By Raluca Schachter
Guest writer for Wake Up World
A pat on the back and a big smile of appreciation. A hand-made crown of flowers and twigs. Longer times to play and a visit to the park. These were the types of rewards I received from my teachers and parents when I was a child. Guess what? I went through more than 20 years of school with NO CANDY or KIDDIE FOOD as rewards! I survived! Oh my, how was that possible?
Seriously, CANDY-MANIA is out of control. I’m so tired of people offering me and my family CANDY everywhere I go, no matter what the occasion! It became more than a simple indulgence. It grew deep addictive roots around it.
Studies have shown that sugar is actually more addicting than cocaine, since it tastes better!
“In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved in ancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not adapted to high concentrations of sweet compounds. The supranormal stimulation of these receptors by sugar rich diets, such as those now widely available in modern societies, would generate a supranormal rewards signal in the brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to lead to addiction.”
Here is how a typical day for a typical family looks like, in a society that became addicted to CANDY:
Morning. Mom takes her kid to school where she receives rewarding CANDY because she wears her school spirit t-shirt on that particular day.
Birthday celebration in class. Since parents can’t bring treats that get messy and require too much cleaning, everybody will have a CANDY-type of “treat”, pre-packaged, never-goes-bad, fluorescent non-food, most likely in the form of muffins.
After she drops off her kid, mom checks out the school’s up-coming events and makes a list of things she needs to buy for all these. Let’s see: it has to be cheap, known and loved by everyone and in big quantity. She runs to the local grocery store where she buys packages of CANDY like gummi bears, M & Ms, loli pops and fruit rolls. Done!
She goes to the bank where the teller is so nice and offers her a CANDY, just to show her how much the bank is appreciating her as a customer.
After a few more errands she runs back to school to pick up her kid. The kid comes out of the class with a big smile, holding in one hand CANDY leftovers from the birthday celebration and in the other…you guessed! another rewarding CANDY, a “licorice” that she received for exceptional behavior in class! (as you noticed, “licorice” is in commas, because there is nothing in this toxic candy that resembles the healthy licorice plant!)
Afternoon. Mom and child get ready to go to the pediatrician. Child throws a fit in the car (no wonder after all the candy and school hours, a recipe for disaster is in place). Mom tries to focus on driving and throws another CANDY to her child in the back, to “calm” her down…
They reach the doctor’s office. All goes well and because the child puts herself together and stops crying, hence presenting such a good behavior, the nurse is rewarding her with…you guessed again! Another CANDY!
It’s evening now and the whole family just had dinner. They all agree they had such a full, hard day. They look at the cupboard thinking the same thing: well, we all deserve a “treat” today, we worked so hard and did our best… Don’t you think it’s about time we had some…CANDY???
I hope you see the big picture here…And for the non-believers that still invent excuses to have CANDY, here is a glimpse of the top 4 toxic ingredients these contain and how they affect our health:
1. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
HFCS is in virtually every candy and hard to avoid. It is strongly connected to obesity, heart disease, diabetes and liver problems. Plus, it comes from Genetically Modified Corn (GMO) – no, that doesn’t feed the world, it feeds your disease.
2. Artificial colors
Food coloring (especially Blues 1 and 2, Red 3, Green 3, and Yellow 5) are associated with a handful of cancers, allergic reactions and asthma. Many of them have been banned in various countries around the world. You can still find plenty in US.
3. Trans fat
Very common in most candy bars. They lead to clogged arteries and overall inflammation in the body. Trans fats generate a multitude of imbalances in the body and are one of the major reasons for poor health. There is no safe amount of trans fat in your diet and you should avoid it like the plague.
4. Sodium
To counteract the nauseating sweetness of HFCS-supercharged candies, most are balanced with a hefty dose of salt. Often high amounts of processed salt leads to high blood pressure and stroke. There is a big difference between this type of salt and the healthy variety like Celtic and Himalyan Salt.
Still not convinced?
Then brace yourself for what follows! 
No comments:
Post a Comment