Member-only story
On Food Addiction and Future Diet
There are a few things that happen over and over again in American history. We tend to ignore things that can kill us. We saw this with lead and tobacco. Both industries denied and resisted any regulations and did all to prevent regulations. We are facing this with processed food that has a lot of sugar added to it. It’s cheap, it’s not that filling, it’s causing a medical crisis, and it’s addictive.
The food companies like to tell you that there is no evidence that sugar is bad for you. They will continue to deflect and deny until they cannot get away with it. It’s not unlike Tobacco and Lead. In fact, it is the same story. Nor will they admit that sugar could be addictive. Because if this is additive, like alcohol and tobacco, this opens the way to regulation. It also means there will be a backlash from consumers and state governments, stuck with the bill of treating non-communicable diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes.
We know some people who are addicted to alcohol are hardcore, with the attendant issues, such as cirrhosis and fatty liver disease. These are the same people society tends to look down upon and judge their morality suspect. We do the same with the overweight and obese. However, it’s not the obesity stupid. It’s your metabolic health, and chances are you are not that healthy, even if you are thin as a rail. This is where we are…