Thursday, November 04, 2010

Sweet Scam

I found this site (SweetScam.com) by accident the other day, and found it to be quite interesting. It debunks many of the myths surrounding sugar, and supports a lot of the beliefs I've had about sugar for years.

For example, there's no such thing as sugar "hyperactivity" as it concerns kids. Definitely a pet peeve of mine when I hear someone say "Yeah, Johnny is pretty wound up with all the candy he just ate!". The kid is more likely to be hyperactive after eating a french fry, than a piece of chocolate.

Another one that bugs me, is that a large amount of sugar can lead to diabetes. Being that my blog namesake comes from the high-sugar drink Mountain Dew, I am definitely bothered by this false conclusion. In fact, the American Diabetes Association says simply "No, it does not.". Type 1 diabetes is genetic, and type 2 diabetes is a combination of genetics and being overweight (for the most part). Sure, sugar can contribute to weight gain, but so can any number of food sources.

Anyway, you might not agree with what the site presents, but they do a pretty good job of following up with references that you can read yourself to draw your own conclusions.