How the Sugar Industry Tricked us for 50 Years (updated 8/11/22)

This is the bitter truth about sugar: how the sugar industry tricked us for over 50 years. They made us believe that sugar wasn’t that bad, and fat is to blame for obesity, heart disease, and more. In reference to “more,” what you are not being told by mainstream medical news is that sugar is a significant contribution to many of our modern illnesses. So if you are thinking…I’m not obese, my heart is great, I don’t have diabetes, I’m fine. That would be wrong. Sadly, sugar is still damaging your body if you are eating significant amounts. It might just take a while before you see the effects.

As I mentioned in my previous blog on sugar pains, sugar is one of our biggest enemies and some people are consuming almost three times the recommended amounts. I cover in the blog: how easy it is to over-consume sugar, the dangers of eating too much, and how most people are addicted to sugar.

How did the Sugar Industry Trick Us?

The sugar industry paid scientists (Harvard Researchers) in the 1960s to play down the link between sugar and heart disease. Also, they promoted saturated fat as the reason for heart disease and more.

Apparently, a group called the Sugar Research Foundation (or Sugar Association), gave a few Harvard Scientists $50,000 in today’s dollars to share studies (the sugar industry selected) on the link between sugar, fat, and heart disease. Sugar was said to just cause tooth decay and be empty calories. Then, the studies went on to be published in prominent health journals.

One of the scientists, Dr. Mark Hegsted, was at one time head of nutrition for the United States Department of Agriculture. He also helped create federal government dietary guidelines. Since then, diabetes, obesity, and other health issues have escalated!

Health Officials Backed These Claims

Health officials encouraged people for years to reduce their consumption of fat. This led many people to eat more low-fat foods with high sugars. Often foods that are marked as “low-fat” or “fat-free” often contain a lot of sugars and other things that just add on the calories. Plus, foods labeled as “sugar-free” are even worse than consuming sugar itself because sugar is often replaced with artificial chemicals. So, you are typically better off eating full-fat foods and just watching your serving size.

But why did it take 50 years for the truth to come out?

Around 1972, Scientist John Yudkin published an expose, Pure, White, and Deadly. It talked about how dangerous sugar is for our bodies, how much is in our foods, how we can cut back, and more. The health industry and media not only discredited him, but ridiculed him and marginalized him for the rest of his life. However, in the last 40 years his information has been proven to be accurate. His original findings are now recognized in a book that has been updated by Dr. Robert H. Lustig. Here is that book if you want to read more about the dangers of sugar: “Pure, White, and Deadly: How Sugar Is Killing Us and What We Can Do to Stop It.” 

Most of us are familiar with the name Dr. Atkins, he is responsible for the high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. Around the same time as Yudkin published his study, Dr. Atkins came out with his diet book that shared the dangers of carbohydrates. He too was hated upon for years for his attacks on sugar. But as you know now, his diet plan has received a ton of recognition.

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Recent Payouts to Help Grow the Sugar Industry 

In the past and even in recent years, Coca-Cola the biggest producer of sodas and other sugary beverages, has given millions of dollars to researchers to release studies reducing the link between sugar and obesity.

Even candy makers have paid people to create studies showing candy helps with weight loss.

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History Shows Chronic Health Conditions Increase with Sugar Consumption!

As I mentioned previously, Americans on average consume today 150 LBS. of sugar per year! That is roughly 6 cups of sugar a week! In 1970, people consumed over 123 LBS of sugar a year. Over 100 years ago Americans consumed only 4 LBS. of sugar a year. View the history here.

In 1967 a scientist invents the cheaper form of sugar known as High Fructose Corn Syrup. By 1975, new cancer cases increase to 400 for every 100,000 people. Then, in 1984 more companies include soda manufacturers switch to High Fructose Corn Syrup. By 1992 cancer increases to 510 new cases for every 100,000. Obesity rates also keep increasing. Stats here.

The U.K. and the U.S. both report today 1 in 2 women and 1 in 3 men will develop cancer in their lifetime (chances are higher though the older you are). View on MEDICALNEWSTODAY.

From the National Library of Medicine: Diabetes is a major public health problem that is approaching epidemic proportions globally. Worldwide, the prevalence of chronic, noncommunicable diseases is increasing at an alarming rate (Tabish, Syed Amin, 2007).

The major problem is sugar is in everything, and I mean everything! I was shocked when I discovered that not only is there loads of unnecessary sugar in popular brands of ketchup, peanut butter, yogurt, protein bars, bread, and salad dressings, but it is also often the High Fructose Corn Syrup (or Corn Syrup) form of sugar.

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We Have Been Deceived!

Society has covered up the fact that things like sugar are horrible for both our short-term and long-term health. We have been manipulated into thinking fat is the reason for many chronic health conditions.

Then, to make matters even worse the food industry started adding a lot of unnecessary sugars into all of our foods in the 1970s. The worst sugar addition was high fructose corn syrup. Not to mention, the food marketers have done an amazing job of getting us interested in a lot of high sugar snacks. They have also created many convincing lies about how healthy many foods are view: Reading and Decoding Food Labels & Toxic Ingredients.

You probably haven’t heard from your regular doctor how much sugar you should consume in a day. Additionally, many articles only provide basic advice on how to cut down on your sugar consumption. I actually share some of my personal in-depth tips for reducing your sugar intake as a process you can follow over time. In one of my blogs I share guidelines and steps to reduce your sugar intake view here.

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Looking for more information? Check out these top resources.

Are you a stats person? Do you want some graphs, charts, and statistics showing how sugar has grown into a tremendous problem over time?
View this slideshow from Robert Lustig,  Sugar – the Bitter Truth

You can also read his book: The Real Truth About Sugar: Dr. Robert Lustig

If you want a video education check this out: The Truth About Sugar Documentary from 2015

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Roadmap to Eating More Real Food & Reducing Sugar Consumption