Selling Us Wellness

Not all of the people who are selling us wellness are accountable for the truth of what they’re offering. The folks at the Glycemic Index Foundation have put together a solid analysis of the gaps between truth and reality in print and online from people who are selling us wellness in the form of freedom from all that bad stuff: sugar, dairy, and gluten.

It seems that you can find an ample supply of miraculous recipes for all kinds of sweet stuff that is “sugar-free.” But you don’t have to look very far to figure out that the definition of sugar these publishers use is very narrow. The thinking is that a recipe is morally outstanding if it uses no refined sucrose. So authors assume we will not notice the honey, maple syrup, coconut nectar, rice syrup, molasses, and more.

If someone is going to get all technical on us, it’s sugar, too. But it’s not the bad kind that Big Food uses, right?

Our friends at the GI Foundation have likely identified the first wave of unintended consequences from over-reaching efforts to turn sugar into a controlled substance. Leaving no room for moderation leads to self-deception. Remember how the drive for fat-free foods gave us SnackWell cookies with health claims?

Righteous movements have a way of taking us to a place we don’t recognize as our goal.

Click here and here to read more from the GI Foundation.

Auctioneer, photograph © DC Central Kitchen / flickr

Subscribe by email to follow the accumulating evidence and observations that shape our view of health, obesity, and policy.