Sugar And Other Junk Food example essay topic

Clarke 1 Sweet Foods And Peoples Moods Probably some of the most pleasurable and enjoyable memories of a person has to do with sweets. When thinking back to birthdays, there is always the memory of the wonderful cake that mother beautifully made and decorated with frosting and glazes. A typical night out with dad can be transformed into a magical evening with a trip to the ice cream parlor. The end of a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner turns heavenly when a hot apple pie is brought to the table and topped with delicious, melting vanilla ice cream.

A good wedding is never complete without the cutting of the splendid multi-level wedding cake, when the happy new couple gets to playfully shove and smear cake and white frosting into each other's smiling faces. Everyone knows that as a child, the only good part about going to the dentist is getting the candy bar at the end of the visit. Why do some people get sick after eating too much sugar? Some people do not even know that the abuse of sugar can lead to negative effects on your body. There is something strangely enjoyable and resplendent about the consumption of sugar. Why is it that sugar is so deliciously enjoyable and at the same time a food product that has many negative affects on people's health?

For years doctors have been saying that refined sugars are empty calories and consist of absolutely no vitamins or minerals that people need to survive. Dentists warn that sugary foods encourage tooth decay. Many people avoid sweet food because it can lead to obesity, heart problems, diabetes and cancer. These negative responses by people's bodies are actually warnings. Maybe people eat sugar for other reasons than the sweet taste. The human body's negative responses to sugar may be a similar purpose to the reason kids feel pain when they are playing too roughly.

People's consumption of sweet foods might also serve as a sign of defiance against their bodies' health limitations. What many people do not realize is that their tasty treats can affect their mind and emotions. Many parents may be surprised when they realize how sugar can affect their children. All parents want their kids to be well behaved and do well in school. To encourage their kids to behave themselves in school and get good grades, parents often reward their children with sweets such as candy, a special trip to the ice cream parlor, or any other store full of great treats to motivate the young children to keep up the good work. The kids need some kind of incentive right?

Many parents would be very shocked if they knew that the sweet rewards they give to their children for being so studious and well behaved could actually reverse their performance. Jane Goldman, a professor at the University of Connecticut studied preschoolers and did an experiment in which she gave a piece of candy without any sugar to some students and then gave another piece of candy with sugar in it to the other students. The students who consumed the sugar really declined in their performance and made almost twice the amount of errors than before they consumed the sugar (Calvo, 2). Also, when compared to those students who did not consumed the candy, the students who did consumed the sugar engaged in more hyperactive behavior and a reduced amount of on-task conduct after consuming the sugar (Calvo, 2). The students who did not consume the sugar filled candy did twice as well on there behavior. There attentiveness was great, they seem to be more calm than be for, and they focus for a longer period of time.

Who would have thought that sugary treats given to young students as a reward for good school behavior could actually be the reason behind their future educational failure? Perhaps it is time for parents to think of a new method for rewarding their children (Calvo, 2). Besides as a reward for children's good conduct, sweet foods also serve as a social snack at people's gatherings, parties, and other social events. At social gatherings there is always that one table with the display of soda, cookies, bowl of candy, and other sweets that people love to pay a visit to. It is very wield that this area of sweet treats, which is intended to help add to the fun of the social event, is actually capable of making an unsociable event. Most people would not think that their sugary foods could cause people to be unsociable, but in an experiment at a Virginia penal institution, conducted by Dr. Stephen J. Schoenthaler, the prison director agreed to get rid of refined sugar from the diets of a random group of inmates.

During the procedure the overall rate of antisocial behavior decreased by forty-eight percent among the inmates who were fed the sugar free diet, and the antisocial behavior among those fed the regular diet remained unchanged (Alexandra, 4). A follow up study of this experiment at an Alabama correctional facility observed antisocial behavior during a six month period when inmates consumed the regular prison diet, a ten month period in which inmates ate a sugar free diet and another six month period when inmates returned to their standard prison diet. Antisocial behavior decreased by thirty-five percent during the sugar free time frame and increased back to its previous rate when sugar was placed back into the diet (Alexandra, 4). Does a sugar free party sound better now? Another purpose sweets have, is a gift to cheer people up and make them happy. Boyfriends and husbands send their women boxes of chocolate or candy roses on Valentine's Day.

When someone has a death in the family or if anything bad happens to a person the individual can always expect a freshly baked pie or other sweet goodies to lift his or her spirits. When people are sad it is not rare for them to fill themselves with sugar and other junk food. What people do not realize is that consuming all that sugar can put sad individuals into even deeper sorrows. Dr. Nancy Appleton supported the idea that sugar can add to someone's sadness when she plainly stated, "sugar can cause depression" in her seventy-third reason not to eat sugar (Gasser, 3).

During his previously mentioned experiment, Dr. Schoenthaler even stated that after the elimination of sugars from the inmates' diets attempted suicide rates dropped drastically (Alexandrea, 4). People should probably consider just sending a card to someone when they want to uplift a person's spirits because sweet treats probably will not make them any happier... People take pleasure in making those they love happy by showing affection through gifts such as sweet foods they enjoy. This is commonly seen when family members visit each other and grandparents spoil their grandchildren with sweets and junk food along with everyone else sharing dessert such as baked goods, cookies or pies that they brought to the occasion. When sharing these sugary treats many people do not know that what they are giving out could possibly cause their loved one to commit violent crimes and be put into prison. Dr. Schoenthaler's experiment supports this.

When sugary foods were eliminated from the diets of the inmates in Virginia the rate of assault fell by an amazing eighty-two percent (Alexandrea, 4). When sugar was removed from the diets of 1,671 juveniles detained in California violence fell by sixty-two percent among rapists, forty-seven percent among murderers, and forty-three percent among inmates convicted of assault (Alexandrea, 4). Perhaps if sugar was not a part of these inmates' diets before they committed their crimes they may have not have acted violently and therefore not committed the crimes to begin with. So, what is it that causes people to consume sugary foods despite these facts?

It is the defiant ideals of American culture. Since the American Revolution, Americans really have not been happy about the idea of being told what to do. American culture somewhat absorbed a rebellious nature. Even on television people watch shows or movies that show the outlaw or defiant character that refuses to do the ways of society, they dont even care about the consequences. Americans are always trying to overcome and rebel against boundaries and limitations. Perfect examples of this are the invention of the airplane when two Americans defied the ability to fly or the invention of the automobile to go beyond speed limitations.

The consumption of sugar regardless of health risks is just another form of defiance against human limitations. To conclude, sugar is possibly one of the most controversial food products. While the taste is so incredibly pleasing, eating enough of it could harm your health and can effect your attitude and how you feel. Eating too much sugar could even go as far as too drive someone to act violently towards others or cause a parent to unknowingly trigger the decline of their child's performance in school. But these reasons are not enough to stop people from consuming sweet foods.