Are We Really This Stupid?
By
July 15, 2015
30 Back squats (165/105)
30 Power cleans (125/85)
400M Run
20 Back squats
20 Power cleans
400 M Run
10 Back squats
10 Power cleans
400M Run
The Washington Post published an article on June 29th entitled "Sugary Drinks Linked to 180,000 Deaths per Year, Study Says". Now, you all know where I stand on sugar and specifically sugary drinks. Nothing spikes your blood sugar faster or elicits a stronger insulin response than a cool, refreshing soda. (Repeated blood sugar/insulin spikes are linked to insulin resistance which is linked to diabetes and obesity. That's reason enough to avoid them in my book.) I know I live in a bubble of well-educated, health conscience people, but even if you don't understand the why and how of the negative health effects of soda, I believe that most people out there know that they are bad for you. That is why the following quote from the American Beverage Association was so baffling to me:
“This study does not show that consuming sugar-sweetened beverages causes chronic diseases and the authors themselves acknowledge that they are at best estimating effects of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.”
— American Beverage Association
The study they are referring to was conducted by researchers from Tufts University and found that sugary beverages would be responsible for 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 45,000 from cardiovascular disease and 6,450 from cancer annually. I also had a bit of a problem with the study. They very conservatively estimated that one in 100 obesity-related deaths could be attributed to consumption of sugary drinks even though sugary drinks are the MAIN SOURCE of added sugar in the American diet and diabetes and other chronic diseases are squarely linked to sugar consumption. Still, even if you argue with the specifics of the math, the arrogance of the beverage industry (and assumed ignorance of their consumers) is infuriating.
So why do they say things like that? Well, denial is a pretty strong first line defense. Clearly their financial prospects are strongly linked to their consumers continuing to consume sugary beverages. The bigger crime in my opinion is that there is no outcry from consumers to stop poisoning us with these drinks and burdening our healthcare system and economy with preventable, chronic diseases. Worse yet, we continue to support this industry with our dollars. If you choose to drink soda, that is certainly a choice you are allowed to make in our great country (although I would love to see these items heavily taxed to help offset the long-term healthcare costs...that's another rant, I know) . But please don't do it without acknowledging the long-term health implications of that ice-cold soda.
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