A few years ago I wrote a piece on cravings for the Sam’s Club newsletter. In the process of writing it, I became further convinced that sugar is a recreational drug to which a great many Americans are addicted. Today I’m going to discuss my impressions. But we’re going to start not with sugar, but with alcohol.
Medical professionals learn during our training about a tool called the CAGE questionnaire. The CAGE questionnaire is a series of questions used to determine the degree to which a caregiver should have concerns about a patient’s consumption patterns. This questionnaire has been validated thousands of times, and there is little question about its value. Although the CAGE questionnaire is not definitive, the pattern of answers can be suggestive of a need for concern, additional investigation, and/or intervention.
The CAGE questionnaire is comprised of four simple questions:
1. Have you ever thought you should cut down?
2. Have you ever been angry at someone for suggesting that you are drinking/using too much?
3. Have you ever felt guilty about how much you are drinking/using?
4. Have you used (e.g., alcohol) first thing in the morning (eye-opener) to get moving?
Feel free to ask yourself these questions if you’d like. Of course many people drink alcohol, and those who do so without issue generally answer “no” to all four questions. But if you know that your honest answer to any of them is “yes,” especially to more than one, then I would encourage you to share your results with a friend or family member, or your doctor, nurse, or therapist.
Now, instead of alcohol, let’s apply these questions to sugar. If sugar is a recreational drug, then these same questions should also apply to candy, breakfast cereals, waffles, pancakes, sodas, juices, muffins, cookies, cakes, pies, and so forth. What would that look like? Let’s see.
1. Have you ever thought that you should cut down on your sugar intake? If we’re really being honest with ourselves, then I would say: Who among us has not?
2. Have you ever gotten angry at someone’s suggestion that you’re eating too many sweets, or using too much sugar in your tea? Has anyone ever asked if you were pregnant when you weren’t? Has anyone ever commented on your weight? Or treated you unfairly because of it? Has anyone ever expressed an opinion, even subtly, that you are overweight?
3. Have you ever felt guilty about how many sweets you’re eating? Have you ever taken one more cookie when no one was looking? Have you ever hidden candy for later?
4. Do you ever eat something sweet first thing in the morning to get your day started? The sugar content of the typical American breakfast is sky high.
I am not saying that you should not eat any sugar. Everything in moderation. But I do suspect that a large percentage of Americans have a sugar addiction. What do you think?
More importantly, what can we do about it?
Yes! All of it is so true! I think the problem is that so many people don’t realize the power sugar has over them(us). One of the biggest problems is the fact that sugar is in just about everything we ingest. Even when we make the decision to cut back on sugary things and eat healthier, I don’t think the general public realizes how much sugar is in “ supposedly healthy” products. Whole grain breads, yogurt, whole grain cereals, condiments etc.
Marketing! Whether it’s for fast food commercials during prime time tv or ads in your favorite magazine or pop up ads when scrolling on social media. What if an ad for Starbucks vanilla latte, grande(16oz) had to show that it has 8 teaspoons of sugar because many people do not understand that is what 35g equals. Or a yogurt had to show that it contained 5 tsp of sugar instead of 22g.
Because marketing is money driven and not about the well being of the consumer it comes back to educating the consumer. Where do we start? We need more doctors like you Dr. Sukol, who actually try to educate their patients about food and health. We need classes in school to teach children early on about what foods can do for or to them and continue this education through all grade levels.
You have obviously touched on a subject I have thought about frequently as I worked in nursing for 36 years. As I watched so many patients continue their poor nutritional choices even as we treated their cancer.
Where does it start?
Thank you Donna. I can see how this subject really struck a chord. You’ve inspired me and I’m going to write more about sugar in the coming weeks. I like how you translate the gram amounts into more understandable teaspoons — that has the potential to make a difference. But I also think it’s ludicrous to place the responsibility for this decision-making on individuals, particularly children. We don’t provide information about the effects of force, mass, and acceleration on car accidents, injuries, and deaths, and then ask the population to choose their velocity or seat belt use accordingly. That these decisions, the costs of whose negative consequences accrue to the entire population, remain in the hands of scattered well-meaning individuals, practically guarantees that we will see no meaningful change in the near future. But let’s keep speaking our truth.
Thank you for reading YHIOYP. RBS
No, I don’t think I overdo my intake of sugar or alcohol. I try to be moderate in everything I do, especially now that I’m getting really old (77). I have survived several co-morbidities and S/P surgical procedures for cancer, broken bones, hernias, clogged coronary arteries (CABG x 4), degenerative joint disease in my vertebrae, cataracts, renal calculus & renal sepsis, etc.
My wife prepares Mediterranean meals, with an occasional glass of red wine. For the most part, I drink iced water or unsweetened black tea with lemon juice. When we occasionally go to a restaurant, I’ll have a diet cola. My desserts usually include a scoop of ice cream with a tablespoon of dry roasted peanuts, tablespoon of Hershey’s dark chocolate syrup and a home made cookie or brownie.
Both are smaller than half a playing card. I’m still working on getting to bed earlier (have PTSD & insomnia)
and less night time snacking. I also speak with a therapist and see a psychiatrist to monitor my Cymbalta and Lamotrigine and an eating disorder. But, I’m not going to live forever. And I’m not interested in being miserable by completely avoiding something sweet, after a plateful of veggies and chicken, ground turkey or lean baked or broiled pork or lamb. I will admit that I don’t walk enough; but I have polyneuropathy in my legs, osteo and psoriatic arthritis in my joints, and a total hip replacement on the left side. I might try dancing at home with my wife, in lieu of a boring walk in the neighborhood.
By the way, I am not a diabetic.
Well, John, it certainly sounds like you’ve been through a lot. Thank you for reading YHIOYP. Best wishes, RBS
100% agree!
But not just Americans. The whole world is addicted to sugar one way or the other.
I don’t drink any alcohol at all. An unnecessary drug that does more harm than good.
It’s amazing that if you just stop adding strong flavors to your food, after a week you’ll start tasting the natural flavor of the food. It’s bland because your sense of taste has been hijacked by msg, salt, sugar, and other additives
Great points — thank you for reading YHIOYP and sharing your thoughts with us.