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The Reframing Of A Killer: Sugar Is Good
As I was doing some internet research recently, I came across a banner ad that said, "Skip artificals. Go natural. Sugar: sweet by nature. Only 15 calories per teaspoon."
As I was doing some internet research recently, I came across a banner ad that said, “Skip artificals. Go natural. Sugar: sweet by nature. Only 15 calories per teaspoon.”
Hmm. . . seems like they have a fairly clear message. Too bad it’s completely absurd.
Here’s what I gleaned from the ad: artificial is bad, natural is good. Mother Nature is responsible for sugar, the perfect sweetness of sugar. Why would mother nature harm us?
I clicked on the banner ad because my curiosity got the best of me. .. Besides, maybe there was some new research that would allow me to freely eat sugar instead of worrying about diabetes. The banner linked to a main page which offered up a taste comparison between sugar and artificial sweeteners. It also gave me the information that sugar is natural, just like a crisp apple, and has been around since 200 B.C.
On the other hand, we’ve got the “phonies”, artificial sweeteners, which are concocted by chemists (who are clearly not Mother Nature, and don’t have our best interests at heart), and were developed in the last half of the last century. It’s all so scary and new. . . how can we trust something that hasn’t been around since 200 B.C.?
(Oddly, the website gives no props to the non-chemical, all natural sweeteners such as Agave syrup, maple syrup, barley malt sweetener, molasses, honey. . .none of which mess with the body’s glycemic index and are therefore not contributing to the diabetes epidemic we find ourselves in the midst of in this country. Weird. . . why not mention those options?)
I suppose it’s possible I’m being overly sensitive as a result of my brush with death as a result of sugar poisoning (which I take total responsibility for as an adult with the ability to choose between what is or is not healthy). This reframe, however, did irritate me.
Lately many industries have had to do some damage control as a result of bad press (and potentially dangerous products)—the tobacco industry, the dairy industry, the meat industry, the fast food industry, oil and gas industries. . .Our reliance on all of these products isn’t doing the environment or our bodies good.
Sugar used to be considered a luxury item. Now it’s in almost every product you find on the shelves of your supermarket.
But take heart. According to www.gonaturalsugar.com, “The sugar in a bag at the store is sucrose, exactly the same as the sucrose you find in a piece of fresh fruit. Sugar is not a substitute for fruits and vegetables.”
Interesting thing to add. . . ‘Sugar is not a substitute for fruits and vegetables.’
At the top of the ironically named “Sugar and a Healthy Lifestyle” page it says, ‘Sugar is more than a “fun” food ingredient, it’s an essential one you can consume with confidence.’
Essential? Really? There are three essentials aside from vitamins and minerals-proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Yes, carbohydrates are technically sugars, but reading this sentence about granulated sugar being essential is deceptive and fraudulent and yet, I have to admit, it’s a fabulous reframe of a deadly substance.