‘Big Food’ Exhibit Reveals The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Truths About American Food Consumption

For the past twelve years, I've eaten things sweetened with dehydrated/evaporated cane juice. I stooped consuming refined sugar when I turned thirty. I'm forty, work out six days a week, and have a 30" waist and visible abs. I let myself have refined sugar, when I carve it, which means a can of coke about three times a year (usually on days when it's over 100 degrees in NYC) and some good chocolate every two or three months. However, my taste is excessively masculine, which means more savory than sweet. My guilty pleasure foods are Roquefort (19.99/lb), aged ribeye steak rare (23.99/lb), and swordfish (18.99/lb). Oysters (3 bucks each) too. And single malt scotch (16/glass at a bar) Unfortunately, everything I like costs a whole lot more than a can of soda.

Dr. Katz highlights the unequivocal superhero to combat obesity – knowledge. While many articles and professionals try to scare Americans into making better choices, the truth is that without education we can never expect anyone, adults or children, to make well informed decisions. As a dietitian with a Masters of Public Health, I always tell my clients including companies like Coke, that the key to being healthy is understanding how to balance intake with exercise. In my practice I find that most people already know there is sugar in things like regular soda and sweets, and by knowing that they are able to choose those things in moderation. There are many other foods, however, like nutrition bars, cereals and yogurts that they consume freely without realizing how much sugar those items contribute to their daily diet. The fact is sugar is found in a variety of foods and beverages, and by singling out one ingredient, we are oversimplifying the complex issue of obesity. By educating people on what a well-balanced diet is and how to include sugar in moderation, we may be able to create kids, teenagers and adults who make good food choices all of the time.

The slower (more dense, browner, lower GI) the carb, the slower the impact on blood sugar. That sustained slow release of carbohydrate for energy is key to staying well fueled longer, well fed, not needing to add another 'prop me up' snack before more food 'should' be needed.... With enough protein for your body's needs (not too much or too little) and complex carbs, good fats and enough whole food to meet the body's needs, we are much less likely to want what 'big food' markets as 'fun' with all the hidden longer term costs.

Because honey breaks down into fructose and glugose, so does sugar.

Don't forget those high density carbs: turn into sugar in our bodies.

Thanks for a good article. Museum exhibits are great. Another resource that I'd bet almost any family has access to is a local farm. There has been a proliferation of community supported agriculture throughout the country, which encourages families to participate in the growing process through farm tours, workshops, and volunteering in the fields. Once kids get into the vegetable beds and see how things work, they start eating the food and acquiring a taste for it. The other main factor is to promote whole-food based preparation in the home. Getting kids involved with cooking promotes an awareness of what food choices are being made directly.

Sugar and wheat are ruining the nation's health, and medicine is standing by watching, patching up the damage with pills. Few doctors are brave enough to take sugar on. Katz, Hyman, et al are doing a great service.

If you're putting honey in the smoothie, why are you also adding refined sugar?

I am curious to hear how Dr. Katz and Dr. Hyman (and others focused on this issue) balance concerns re: sugar vs. nutrient density. Is it better to give my kids no sugar but know that as a result they will eat less of the nutrient dense foods i want them to eat or a little of sugar (so a smoothie that has blueberries, honey and greens mix or whole grain with cinammon but also a bit of sugar) is okay? If my kids will only take the vitamins for key deficiencies if they are in gummy form, is that okay?

When I came to this country I noticed how much sweeter the cakes and cookies are here. In Europe we put more weight onto the flavor but when you oversweeten the dough then it cancels out other flavors. Now Mexico produces baked goods much like Europe. And look, how people are fooling themselves by drinking anything "diet."

The CDC needs to talk to the upside down USDA food pyramid