Back as little as the 1800’s… the per capita consumption of sugar was only around 12 pounds per year in the United States.  But by the 1990’s, it climbed to the amazing figure of 137.5 pounds per year!

‘So?’ …. I hear some saying… tis simple, really… sugar is a killer – just slower than other chemicals.  Obesity is one obvious problem – but did you know that it also impacts the immune system, robs the body of vitamins, and leads to heart disease?  The medical impact of the amount of sugar we stuff into our bodies is not immediate such as shooting heroin… it’s more along the lines of tobacco.  But not any less deadly for the length of time that it takes.

Research has shown that Type II Diabetes, for example, can be directly linked to the sugar intake … An interesting fact that I ran across is that Eskimos, prior to taking up the traditional American diet, had *no* known cases of diabetes.  Yet as soon as they started eating traditional American food… it became as common a problem as it is among Americans.

I’m no doctor or researcher – but from what I gather – when your body detects large amounts of sugar, the pancreas produce insulin, which has the job of regulating and controlling blood glucose (sugar).  The problem that occurs, is that the human body wasn’t designed to handle the amount of sugar that we routinely toss at it nowadays… and the body starts to break down… cell receptors for insulin either stop working or become far less effective (this is what is known as ‘Diabetes’).

Sugar is the number one food additive used in the United States… it’s used 10 times more than all other 2,600 or so food additives combined.  (Salt is a distant second.)  Your typical 12 ounce soft drink, for example, contains about nine teaspoons of refined white sugar.  Sugar can be found even where you wouldn’t think of it… Ketchup, for example … one tablespoon of ketchup contains one teaspoon of sugar!

Everywhere you look you’ll find sugar… breads, soups, cereals, hot dogs, lunch meat, spaghetti sauce, salad dressing, mayonnaise, peanut butter, pickles, tomato juice, canned fruits & vegetables… everywhere you look!

The number one form of sugar that you commonly see is ‘high fructose corn syrup’… which is merely a cheap form of sugar.  ‘Cheap’, of course, means more profits, and who is averse to earning more money??  Start reading labels; you’ll be amazed at what you find.

(By the way – I dislike to too much salt as well, I think the average American diet already has far too much, and you’d be surprised at how hard it is to find condiments and mixed spices that don’t contain salt)

Contrary to popular belief, there isn’t a ‘healthy’ version of sugar.  Many people presume that ‘brown sugar’ is healthier… but the ‘brown sugar’ found in supermarkets is merely refined white sugar with some molasses tossed back in for color.

Glucose, Galactose, Fructose, Ribose, Sucrose, Lactose, Maltose… all simply names for varieties of sugar.  It’s my understanding that the body treats all of these exactly the same… as sugar.

“Fruits and Vegetables”… how many times have you heard these two connected together?  Yet vegetables are far more nutritionally dense and healthy for you than most fruits.  Fruit generally contains far more sugar content as a percentage of the whole than vegetables.  So keep an eye on fruit… particularly fruit juices, which contain all of the sugar, and virtually none of the fiber…

All food can be broken down into just three components… Proteins, Fats, and Carbohydrates.  Quick… which is absolutely essential, and what can be done without?

This may surprise you, but while proteins and fats cannot be taken away without health consequences, you can live quite well without carbohydrates (which is merely another word for sugar).  And despite the cries of vegans everywhere – you can live quite healthy on a diet of just meat & water.

Now, I’m no doctor, researcher, or health specialist… but judging from the health of America as a whole, I’d be careful about accepting what they said without careful consideration.  Some doctors would agree with everything I’ve said here, others would cross their fingers and recite an incantation to rid me of my evil possession.  Draw your own conclusions…

 

 

James A. Michener might be a name familiar to those of you who like to read – he’s written many fine books, including ‘Sayonara’, ‘Hawaii’, and ‘Texas’ for examples…  But one book that I read long ago sticks in my mind.  (which, of course, is the goal of any good author!)

He detailed in Sports in America how our educational system brought us up with sports that very few will ever continue to play once past High School or College.  Oh, we’ll have the occasional company softball game… but sports that people can play for the rest of their lives are generally not taught in our educational system.  A few are, there are the occasional Golf or Tennis classes being taught.

As might be rather obvious from this website – I’ve gotten lucky with learning a sport that I can practice the rest of my life… I’ve been rather fortunate in having had the chance to start learning Judo while still in High School, and it has definitely been good to me (health wise) over the years.  But Judo isn’t for everyone.

I really don’t have any suggestions… other than perhaps to look into sports that are not quite so team oriented.  After all – who wants to gather up a dozen of their friends each time they want to work out?

But as a society, our problems are even worse… according to the latest news reports that I’ve seen, 17% of our children are obese!  Did you know that only a few states now require physical education in elementary, middle, and high school students?  That’s a sad commentary… isn’t it?

There was clearly a time long ago when physical education wasn’t nearly so important… after all, our grandparents probably had to milk the cows, feed the chickens, and so forth… but today – kids drive or take the bus – and when home, sit in front of the T.V. or a computer.

Today, a sport such as Judo, or any other sport that you can do for the rest of your life, is more important than ever.  Have you found yours?