The Use of Sweeteners and the Rise in Obesity
The Use of Sweeteners and the Rise in Obesity
I have selected to discuss the relationship of the sweetener sugar (sucrose) between its consumption and the rise in obesity. There is a problem with the increase in sugar consumption. Sugar both drives fat storage and makes the brain think it is hungry, setting up a “vicious cycle,” according Robert Lustig, MD, a UCSF pediatric neuroendocrinologist. Obesity is one of the top underlying preventable causes of death in the U.S. The rise of obesity is usually blamed on too much eating and not enough exercising, but a lot of it has to do with the increase of sugar in foods and drinks, making it the biggest source of added sugar in the U.S. diet. (Popkin, BM)
The history and origin of table sugar or sucrose is entwined with religion, colonialism, trade, industry, capitalism, and technology. The first to domesticate sugar cane sometime in 8,000 BC were the people from New Guinea. Solid sugar was only mentioned in history during 500 AD in India. After domestication, cultivation of sugar cane rapidly spread throughout southern China and India. Later, the Muslim traders and conquerors exported the cane and the refining techniques to the Middle Eastern and European countries. Spanish and Portuguese explorers and conquerors also brought sugar to Iberia, Sicily and Madeira. Christopher Columbus was the one who carried sugar cane seedlings to the New World.
Sugar is made by some plants to store energy that they don 't need straight away, rather like animals make fat. People like sugar for its sweetness and its energy so some of these plants are grown commercially to extract the sugar. Sugar is produced in 121 Countries and global production now exceeds 120 Million tons a year. Approximately 70% is produced from sugar cane, a very tall grass with big stems which is largely grown in the tropical countries. The remaining 30% is produced from sugar beet , a root crop resembling a large parsnip grown mostly in the temperate
I have selected to discuss the relationship of the sweetener sugar (sucrose) between its consumption and the rise in obesity. There is a problem with the increase in sugar consumption. Sugar both drives fat storage and makes the brain think it is hungry, setting up a “vicious cycle,” according Robert Lustig, MD, a UCSF pediatric neuroendocrinologist. Obesity is one of the top underlying preventable causes of death in the U.S. The rise of obesity is usually blamed on too much eating and not enough exercising, but a lot of it has to do with the increase of sugar in foods and drinks, making it the biggest source of added sugar in the U.S. diet. (Popkin, BM)
The history and origin of table sugar or sucrose is entwined with religion, colonialism, trade, industry, capitalism, and technology. The first to domesticate sugar cane sometime in 8,000 BC were the people from New Guinea. Solid sugar was only mentioned in history during 500 AD in India. After domestication, cultivation of sugar cane rapidly spread throughout southern China and India. Later, the Muslim traders and conquerors exported the cane and the refining techniques to the Middle Eastern and European countries. Spanish and Portuguese explorers and conquerors also brought sugar to Iberia, Sicily and Madeira. Christopher Columbus was the one who carried sugar cane seedlings to the New World.
Sugar is made by some plants to store energy that they don 't need straight away, rather like animals make fat. People like sugar for its sweetness and its energy so some of these plants are grown commercially to extract the sugar. Sugar is produced in 121 Countries and global production now exceeds 120 Million tons a year. Approximately 70% is produced from sugar cane, a very tall grass with big stems which is largely grown in the tropical countries. The remaining 30% is produced from sugar beet , a root crop resembling a large parsnip grown mostly in the temperate
References: AHA.(August 2009) Association recommends reduced intake of added sugars. Retrieved on September 15, 2012 from www.americanheart.org/ Main, E. (July 2012) Recommended sugar intake. Retrieved September 13, 2012 from http://www.rodale.com/recommendedsugarintake Nelega, P. Sucrose. Retrieved September 13, 2012 from http://www.sucrose.com/learn.html Popkin, BM. Patterns of beverage use across the lifecycle. Physiology and Behavior. 2010 ; 100(1): 4-9.