The connection between sugar and Alzheimer’s can not be disputed.

The New Scientist Magazine, September 3, 2012 issue explains the sugar-Alzheimer’s link as the condition by which our muscle, fat, and liver cells stop responding to insulin.

The cells no longer metabolize glucose properly thereby leading to insulin resistance or pre-diabetes.

This, then causes the pancreas to produce excess amounts of insulin even as excess glucose builds up in the blood causing insulin spikes which overwhelm the brain.

Insulin also regulates neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, which are crucial for memory and learning and is also important for the function and growth of blood vessels, which supply oxygen and glucose to the brain.

There’s also research tying brain dysfunction directly to excess sugar consumption. In a 2012 study, UCLA scientists fed rats a heavy ration of fructose (which makes up roughly a half of both table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup) and noted both insulin resistance and impaired brain function within six weeks. Interestingly, they found both insulin function and brain performance to improve in the sugar-fed rats when they were also fed omega-3 fatty acids. In other words, another quirk of the American diet, deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids, seems to make us more vulnerable to the onslaught of sweets.

Another facet of our diets, lots of cheap added fats, may also trigger insulin problems and brain dysfunction. New Scientist flags yet another recent study, this one from University of Washington researchers, finding that rats fed a high-fat diet for a year lost their ability to regulate insulin, developed diabetes, and showed signs of brain deterioration.

Government subsidies of corn and sugar have made these commodities incredibly inexpensive for the food industry which puts sweeteners in almost everything we eat.

This, at the same time Alzheimer’s costs $200 billion a year in health care alone.

The U.S. government has declared a mandate to find a cure for Alzheimer’s by 2025.

Cheap sugar comes at a very high price, indeed.

Eating healthy is the best idea, but what happens when you can’t decipher food labels well enough to know if you are making the best choice.

Check out the most common food ingredients to find out what good for you, what’s not and what it all means.

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Why is healthy organic food so expensive and high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, soy oils and cornstarch so cheap?

Because these four main ingredients in junk food get money from Uncle Sam!

Mayor Bloomberg of New York City has proposed new legislation which would ban ‘super-size’ sugary drinks served in cups greater than 16 ounces.

Many applaud the efforts as one solution to the growing problem of obesity and type 2 diabetes which is crippling the health care system.

There have been studies that have found correlations between food portion sizes and rates of obesity, blood pressure and heart disease. A report by the CDC found portions increased 75 percent between 1977 and 1991 – unsurprisingly, we’ve observed huge jumps in obesity rates as well.
Studies have shown that people with more on their plates eat nearly 50 percent more than people who are served smaller portions.

This is a small victory for consumers who, finally aware of the dangers of high fructose corn syrup, will continue to be able to identify it in the products they buy.

Michael M. Landa, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the F.D.A., denied the petition, saying that the term “sugar” is used only for food “that is solid, dried and crystallized.”

“HFCS is an aqueous solution sweetener derived from corn after enzymatic hydrolysis of cornstarch, followed by enzymatic conversion of glucose (dextrose) to fructose,” the letter stated. “Thus, the use of the term ‘sugar’ to describe HFCS, a product that is a syrup, would not accurately identify or describe the basic nature of the food or its characterizing properties.”

The Corn Refiners Association is afraid that consumers will avoid the product, which has received a bad reputation, under the pretext of “false information”, namely that corn syrup is natural and is the same as sugar.

The fact is that it is NOT natural , it is manufactured in a lab and can harm to people who can not properly metabolize the ingredient.

And further, to argue that HFCS is the same as sugar only calls into question the efficacy of sugar in the human diet.

There are many who would postulate that there already exists an overabundance of sugar which is causing obesity and Type 2 diabetes in epidemic proportions.

Carmel coloring in soda poses a cancer risk.

This is just one more reason to avoid soft drinks.

As if high fructose corn syrup, food coloring, and preservatives don’t make soft drinks unattractive and unhealthy enough now the danger of cancer must be considered.

While toxicology studies show that 4-MI can cause cancer in lab animals, it’s not clear whether it’s a human carcinogen — or whether the amounts detected in sodas pose any kind of a threat.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in February 2011 petitioned the FDA to ban this kind of caramel coloring. It also wanted the cosmetic additive renamed “chemically modified caramel coloring” or “ammonia-sulfite process caramel coloring.”

Fatty snacks and a glass of wine with your dinner are just two of the ways that you can block the absorption of sugar into your system.

You can blunt the blood sugar-raising effects by taking advantage of natural substances in foods that slow carbohydrate digestion and entry into the bloodstream. No matter what kind of sugar blocker you use, your waistline (and health) will win in the end.

Read on for more tips.

Should we regulate sugar the way we regulate alcohol and tobacco?

Some say yes and they have some pretty good arguments for doing so.

If you have ever come in contact with a sugar cane then you know that it takes a whole lot of effort and chewing to extract a bit of sweetness.

Nature has a way of packaging calorie dense foods very well!

And for good reason. We all know what happens when you get too much of a good thing.

In this video below, Dr. Lustig offers some great reasons why we need to cut back on the sugar!

Could more than 2,600 deaths a year be prevented by taxing soda?

Some analysts think, yes.

In general, they assume that if the price of soda rises, people will buy less of it. “We assume that 40 percent of the calories saved by forgoing a sugary drink are replaced with other calories,” she says, meaning either calories from drinks such as milk or fruit juice or from food. “So for every 100 calories in soda avoided, only 60 calories are actually lost in the diet.”

This is not the first study to predict that a soda tax would be effective in reducing consumption. Yale University researchers concluded in this report that taxing sugary drinks would lead to economic benefits as well.

Using the funds that come from taxing unhealthy foods could be the answer to a host of health cost issues.

A battle wages for your “sweet tooth“.

Big corn manufactures are spending tens of millions of dollars to re-brand high fructose corn syrup.

Sugar makers say the corn industry is making a desperate effort to salvage the product which consumers are increasingly avoiding.

“The most widely used kind of HFCS may have disruptive effects on metabolism, as the body doesn’t utilize fructose well. In fact, regular consumption of HFCS may contribute to obesity.”

The National Consumers League has sent a letter urging the FDA to reject the renaming petition and noted that the corn sweetener in question “has received much negative publicity over the last several years.”

“Questions have been raised concerning potential links to obesity and a variety of obesity-related health conditions including diabetes and heart disease,” the letter said.

“Some consumers are concerned about emerging science regarding nutrition and health effects of HFCS, while others simply want to avoid highly processed sweeteners in favor of more natural substances.”

All sugars should be consumed in moderation and are best consumed in the form of whole foods such as fruits with the skin intact.