Many scientists believe our love of sugar may actually be an addiction (上瘾). When we eat or drink sugary food, the sugar enters our blood and influences parts of our brain that make us feel good. Then the good feeling goes away, leaving us wanting more. All tasty foods do this, but sugar has a stronger effect.
"It seems like every time I study an illness, I find my way back to sugar," says Richard Johnson, a famous scientist. One-third of adults in his country have high blood pressure, and up to 347 million have diabetes (糖尿病). Why? "Sugar, we believe, is one of the main reasons," says Johnson.
Our bodies are designed to live on very little sugar. Early humans often had little food, so the bodies learned to keep sugar as fat. In this way, we had energy when there was no food. But today, most people have more than enough. So the very important thing that once saved us may now be killing us.
It's clear that we need to eat less sugar. The trouble is, in today's world, it's very difficult to avoid sugar because our foods are increasingly filled with it. In most advertisements, some manufactures even use sugar to take the place of the fat in foods. As a result, the fat in the foods is less. This may make the food appear healthier, but much sugar is often added.
But there are those who are fighting back against sugar. Many schools are offering more fruit instead of desserts. Other schools are building places for students to do exercise. The battle (战斗) has not yet been lost.
