Treating myself with a sugary treat is the fastest way to ease my headaches and reduce fatigue. Nothing hits better than a sugar-loaded chocolate chip cookie or a nice, cold scoop of ice cream after a long day of school and work. However, as I noticed my cravings for sugary desserts have increased at a concerning rate, I think it is important to talk about how unaware we are about the alarming effects of high sugar consumption. If you don’t have as much of a sweet tooth as I do, then you are welcome to skip this article and note that I am incredibly envious.
Sugar is something we encounter every day and is easy to access—unless you’re a five-year-old obsessed with candy but don’t have the freedom to eat as much as you’d like. Almost every meal has at least a teaspoon of sugar in it, and a lot of them have surprisingly higher amounts. Even without our “mandatory” desserts after dinner, we are already consuming enough—or more than enough—sugar just by going about our day. The average amount of sugar that is recommended for men is nine teaspoons, or about 36 grams, while women should consume a maximum of six teaspoons, or about 25 grams. Unfortunately, an average American is already consuming 17 teaspoons, and I can tell that most of us are very unaware of the huge difference. Although this can be an exaggeration and a misleading stereotype, people from outside of the U.S. like to joke about how sugary and fattening American foods are. Coming from an Asian country myself, I find the amount of sugar in American cookies and cakes far too sweet for my taste. However, when I’m craving something overwhelmingly sweet, American cookies and cupcake icing are the go-to treats.
The psychology behind my addiction to sugar is rooted deep in my unconsciousness. I go through a self-justification that a cookie is better than taking painkillers and in a more extreme sense, alcohol, nicotine and hard drugs. Yes, eating a chocolate bar is more socially acceptable and easier to excuse than smoking a pack of cigarettes. Unfortunately, instead of optimizing healthier options like eating nutritiously filling meals and snacks and exercising regularly, I reach for something quick, cheap and easily accessible, like some store-bought biscuits. Each bite fills me with a rush of energy and a fleeting delusion of happy thoughts, making it impossible to say goodbye to my precious sugar stash.
Whatever addiction it is, whether it is of serious substances or not, sugar addiction should not be taken lightly. Too much consumption of processed sugar can lead to numerous health issues, such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Those issues may not be an ongoing problem during the college years, but might appear when half of our hair is gray, or gone. Heart disease is the number one factor in deaths in this country, so, who knows how much of the percentage is related to sugar consumption?
For these reasons, I believe regulating what we eat during the day (or night) is essential to living a healthy lifestyle.
To clarify, this article is not focused on obesity and is not promoting guilt through food, most definitely not eating disorders. Instead, it is to share my struggles with controlling my needs and raise awareness about certain foods we are consuming. Writing for the opinion section of the paper does not mean that the content of the articles is polarized and extreme; rather most writers try to avoid that particular stance. What most of us writers are doing is to express our thoughts on certain topics and raise questions for our community. Such as, “am I constantly eating a sugary dessert after every meal?” or “what are some unexpected meals that contain more sugar than we think?” Personally, I believe we should take the time to question ourselves and consider why we perform certain routines and pick up certain habits. My question for myself on a random Sunday was, “why do I need to eat a peanut butter banana cheesecake after dinner when I just had Dairy Bar ice cream that noon?”