Diabetes Epidemic

@ezzrssi (11187)
Italy
May 11, 2007 9:38am CST
It's all over the news these days and yet Doctors still seem stumped as to the cause of the surge in the dis-ease. Research shows that obesity is linked to the dis-ease and further research shows that refined sugar in large doses is the cause of excess stored fat. In the last decade sugar has become a staple ingredient in 75% of the foods consumed everyday often hidden in the foods we eat. On top of this the pharmaceutical industry estimates that diabetes is a 98 billion dollar a year business. Now take all of this information and add that one of the largest pharmaceutical companies Monsanto is also one of the worlds largest controllers of the food supply. Isn't it odd that Doctors still don't see the connection. Considering all of the research that shows refined sugar to be responsible for many degenerative dis-eases do you think enough is being done to educate the public?
2 responses
@johnwoon (125)
• Malaysia
12 May 07
I'm surprised that doctors, among all people, do not see the link between sugar and obesity and hence diabetes. Laymen like myself are already aware that sugar in any form is the culprit to our health problems. We also know that all each typical bottle of the most popular frizzy drinks contains 9 table spoon of sugar. SUGAR IS THE HIDDEN POISON TO OUR BODY, PERIOD! http://diabetics-guide.blogspot.com http://stopobesity.blogspot.com http://doexercise.blogspot.com
@mmiller26 (1930)
• Canada
11 May 07
It's surprising that they haven't made the connection when so many others have pointed it out. When the "low fat" craze came out, food manufacturers started putting high fructose corn syrup in the foods to make the foods taste better. You can find HFCS in everything from bread to hot dogs. It's cheap to produce. Cheaper than sugar, even. And it causes an immediate dramatic spike in blood sugar, which stimulates insulin production. (Insulin is the fat storing hormone.) After the blood sugar spike, the blood sugar drops dramatically, which results in craving for more sugar. It's an endless cycle that eventually wears out the pancreas and it can't produce its own insulin anymore. Then you're diabetic. The trend toward prepackaged, processed foods and decrease in physical activity only makes the situation worse. People are drinking regular sodas, which is just sugar water. People are drinking 100% fruit juice, which is 100% sugar in the form of fructose. Instead of eating a piece of fruit which has fiber to fill you up, they drink the juice instead and get the calories and sugar of multiple pieces of fruit. (For example, it takes several oranges to make one glass of orange juice). People need to be eating protein when they eat sugar to help balance the spike of blood sugar. And people need to eat closer to nature instead of eating everything out of a box or can. I think if people were eating animal fats and proteins, beans, fruit and vegetables instead of cheeseburgers, french fries and chocolate shakes, we'd be better off. And people need to get off their couches and out from behind their computer screens and start exercising. Our poor kids are becoming diabetic at younger and younger ages because they're eating so poorly. In North America, we're fed better than any other continent in the world, yet our children are actually malnourished. We need to break away from white sugar, white bread, white rice and pasta. We definitely need to scrap the high fructose corn syrup. And start encouraging our families to eat better and exercise together.