugar, regardless of the impact it has on our health. They will tax us more for eating it, just like cigarettes, but never stop the sale. It’s just too profitable in many different ways, not just for the sugar industry. On the face of it looks like the government is doing something about it. But, is a tax on fizzy drinks, really going to solve the obesity epidemic?
If they banned everything that causes illness or damage to us and the environment, a few things would happen. We’d all feel better and probably stop becoming as ill, and there would be nothing or very little on the shelves to buy.
Quite a scary thought when you think about isn’t it. The only way they would stop selling poison would be if we stopped buying it.
Effects of Sugar on the Brain.
We know sugar affects us by altering brain functions and brain cells. Nutrition labels don’t clearly show where the added sugar is, but if you scratch below the surface, it is right in front of our eyes.
In 2012 a study using rats that were fed on the high fructose corn syrup american diet to raise blood sugar levels. The work showed that excess sugar hampered cognitive function, causing memory problems and learning difficulties. Sugar was basically dumbing down the rats. This research proved that sugar affects brain functions.
The Effects of sugar on the Body
Cancer cells are cells that have gone rogue and mutated to become immortal, our bodies then wrap them in a tumor to protect us. These once normal cells that at one time required oxygen now require, drum roll please. GLUCOSE to survive. That’s right SUGAR feeds this terrifying disease in fact it’s the fuel.
In any science lab if they’re testing a bacteria they put a sugary solution in a petri dish to help the infections proliferate. Now call me a cynic, but if our diets are high in sugar, and if sugar feeds all of these diseases, I wonder what’s going to happen. Answers on a very small postage stamp please.
Sugary foods destroy teeth, cause weight gain and they also contribute to skin aging and pro-aging in general. If food companies make something that’s highly addictive, that causes diseases like type 2 diabetes, people will still continue to buy it because they are addicted to it.
What a business model, more or less fail safe. What’s more impressive is that we actually think sugar is a treat to consume because we deserve some sort of reward.
Eating too much sugar comes with plenty of add on sales potential, illness for one. More illness equals more drug prescriptions.
The Sugar Con
Also don’t expect MPs to help. A few of them actually back sugar. In just a quick search, I found nearly 20 MPs who support or lobby for the sugar industry. Here are a few.
George Eustice MP, Caroline Spelman MP, Jo Churchill MP, Dr Caroline Johnson MP, Nic Dakin MP, Greg Knight MP, James Cartlidge MP, Keith Simpson MP, Lucy Frazer MP, Matt Warman MP, Peter Aldous MP, Richard Bacon MP, Simon Hoare MP, Victoria Atkins MP.
Start them young on high sugar diets! Babies & Blood Glucose Levels.
Aptamil is owned by Danone. It earns $26bn from sales and the company is valued at about $50bn. They also own nearly 100 brands like Activia, Danette and Evian.
Aptamil Hungry 800g Easypak (Powder)
A 5-6 month old baby requires 5 feeds in a 24 hour period with 7 scoops of formula in every serving. A daily total of 35 scoops, each scoop contains 4.7g of Aptamil formula powder, which is mixed in 210ml of water. Each serving has 15.2g of sugar (Lactose) times 5 servings equals more than 75g.
SMA owned by Nestle has a market capitalisation of about $250bn and global sales approaching $100bn.
SMA Follow on Milk 800g (Powder)
6-12 months 3 feeds per day in 180ml each bottle requires 6 scoops each weighing 4.4g of SMA milk formula, this amounts to about 45g of sugar (lactose) every day. Each feed will contain roughly 15g of sugar.
An American cancer expert called Professor Lewis Cantley, says he never eats anything with added excess sugar. This chap is one of the leading experts in the USA and the World, and he’s not on his own.
Here in the UK, children are eating 3 times the recommended amounts of sugar, and since 1990 a child’s sugar intake is four times higher.
We are walking petri dishes. It’s no wonder we are dropping like flies from diseases that are unnecessary. Don’t take our word for it do some research for yourselves, you’ll see that high sugar diets are making us ill.
Also if you are looking for alternatives don’t go for Aspartame, Saccharin or Sucralose as a sugar free option these come with dangers as well.
4.7m people now have diabetes in the UK, and it’s growing, it is expected to hit 5.5m by 2030. That sounds like a sales forecast.
A good read is a book by Dr Robert Lustig called Fat Chance – The Bitter Truth About Sugar.
*Disclaimer – Please note, we are not Doctors or trained medical professionals. We are not giving medical advice. Check with your doctor or health practitioner before trying anything.
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