Added sugar is the absolute worst ingredient in the American diet.

In the 2014 released documentary “Fed Up” experts team up to explain why everything we have been told about food and exercise for the last 30 years is wrong. The movie follows the process of childhood obesity and dives deeper than what meets the eye. As a population, American’s are quick to blame the obese person for their obesity, when this is not actually the problem. The problem is the food industry and the processed food that they are glorifying in order to sell, while providing little to no nutrients to our bodies.

In 2013, Hawaii adults were ranked the second lowest obesity rates in the country. (2) Hawaii’s children are also below the nation’s average with 27.4% of children being in the overweight or obese status according to the 2011/12 National Survey of Children’s Health. (3) Although Hawaii is an overall healthy state statistically, at Oahu Spine and Rehab in Kailua we work with many chiropractic and physical therapy patients that are suffering from obesity or being overweight. This is why we implemented OSR Weight Management in order to help our patients with their overall health.

According to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, when people eat too much sugar, it overloads the liver, which is forced to turn the sugar into fat. When you are eating foods with little to no nutrients, your body processes them immediately and turns the sugar into fat. Now say you were to walk into a grocery store and pick up something that your family considers healthy, well now it’s time to take a look at the nutrition labels.

Here is your conversion chart:

One Teaspoon of Granulated Sugar = 4 Grams of Sugar

So we will start by thinking of products you are considering “healthy” for you and your family such as applesauce, spaghetti (tomato) sauce, and fruit juices:

If these are the sugar amounts in the “HEALTHY” alternatives for our children, how appalling are the facts for the things that aren’t considered healthy? The food industry’s main concern is making money, not the nutrition that is going into our families bodies. One example is Coca Cola, who targets their marketing at younger generations while providing zero nutrients with any of their products. They have contracts with over 50% of the schools in America, while providing this to our children daily:

Even diet sodas that claim to have 0 grams of sugar use different names for sugars in order to “hide” from USDA and World Health Organization guidelines regarding the definition of “sugar free” while still using high amounts of sugar.

Sugar is completely empty calories and provides zero nutrients to your body. Like abusive drugs, sugar causes a release of dopamine in the reward center of the brain. (1) Because of the dopamine that is produced by your brain when reacting to sugar intake, sugar can be extremely addictive. If children have been ingesting food and drinks that are high and sugar since they were at a young age then it will be harder to break habits when they are older. Often, parents don’t realize how much sugar their children is actually taking in per day, especially when their diet is made up of mostly processed foods.

The Facts:

These facts aren’t even half of the information that is out there regarding the research on added sugar in your diet. If you would like more information, read 10 Disturbing Reasons Why Sugar is Bad or check out the documentary Fed Up now streaming on Netflix. Are you Fed Up with the way your eating makes you feel? Read these tips!

Here at Oahu Spine and Rehab and OSR Weight Management our goal is to help you have the highest quality of life possible. Eliminating these foods that are high in added sugar can improve your quality of life.

If you are worried about the health of you or your family, contact OSR Weight Management here.