Easter is approaching. Spring has sprung, resurrections are on the horizon, bunnies are busy laying chocolate eggs! In fact, nearly 71 million pounds of chocolate candy is purchased and given at Easter time. That’s over 4 pounds of chocolate for every man, woman and child in the United States. That’s a close second to Halloween’s 90 million pounds. (a thorn in the side of every Christian, I’m sure)
How do I feel about all this candy?? I think it’s great!
I imagine you’re surprised, but candy is where sugar belongs. Do I think that we should eat 4 pounds of chocolate on Easter Sunday? Hecks no! But still, the candy’s not the problem. Easter dinner (or any other dinner), on the other hand, IS.
Honey baked ham, Maple ham, any ham, there’s sugar added. Read your labels. Candied yams, carrots, sugar added. Coleslaw, sugar added. Salad dressings, sugar added. Easter breads, more sugar. Sodas, juices, teas, sugar-sugar-sugar. We haven’t even gotten to dessert yet!
This problem isn’t exclusive to holidays. Everyday we are consuming massive amounts of sugar, both obvious and hidden. Unless you buy it fresh and unprocessed it probably has sugar added. Food corporations add sugar for a multitude of reasons ranging from appearance to taste to hiding less than favorable ingredients. Sugar is in our meats, cereals, canned goods, dressings, sauces, beverages, soups, peanut butter, jellies, jams and so much more! Even ‘organic’ foods add ‘organic sugar’ to a ton of products. Often low fat or no fat products substitute sugar to improve taste.
Sugar in sub-par food is like lip-stick on a pig.
Humans are the only animals on the planet that eat processed sugar. There’s plenty of natural sugar in fruits and vegetables. We just don’t need to add it to everything we eat. I’ll concede a dessert now and then, but it is no wonder that we are the fattest nation on the Earth. Listen….
Enjoy your chocolate bunny. Keep your chin clean when you bite into that cadbury egg. But, for salvation’s sake, try to remove some sugar from the dinner or breakfast or lunch table.
I’ve said this before, our bodies transform almost all that we eat into sugar. We do not need to add more sugar to our diets! In just over a hundred years, we have increased sugar consumption form 5 pounds a year to a staggering 135 pounds per year!!! That’s a third of a pound of sugar EVERY DAY! I get sick just writing about it.
Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stroke, birth defects, mental illness and many other health problems have increased at the same rate. Just because our medical technology is keeping up with and beating some of these disorders doesn’t mean they’re not a problem. We can continue to take pills to solve problems that we create by what we eat or we can eat better and avoid problems altogether.
Happy Easter.
FV
Eat This NY
The Duchess of Amboy