COMMENTARY | An article posted by Time Magazine talks in-depth about a new push to regulate sugar in the health industry. New science initiatives want to label sugar a toxin and regulate it much like alcohol and tobacco. They call for legally restricting access for teens younger than 17 years old and targeted punitive taxation. Is this a reasonable decision to make regarding something that is considered a staple to our diet?
According to the Time article, the reasoning of the pro-regulation crowd is as such: When sugar is consumed in high doses it can cause liver problems, obesity, diabetes and a number of other chronic health issues. In high quantities it can even cause a rush similar to other controlled substances. The key concept in this comparison between sugar and controlled substances is the high doses needed to affect a change. If people would simply control their own intake of sugar and take ownership of their own health, then they would live a long healthy life.
Other things in life can cause you some serious harm when consumed in high doses as well. What about water? According to the National Library of Medicine, when you drink large amounts of water at one sitting, it can cause hyponatremia and death.
Too much oxygen can lead to confusion, seizures and death. Even soy, the main ingredient of the poster child for healthy eating tofu, can be dangerous in high quantities according to the Scientific American. Its estrogen mimicking properties can disrupt female fertility, puberty in girls and boys, and cause birth defects. Are we to regulate, excessively tax, or ban these things?
First we allowed government to selectively and oppressively tax tobacco and alcohol because everyone can agree that they are bad. Then bureaucratic crusaders rolled in the banning of trans-fats. Now they are targeting salt and sugar for elimination.
When we as citizens give up our control of what we eat and what we drink to the ever reaching arm of the government, we give up our rights. Now we are in the process of turning over control of our healthcare to this same people. Under the guise of saving money, I fear that sugar will not be the end of this absurd regulation.
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