Sweet enemy to be taken down

Scientists found following experiments on mice that hormones activated when we feel anxious or worried have been found in taste cells, stimulating our desire for sweetness.

Scientists found following experiments on mice that hormones activated when we feel anxious or worried have been found in taste cells, stimulating our desire for sweetness.

Published Feb 12, 2014

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Cape Town - First it was the regulation of trans fats in foods, then salt was targeted as a strategy to fight off burgeoning lifestyle diseases such as hypertension and heart disease.

But it looks like the country’s newest enemy is sugar.

This week Melvyn Freeman, chief director for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the national Department of Health, confirmed that a “sugar tax” was one of the possibilities the department was pondering in its attempt to reduce the incidence of obesity and cancer.

While such a tax was not imminent, Freeman said: “it is something we are looking at… it’s one of the many options we are looking at, but there’s no concrete plan yet”.

While the department was still studying evidence, and the possible impact of such a tax on the country’s health, Freeman said evidence was clear that sugar was one of the major contributing factors to obesity, which was considered a risk factor for other lifestyle diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

The proposal was warmly received by several nutrition experts, but they warned that it should be explored carefully.

UCT sports science professor Tim Noakes, pictured right, said while he was supportive of such a plan, it would not make a difference to the disease burden of the country which he said was poor education and wrong food choices.

“Regulating sugar alone will not do it. People need to be properly educated about what is causing these diseases. They need to be encouraged to reduce their consumption of processed foods – and healthy, real foods such as unprocessed meat, fish, dairy and leafy vegetables, need to be made affordable for a much larger proportion of all South Africans.

“The sugar has some adverse direct effects of itself, but the main problem is that it is the addictive component of the modern processed foods,” he said.

Dr Craig Nossel, head of Discovery’s Vitality Wellness, said the taxation of sugary drinks was something that should be explored as part of the country’s strategy to fight disease.

“It has been shown that a sugar tax has the potential to generate substantial revenue, which could be channelled to address and prevent non-communicable diseases through various enticing and motivating offerings such as subsidies of fruits and vegetables,” he said.

But Nossel warned that a sugar tax should not be seen as a silver bullet against such diseases.

“Rather, legislation should form part of a variety of initiatives such as marketing, consumer education and responsibility.

“Initiatives such as discounting health foods (using sugar taxes) can help people shift from cheaper and unhealthier foods to healthier options,” he said.

But another SA nutritionist, Vanessa de Ascencao from OTC Pharma, went further calling for sugar to be classified as a Class A drug. She said language used to describe the effects of sugar such as “sugar crashes” and sugar cravings”, mimicked the effects of drugs.

“Taxation should be part of a broader plan. The government should ensure healthy food, such as fruit and vegetables, is more affordable than nutrient-depleted food. This should be coupled with a national education drive on what to eat and the dangers of sugar and artificial sweeteners which are just as unhealthy and not a viable alternative,” she said. - Cape Argus

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