DiscussMormonism.com

SALT LAKE CITY — It's hard enough to get 7-year-olds like Donavan Peterson to brush and floss — much less to keep them away from the soda and sweets that they crave.

So it wasn't surprising that Donavan showed up to his pediatric dentist in Kaysville with another cavity, now his second or third one, said mom Elisha Peterson.

"They get sweets wherever they go," she said. "You go to the movies, you get sweets. You go to school, you get sweets. … I think it became a culture."

Donovan is not alone. A Utah Department of Health report released Friday revealed that about two-thirds of Utah children ages 6 to 9 have had cavities.

In 1822, the average American ate the amount of sugar found in one of today's 12-ounce sodas every 5 days. Now, we eat that much every 7 hours.

That's the conclusion of researchers Stephan Guyenet and Jeremy Landen.

Stephan wrote up his findings at Whole Health Source and included the following chart, which shows per-capita US sugar consumption over the past two centuries.

As the chart shows, we're now eating about 100 pounds a year apiece.

No wonder we're so fat.

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) or sugary drinks are leading sources of added sugars in the American diet. Frequently drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with weight gain/obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, non-alcoholic liver disease, tooth decay and cavities, and gout, a type of arthritis.1-4 Limiting the amount of SSB intake can help individuals maintain a healthy weight and have a healthy diet.

What are sugar-sweetened beverages?

Sugar-sweetened beverages are any liquids that are sweetened with various forms of added sugars like brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, and sucrose.5
Examples of SSBs include, but are not limited to regular soda (not sugar-free), fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened waters, and coffee and tea beverages with added sugars.5

CameronMO wrote:

reflexzero wrote:Sugar beet is the one true crop.