A century ago sugar was considered a luxury in the home. It seldom found a place on the table, and very little was employed in baking. The estimated consumption of sugar per capita annually after the Revolutionary War was less than seven and a half pounds. In the period from 1821 to 1825 it had risen to eight and a third pounds per capita.
Before the recent world war more was paid out by the average family for sugar than for potatoes. It is no longer a mere flavoring commodity; it is now regarded as a staple article of food and a necessity in every home. In the year 1917 the amount of sugar used in the United States was eighty-three pounds per capita, or ten times the amount used a century ago. From figures disclosed by the Sugar Equalization Board, we find that during the first nine months of 1951 the consumption amounted to ninety-three pounds annually per capita. In spite of the restrictions enforced by the Government, the use of sugar is increasing, and now is almost 120 pounds per capita annually. Sugar is not a necessity in the diet of man any more than it is in the diet of the horse. Men in the past have lived and enjoyed good health without it.
Sugar consumption is con fined almost exclusively to civilized man. Nature serves sugar in fruits, some containing a large amount. Fruit sugar does not require any special change in order to be utilized by the system in the production of heat and energy. Paul's advice to Timothy, who evidently had some aggravated form of digestive trouble, was, "Use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." Unfermented grape juice is really a predigested food. The same change takes place in the ripening of fruit that takes place in starch digestion in the alimentary canal. In the green state bananas are tasteless. They contain chiefly starch. As the bananas begin to ripen they become sweet the starch is converted into sugar. The riper they become, the sweeter they are. This is true of practically all fruit. It is nature's way of serving her sweets, and served in this way they are beneficial and desirable.
Cane sugar does not exist in nature as it is dispensed by the grocer. In its concentrated form it is a gastrointestinal irritant. The prevalent use of sugar is one of the chief causes of intestinal catarrh. The prevalence of appendicitis in any country may be largely gauged by the prevalence of the use of sugar.
Alcohol and acetic acid are formed by the fermentation of sugar. The free use of sugar in the food sours the stomach, and a sour stomach and a sweet disposition are not natural associates. The less of sweets consumed, the easier it will be possible to develop a sweet disposition. It may be observed that children who eat sweets freely do not have sweet dispositions. The nervousness so prevalent in America among women and children is due in a great measure to the prevalent use of sweet foods and sweet drinks.
By the use of starchy foods, such as potatoes and grains, it is possible, by proper mastication and saturation with saliva containing ptyalin, to manufacture our own sugar and live independent of sugar trusts. This homemade product is in every way superior to the store-bought product. Children can be brought up so that they will not desire sweets and pastry.
Children that are reared in this manner, living on the simple products of the soil fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, and milk will enjoy better health and have better dispositions than those who have been introduced to unwholesome sweets.
Should we cut down the per capita consumption of sugar to what it was a century ago that is, to seven and a half instead of 120 pounds annually the results would be improved health, sweeter homes, and fewer divorces.
