Most of us think we do, we use one teaspoon of sugar in our coffee, or tea. We drink 4 cups a day…voila, four teaspoons of sugar a day.
Think again!
In America in 2012 the average intake of sugar was 100 lbs a head a year. This is 30 teaspoons of sugar a day, EVERYONE, EVERY DAY!
Europe is not doing any better. There are some countries with low sugar consumptions, but in Europe the average is 80 lbs a head a year.
The exact numbers on sugar intake are not easy to be found. Because some stats are only talking about (raw)sugar, not including the artificial sweeteners, corn syrup and fruit sugars. If we add these products, the amount of sweeteners eaten in America in a year will rise above 140 lbs a person!
Most of these sugars are so called ‘hidden sugars’. The are in our food, sometimes in food we do not expect it in.
Almost half of the American sugar-intake is from soda’s and fruit drinks. Also grain-based desserts, pizza, chicken dishes and yeast breads are notorious for their hidden sugars.
On the food labels you can also read fructose. We could think…fructose is a fruit sugar, so it is a healthy sugar. Sorry, NO.
Actually, fructose can be made out of corn. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HGCS) is one of the most dangerous and harmful sugars for your body. And because of its low costs, the industry is using it a lot!
Maybe we should use sugar only to make art…?
Is sugar all bad?
There are a lot of diseases that are connected to sugar intake. The most common known diseases related to sugar intake are: diabetes, obesities, high blood pressure and heart diseases. But also migraine, bad skin, fatigue, bowel problems. However, there are many studies contradicting each other on this subject. And because Mama Buddha is not an expert, I let you find out for yourself. Check the internet, and study on it.
But if we just use our common sense, we should understand that too much sugar is not good for us. Over 40 kilos of sugar a head a year…seriously?