Heart disease is the leading cause for death in the United States.
It is responsible for 1 in 4 U.S. deaths and kills more than 600,000. It’s not surprising that scientists have focused their efforts on lowering our risk of developing heart disease for many decades.
They believed that dietary fat was the problem.
This was the catalyst for the rise in low-fat movements, which began in the 1960s. We now know that fat is not the #1 enemy in heart disease.
It’s sugar.
This is why an new explosive paper has been published in the Journal of American Medicine Association. It’s making waves in research circles.
This paper exposes a decades-old sugar industry conspiracy to shift blame.
Even more alarming is the fact Harvard scientists were involved in an industry-funded plot to increase American sugar consumption.
Here’s what happened.
The Birth of Big Sugar’s Conspiracy to Blame Fat
Henry Hass, the president of Sugar Research Foundation (SRF) in 1954, gave an address to industry insiders.
He painted a vivid picture of an exciting new business opportunity in it.
He said that if American consumers could be convinced to view dietary fats as a risk, they would likely cut them out.
They would have to replace it by sugar.
He estimated that America’s sugar consumption could rise by up to one-third.
In the 1960s, sugar’s impact on our health became more apparent. John Hickson (VP at the SRF), said that sugar was “less desirable” than other carbs as a dietary source of calories.
They decided to finance their own research to “refute” these claims.
Harvard Paid by the Sugar Industry to Do Its Dirty Work
The Harvard connection was not well-known at the time.
was also a member on the board of SRF. He was Harvard’s Public Health Nutrition Department’s chairman. The SRF paid about $50,000 for a literature review project through him.
A literature review project’s purpose is to identify larger trends in a particular field of study.
The SRF selected a number of articles for their literature review and asked Harvard researchers to evaluate them.
They got what they wanted.
The 1967 review paper was published. It applied a clear double standard to all articles.
Researchers that found sugar increases the risk of heart disease were heavily dismissed by the authors. They also blamed investigator incompetence and flaws in the study’s methodology. However, these same issues are ignored in studies that link fat to heart disease.
Some examples:
- A study in which rats were fed a low-fat and high-sugar diet was discarded from the review. “These diets are seldom consumed by men.”
- Another study that showed health benefits of eating more vegetables and less sugar was discredited because it was not feasible.
The study concluded that a low-fat diet was the best way to lower your risk of developing heart disease.
This was not the study’s greatest flaw.
It was actually what the paper didn’t disclose: it was funded from the sugar industry!
This was a mind-boggling conflict between interests that has remained secret for many decades.
Until now.
Big Sugar tried to hide the long-term health effects of sugar consumption. But, we now know the truth.
What Sugar Can Do to Your Body
Healthline states that added sugars account for as much as 17% of total calories consumed by adults in the US.
Studies have shown that sugar intake can cause:
- Weight gain
- Acne
- Aging skin
- Low energy
- Fatal liver disease
- Cognitive decline
It can increase your risk for heart disease, kidney disease, or cancer.
Our sugar addiction is making us sick and fat and placing a huge burden on our broken healthcare system.
What’s the best way to cut down on sugar consumption?
Reducing sugary drinks such as soda and fruit juice.
A cup of fruit juice has approximately 23 grams of sugar. A can of soda, on the other hand, may have around 39 grams depending on its brand.
The good news is that you don’t have to cut out sugar to enjoy delicious beverages.
You can start using stevia or monk fruit to sweeten your drinks and desserts. You can try to cut down on sweets entirely.
It’s important to find sugar-free products that work for you.
We want to hear from you.
How do you feel about sugar and fat in your diet? Is there conspiracy to frame fat as the bad guy? Hit us up at [email protected] to weigh in.
References
1. Heart Disease Facts https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
2. 50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists To Point Blame At Fat https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/13/493739074/50-years-ago-sugar-industry-quietly-paid-scientists-to-point-blame-at-fat
3. Sugar Industry and Coronary Heart Disease Research https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2548255
4. How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html
5. The sweet danger of sugar https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar
6. 11 Reasons Why Too Much Sugar Is Bad for You https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/too-much-sugar