Sweet

Care for a little light reading? Why not check out the most recent issue of the scientific journal Nature? Aside from the usual discussions of coral reefs and the pharmacological landscape and therapeutic potential of serine hydrolases, this is where you'll find out the truth: Sugar is bad for you. According to the researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, it is so bad for you that it should be regulated as strictly as alcohol by governments worldwide. These clever science-types propose regulations such as taxing all foods and drinks that include added sugar, banning sales in or near schools and placing age limits on purchases. Yes, one day you may be asked for I.D. before you buy a Twinkie.
At least that's what the unsweetened minds at UCSF would like us to do. In the United States, more than two-thirds of the population is overweight, and half of them are obese. About eighty percent of those who are obese will have diabetes or metabolic disorders and will have shortened lives, according to the UCSF authors of the commentary, led by Robert Lustig. And about seventy-five percent of U.S. health-care dollars are spent on diet-related diseases.
Oh sure, now you're going to bring statistics into it? How am I supposed to enjoy my American lifestyle without all the things that make it so sweet? I know. Carrots are good. Raisins are nature's candy. But I want my high fructose corn syrup, thank you very much.
But in moderation. More than a decade ago, they came for the soda machine in our teachers' lounge. At the time there was a great hue and cry: How can we possibly get through the day without boosted levels of sugar and caffeine? Couldn't we have some nice juices or Sierra Mist, just to ween us off the hard stuff? Nope. If the kids can't have it, neither can we. This prohibition hasn't kept teachers from sneaking in the occasional Coca-Cola in their lunch bags, but for the most part we're doing fine in a sugar free environment. Of course about once a week I have to shake down some kid who has smuggled a Hershey bar on campus, and while I put off my thoughts of longing, I toss the partially melted remnants into the trash. No candy at school.
Sigh.
Because I also serve as the PE teacher one day a week, I have to remember that sugar, in the wrong hands, is evil. Pixie Sticks, for example. Once we win the war on drugs, we can get to work on the next frontier. Good luck.