Sugar, on a Slippery Slope

David Katz argues that the statistics about sugar being "toxic"  are "something of a distortion." He makes the case that oxygen in high doses can be lethal, but it is not considered poison because it is the dosage that makes the poison. Excess sugar intake is, without question, a cause of obesity and other diseases partially due to its influence on hormones, such as insulin, which lead to inflammation. Finding effective ways to reduce sugar intake is urgent, and Katz supports the taxation of soda and restriction on certain food sales in schools . He notes on the difficulty, however on putting an age limit on buying "sugary" foods and of regulating ingredients because it is not easy to determine where the "regulations should begin and end." This also bring about questions of regulating trans fats or high-sodium foods, and then what about limiting the quantity of food that people intake? And would a regulation of sugar just cause companies to use more artificial sweeteners? There is also a problem focusing all of unhealthy eating on sugar because it relies on a combination of many different nutrients. Katz sees the problem, but recognizing that we may not find a solution in heavy regulation of sugar.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-katz-md/sugar-regulation_b_1255695.html