I am 81 days into an unexpected, unplanned and unwanted home renovation. Adding to my bad mood syndrome is pre-cooked, pre-assembled, pre-package, ordered and delivered food. The only interaction I have had with food is to open the plastic and eat. For the most part I’ve relied on healthy food delivery, and fresh salads with protein to stay full. But every once and awhile overwhelming cravings for sweets, carbs, French comfort food, and good wine take over.
In one of my worst moments I happened on a NY Times article, “Is Sugar Toxic?” and connected to Robert Lustig’s viral presentation “The Bitter Truth.” Lustig is an MD and Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology who studies child hood obesity. His conclusion is sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup is the cause of among other things obesity and heart attacks. He is an anti-sugar evangelist, and I imagine a prickly thorn to the likes of American Beverage Association, Corn Refiners Association etc. His passion was a match for my renovation related anger and resulting food tantrum. I ate a bit of lettuce, some hot tea and when to bed. Think about this and walk away from the frig:
- 1 20 oz coke a day = 20 lbs of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) a year
- Americans consume 63 pounds of HFCS a year
- Prior to WW II Americans consumed 16-24 grams of HFCS a day by 1994 we consumed 54.7 grams
- Today adolescents consume 72.8 grams of HFCS
