3 Foods That Make You Look Older

We all know fresh fruits and vegetables are the ticket to improving overall health, clear skin and bright, youthful complexions. What you might not know is that some foods can actually prematurely age your skin. 

 

1. Sugar: Sweets and refined carbs raise your blood glucose levels, which interferes with the normal repair of collagen and elastin.
2. Saturated fats: Diets high in saturated fats increase inflammation, which ages your skin.
3. Alcohol: Alcohol dehydrates your body, leaving skin tight and dry. Your liver also releases skin-aging free radicals as it metabolizes alcohol.

Source: Good Housekeeping

 

http://healthblog.swansonvitamins.com/blog/health-tips-2/3-foods-that-make-you-look-older

'Drop Dead Healthy': Is the Perfect Healthy Lifestyle Possible?

By JOHN BERMAN and MARY MARSH | Good Morning America

There are thousands of diet and exercise studies for how to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle: Don't eat that, drink more of this, run hard for this length of time then rest, but wait, maybe try a walk-run combo, or extreme yoga, or perhaps meditation. The tips constantly change when new studies are published.

For his most ambitious project, author A.J. Jacobs followed the latest medical advice about getting healthy -- all of it -- and found out what really works.

"I was in bad shape," Jacobs said. "I had a huge stomach. I looked like a snake that swallowed a goat. It was sort of the skinny fat, and you know, my diet was terrible. I ate sugar, salt, fat. Those were my three food groups, so I really wanted to -- I needed to do a big revamp."

Following the success of his book, "The Year of Living Biblically," in which he tried to follow every rule in the Bible for a year, Jacobs, 44, spent two years trying out every diet plan, every workout routine, every self-improvement trick and technique out there. He documented his journey in his new book, "Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Quest for Bodily Perfection," which he wrote while walking on a treadmill, by the way -- a chapter every 12 miles or so.

"More and more research shows how horrible sitting is for you," he said. "It's really bad. It's like a Paula Deen bacon doughnut. It's just so ... if you are sitting for more than six hours a day, that'll increase your risk for heart disease by 60 percent."

Jacobs is now a walking encyclopedia of health insight, from applying sunscreen daily, to having certain plants nearby to filter the air -- even proper water bottle care.

"Holding a cold bottle is actually good for your workout," he said. "It keeps your core temperature lower, and you can increase your endurance."

It could get a bit annoying, his wife, Julie, admitted.

"There were certain things that he would like to look over my shoulder when I was eating -- white bread and say, 'enjoy your empty calories,'" she said. "I'm having my everything bagel, please let me be."

So what did work? Over the course of two years, Jacobs developed definite opinions about how to maintain a healthier lifestyle. He said people need to exercise more, sit less, meditate, pet dogs -- because studies have found it lowers blood pressure -- and cook their own meals instead of eating prepared food.

Jacobs now has a healthier diet, mostly vegetables, fish and eggs. The dietary revelation came not with what he eats, but how he eats it.

"I chew as many times as possible, because you'll eat less and we eat way too much as a nation," Jacobs said. "There's actually a very passionate movement on the Internet called 'Chewdaism,' and they believe you should be chewing as many as 50 times a bite."

And then there were those health regimens that Jacobs said didn't work for him, such as colonics and juice fasts.

"I was not a fan of either one, and luckily the science is not there," he said. "There's really very little science that colonics are good for you. You don't really need them. The body cleans out by itself."

But the calorie restriction diet is what Jacobs called "one of the worst experiences of my project."

"This is the group that believes that if you eat very, very little, like if you are on the verge of starvation, then you're going to live 140 years," Jacobs said. "The obvious joke is why would you want to live 140 years if you're only eating, you know, five flax seeds a day."

His favorite workout: boulder tossing, log carrying and sprinting, part of the so-called "caveman workout."

"The caveman didn't do a lot of leisurely jogging," he said. "They did a lot of sprinting, running away from tigers."

At the end of two years, Jacobs said he managed to lose 17 pounds. His body fat dropped from 17 to 7 percent and he said he is now bursting with energy and feels great. He added that he has backed off doing some of the dozens and dozens of daily healthy rituals -- for example, he no longer does the colonics or juice diets anymore, and he doesn't do the caveman workout regularly -- because, Jacobs said, there just aren't enough hours in the day to be that healthy.

"I'm a bit of an 'obsessional' person, so I guess I might go too far," Jacobs said. "[But] being too obsessed with health is not very healthy."

Jacobs also said that the most detrimental part of the pursuit of being healthy is that he had to give up seeing his friends and his family because there wasn't enough time in the day for both.

"I had very little time to see my friends because I was being too healthy, and that turned out to be unhealthy ... Social interactions are such a crucial part of our health you know they really contribute to your longevity," he said.

A.J. Jacobs shares some of his tips for being healthy. Here's what he says:

Chew! There's a movement I discovered on the Internet called 'chewdaism' where people believe you should chew each mouthful of food 50 to 70 times. This is a bit much if you have a life. Twenty or thirty times works pretty well. And basically it slows you down to give those satiety signals enough time to reach your brain so that you realize you're full before you've overeaten. It really helped me eat less.

Self-tracking -- such as using a pedometer or keeping a food diary -- makes all the difference. Just something as simple as a pedometer can make you walk one mile more per day on average, because it becomes a game. Even just writing down what you eat changes your behavior.

Don't be sedentary. Sitting is so bad for you. I like walking better, which surprises me. I have more energy. So I run errands, literally. I run to the store for toothpaste and run home. I squat down to talk to my kids, which means I do 50 to 70 squats a day.

Stress truly affects your help. I thought diet and exercise would solve everything. But keeping stress down is important. You do that by making time for friends and family, making sure to laugh. And you know what is a big stress-inducer? Noise. That's why I got some noise-cancelling headphones (which were a stress-inducing three $300.)

Respect your future self. An app online aged a picture of me, showing me what I'd look like at 70. I keep the picture on a desk and look at it to remind myself to make things better for me in the future.

http://gma.yahoo.com/drop-dead-healthy-perfect-healthy-lifestyle-possible-224109928--abc-news-health.html

'Cinnamon Challenge' Sparks Health Concerns

By Katie Kindelan | ABC News Blogs
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, Mary Poppins famously sang, but a spoonful of cinnamon can cause dangerous side effects. 

That is the warning from concerned parents, school administrators and medical experts alike in response to the "Cinnamon Challenge," a game challenging people to swallow a teaspoon of cinnamon without water in 60 seconds.

The game has gone viral, spurred on by teens uploading thousands of videos on YouTube and Facebook showing them gagging, choking and spitting while trying to complete the challenge.

Doctors say the challenge is impossible because the cinnamon cannot be digested without water and warn that by inhaling the cinnamon dust teens run the risk of inflaming or scarring their lungs.

"If you have some fine particles, like cinnamon in your lungs, it may be hard to clear out," said Dr. Robert Zaid of Providence Hospital in Mobile, Ala.  "Your lungs can kind of collapse on you. There have been several cases reported where kids needed ventilator support because they weren't able to maintain their airway."

In Michigan school administrators are sending advisories to parents alerting them to the dangers the challenge could pose to their children after four apparently related cases were reported to the Children's Hospital of Michigan Regional Poison Control Center in the last month alone, according to the Detroit News.

Dejah Reed, a freshman at Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Mich., spent four days in the hospital with an infection and a collapsed right lung after she ingested cinnamon two week ago.

"She was going in and out of consciousness. She couldn't breathe. She was turning pale," her father, Fred Reed, told local affiliate WXYZ. "I hope parents and kids learn that it's not fun and games. She could have died."

Even a site devoted to the challenge, Cinnamonchallenge.com, has this disclaimer prominently displayed on its homepage, "DO NOT ATTEMPT THE CINNAMON CHALLENGE WITHOUT TALKING WITH A DOCTOR.  OBVIOUSLY THEY ARE GOING TO TELL YOU NOT TO DO IT. THE CINNAMON CHALLENGE CAN BE DANGEROUS AND SHOULDN'T BE TAKEN LIGHTLY. YOU NEVER WANT TO PURPOSELY OR MISTAKINGLY INHALE ANY SUBSTANCES SUCH AS CINNAMON. IT'S GOING TO BURN, YOU ARE GOING TO COUGH, AND REGRET YOU TRIED…SO WATCH MOVIES OF PEOPLE ALREADY FEELING THE PAIN."

Despite the serious health risks the game has been popularized by athletes and even a politician.

In November, during the NBA lockout, basketball stars Nick Young and JaVale McGee attempted the cinnamon challenge in a YouTube video that has been viewed more than 100,000 times and posted on ESPN.com.  In February Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn took the challenge while appearing on a talk radio show, though he drank water to get it down.

Medical experts like Dr. Zaid are echoing school administrators in advising parents to warn their children that attempting viral, online dares like the "Cinnamon Challenge" could land them in the hospital, according to WXYZ.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/28561424

Study: Sugary drink each day ups men's heart disease risk by 20 percent

By

Ryan Jaslow

(CBS News) Bad news for blokes who love soda. A new study has found drinking one glass of a sugary beverage each day might cause heart disease.

Soda a day may lead to heart attacks in men
Swapping sugary drinks for diet soda, water leads to weight loss

For the study, Harvard researchers looked at almost 43,000 men between 40 and 75 who were involved in an earlier study that started in 1986 and ended in 2008. Every two years, the men would answer questions about their diet habits, and each man got a blood test halfway through the 22-year study.

PICTURES: Sugary drink shockers: What recent report says

After controlling for other risk factors for heart disease such as smoking, lack of physical activity, alcohol use and family history of heart disease, the researchers still found that men who drank a 12-ounce sugary beverage each day were 20 percent more likely to develop heart disease. These men also had higher levels of heart disease markers triglycerides and C-reactive protein compared with non-drinkers, and lower levels of "good" HDL cholesterol. The study is published in the March 12 issue of Circulation.

"This study adds to the growing evidence that sugary beverages are detrimental to cardiovascular health," study author Dr. Frank B. Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said in a written statement.

Drinking something sugary less frequently - like twice per week or twice per month - did not increase risk, nor did drinking diet beverages.

Study co-author Dr. Walter Willett, chair of the nutrition department at Harvard School of Public Health, told CBS News medical correspondent Dr. John LaPook that a typical 12-ounce soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, but lots of soda drinkers opt for a 20-ounce bottle, which contains up to 18 teaspoons of sugar in one sitting.

"Continually subjecting our bodies to high amounts of glucose, to high blood sugar levels that trigger large secretions of insulin results in stresses that in the long run show up as high risk of heart disease and diabetes," Willett told CBS News medical correspondent Dr. John LaPook.

The study looked only at men but previous research suggests women aren't off the hook. A study last November showed women who regularly drank sugary beverages were nearly four times more likely to have higher levels of triglycerides and sugar in their blood, compared with women who didn't drink soda.  

Heart disease kills more Americans than any other disease, almost 600,000 deaths each year.

That's not all. Recent studies have tied drinking sugary beverages to more risk for diabetes,obesity, strokes, COPD, insomnia, bone loss and headaches.

Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, told Dr. LaPook that it's quite possible other factors contribute to these findings in soda drinkers.

"It's very likely people who choose to drink sugared soft drinks actually have a variety of health habits that are not heart healthy, and it may well be those health habits that are responsible for the increase in risk," he said. The American Beverage Association takes that same position.

The American Heart Association recommends that adult men consumer no more than 150 calories per day from added sugars, and 100 calories for American women.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57397299-10391704/study-sugary-drink-each-day-ups-mens-heart-disease-risk-by-20-percent/

Don't Be like Paula Deen: 9 Steps to Prevent Diabetes

By The Editors at RealAge | Healthy Living

No doubt, you've heard the news about Paula Deen revealing her type 2 diabetes diagnosis -- and her multimillion-dollar drug endorsement deal. Of course, Deen's signature indulgent Southern cooking likely played a big role in her condition. But whether you're a celeb like Deen or one of the rest of us, finding out you have borderline diabetes or prediabetes can be a shocker.

But here's the more important news: Smart lifestyle changes can help you prevent diabetes or, if you already have it, slow its progression to avoid devastating complications, including heart attack, stroke, nerve damage, blindness, kidney failure, and even limb amputation. Listen up, Paula!

1. Be a Regular at the Farmers' Market

Making fresh produce the main focus of your meals can cut your diabetes risk by 24% or more, thanks in part to all the fiber, which steadies blood sugar. In fact, just adding to your diet some greens, such as arugula or baby spinach, could lower your odds by 14%. The magnesium and polyphenols in leafy greens help you stay sensitive to insulin -- essential for blood sugar absorption. Enjoy citrus year-round, too. Tangerines and grapefruit contain helpful compounds called naringenin and nobiletin.

2. Meat in Its Place

If you're like most people, a meat-based main course takes up half of your dinner plate. To side-step diabetes, adjust that approach. As we said in step 1, at least half your plate should be produce. The other half can be divided between protein, such as lean chicken, and high-fiber starches, such as whole-wheat pasta or potatoes with the skin.

3. Keep the Fiber Coming

As you revisit your meals, focus on foods your body digests slowly so blood sugar is released into your bloodstream gradually. Here are some good examples: Legumes, such as pinto beans and lentils, are a low-fat, nutritious source of protein, plus they're also high in fiber. Whole grains are nutrient-rich, high in fiber, and low on the glycemic index so they don't rush into your bloodstream at warp speed. Fruits and veggies are also high in fiber and typically low-cal, so eat up.

4. Skip Processed Meats

The nitrites and saturated fats in processed meats (hot dogs, knockwurst, bacon, sausage) boost diabetes risk by 19% (and fuel cancer and heart troubles, too). Great alternatives: skinless white-meat turkey, juicy portobello "steaks," marinated salmon or chicken breasts, veggie burgers, or -- if you've gotta -- burgers made with extra-lean, grass-fed beef.

5. Move Your Body

Exercise is one of the most effective ways to cut your risk of diabetes. You don't have to join a gym (unless you want to!), just get your body moving -- and your heart pumping -- for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Exercise ramps up fat burning and improves insulin sensitivity, which helps your body use glucose efficiently. So, make time in your schedule to run, bike or even dance. Just be sure you get a mix of strength, stamina, and flexibility into your exercise routine.

6. Snack on Nuts

When you're looking for something to nosh on, refuel with a handful of nuts. The healthful fats in nuts can slash diabetes risk 21%. A little lean protein or some healthful fats helps your body absorb and use blood sugar more effectively. Since nuts have lots of calories (14 walnut halves have 185), either stick with a small handful.

7. Reduce Stress

Don't wait for vacations to tame tension. Both high anxiety and lack of sleep mess up your body's absorption of blood sugar. Getting less than 6 hours of ZZZs a night doubles your diabetes risk, as does a high-stress job. Ease your angst by turning in earlier, exercising to blow off steam, and finding a stress-reduction technique you love. Meditation and yoga work well for lots of people. Either will put the ahhhhh back in your life.

8. Cut Down on Sugar

Switch your fancy coffee drink for sugarless chai latte (nonfat, of course). Chugging just one sugar-loaded drink a day boosts diabetes risk 26% and metabolic syndrome -- a precursor of diabetes -- 20%. Substituting an ice-cold glass of fat-free milk does the opposite: It cuts your risk 12%. Fat-free yogurt (plain, of course) and cheese count, too. The calcium, vitamin D, and minerals in dairy help your body process blood sugar.

9. Know Your Risk Factors

Although healthy lifestyle changes can go a long way toward preventing diabetes, it's important to be aware risk factors you can't change, such as family history, age, and ethnic background. (People of Latino and African-American heritage have a higher-than-average diabetes risk.)

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/dont-paula-deen-9-steps-prevent-diabetes-232600282.html

THE DIRTY SECRETS ABOUT YOUR DIET

Posted by Alana Brager

Let’s face it, you are what you eat. And your body demands certain nutrients to maintain that healthy, youthful glow we all desire. However, too many of us are putting unhealthy foods into our bodies without really knowing the dirty details. While many are delicious and almost impossible to give up (saying no to a second glass of vino is a challenge!), each of these 10 foods/drinks has a hidden side of negative effects on your health. Here are the first five — be prepared to be surprised!

Alcohol

A drink here and there doesn’t seem harmful to your body in the moment, but overtime, alcohol consumption can lead to dry skin and wrinkles – we’re too young for that! Alcohol draws water from the body and dehydrates your skin, as well as reduces the vitamin A content within your body, ultimately leading to the appearance of fine lines and dead skin cells. Skipping the booze is the best way to keep your skin wrinkle and flake free.

Smart Balance: 1 drink a day. (Beer: 12 fluid ounces; Wine: 5 fluid ounces; Distilled Spirits (80 proof): 1.5 fluid ounces.)

Sugar
Women who regularly eat foods with high sugar content are at risk for dull skin and a more wrinkled complexion. Sugar produces a molecule that damages collagen and elastin, which are two fibers that keep skin firm. Foods with excess sugar include canned or packaged dried fruits, muffins, breakfast and oatmeal bars, instant cereal and fruit juice. Consuming sugar is also linked to excess belly fat and it’s also hidden in yogurt and salad dressings. So while it seems impossible to avoid, just check the labels of your fave foods for sugar content before dropping it in your shopping cart.

Smart Balance: 5 teaspoons (20 grams) of sugar per day.

Processed Foods
Plain and simple — processed foods aren’t healthy to eat. What are they exactly? Well, anything packaged that you find in the store, which have been altered from their natural state, such as potato chips, lunch meat, cookies, hot dogs, frozen dinners and canned vegetables. They are stripped of nutrients and antioxidants, both of which our bodies need. Antioxidants protect cells from free radical damage and eating processed food damages collagen and causes wrinkles. Put down the box and grab some fresh fruits and vegetables from your local farmer’s market.

Smart Balance: Avoid at all costs.

Saturated Fats
Foods that are high in saturated fats can lead to weight gain, especially around the mid-section. Saturated fats originate from animal products such as dairy, eggs and meat, while some can be found in plant-based sources. Foods high in saturated fat should be avoided if you want to say goodbye to cellulite. Vegetable- and plant-based fats can be broken down by the body, but saturated fats from animal products cannot. The fat is stored under the skin, which is where cellulite forms, thus being a no-no for any woman who wants a dimple-free bottom.

Smart Balance: Less than 7 percent of total daily calories. (Based on a 2,000-calorie/day diet, you should consume less than 16 grams saturated fat.)

Milk
Several studies have shown that the natural growth hormones found in milk are stimulating acne. Most milk is derived from pregnant cows and researchers are finding that the hormones can trigger pimples on your pretty face. Bleh. If you’re acne prone, cut back on the milk and dairy products. These days, there are many alternatives fortified with calcium, vitamin D and even protein (hemp, almond, soy, rice).

Smart Balance: 1 serving/day of low-fat or fat-free milk.

In this second half of hidden secrets of your favorite foods, we reveal the shocking side-effects of soda (damn you, Diet Coke!), why you probably shouldn’t bring a turkey sandwich as your lunch, and much more.

Salt
Salt, salt, salt. So good, but oh-so-bad. It’s on our list because it causes our tissues to swell and enables water retention, which leads to puffiness and a cause of the belly bloat–nobody likes that! And iodized salt, in larger doses, has been linked to aggravate acne. Be sure you check the sodium content while grocery shopping, and if you’re buying canned vegetables or beans, drain and rinse before consuming, which helps reduce the amount of salt.
Smart Balance: No more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day (about a teaspoon of table salt).

Soda

Daily consumption of sugary soft drinks can add one pound to your frame every four years. It may not seem like that much, but drinking soda is linked to obesity and can impair your overall physical health. Soda contains high-fructose corn syrup, which can lead to abnormal increases in body fat (especially in the stomach–a trouble spot for many women). Diet soda junkie? Join the club. But it turns out that consuming diet soft drinks, which contains aspartame, isn’t the better alternative. Aspartame, an artificial sweetener, affects the calcium formation of bones as well as breaks down the enamel of teeth. Next time you’re craving a sweet drink, opt for water flavored with different types of fruits or iced tea.
Smart Balance: Avoid.

Deli Meats

Deli meats are full of sodium (the culprit for water retention!) and lead to puffy skin. Recent studies have shown that the way deli meats are processed can also cause wrinkles. How? The chemicals within these meats may lead to inflammation and can affect the natural collagen in your skin. What to do instead? Ditch the deli and fire up the grill.
Smart Balance: Avoid, as one serving can account for 25 percent of your daily intake of sodium. Yikes.

Fried Foods

If you’re spending too much time eating greasy food, you’ve probably noticed the physical changes in your appearance. Fried and greasy foods are linked to acne, high-blood pressure and weight gain. Hot oil is high in calories and fat, plus the grease can lead to high cholesterol. Eating greasy and fried foods also means your body isn’t getting the nutrients that it needs to fight off free radical damage (a.k.a. skin aging). Swap the fried chicken for a lean grilled chicken breast and you’ll notice the changes internally and externally!
Smart Balance: Rare occasions are OK. Otherwise, avoid.

Trans Fats

Foods that are high in trans fats can cause belly fat due to their high calorie and fat content. Trans fats harden at room temperature and they include baked items, such as cookies, cakes, crackers, boxed cereals, canned and boxed foods. Trans fats may enhance flavor and texture to your food, but they are bad for your arteries and increase your risk of developing heart disease or stroke. And no one wants that!
Smart Balance: Less than 1 percent of total daily calories. (Based on a 2,000-calorie/day diet, that’s less than 2g trans fat.)

http://life2pointoh.com/2012/01/what-not-to-eat/

Should Sugar Be Regulated like Alcohol and Tobacco? Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/02/should-sugar-be-regulated-like-alcohol-and-tobacco/#ixzz1lLlGfBzl

Should Sugar Be Regulated like Alcohol and Tobacco?
Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, argue that sugar is toxic and needs to be taxed and controlled. Why it's so hard to break our addiction.
By BONNIE ROCHMAN | @brochman | February 2, 2012 |
158

inShare
52

JOSE LUIS PELAEZ / ICONICA / GETTY IMAGES
Sugar poses enough health risks that it should be considered a controlled substance just like alcohol and tobacco, contend a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

In an opinion piece called “The Toxic Truth About Sugar” that was published Feb. 1 in the journal Nature, Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis argue that it’s a misnomer to consider sugar just “empty calories.” They write: “There is nothing empty about these calories. A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that fructose can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases. A little is not a problem, but a lot kills — slowly.”

Almost everyone’s heard of — or personally experienced — the proverbial sugar high, so perhaps the comparison between sugar and alcohol or tobacco shouldn’t come as a surprise. But it’s doubtful that Americans will look favorably upon regulating their favorite vice. We’re a nation that’s sweet on sugar: the average U.S. adult downs 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, according to the American Heart Association, and surveys have found that teens swallow 34 teaspoons.

To counter our consumption, the authors advocate taxing sugary foods and controlling sales to kids under 17. Already, 17% of U.S. children and teens are obese, and across the world the sugar intake has tripled in the past 50 years. The increase has helped create a global obesity pandemic that contributes to 35 million annual deaths worldwide from noninfectious diseases including diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

“There are good calories and bad calories, just as there are good fats and bad fats, good amino acids and bad amino acids, good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates,” Lustig, a professor of pediatrics and director of the Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health (WATCH) program at UCSF, said in a statement. “But sugar is toxic beyond its calories.”

The food industry tries to imply that “a calorie is a calorie,” says Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. “But this and other research suggests there is something different about sugar,” says Brownell.

(MORE: Ads Featuring Overweight Children Make Some Experts Uncomfortable)

The UCSF report emphasizes the metabolic effects of sugar. Excess sugar can alter metabolism, raise blood pressure, skew the signaling of hormones and damage the liver — outcomes that sound suspiciously similar to what can happen after a person drinks too much alcohol. Schmidt, co-chair of UCSF’s Community Engagement and Health Policy program, noted on CNN: “When you think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense. Alcohol, after all, is simply the distillation of sugar. Where does vodka come from? Sugar.”

But there are also other areas of impact that researchers have investigated: the effect of sugar on the brain and how liquid calories are interpreted differently by the body than solids. Research has suggested that sugar activates the same reward pathways in the brain as traditional drugs of abuse like morphine or heroin. No one is claiming the effect of sugar is quite that potent, but, says Brownell, “it helps confirm what people tell you anecdotally, that they crave sugar and have withdrawal symptoms when they stop eating it.”

There’s also something particularly insidious about sugary beverages. “When calories come in liquids, the body doesn’t feel as full,” says Brownell. “People are getting more of their calories than ever before from sugared beverages.”

Other countries, including France, Greece and Denmark, levy soda taxes, and the concept is being considered in at least 20 U.S. cities and states. Last summer, Philadelphia came close to passing a 2-cents-per-ounce soda tax. The Rudd Center has been a vocal proponent of a more modest 1-cent-per-ounce tax. But at least one study, from 2010, has raised doubts that soda taxes would result in significant weight loss: apparently people who are determined to eat — and drink — unhealthily will find ways to do it.

(MORE: Banning Sugared Drinks in Schools Doesn’t Lower Student Consumption)

Ultimately, regulating sugar will prove particularly tricky because it transcends health concerns; sugar, for so many people, is love. A plate of cut-up celery just doesn’t pack the same emotional punch as a tin of homemade chocolate chip cookies, which is why I took my daughter for a cake pop and not an apple as an after-school treat today. We don’t do that regularly — it’s the first time this school year, actually — and that’s what made it special. As a society, could we ever reach the point where we’d think apples — not cake on a stick — are something to get excited over? Says Brindis, one of the report’s authors and director of UCSF’s Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies: “We recognize that there are cultural and celebratory aspects of sugar. Changing these patterns is very complicated.”

For inroads to be made, say the authors in their statement, people have to be better educated about the hazards of sugar and agree that something’s got to change:

Many of the interventions that have reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption can be models for addressing the sugar problem, such as levying special sales taxes, controlling access, and tightening licensing requirements on vending machines and snack bars that sell high sugar products in schools and workplaces.
“We’re not talking prohibition,” Schmidt said. “We’re not advocating a major imposition of the government into people’s lives. We’re talking about gentle ways to make sugar consumption slightly less convenient, thereby moving people away from the concentrated dose. What we want is to actually increase people’s choices by making foods that aren’t loaded with sugar comparatively easier and cheaper to get.”

Bonnie Rochman is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @brochman. You can also continue the discussion on TIME‘s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

Read other related stories about this:
Tax and Regulate Sugar Like Alcohol and Tobacco, Urge Scientists The Guardian
Should We Regulate Sugar? The New York Times
Sugar Should Be Regulated Like Alcohol, Tobacco, Commentary Says CBS News
Related Topics: alcohol, fructose, Nature, regulating sugar, soda tax, sugar, Tobacco, toxic sugar, Diet, Diet & Fitness, Obesity
EMAILPRINT
SHARE
158

Sponsored Links
Brain Training Games
Improve memory with scientifically designed brain exercises.
www.lumosity.com

Luxury Retreat Australia
Private, Holistic, One-on-One Treatment for Addictions
www.sanctuarybb.com

FMG U.S. Externships
Nationwide Hands-On Clinical Externships for Foreign Doctors
www.fmgportal.com
Latest on Healthland

BREAST CANCER February 3, 2012
Planned Parenthood Responds to Komen Reversal
Planned Parenthood thanks supporters who publicly criticized Komen’s decision to terminate funding the group

FROM OUR PARTNERS
Doctors Cheating in Dermatology ExamsCNN Health
29 Days to a Healthier RelationshipHealth.com
What's Considered Healthy Food Around The World?HuffPost Healthy Living

EXERCISE February 3, 2012
Boot Camp: Do Food Diaries Really Work?
Month three of boot camp has begun, but the pounds stubbornly refuse to budge. Could a food diary — or lack thereof — be the culprit?
PREVIOUS
Can Anesthesia Raise the Risk of ADHD?
NEXT
How Massage Helps Heal Muscles and Relieve Pain
Disqus


Post as …
Real-time updating is paused. (Resume)

Showing 1-20 of 155 comments


cavedave
Regulate sugar; absolutely, I want the government to take responsibility for me from my first breath to my last.

No more worries for me, because I know that out there somewhere there is a caring and compassionate bureaucrat who has nothing but my best interest at heart.

Thank god that we have finally evolved to a society that understands that humans are fragile and easily led astray by temptations of the flesh, and stomach. We can now count on the government to insure that we enjoy a long and happy life free from the cares and woes of... show more
Like Reply
1 day ago 91 Likes

flux8
Relax. Take a deep breath. Slow down. Think. Knee-jerk reactions at ANY suggestion of regulation are not only counter-productive, but possibly harmful when people decide to ignore the science to take some misguided stance with political ideology. I think it's unfortunate that your post is "liked" by so many readers merely out of widespread frustrations with the government that are irrelevant to the issue here.

The proposal is not to control how much sugar YOU the consumer can eat. It's to regulate how much is put into our foods, since the diet of the... show more
Like Reply
23 hours ago in reply to cavedave 44 Likes

NaveedXVO
A good argument to show that we are sliding down a slippery slope. So because the government pays healthcare for some people they should be able to regulate what people do is your argument?

I wonder how many other things we can think of that are bad for peoples health that we could regulate?
Like Reply
22 hours ago in reply to flux8 12 Likes

flux8
Again...no one is suggesting regulating what people do. Alcohol and tobacco are regulated and yet, you are able to go out and drink and smoke as much as you want. However, the regulation of the manufacturers is in place because of financial and health implications (people killed by drunk drivers, second hand smoke, etc) to the others in society. Thus, there are health warning labels on anything that has substantial quantities of alcohol and tobacco. No such warning exists for sugar. Thus, why many people don't think twice about their kids eating Frosted Flakes everyday for breakfast (and... show more
Like
22 hours ago in reply to NaveedXVO 24 Likes

Fatesrider
NaveedXVO, "slippery slope" is a fallacy - which is to say false logic. It suggests an effect based on an unrelated cause that seems reasonable from a superficial point of view, but upon closer examination factually falls apart.

You imply regulation of people's actions when it's regulation of the choices - a completely unrelated thing.And I can list thousands of things that are bad for people's health that ARE regulated - just in your drinking water ALONE.

Humanity is still learning about how we interact with our world, and how it interacts with us. As we learn, we discover things... show more
Like
16 hours ago in reply to NaveedXVO 2 Likes

DEEKAYBEE
flux8 Neither tobacco nor alcholo were regulated for the reason you state. You can hace your opinion, vapid as it might be, but not your own facts about history.
Like
16 hours ago in reply to NaveedXVO 2 Likes

DEEKAYBEE
Your supecilious attitude towards other people is breathtaking. Compunded with your Dr. Strangelovian attitude towards government intrusion into ones life. Top it all off with your heroin analogy. Wow.
Using your heroin analogy, should we not make sugar illegal?
Who are this we all pay for my eating habits. You pay your insurance and I will pay mine thank you very much.

As to the ones that the government pays for the alternative can be not to pay for them. First people of yor ilk take away medical freedome then turn around and take more away because you want to... show more
Like Reply
16 hours ago in reply to flux8 3 Likes

flux8
You missed the point of the analogy. The heroin analogy was not to equate it with sugar. It was to give context to the idea suggested by the original poster that regulation is bad no matter what. Heroin is a hyperbolic analogy to demonstrate that it IS needed when there is a public health hazard and that willpower is NOT always sufficient.

People who are not educated about human hormone regulation or chronic toxicity do not ever consider that sugar is an actual health hazard. That's a big part of the problem with educating people about it. Because... show more
Like
16 hours ago in reply to DEEKAYBEE 7 Likes

jray83
I think this is a great idea. We, the american people, are doing an outstanding job of reigning in our government when it comes to national debt and spending. Our government is providing us with so many great services, and the regulations for these services is really very effective. I say one more "small" thing like regulating an institution that controls a little carbohydrate that our bodies use for fuel is really no big deal.
Like Reply
18 hours ago in reply to flux8 3 Likes

flux8
Two things: Firstly, you are apparently unaware that your body is quite capable of generating the carbohydrates it needs on its own and that carbohydrates are NOT all equal in your body. Just as there are good fats and bad fats, there are good carbs and bad carbs. (Alcohols are carbohydrates as well) They are each processed differently, and they each have different effects on hormone levels in your body. Hormones which regulate your metabolism.

Secondly, this regulation is for corporations, not you. As I've stated repeatedly, you can go on eating sugar all you want for all your... show more
Like
16 hours ago in reply to jray83 7 Likes

jray83
O and btw I understand how our body converts other nutrients into glucose to be stored in liver/ muscles and that is the whole point of our bodies storing fat b/c it can then break it down into a simple carb that it can use for energy blah blah blah.. the point here is where we draw the line. I think its right here.
Like
14 hours ago in reply to jray83 1 Like

a1936
If they're doing something like putting higher taxes on sugary items, they are regulating us, the consumers. How can you say they aren't? They don't want people to consume it, and they're making it harder for people to do so because a lot of people have to watch every penny. There's a difference between educating people and just flat out trying to stop them from having it, which is what this is proposing. And sugar does not have a negative consequence to society, it doesn't harm anyone who isn't using it. If people want to eat a hundred cookies a... show more
Like Reply
17 hours ago in reply to flux8 2 Likes

flux8
It absolutely has a negative consequence to society. You just don't realize it until the day you depend on Medicare to help take care of your hypertension, diabetes, or coronary artery disease.

Taxes don't prevent you from doing anything. Have people stopped drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco? This kind of tax (a "sin tax") is there to say, hey you can use it, but then you need to contribute to the pot that will eventually pay for the medical treatments that you will not be able to afford. Plus, there is a bit of irony in that you... show more
Like
16 hours ago in reply to a1936 10 Likes

jray83
Flux8 you are right, my friend. Sugar is not an "acute toxin". If my grandpa wants to have a coke in his old age without paying extra taxes then I will fight for that. You know, flux, that I'm curious as to just how many non-"acute toxins" that we are exposed to in our everyday lives. Do you know of any others?
Like
14 hours ago in reply to a1936 1 Like

ScottieB4
Okay. Deep breath. Any west-coast-tent-living-do-gooder should at least complete a marathon before suggesting putting sugar on par with alcohol or cigs. Bring all the protein, fruits, veggies, whole grains you want. You'll beg for the glucose your body requires somewhere between mile .01 and 26.2. No need to fear an insulin response because there won't be one.
Like Reply
2 hours ago in reply to flux8

flux8
Perhaps you should either watch the lecture on YouTube or read the original NY Times article from April 2011 first because I don't think you understand what this controversy is actually about. It is *not* about glucose. It is about fructose which, when bound to glucose, forms sucrose. When this topic talks about sugar, it is referring to sucrose because sucrose (or similarly HFCS) is what is used nearly ubiquitously in your supermarket foods.

Also, the average American adult (or child) isn't running marathons.
Like
1 hour ago in reply to ScottieB4

jray83
I agree that it is true that our bodies are capable of converting macronutrients into glucose for storage in the liver, etc basic physiology. I am also keenly aware of my own caloric intake and needs.
Since you have such an excellent understanding of the way your body can be harmed on a physiological level, then lets focus on that. Imagine that the world is actually made up of many different types of cells each with a vital role to play in the functioning of the organism as a whole. Now lets say that a few of these cells... lets... show more
Like Reply
15 hours ago in reply to flux8

i8246i
Congrats, you caused my sarcasm detector to explode.
Like Reply
1 day ago in reply to cavedave 27 Likes

mjschumacher100
So let's leave the situation as it is, America will get fatter and fatter and fatter. Super. Reminds me of Wall-E.
Like Reply
21 hours ago in reply to cavedave 4 Likes

cavedave
Hey, you want the government to involve itself in every aspect of your life; you are getting your wish.

Wait until you walk into the supermarket with your "Nutritional Allowance Card" and be told that you have exceeded your maximum of calories, sodium, sugar, or fat and you have to return that bag of chips because the F.D.A. or some other agency thinks you are too stupid to make a purchase independent of their wise guidance.

I'm just saying that these kinds of edicts run far from what powers the U.S. Constitution grants the federal government.

Want to know why... show more
Like Reply
21 hours ago in reply to mjschumacher100


Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/02/should-sugar-be-regulated-like-alcohol-and-tobacco/#ixzz1lLkzLNVX