Statements about sugar rile industry spokesman
29 Oct 1981
One of the world’s most powerful industries says I should be punished for misleading you. The president of the Canadian Sugar Institute, M. W. Davidson, has sent a letter to the Ontario College of Physicians and surgeons. As a representative of the sugar industry he charges that I’ve made “exaggerated, misleading and even false statements about sugar,” that I’m “misinforming Canadians,” that I have “a disregard for fact in a quest for headlines” and that I should be disciplined by the College.
Why is the sugar institute annoyed? They say there’s no verification of 10 miIlion sugar-induced diabetics in North America or that sugar per se causes obesity. And that Canadians do not consume 130 pounds of sugar a year.
Who is right? The Canadian Diabetes Association estimates there are about 16 miIlion diabetics in North America. They agree that obesity triggers 80 percent of these cases. It’s my contention that sugar hidden in so many products attributes to much of this poundage.
Is my figure of 130 pounds too high? The American Heart Association says Americans consume 110 pounds per person per year. Dr. Jean Mayer, formerly a professor of nutrition at Harvard University, used the figure of 125 pounds in 1976. Professor John Yudkin of London University is a world authority on nutrition. He says the British use 120 pounds. But, he adds, “If you look carefully at the statistics it doesn’t include the foods eaten away from home. Besides many people take more sugar than the average.”
Let’s assume the sugar institute’s figure of 93 pounds is right. It’s still too much sugar. And I think it’s causing a vast amount of degenerative disease. It’s appalling that this year 750,000 North Americans will succumb to a heart attack. What used to be a rare disease now kills twice as many people as cancer.
It’s equally shocking that 5 percent of the population has diabetes. This used to be primarily a genetically inherited disease. Now the majority of cases are due to gluttony. Every 60 seconds a new diabetic is diagnosed in North America. We’d have a dozen government commissions if the same rate occurred with measles, diphtheria or polio. What has gone wrong?
Leonardo da Vinci made a classic remark 500 years ago. He said, “Nature never breaks her own laws.” Today we invite disaster by polluting our God-given air and water. And too many children are polluting their bodies with garbage. It has immense implications for the future health of this nation.
An economist once said to me, “If you keep going to hell, you’ll eventually get there.” Today millions of young people are paving their way to a medical hell. Computer experts say if you put garbage into a computer you get garbage back. Pour large amounts of sugar into your system and you’ll get garbage diseases.
We know this has already happened. During the Korean War, autopsies of dead U.S. servicemen with an average age of 22 revealed a startling fact. Seventy-seven per cent had significant coronary heart disease. But only one per cent of the enemy had this problem.
My practice illustrates that obesity is a garbage disease. It’s obvious that it causes sore backs, arthritis, varicose veins, broken bones, pregnancy complications and possibly some cancers. Studies suggest that obesity helps to trigger diabetes and atherosclerosis. This in turn is related to hypertension, strokes, blindness, kidney and heart failure.
Obesity is like dancing with a grizzly bear. You may think he’s cute and cuddly and he may play with you for a short time. But sooner or later he gives you one hell of a lethal swat.
The sugar institute says it wants me disciplined for what it calls misinforming thousands of people. It says it wants the public informed of the facts. If that’s the case, why hasn’t it informed the public of the huge quantities of sugar hidden in so many common food products? Why hasn’t it pressed for common-sense labelling the consumer can understand? Why don’t they demand larger labelling? It’s often so small you need a magnifying glass to learn the facts.
Many readers were amazed and annoyed when this column revealed the amount of sugar in everyday foods: eight teaspoons of sugar lie hidden in a 10-ounce soft drink; canned fruits and vegetables contain 8 to 18 teaspoons of sugar; a piece of cherry pie has 14 teaspoons; ketchup is 75 percent sugar; some children’s cereals are so loaded with sugar that one nutritionist says it’s safer to eat the box. Are these false and misleading facts?
I agree that sugar is not the only product that produces disease. Too many calories of anything will bring people to their knees. But we’re warned today about tobacco, alcohol and animal fats. My argument is that sugar and sugar products are also culprits. As a medical journalist I consider it justifiable to pass this opinion along to Canadians. It is not mine alone. What do you think?
