The ultimate guilt trip: Sugar Stacks
When it comes to eating food that’s bad for you, many people like to keep blissfully in the dark. After all, who wants to go around all day feeling like a lard-ass? After browsing the Web site Sugar Stacks, it’s hard not to feel that way no matter what you eat.
The premise of the site is simple: Take a bunch of everyday items such as soft drinks, candy, snacks, yogurt, even fruit, and show how much sugar is in each one.
While visiting the site, I was munching on an apple and considering myself a pretty healthy guy. Then a picture showed me that the apple I was eating contained 23 grams of sugar — six sugar cubes. I didn’t feel healthy after that.
The owners of the Web site make it clear that they treat all sugar the same, whether it’s high-fructose corn syrup, glucose or even honey. They admit that the standard is not entirely fair.
What’s less clear is what message they’re trying to send, but it’s clearly scaring people. As one commentator posted, “I’ve recovered from an eating disorder. Reading your snide comments about sugar in vegetables made me afraid to eat anything except water.”
Still, it’s worth browsing through all the sections to realize just how much sugar we consume on a daily basis. Take reduced-fat Oreos, which have just as much sugar as normal Oreos. Or the 22-plus cubes of sugar in a Big Gulp drink. Now that you know the truth, it’s much harder to look away.
Consider it the Scared Straight of food.
(Image via Flickr: CJM)
