What Is Sugar Demonization?

Introduction
Sugar appears to currently hold the top position on the blacklist of all unhealthy foods, and although it cannot be denied that it can lead to a variety of maladies, can this simple, pure, sweet substance really be deserving of the massive trend of fierce demonization it has undergone over the past few years?
1. The demonization of sugar – sugar and spice and everything not so nice
Despite the fact that sugar plays a central role in our lives today, it appears that its presence is unwanted. Once positively associated with happiness and joy (just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down), this angelic image has been shattered as sugar has become the villain of the food pyramid. According to New York Times Science journalist
Sugar is a carbohydrate food, and therefore its vilification has a direct effect on the publics view of carbohydrates. “Carbs” as they are known, have being given a bad reputation, both through the blacklisting of sugar and the work of several fad diets such as the popular Atkins diet. However, is the research really there to prove that this trend in both sugar and carb demonization is worthwhile? According to experts, such as those at www.naturalnews.com ; the threat posed by these sugars and carbs isn’t linked directly to the foods themselves but rather to the overconsumption of these foods – “The problem isn't carbohydrates per se, because the body does need this food group. The big issues are overconsumption and consuming simple carbohydrates, which cause quick blood sugar elevation and increased insulin levels.” (www.naturalnews.com) Just as excesses of Vitamin A and D can be harmful, so to can excess sugar, and unfortunately, overconsumption of sugar can lead to extremely adverse and damaging side effects. Words such as “obesity”, “diabetes”, “dental caries” and “metabolic disorders” conjure up images of illness and poor health, and rightly so. Sugar most definitely does play a role in all of this illnesses and many more, however, the way to rectify this is not to demonize sugar so completely that it becomes a sort of forbidden food. Many people are quick to point the finger of blame for these illnesses in sugars direction, however, as Ferris Jabr explains in his article, it is not always as simple as that: “there’s a misguided belief that if we just go after sugars we will fix obesity—obesity is more complex than that”. Instead it is necessary to raise awareness of the fact that overconsumption is the key