by KAREN KAPLAN
Move over salt. Step aside, saturated fat. There’s a new public enemy in the pantry, and it’s … sugar.
In a provacative commentary coming out in Thursday’s edition of the journal Nature, Dr. Robert Lustig and two colleagues from UC San Francisco argue that the added sugars in processed foods and drinks are responsible for so many cases of chronic disease and premature deaths that their use ought to be regulated, just like alcohol and tobacco.
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But if you set aside both political reality and your sweet tooth, you have to admit that Lustig makes some good points.
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Of these three “risk factors,” only tobacco and alcohol are currently subject to regulation, the authors write. Of course, these differ from food in that they are not necessary for survival. But added sugars – and the items made with them – aren’t necessary either.
Los Angeles Times for more
Watch Dr. Lustig
(Thanks to Salim Amersi)