Have you ever asked yourself, if we know that something is destructive for us why we freely allow its general usage? Why refined sugar continues to cause alarming oral health problems? Human beings are not the sharpest tools in the shed, obviously. However, it might involve more than mere stupidity, rather we can include avarice and exploitation into the mix as well. Dentists know that refined sugar is a destructive force damaging the health of our teeth and gums. Oral health experts have known this for a very long time.
“Excessive sugar consumption is the main cause of dental caries. Dental caries are highly prevalent and negatively impacts the quality of life at all stages. Furthermore, sugar consumption is associated with other noncommunicable conditions and diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.”
– Feldens CA, Pinheiro LL, Cury JA, Mendonça F, Groisman M, Costa RAH, Pereira HC, Vieira AR. Added Sugar and Oral Health: A Position Paper of the Brazilian Academy of Dentistry. Front Oral Health. 2022 Apr 6;3:869112. doi: 10.3389/froh.2022.869112. PMID: 35464781; PMCID: PMC9020561.
Examining The Reasons Why Refined Sugars Still Plague The Dental Wellbeing Of Humanity
The ancient Greeks knew sugar had a deleterious effect on teeth more than two millennia ago. DNA evidence points to sugarcane evolving in South East Asia. Sugar in the West was initially considered a rare exotic spice and part of that trade beginning around the 15C. Madeira was the place that the Portuguese kicked off this lucrative cultivation and refinement before shifting it to Brazil in the New World. Sugar and the slave trade became inextricably linked much to the detriment of Indigenous populations. The sweet addiction of folk in the West came at the cost of millions of lives lost via disease and exploitative work practices. The entire original population of the Caribbean were wiped out thanks to slavery and sugarcane plantations run by Europeans. The deaths of Indigenous people in Central and South America ran into the tens of millions during the centuries of European expansion into the Americas.
“As the 15th century drew to a close, some 60 million people lived across the Americas, sustaining themselves with the bounty of the vast lands they inhabited. But with the arrival of the first European settlers, waves of new diseases, along with warfare, slavery and other brutality would kill off around 56 million people, or around 90 percent of the indigenous population.”
The Evils Of Sugar & Slavery
“Christopher Colombus was a dedicated slaver funding his expeditions via sending thousands of Indigenous Indians back to Spain. The Indigenous population of the Caribbean were completely wiped out via slavery, disease, and warfare. Those residing there now are all from African descent via that slave trade.”
Quite simply, there was a lot of money in selling sugar and that is the base reason why it has continued to cause humankind a great deal of health problems over the journey. Greed and profitability will invariably gazump all other concerns when you boil it all down. Unfortunately, nothing much has changed on the human score in the 21C. Global politics is leading a backward renaissance at this moment, it seems in this regard, for the expediency of more short term profit for the already wealthy.
“No other substance occupies so much of the world’s land, for so little benefit to humanity, as sugar. According to the latest data, sugarcane is the world’s third most valuable crop after cereals and rice, and occupies 26,942,686 hectares of land across the globe. Its main output – apart from commercial profits – is a global public health crisis, which has been centuries in the making.”
A small section of our society making lots of money at the expense of billions of people having trouble with their teeth and gums. A substance, which contributes to the misery of tooth ache, gum disease and the loss of teeth is sold everywhere and included as an ingredient in just about everything. Why refined sugar continues to cause alarming oral health problems? Profit and human greed.
The Dental Conundrum Around Refined Sugar In Our Diets
“Due to its complexity, dental caries requires different strategies to promote health and reduce the burden of the disease in the population. Dental caries occurrence depends on educational interventions, community fluoridation policies, and individual factors such as socioeconomic status, behaviour, and biological factors. The literature consistently shows that diet, with excessive sugar consumption, particularly sucrose (the sugar originated from sugar cane or beets), is the main cause of dental caries in all ages. Hence, sugar continues to be highly consumed worldwide from the first year of life. The Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture states that Brazil has been, for decades, the world’s largest sugar producer and exporter, exerting major influence on global sugar supply and prices.“
So why does refined sugar continue to cause alarming oral health problems? If you want a clear eyed example of who we really are, as human beings, then look no further than how we relate to sugar. Our physiology over the vast majority of our time here evolved via diets with little sugar and no refined carbohydrates. We are not designed to eat either of these things and thus it causes us great health problems. In the beginning of the sugar trade, it was a very expensive product and this naturally reduced its negative impact upon us, but this all changed. The industrial revolution saw this product of millions of enslaved and then indentured workers come down in price and become a ubiquitous item for human beings. The addictive nature of this sweet substance had folk craving for their sugar hit on the tips of tongues. Of course, that same sweet explosion in the mouth was driving bad bacteria wild in the oral cavity.
Human beings like to consider themselves cleverer than other animals but this behaviour is not so very smart. The short term sensation of the sugar hit has to be endlessly repeated whilst the long term damage to teeth and gums is forever without expensive dental care. Even then, the damage done is often irreparable to natural teeth and these must be replaced with some artificial alternative.
The Damage Refined Sugar Does To Our Health
Looking beyond oral health problems refined sugar causes an epidemic of global obesity in countries wealthy enough. Plus, the scourge of diabetes, cancers, heart disease and dementia are all linked to the overconsumption of refined sugars in the diet.
Manufacturers making bad foods and drinks full of sugar and complex carbohydrates are marketed everywhere around the world.
Meanwhile, governments do very little to combat the unfair marketing of sweet stuff to kids or limit the availability of these consumables that they know are bad for our health. Money talks louder than science and informed common sense. Our political systems fail us again and again, as we can see via the rise of many renowned and infamous politicians. Business deals are not the alpha and the omega when it comes to truly being smarter than animals. Greed and avarice are not the traits of higher life forms.
“Sugar has a bittersweet reputation when it comes to health. Sugar occurs naturally in all foods that contain carbohydrates, such as fruits and vegetables, grains, and dairy. Consuming whole foods that contain natural sugar is okay. Plant foods also have high amounts of fiber, essential minerals, and antioxidants, and dairy foods contain protein and calcium. Since your body digests these foods slowly, the sugar in them offers a steady supply of energy to your cells. A high intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains also has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.”
