A new survey revealed the average American consumed more than 80 pounds of sugar each year.  According to the numbers, 34% of respondents said they consume their sugar in their morning coffee and “another 28% say that soda makes up most of their liquid consumption.” Health professionals warn that too much sugar can have negative health consequences.

Harvard Medical reported on a study suggesting a high-sugar diet was associated with “a greater risk of dying from heart disease.” The University also noted that a high sugar diet leads to chronic inflammation and weight gain.

Additionally, sugar can be addictive. Dr. Sean O’Mara MD told Drew Mariani that sugar affects the same areas of the brain that gambling, substance abuse, alcohol, and drugs do. Sugar can also contribute to bad microbial growth in the gut. “So you want to add good microbes to your gastrointestinal tract,” O’Mara explained, “through fermented foods, and eating good, healthy food.”

The Food Industry

Despite the health warnings, food companies have financial incentives to load up processed foods with sugar. “Sugary tasting food is a lot more profitable. The profit margins are just enormously higher than food that’s healthy for you,” O’Mara said.

Sugar History

Sugar intake was not always the target of health concerns. At one point, the Sugar Research Foundation (now the Sugar Association), funded research about the relationship between coronary heart disease (CHD) and sugar (sucrose). The study, “singled out fat and cholesterol as the dietary causes of CHD and downplayed evidence that sucrose consumption was also a risk factor,” according to an article published in JAMA Internal Medicine. At that time, the Sugar Research Foundation’s funding was not disclosed, and fat became a scapegoat. This led to “a reduction in fat consumption and an increase in carbohydrates and refined sugars.”

Even today, food corporations are still funding health research. In 2016, a study on sugar concluded “singling out added sugars as major or unique culprits for metabolically based diseases…is very unlikely to yield health benefits.” However, that study was done in a lab funded by major food corporations like ConAgra, Kraft, and The Coca-Cola Company.

Our Faith

Whatever we choose to eat we know our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19), and eating food that protects and strengthens the body is a way of glorifying God.