Video: How harmful sugar really is
Sugar can have harmful effects on the human body, but did you know that consuming High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and fructose, which is put in almost all the food we eat, is as addictive as cocaine and can even increase your cravings?
A study by the South African National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey has revealed that one in five South Africans consumes more sugar than they should.
Mail & Guardian reports that global sugar consumption has increased by 46% in the last thirty years, and the average person consumes up to 17 teaspoons (70g) of sugar daily.
In 2014, the University of the Witwatersrand did a study that recommended a 20 percent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and claimed this could be the first step in tackling obesity.
In 2016, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced a sugar tax which will be levied with effect from 1 April 2017. This move was applauded by consumer bodies and health experts.
According to Alltime Conspiracies' investigators, one in five deaths in America is linked to obesity, and the increase in sugar intake causes a dramatic increase in diseases like diabetes, obesity, liver disease, and even some cancers.
However, the investigators say the amount of sugar found in food is not an accident.
In 1971, USA President Richard Nixon asked Agricultural secretary Earl Butz to come up with a strategy that would reduce the cost of food.
Butz reportedly came up with a strategy that transforms the food we eat. Corn was the answer, and Butz increased production of the product. Around the same time, the industry came up with a new ingredient, the High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), which was put in food for mass production.
The ingredient was put in bread, cereals, cakes, and almost everything to make food sweeter, extend its shelf life, and keep people craving more.
In 2013, a study by Canadian researchers found that HFCS is as addictive as cocaine.
An addiction expert found that HFCS produces behavior that is the same as behaviour caused by harmful drugs. It also boosts fat-storing hormones.
According to an article published by Health24 in 2015, South Africa has not yet experienced the HFCS explosion because most of its sweetened beverages and prepared foods contain sucrose derived from sugar cane. However, the same foods often contain fructose which is harmful.
See other harmful uses of sugar in the video below.
Can you live without sugar? Share with Bridget.