When I was a kid, there was a program called "DARE" (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) that came to our school regularly to put on programs about why drugs are bad for you, including tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, harder drugs (including stuff that I had never heard about, which if you know kids actually makes them more curious about those things and want to know more, but I think the intention was right). It really scared me to use drugs and I never did, but I think they went a little overboard in saying "we're not here to scare you with this program," which made me realize there was a possibility they were here just to scare us with the bad effects of drugs like going to jail, getting sick, or even dying, becoming a delinquent, etc. Anyway, I appreciated the DARE program, but beyond alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, there was one other "drug" that they didn't warn us about.......sugar, or "seoltang" in Korean.
Recently I listened to a Freakonomics episode that listed with might qualify as a drug, with "addictive quality" being a primary factor in determining that it is. Studies have shown that sugar activities the brain's pleasure centers more than cocaine does. If that's not scary enough, although it'd be absurd to think of exposing children to cocaine, we expose children to sugar every day, through candies, juices, sweet treats, etc., etc. Sugar, unfortunately, is in almost everything, but we can at least be knowledgeable about it without ignoring it like the sugar companies do like a big pyramid scheme (and start young, with kids).
My parents, despite being scientists (!), don't appreciate the risks of sugar, in my opinion. They allow my sister and I to have cakes and doughnuts and other sweet things for breakfast, which just starts the day off on a bad foot......you're ALREADY on sugar and want more as the day goes along. It's part of the reason both my sister and I had weight problems, we both consumed lots of sugar before reaching adulthood and finally understanding the negative effects of sugar and making our own choices.
When I have something juicy/salty/fatty, it's certainly not good for me neither, but at least I can lay off of it for awhile and just savor the juiciness, have good memories of the food without needing more. Sugar, there's inclination of getting more.
Sugar also leaves a bad taste in your mouth, literally. Most sugars make your breath sour and cling on there for awhile. It's like 5 seconds of pleasure eating a chocolate bar but then hours of after
My personal experience is that with sugar, if I have a little bit of it, I am inclined to get more, like the "once you pop, you can't stop" mentality. Especially the after-lunch candies and snacks, those are just empty calories sitting there.
Sugar has been associated with other diseases like diabetes, cancer.......there are no "hidden value" myths like wine which give health benefits, neither....it's just purely bad.
Sugar water does not re-hydrate someone...if anything, it makes you more thirsty. So when you're at the beach on a 85 degree + day, you're not going to want to crack open an ice cold Coca Cola like on the commercials, water is the way to go to quench your thirst. Ask anybody.
The worst is sodas. Sugar in water is worse than solid foods because you need more sugar to make it sweet. I still remember the first time I had Sprite in China as a 4 year old and thought it was the best thing in the world........and realize now that it was just sugar water. Sodas are being banned in many schools to save the exposure to kids. Sugar does not "help a growing boy grow" or "build strong muscles" like milk. Gatorade, Pepsi, Coca Cola, etc., I'm sorry but I will never buy those stocks as not only do I not endorse their products (having been jaded by the reliance on them as a kid and now swearing off of them), but I don't think they have a future now with other liquid products and most adults' realization that water is better.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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