THE SWEETENING OF NORTH AMERICA

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

August 7, 1988

How much damning evidence is needed before someone calls a halt? For several decades I've watched the sweetening of this country. It's a disastrous way of living that's causing an epidemic of diabetes unparalleled in proportion in North America. Yet Ministers of Health, Medical Associations and the Public Health Service are failing to alert the person-on-the-street to the immense dangers of this twentieth century menace.

I normally dislike quoting statistics, but it's impossible to ignore these awesome figures. It's estimated that every 60 seconds a new diabetic is diagnosed in North America. That every year 600,000 additional people become victims. That five per cent of the population are diabetic. And that one child in five born today will become diabetic in North America.

The tale of chronic impairment and death from diabetes is appalling. For instance, diabetes is the third ranking cause of death after cardiovascular disease and cancer. Today 50 per cent of diabetics will die from a heart attack. Diabetics are 25 times more prone to blindness, 17 times more apt to develop kidney disease and 5 times more likely to get gangrene leading to amputation.

It's amazing how quickly we respond to some trendy diseases and ignore the real killers. Remember the reaction a few years ago when several cases of Legionaire's Disease were diagnosed. Imagine the outrage if a new case of polio or measles occurred every 60 seconds! A dozen government commissions would be formed and millions of dollars made available to fight such scourges. And suppose the public knew who or what was responsible for these diseases. The outcry to identify and isolate the villian would be heard from one end of the country to the other.

Yet a glimpse at history clearly shows what's causing the epidemic of diabetes. Four decades ago 90 per cent of patients who developed this disease had simply inherited a genetic predisposition. Only 10 per cent was due to poor lifestyle. Now the reverse is true and 90 per cent of diabetes results from faulty lifestyle and 10 per cent from family genetics. We are obviously doing something wrong.

How could our lifestyle degenerate so much in a mere 40 years? Take a look around you. Too many people have simply become obese. Those extra pounds are often linked inextricably to diabetes.

It's no secret why some people become obese. Like King Henry VIII they devour too much of everything. They are well aware of why they've become obese and it would take the second coming of Christ, or a world famine to change their gluttonous lifestyle. But multi-national companies which produce prepackaged and prepared foods have set the trap for others by pouring tons of hidden sugar into them.

I agree sugar does not cause diabetes. And sugar companies can't be blamed for diabetes anymore than distilleries for alcoholism. But we all know the ingredients of a bottle of liquor. How many people know there are eight teaspoonfulls of sugar in a 10 ounce soft drink? Or that a piece of cherry pie has 14 tsp. Manufacturers for years have placed huge quantities of sugar in food and beverages without people being aware of the amount.

Can government fight the sweetening of this country? A good start would be to force companies to place common sense labelling on food products. 99 per cent of the laity do not understand the current practice of listing chemical ingredients. It may not be scientific but everyone knows what a teaspoonful of sugar represents. And when one case of diabetes is discovered every 60 seconds it's time to be more specific.

Barnum of Barnum and Bailey, was right. There's a sucker born every minute. But most consumers are not so stupid they would continue to buy cereal if a large red label warned them the box cntained 50 per cent sugar. Intelligent consumers would decide it was safer for their children to eat the box.

Governmental inconsistency is mind boggling. The Department of Health justifiably places a warning on tobacco products. The Public Health Service protects us from measles and dirty restaurants. We're constantly told about the evils of too much fat in our diet. Yet food producers are allowed to pour tons of hidden sugar into packaged foods, disguising it in labelling the public does not understand.

The failure of the Public Health Service to warn the public about the sweetening of our country is the greatest medical error of modern times. It is causing an immense amount of personal suffering and the economic cost is appalling. It's a sad commentary on our way of life when we can send rockets to Mars. Yet one child in five born today is destined to fight off the dreadful and life-threatening complications of diabetes.

W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones

Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod