How Dangerous Is America's Sweet Tooth?

by Tara Lohan · 2010-02-26 11:34:00 UTC
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sugarGoing to the coffee shop in the morning didn't used to be so complicated. If you can navigate your way through the myriad of espresso drinks, high and low fat milk (or soy) options, and actually buy a cup of coffee, you'll likely find yourself at that fun little counter where you get to customize your drink's sweetness. Do you want sugar -- white or raw? Or is honey a healthier? And how about those packets of artificial sweetener -- yellow, pink or blue -- and what's the difference, anyway?

A recent story by Stacy Finz on SFGate.com attempts to give a Cliff's Notes version of the sweeteners out there and which may be better to use. But the topic is probably less straight-forward than Conrad's Heart of Darkness: There are conflicting opinions about how healthy artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, may be for you. And then, as Finz points out, there is also conflicting research about whether artificial sweeteners may make you lose weight or gain it. Some studies (Harvard) say sugar is worse; others (Purdue) say, artificial sweeteners are worse.

Several studies have suggested that artificial sweeteners can cause cancer, but most leading health organizations, including the National Cancer Institute, think differently. One eye-opening article by Scott Thill credits Donald Rumsfeld with aspartame's rise to power — which may be enough to give some pause.

Finz's article will brief you on sucrose, the ever-maligned high fructose corn syrup, agave syrup, stevia, Xylitol, saccharin, aspartame and sucralose. But, while it's great to know a bit more about these various sweeteners (some of which I've never even heard of), the bigger issue may be just how much sugar-like substance we're putting in our bowl.

Anneli Rufus writes on AlterNet that the American Heart Association recommends that women should have no more than six teaspoons of sugar a day; men can get away with nine. But statistics show that the average American adult eats 22 teaspoons a day, and teenagers consume a whopping 34!

How is that possible? Well, Rufus writes that a can of Coke contains eight teaspoons, a grande vanilla frappuccino from Starbucks, 11; and Strawberry Triple Thick Shake from McDonald's, a stomach-turning 27.

Our little addiction to sweets is also big business, Rufus writes. Sodas are a $115-billion-a-year industry; candy brings in $32 billion annually. Oh and just to put that in perspective, treating obesity-related medical issues each year is over $140 billion: fittingly, just about exactly as much as its chief causes. We are what we eat, after all — and how much of it we eat, too.

Photo credit: kaibara87

Tara Lohan is a senior editor at AlterNet.org where she heads up the environment, water, and food sections. Her work has appeared on the websites of The Nation, Mother Jones, the Huffington Post and in Yes! Magazine.
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