The average individual in the United States consumes between 150 and 170 pounds per year of this ingredient according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Just 100 years ago the average consumption per year was only four pounds per individual per year.

In the eighteenth century this ingredient became a hot commodity that ignited battles It was even used as a negotiating tool.

 Political parties have helped fuel the deception and the destruction of one’s health by endorsing this ingredient to be added to food in higher and higher amounts. The truth is that 80 percent of foods in the United States may be harming you because you eat this one ingredient in almost every food you consume.

The food industry is sneaky. This ingredient has over 50 different names you may not recognize if you read the food  fact labels when you purchase food items. The FDA allows it to be listed using the 50 different names.

Up to 40 percent of all seemingly healthy, lean people show signs of metabolic distress that can be found in both skinny people and overweight individuals. No one is off the hook for health problems from eating this ingredient.  It supports hidden visceral fat to accumulate around your gut and organs. Visceral fat can release pro-inflammatory hormones which can cause inflammation to spread throughout the body. Inflammation can become a trigger for auto-immune conditions, pain, and all kinds of health problems that are rarely associated with this ingredient.

So, what is this dangerous ingredient that is so highly addictive, potentially toxic, and a hidden danger to health? Its common name is sugar. It is found in packaged, bottled or canned foods,  food that usually has more than five ingredients, or ingredients you cannot pronounce, or are not familiar with.

So how did this happen? In the 1970’s obesity and heart disease began to rise at alarming rates. Dietary fats were blamed. The food industry via the media sent the message that the people needed to eat a low-fat or even a no-fat diet to stop the high rise of obesity and heart disease. This fractured, unproven hypothesis  was being promoted that eating foods without fat, could not make you fat or cause heart disease; this was a big fat lie. When fat is removed from food, it tastes like cardboard or worse. The body needs essential healthy forms of fat to support healthy brain function, hormone balance, gut health, organs  etc. began to be eliminated or decreased in food. The food industry was financially hurting from the fat lies, so what calvary was sent to save the industry and the credibility of the politicians and special interest groups? Yep, you guessed it—Sugar.

Sugar was elevated to a place of high esteem and marketed as a healthy alternative to fat. The America Heart Association even recommended that snacks containing fat be replaced with high-sugar products such as juice, hard candy, spreads, gummies posing as an element of healthy nutrition, caffeine and ingredients to spike chemicals in the body to trigger more energy, to compensate for the lack of needed dietary healthy fat that supported energy. Health authorities such as the National Heart Association began endorsing things like boxed cereal advocating people to choose sugar as a means for being healthy!  Artificial chemical sugars entered the food industry along with higher sugar levels... Whole -fat foods were branded to be the enemy. Low fat cottage cheese, low fat or fat free milk appeared. Eliminate eating eggs or just eat the egg whites and throw away the yolk, appeared like gang busters. Dangerous artificial sugar substitutes were promoted as natural foods. were adulterated and disappeared from grocery store shelves.

Why was it not surprising that these types of substitutes for natural food that were being artificially engineered and being designated as GMO food, did not rase a protest by health officials? MONEY was the ultimate new cash cow with high profit yields. For example, consider growing sugar as your income. What made more sense? Marketing whole-fat mayonnaise that has just over two percent sugar content or marketing low-fat version of mayonnaise that has six times more sugar. Well, money talks. Ready- to eat boxed cereal may be low in fat but was allowed to contain up to 30 percent sugar.

Adding sugar to over 80 percent of foods found in supermarkets is how food manufacturers engineer temptation. The food tastes great, so you want and crave more and more. You would never think of sugar in—crackers, salad dressing, hamburger meat, hamburger buns barbecue sauce, tomato sauce, and bottled water, etc. If you only selected food products that contained no added sugar (mostly fresh vegetables) you would probable be left with less than half a cart of groceries.

 High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is linked to diabetes.  It is a loosely bound, highly unstable sugar compound that damages cells and tissue.  When HFCS products are consumed, it places a tremendous strain on the pancreas which research shows a rick of increasing  pancreatic cancer.

Think about upcoming holiday seasons. Halloween alone generates over 4 billion dollars in profit for industry giants. Sugar is the driving force behind the trillions of dollars that North American food manufacturers generate annually.

Obesity rates are skyrocketing. Is it because we are eating too much food, or because serving sizes are being served extra-large size, big gulp size drinks, family size portions for one individual with oversized portions, and the trend continues. Many experts say it is not the trend of over sized servings but the trend of adding more and more sugar into our food. With the focus on fat, sugar has been able to escape under the radar.  60 % of the USA population are obese. Diabetes and heart disease are on the rise- proving a non-fat or low fat diet doesn't  work. Confusion and brain dysfunction function are increasing, and the list of health problems continues to grow and grow. As a nation we are not healthy. We rely on energy drinks, sleeping pills, digestive aids, pain pills, laxatives, prescriptions for depression and anxiety, heart burn. and digestion pills, and a lot more to get through each day.

 In spite of all the health care and food problems, I am grateful for the medical profession of dedicated health care professionals. There is an appropriate time for using medical support services, but I can’t help but think if individuals would rediscover eating real food in its natural state, and food grown from nature in mineral rich soil we would feel a lot better and hopefully have less health complaints.

Last week I went for my 6-month medical checkup that Medicare requires for senior citizens to continue to qualify for health insurance. I am always asked to list all the prescription drugs that I take, medical procedures I am under etc. I leave all those lines empty. The nurse who checks the paperwork before giving it to the doctor always questions my lack of response. I simply reply that I am not on any prescription drugs or use over-the-counter medical products. The reaction by the nurse is usually very interesting. They ask me about my 10 minute per day exercise program, what I eat and seem very confused when I answer” I eat real food and take bioavailable, natural, organic nutritional supplements to augment the lack of nutrition in our food.” That answer seems to create a lot of stress in medical personnel. I tactfully leave out that I usually work between 12 to 14 hours per day, 6 days a week .I worry that their heart might not be able to handle that additional truth.

I have listed a few of the names for sugar as a reference in case you want to check for any sugar in the food choices you are using. This list is not complete, it is, however a list of the more popular sugar names.

Barley malt, Corn syrup solids, Fruit juice, Beet sugar, Date sugar, Fruit juice concentrate Invert sugar, brown sugar, Dextran, Glucose, Lactose, Buttered syrup, Dextrose, Glucose solids, Malt syrup Cane-juice crystals, Diastase, Golden sugar, Maltodextrin, High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the most dangerous of all the different forms of sugar. HFCS puts tremendous strain on the pancreas, putting a high risk of pancreatic cancer.

Combining sugar with other ingredients such as caffeine, is also very dangerous. Sweetened coffee beverages and soda, flavored drinks, baked goods and energy drinks, may lead to agitation, sleep problem’s, disorientation, and individuals, who are chemically sensitive- including children.

Large doses and frequent doses of sugar can stimulate the heart, dilate vessels, increase gastric acid production and metabolic heat rate. Withdrawal symptoms can be horrific with sugar addition, as with any other drug, and can induce physical craving and even death if taken along with specific prescription drugs. When 10-year-olds line up at a popular coffee shop they are not there for a cup of black coffee. They are there for something far more dangerous. Frappuccino beverages that are loaded with caffeine and staggering mounds of sugar as posted online by the Toronto Star that filmed the making of the beverages.

Here are some Suggested things to think about when choosing what to eat.

1.Eat foods that are organic whenever possible, local and sustainable sources

2. Eat food that has been around for more than 100 years with a track record for safety in sustaining health

3. Eat foods that will rot and spoil, a sign of real food.

4. If circumstances require eating a snack, choose real food—nuts and seeds, raw vegetables and fruit but not any peanuts or food made from peanuts. Peanuts are not a nut or seed; they are a legume loaded with fungus that harms the body. Avoid sugar -coated dried fruit. Dried fruit concentrates the sugar content in the dried fruit and the sugar coating adds to a lot of additional sugar. Remember to check canned vegetables and canned fruit for added sugar syrup or sugar to add to the flavor. Rinse the contents if possible.

5. Don’t eat convenience foods or food you see on commercials

6. Don’t eat anything with ingredients you can’t pronounce or recognize

7. Don’t eat anything with 5 or more ingredients as a rule.

Remember: These suggestions are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease or health condition. Please check with your personal health practitioner for personal help and guidance.

Healthy, happy eating!

Dr. Janeel Henderson