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[water_wendi]

i agree. Although it should be even more tightly controlled. It should be Schedule I or II at least.

edit:
Schedule II fits sugar perfectly.

The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions.
Abuse of the drug or other substances may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

Sugar does all three.

 

[Red]

Wtf was wrong with the pyramid? Too much variety of nutrition?

Too many grains.

 

[ToxicAdam]

I thought no one got cavities until "refined" sugar came along.

.

Not true according to some archeologists.

Also, in the Elizabethian era (1550-1600), many of the rich suffered (and died) from tooth decay, because they had greater access to sugary foods like fruits. Even Elizabeth herself had horribly rotten teeth.

 

[Petrie]

Wtf was wrong with the pyramid? Too much variety of nutrition?

Nobody should be getting 6-11 servings of grains in a day.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

I'm always fascinated by the amount of people that believe the best solution for almost every problem is just wishing it away. "Hey man, I've never met a civilization-wide systemic issue that a little self-control couldn't solve!!"

You get to wipe your hands clean of the problem entirely AND feel smug about it in one fell swoop, win-win situation really.

I'm always fascinated by the amount of people that believe government regulation is the best solution for almost every problem. "Hey man, I've never met a civilization-wide systemic issue that more law and government control couldn't solve..cause that works so well!!"

You get to wipe your hands clean of personal responsibility AND feel content that there's someone else to do the hard part for you, win-win situation really.

 

[YoungHav]

I am for this, because I am sick of the hypocrisy of what we chose to control and outlaw.

Pot is illegal so alcohol, sugar and caffeine should be illegal. Or they should all be regulated or they should all be available to everyone.

Hahahahaha, was going to come here and point out the bs hypocrisy. Seriously fuck fuck fuck the war on drugs, those who profit should all be tried for human rights violations.

 

[windz]

Fat and protein, you are my friend.

Sugar shouldn't be regulated, but having a 10 year old drink 3+ cans of soda a day isn't a good thing. I was one of those kids that would have 3-4 cans of pop a day from about 11-13...yeah....thankfully I just stopped drinking it (no idea why, either). Only time I have soda is with booze now (rye and coke ftw).

No wonder I was hyper as fuck in grade school.

 

[tri_willy]

Come and Get it.

first you get da sugar, den you get da money, den you get da power...

 

[triplestation]

I'm not sure whether or not people as a whole will do anything about this issue. Especially those from low income areas, because unhealthy good tasting filler items are very affordable. But they very consistently fuck up your mind and body. I don't even think the average person knows what high fructose corn syrup is. We've gotta get rid of chemicals and preservatives and engineered synthetic flavor enhancers. We've gotta learn to cook from scratch and truly understand why it's proper. Not better.

For now, it's only a handful of people who understand and acknowledge the sugar problem. I'll say it'll be a few decades before everyone is well aware. Most people are too used to convenience.

 

[BertramCooper]

The solution to the problem is education, pure and simple. We need more comprehensive health and nutrition education in America's public schools.

Unfortunately, that solution is made infinitely more complicated by our already dysfunctional public school system and our government's terrible grasp of proper nutrition.

 

[shinobi602]

Stupid.

Let people eat what they want. If they become obese or contract diabetes, that's their fault. Am I missing something here?

 

[AAequal]

That's just stupid. Instead increase the tax on high sugar products so people will buy less of them. Here I have to pay 1.99€ for 0.5l Cola bottle Needless to say I don't drink Cola often.

 

[triplestation]

Stupid.

Let people eat what they want. If they become obese or contract diabetes, that's their fault. Am I missing something here?

Dude. Thing is, some people are absolutely oblivious about the whole packaged goods/sugar thing. I'd agree it's their fault if one knows the consequences and chose to ignore it.

 

[Simplet]

I'm always fascinated by the amount of people that believe government regulation is the best solution for almost every problem. "Hey man, I've never met a civilization-wide systemic issue that more law and government control couldn't solve..cause that works so well!!"

You get to wipe your hands clean of personal responsibility AND feel content that there's someone else to do the hard part for you, win-win situation really.

Government regulation might or might not be the right solution, but at least it's some kind of solution. Just sitting there and chanting "People need some god damned responsability" every time some problem arises is the equivalent of putting your hands over your ears and going "LA LA LA if we don't think about it it'll just go away!!".

Maybe you think it's noone responsibility but your own what you put into your body, and nobody should do anything. In this case you believe that the best is that everything should stay exactly the way it is now, no need to pretend "personal responsibility" is going to solve endemic societal problems overnight (or ever really).

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Dude. Thing is, some people are absolutely oblivious about the whole packaged goods/sugar thing. I'd agree it's their fault if one knows the consequences and chose to ignore it.

We need an education campaign. Schools to teach healthy eating habits rather than the life of some roman emperor that lived 2500 years ago....

And for fucks sake we need PARENTS to actually parent. A nanny state, no matter how well intended won't work.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Government regulation might or might not be the right solution, but at least it's some kind of solution. Just sitting there and chanting "People need some god damned responsability" every time some problem arises is the equivalent of putting your hands over your ears and going "LA LA LA if we don't think about it it'll go away!!".

Maybe you think it's noone responsibility but your own what you put into your body, and nobody should do anything. In this case you believe that the best is that everything should stay exactly the way it is now, no need to pretend "personal responsibility" is going to solve endemic societal problems overnight (or ever really).

No. No one is saying without government intervention the problem will solve itself. Conceding that the ONLY solution that COULD work is personal self control along with good parenting and education is not the same as going "la la la" and I resent that insinuation.

Will it work 100%? No. Free will is a bitch. And the truth is this is a matter of free will. Is the government going to stop people from overeating as well? Is the government going to MAKE them get off their ass and jog two miles in the morning? Is the government going to MAKE them eat their vegetables? Is the government going to create an agency that makes sure we all drink 8 glasses of water a day?

And say what you want, proper parenting would make more of a difference than the government doing it.

This is an individual problem that is taking a collective toll on society. The first step is education, not regulation. Then the next step is to make doing the right thing easier, not to make doing the wrong thing harder.

 

[Slavik81]

Ma'am, we're going to have to take you in. You know the rules. You can't grow strawberries in an area accessible to children.

 

[Utako]

Is is our karmic punishment for sugar plantation slavery.

I would argue that those suffering the most from sugary diets are the descendants of slaves who live in the "poor areas" described in the article, and this joke is a plain fallacy.

Ma'am, we're going to have to take you in. You know the rules. You can't grow strawberries in an area accessible to children.

RTFA. This is about added sugar.

 

[LuchaShaq]

Keep/make sugar, booze, and other drugs like ciggarettes/weed legal.

Free healthcare for those that don't eat/drink/smoke themselves to bad health.


Win/win/win imo.

 

[jchap]

Go away food police, I can take care of my self.

 

[Nato]

Considering the government caused this whole problem in the first place, I don't think additional regulations from a government that clearly doesn't understand nutrition are the answer. Rather, getting rid of the current erroneous policies they've already put in place would be the best course of action, starting with getting rid of or reducing the corn subsidies.

Honestly, the obesity epidemic in this country should be a clear example of how governments getting over-involved in the free market can cause more problems than not.

 

[Utako]

Keep/make sugar, booze, and other drugs like ciggarettes/weed legal.

Free healthcare for those that don't eat/drink/smoke themselves to bad health.


Win/win/win imo.

If that is really your opinion and not a joke, then I must say that you either have very little experience or very little knowledge (or both).

Go away food police, I can take care of my self.

Thing is, if you really can take care of yourself, that means you already moderate your sugar intake and this wouldn't affect you very much, if at all.

 

[TheLastCandle]

How about we stop putting corn in everything first?

Setting age restrictions on soda is ridiculous.

 

[Esch]

I mentioned this in another thread, but it might be worth reposting here: I have a friend who believed replacing pop with fruit juice would help him lose weight, and would not accept that he was wrong even as he continued to gain. The biggest issue is education. People need to be taught how to eat healthily, and misinformation has to be culled.

Fruit juice has a ton of sugar even if none is added. Eat whole fruit, get that fiber.

 

[SapientWolf]

Dextrose is pure glucose... worse than regular table sugar which is half glucose/fructose.

How is that worse? Glucose is what every cell in the body uses for energy.

 

[Azih]

How is that worse? Glucose is what every cell in the body uses for energy.

Yeah from what I know glucose is way better than fructose.

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/04/fructose-vs-glucose-showdown.html

 

[Skellig Gra]

How about having to step on a scale before buying junk food? If you are skinny buy as much as you want, but the fatties have to pay 10x more. Problem solved.

 

[Orayn]

How about having to step on a scale before buying junk food? If you are skinny buy as much as you want, but the fatties have to pay 10x more. Problem solved.

How about subsidizing healthy food instead?

 

[shinobi602]

Thing is, if you really can take care of yourself, that means you already moderate your sugar intake and this wouldn't affect you very much, if at all.

And if it did affect him and he got hurt, what business is that of the government's? They going to regulate daily calorie intake later too?

 

[dralla]

How about subsidizing healthy food instead?

because it's clear our government has no idea what "healthy" food is. they're still pushing their anti-fat, pro-grains agenda despite all the science proving other wise.

 

[Evlar]

How about subsidizing healthy food instead?

To me, this is the clear solution. Vastly reduce corn subsidy, increase support for other nutrient-rich foods, and provide incentives for farmers to produce greater food diversity.

 

[Orayn]

because it's clear our government has no idea what "healthy" food is. they're still pushing their anti-fat, pro-grains agenda despite all the science proving other wise.

Isn't there are least some common ground? Green vegetables and lean-ish meat?

 

[The Hermit]

Watch this lecture on fructose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

Check the wikipedia article on fructose. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose


Stuff's absolutely terrible for you in the quantities typically ingested in western diets.

I am watching that, this is great, thanks!

 

[Esch]

because it's clear our government has no idea what "healthy" food is. they're still pushing their anti-fat, pro-grains agenda despite all the science proving other wise.

To be honest nobody really has a definitive idea. Nutritional science is subject to a ton of debate at the moment.

Isn't there are least some common ground? Green vegetables and lean-ish meat?

The former is obviously a positive, but lean meat? The nutritional merits of animal fat is a big one up for review.

 

[CooTooLoo]

The biggest problem people have is eating serving sizes and always eating what they crave, rather than what's good for their body.

I say, raise prices for sugar instead of speculating a banning or whatever. People will eat what they want and at the end of the day its their fault. They're making the choice to drink that pop with their meal everyday, eat an extra bowl of cereal, eat the whole bag of chips rather than just 12. It adds up, and that's how you become overweight.

 

[Willkiller]

Spoiler

DENTAL PLAN

 

[Krowley]

I don't think we need government regulations or taxes to fix this problem.. People just need to have a better understanding on the truth about nutrition: basically, bread, and starch (potatoes and corn) along with sugar are the worst enemies. Fats, meats and salt are all basically straw men (or at least a lot of recent research seems to be pointing in that direction).

Once this information is widely available, people can use it to make their own decisions, and if they don't change their habits, so be it.

I guess I would favor a government education program to help get the word out, but obviously that would require the government to accept the fact that most of their nutritional advice has been totally wrong for quite a while, and I think we're a long way from reaching that point.

 

[SapientWolf]

The biggest problem people have is eating serving sizes and always eating what they crave, rather than what's good for their body.

I say, raise prices for sugar instead of speculating a banning or whatever. People will eat what they want and at the end of the day its their fault. They're making the choice to drink that pop with their meal everyday, eat an extra bowl of cereal, eat the whole bag of chips rather than just 12. It adds up, and that's how you become overweight.

I think they should subsidize fresh produce to get the prices down instead.

 

[AnathemicOne]

Sugar is the spawn of SATAN!!!!

 

[eznark]

They changed it to the food plate last year. It's still terrible bullshit

How dare you question Michelle Obama.

 

[Hilbert]

because it's clear our government has no idea what "healthy" food is. they're still pushing their anti-fat, pro-grains agenda despite all the science proving other wise.

Can you point me to some info about this? I always hear this and it sounds so implausible to me. Every culture has had a grain at the base of it's food, wheat, rice, corn, quinoa...

I understand refined processed grain like white rice or white flour is no good, but I have a hard time accepting whole grains are a problem.

Can you give me more info on this?

 

[Krowley]

Can you point me to some info about this? I always hear this and it sounds so implausible to me. Every culture has had a grain at the base of it's food, wheat, rice, corn, quinoa...

I understand refined processed grain like white rice or white flour is no good, but I have a hard time accepting whole grains are a problem.

Can you give me more info on this?

Here is an article that covers a bunch of reasons why grains are getting a bad reputation..

http://nourishedkitchen.com/against-the-grain-10-reasons-to-give-up-grains/


I personally haven't given up on grains all-together, and I have days where I allow myself to indulge in them as much as I want, but they're definitely one of the problems in the modern diet.

They're easy to over-consume, they're cheap, and they generally cause a rapid rise in insulin. It may be that they wouldn't be enough on their own to cause problems for most people (and certainly people have been eating grains for a long time, while obesity didn't get totally out of control until recently), but in combination with all the sweets, and soft drinks, and potatoes, they become part of a wider problem: too much overall carbohydrate in the diet, and not enough fiber to slow down the digestion of it, leading to spikes in insulin, craving cycles, and all sorts of other health problems.

It's possible that it's primarily the over-consumption of soft drinks and sweets that put most people into a condition of insulin resistance, leading ultimately to obesity and all the problems associated with it. But once that condition develops, grain might be too much for the body to handle, even though it might not have been an issue if the person hadn't eaten too many sweets earlier in life. I've heard speculation on this somewhere, but i can't remember the source, and the science on all these subjects is still somewhat undecided. Suffice to say, grains are most likely one of the foods causing problems with obesity, and some people genetically have more tolerance for carbohydrates than others.

 

[Hilbert]

Here is an article that covers a bunch of reasons why grains are getting a bad reputation..

http://nourishedkitchen.com/against-the-grain-10-reasons-to-give-up-grains/


I personally haven't given up on grains all-together, and I have days where I allow myself to indulge in them as much as I want, but they're definitely one of the problems in the modern diet.

I was doing some searching and I came across this page too:

http://www.mardianinmotion.com/2007/05/carbohydrates-are-all-grains-bad-for-you

Who knows. I am sticking to a balanced diet of meats whole grains and veggies, while trying to stay active. Seems like the safest route.

 

[cousins]

nvm.

 

[otake]

Interesting.

Don't agree with establishing consumption ages. To be honest, I think the minimum legal drinking age is stupid too.

 

[Analytical]

I think people need to pay a lot more attention, but putting an age limit - really now?

Edit: The biggest problem we have now in terms of diet isn't so much the presence of some things as it is the absence of others. Protein, carbs, and fats shouldn't be all you ever eat.

wait what

 

[Evlar]

wait what

Well, he's right in the sense that we really (really, really) should be eating adequate dietary fiber.

 

[EviLore]

Get sugar water the hell away from children.

 

[Hilbert]

Is alcohol age restricted because of health reasons or because of intoxication reasons?

 

[cousins]

wait what

I'm just really dumb. I meant to say meats, starches and sugars. Obviously fruits and vegetables are made up of carbohydrates too.