Sugar is not just an empty calorie, he says; its effect on us is much more insidious. “It’s not about the calories,” he says. “It has nothing to do with the calories. It’s a poison by itself.”…. If Lustig is right, then our excessive consumption of sugar is the primary reason that the numbers of obese and diabetic Americans have skyrocketed in the past 30 years. But his argument implies more than that. If Lustig is right, it would mean that sugar is also the likely dietary cause of several other chronic ailments widely considered to be diseases of Western lifestyles — heart disease, hypertension and many common cancers among them.
It’s interesting how our assessment of risks and benefits tend to change over time. When this happens, of course, it’s generally more a matter of perception than empirical reality, but what was once beneficial/risky transmogrifies into risky/beneficial. Remember our Reefer Madness period, when marijuana shrunk testicles, caused cancer, and turned stoners in ravenous sexual predators? Remember when Diet soft drinks and artificial sweeteners were determined to be the answers to America’s collective expanding waist line? Remember when sugar was Of The Devil? Yeah, well…that was then, and…wait, what? Sugar still is Of The Devil?
As the owner of a prodigious sweet tooth in my own right, I struggle with the internal conflict created by the knowledge that sugar isn’t exactly a universal good. On the one hand, I understand (or at least I think I do) the health risks posed by sugar in all its varied forms. On the other, sweet things taste good and they make me happy. If you want to see me light up like a Christmas tree, just set a slice of tiramisu in front of me; it’s like instant happiness on a plate. Sure, I know that sweets come with a price, but I’m like a lot of folks in that instant gratification too often takes precedence over long-term common sense. I’m not fat; I work out regularly and (more often than not) eat sensibly. Still, sugar is such a ubiquitous and pervasive part of our world that even I have to face reality now and again…and I HATE having to do that.
As I get older, I find myself becoming more health-conscious and more cognizant of exactly what I’m putting into my body. Perhaps I’m just becoming more aware of my own mortality, and perhaps I’m trying to reduce the risks I face and increase the odds of living a longer, healthier life. Having said all that, though, I really have only one thing to say….
YOU CAN HAVE MY TIRAMISU WHEN YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD, DEAD FINGERS….
