Improper Labeling

-Nutrition labels always have a small disclaimer reading “Percentages based on a 2,000 calorie diet” in reference to the percentages of the daily value their product has in various categories. With this in mind think about which categories have percentages next to them (because it isn’t all). You are probably thinking of saturated fat, sodium, or one of the other common types listed, yet the one I want you to imagine the row for sugar. This row never has one of those percentage values based on a 2,000 calorie diet and do you know why? Because sugar is unnecessary in a daily diet! Companies know if they put the percentage on there and it read 300% next to sugar that no one who could read would buy their product. This irks me so very much because of just how much sugar is put into products today and how people do not even realize that they are gaining weight because they are eating ten times more sugar a day than they need to be.
-On average, it is alright to consume forty grams of sugar per day maximum in a 2,000 calorie diet. One twenty ounce bottle of Mountain Dew contains seventy-seven grams of sugar. So if you were to drink a Mountain Dew in the morning when you woke up, you would have already doubled the maximum healthy amount of sugar that you need for that day. I don’t believe that this type of beverage (although I used to enjoy them) should even be allowed to be sold. I feel it is safe to say that this deceptive labeling and these sugar-laden products are major contributors to the exponential increase in obesity and diabetes in this country. Obviously I’m not trying to say this is the cause yet most people who fit into the category of overweight do not realize how much sugar they are eating (or drinking).
-I will admit that I used to drink soda and eat junk food all the time but that was only until I realized what I was doing to my body and how unhealthy it was for me to be consuming all that sugar. Although it may sound like I hate sugar, please do not misinterpret. I have a larger sweet tooth than most yet I see this improper labeling and can’t help but think that someone up high in the ranks somewhere along the way decided that money comes before the customer’s health and no one (at least to my current knowledge) is trying to change that.