December 31, 2009
Holistic Nutrition VS Sugar Addiction And The National Obesity Quandary
Currently, sugar addiction is directly responsible for one of the most destructive afflictions in modern society, creating an incredible problem in the United States, and many other countries around the world as well. While a general preference for “fast foods” and a group psyche that seems to suggest that there simply isn’t enough food preparation time available, might be a significant part of the issue, many professionals still point to sugared sodas and beverages.
In the last thirty years, the average caloric intake of most Americans has increased by between 150 and 300 per day. It’s also accurate to say that the average American doesn’t make up for those extra calories with any kind of cardiovascular exercise, and therefore those calories don’t serve any useful purpose other than rapidly increasing the national obesity problem.
Instead of taking a holistic nutrition line of action, we often choose to take the “quick and easy” shortcut and consume foods that we know will provide us with a “buzz” of energy, thus leading ourselves to believe that these kinds of foods must be good for us. Unfortunately, very little could be further from being true, and therefore it certainly shouldn’t come as any surprise that the American Heart Association has recently set specific limits on the maximum volume of sugar that they say people should consume each day.
The volume of fructose in our daily diet, which is commonly utilized in processed foods everywhere, has actually more than doubled since 1970. It has been estimated that most people are consuming - on average, more than 22 teaspoons of sugar each and every day, with adolescents consuming a great deal more, most likely due to their inclination for those satisfying soda drinks. It has become widely apparent that in most people sugar is often a precursor to excessive over eating, as one of its primary effects on the brain can make the body feel that it’s undernourished and needs to consume more food.
A restricted sugar diet should be part of holistic health solutions, and be considered by everyone individually. It should not be necessary for politicians to suggest additional legislation to discourage us, as is being considered by the city of San Francisco for example, in the form of a “soda tax.”
Simply being overweight can in itself contribute to a wide variety of different health conditions, and it can also place quite a bit of strain on your heart and most of the major organs as well. Obesity is a national epidemic in the US, probably more so than in any other country in the world. It is also linked to a lack of productivity, depression and other illnesses.
The number one thing consumers should do to create a path toward a healthier existence is to start reading food labels. Be particularly careful when it comes to the amount of sugar added to processed foods and always pay attention to portion size. This can be very misleading and almost invariably, the size of the portion of food that ends up on your plate is much larger than the referenced portion size on the label!
Take an individual stance and cut back, as the national sugar addiction appears to be getting worse as each year goes by.
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Recipes, Health & Personal Care
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