Sugar in foods

Interesting article to yesterday in the Chronicle Herald, it was about how sugar in foods have increased since 1978. Cereals are the worst hit with the sugar content in some cereals doubling. Full article can be found at: http://www.herald.ns.ca/Search/833700.html

One has to wonder why food manufactures feel the need to add more sugar to foods. Only one reason I can think of taste. People have sweet tooth’s so food producers aim there products to appeal to our pallet by making food sweeter. Sweet foods equal good tasting foods. How do you make kid’s eat their cereal, put in sugar so it tastes sweeter. Now the morning breakfast is like eating candy instead of a well rounded breakfast.

But no big surprise, manufactures have turned granola bars into candy bars. They chocolate coat them add marsh mellows, candy all kinds of sugar and tote it as a breakfast replacement. The mass public by into that, don’t have time for breakfast grab a chocolate coated granola bar for breakfast, might as well just grab a 3 musketeers bar.

Let me speculate and say that the problem with our eating habits is that we are fighting the mass media. How does the Canadian Diabetes or American Diabetes association fight billion dollar advertising budgets that say eating candy like granola bars are good for us. Can the government step in and start to crack down in advertising. Maybe we could have disclaimer such as “Having a Granola bar may not be a healthy replacement for a well balanced breakfast”. Or, “Eating this product may cause diabetes if eating in excess”.

The cigarette companies are forced to put disclaimers on there product. How about food, can you imagine Kraft being told to put a picture of an obese kid on the label with the caption, “This Product has no nutritional value, eating in excess can cause Heart attacks and obesity”. I am sure that would go well with the mass marketing media.

There is no easy answer I can think of. Manufactures of these food products are in the business to sell their product. The only solution is for the government to market food guides and health eating and make it fun. We need to get message out to children and families that a good breakfast is needed to start the day.

Harry