Sugar - The Root of all Evil

   The other night my husband and I were having a conversation about how I was doing on this program.  I told him I was doing quite well, and hadn't even found myself "bending the rules" very often at all (which frankly surprised me!).  I then shared how I was unprepared when away from home one day last week, and found myself eating an Almond Berry Chicken Salad from Wendy's. I explained to him how it wasn't the salad itself that was a problem, but the "Fat-Free" dressing which I should not have indulged in, as it was loaded with sugar.  He chimed right in saying how his sister was talking about all the "Fat-Free" foods that have tons of sugar added to make up for the loss of taste caused by removing the fat. This sparked an entirely new discussion about how the "Fat-Free" industry played a huge role in the rampant obesity epidemic in the US. This is when I told him about the piece I had seen on a television news show where they said that sugar was so addictive and responsible for so many deaths from multiple diseases, that someday sugar would be lumped in the same category with nicotine, alcohol, and other addictive, destructive substances.  He looked at me as though  I had sprouted another head!  I guess he's not quite buying into that, but it does give us something to ponder. I think the reason we look at sugar differently, is simply due to the fact that it is in the food category and, therefore, necessary to our survival. But, let's face it, sugar is not necessary for survival, it just tastes good!