Americans consume too much sugar, and our collective sweet tooth is killing us.
The February 3, 2014 issue of the JAMA Internal Medicine reported on the largest study of its kind in medical history. The study revealed that adults who consumed the most sugar had an almost 3 times greater risk of dying prematurely from heart disease.
“Too much sugar does not just make us fat; it can also make us sick”. Laura A. Schmidt, a professor of health policy at the UC San Francisco School of Medicine, wrote in a commentary that accompanies the study.
The study finds that 71.4% of US adults get more than the recommended 10% of their daily calories from added sugars in foods and drinks-and that higher levels of sugar consumption are correlated with higher risk of death due to heart disease. Added sugar were defined as “all sugars used in processed or prepared foods, such as sugar-sweetened beverages, grain-based desserts, fruit drinks, dairy desserts, candy, ready-to-eat cereals, and yeast breads, but not naturally occurring sugar, such as fruits and fruit juices.”
If you had read my past blogs or the many health books out now on heart disease you already know this. High cholesterol and saturated fats are not the problems in our diet, as much as too much sugar. It looks like the medical associations are finally acknowledging this truth.
Two great health books that we mentioned in the past and that we have at the office to read are: “The Great Cholesterol Myth” by Bowden and Sinatra, and “The Anti-Inflammation Zone” by Sears. We are even giving out a free copy of the Cholesterol book in our Spring basket raffle this month. Stop by the office and put your name in the raffle for a chance to win this prize.
Stay tuned for more healthy living tips every month at out website www.wellnessdenatcare.com .
Rev. Dr. Stephen A. Lawrence
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