In Gummy Bear wars, I argue it’s me against them. Turns out, there’s some better science out there now on the effects of sugar on the body. And sugar might be … toxic. If you have time, read the NYTimes Magazine article, but here’s lowdown.
It all comes down to this paragraph nestled in page 3.
… [the] concept is “isocaloric but not isometabolic.” This means we can eat 100 calories of glucose (from a potato or bread or other starch) or 100 calories of sugar (half glucose and half fructose), and they will be metabolized differently and have a different effect on the body. The calories are the same, but the metabolic consequences are quite different.
What the article goes on to say is that sugar and high-fructose corn syrup get metabolized by the liver, which converts the sugar or HFCS into stored fat. The same 100 calories from a starch goes to the whole body. After enough time, the liver will actually reprogram itself to cause conditions like diabetes. And all that extra fat will lead to things like heart disease. Hence, toxic. Not too much unlike drinking copious amounts of alcohol. But doing it every day, all day long.
Think you need a lot of sugar to do this? Maybe not. There’s still more research that needs to be done but the average American consumes 90 lbs (45 lbs sugar, 4 gallons HFCS) of sugar a year. That’s a lot of gummy bears. Which is why I’m at war.
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