By JOSH NEWTON
TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — There’s a good chance your cupboard holds a little piece – or package – of the world’s history.
“... Sweet stuff once played a major role in one of the sourest eras in modern times,” Heather Whipps, a freelance writer with a degree in anthropology, wrote in a recent LiveScience.com article. Whipps says sugar – or “white gold,” as British colonists described it – “was the engine of slave trade” that resulted in millions of Africans coming to the Americas in the 16th century. Sugar cane plantations used as cash crops had a lasting effect on a large part of the southern U.S. and South America.
“Profit from the sugar trade was so significant that it may have even helped America achieve independence from Great Britain,” said Whipps.
Americans each consume as much as 142 pounds of sugar every year. It affects attitudes – a treat may brighten someone’s day – and it affects health in terms of obesity and diabetes.
“Too much can affect your attitude,” said Reasor’s Bakery Manager Georgia Million.
Million is diabetic, and too much sugar “makes me mean,” she joked.
Sugar adds myriad flavor to foods, said Million.
“The more rich the product, the more sugar is in it,” she said.
She’s not sure how much sugar the bakery at the Tahlequah Reasor’s goes through in a day, but a quick glance at the coolers and tables around the area prove it takes quite a bit. As Pamela Bliss decorated a cake Tuesday afternoon, it became obvious how much sugar is involved in many desserts – from the basic batter, all the way to the icing that covers the dessert, and any sugary candies to throw light on the matter.
“Our killer brownies are very rich!” said Million.
That makes them the bakery’s top seller, most likely, said Million. Next comes Italian creme cakes.
“Those are popular with the public,” said Million. “Most prefer those to any others.”
Sugar is also an important part of Tippin’s pies, which are only sold in Oklahoma through Reasor’s. The grocery highlights a special pie each month, which is only available that month. Right now, the feature is a strawberry-banana, “and we’re getting ready to feature a banana-split pie,” said Million.
When they’re featured, the pies generally fly off the shelf, she said.
(But for those who don’t need or want some extra sugar, Million said a new feature will be no-sugar-added fruit pies.)
“When I think about how much sugar I put in a batch of cookies, 1-1/2 cups or 2 cups per batch, it kind of hits home just how much we like sugar,” said Florence Lewis, who bakes a lot of sweet treats for her children and grandchildren. “I can’t think of very many desserts I’ve ever made that don’t have sugar as a staple ingredient.”
Especially her homemade brownies, which she says take 3 cups of sugar for a 9-inch by 13-inch pan.
“Sugar is comfort, I think,” said Lewis.
Cherokee County Health Department Health Educator Joshua Daily said it’s important to realize many foods that are eaten – sugar-laden or otherwise – are eventually digested and broken down into sugar, or glucose. That glucose is then used as fuel.
Natural, dietary sugar is not itself necessarily a positive, said Daily, but the nutrients surrounding it are. Added sugars are rarely in foods with such high nutrient content, he said.
“If an argument can be made for a benefit for added sugars, it may be that in some cases, small amounts of sugar added to nutrient-dense foods may increase a person’s intake of such foods, thus improving nutrient intake,” said Daily.
The main harm in added sugars, he said, is an overconsumption of them, which can lead to an intake of too many calories and cause weight gain. If excess sugar consumption is a culprit in being overweight via excess calorie intake, reducing sugar intake is an important step in reducing the risk of many chronic diseases.
“I do believe many people today are beginning to understand how sugar can affect their health, and that most people realize reducing their sugar intake would be a positive step,” said Daily.
(Some 33 percent of the sugar consumed in the U.S. is through regular soft drinks, said Daily.)
“Though this information is now starting to make its way through communities, there is still much progress to be made in actually getting people to put this info to use and reduce their sugar intake,” said Daily.
He believes barriers to solving these problems include widespread availability, convenience, relatively low costs – “some of which is perceived,” said Daily – advertising, and government contributions by the sugar industry.
“And last but not least, people just plain like the taste!” said Daily, who believes health educators should help people find affordable, convenient, tasty alternatives to sugary snacks and drinks.
According to Whipps, sugar was the most important overseas commodity for Europe several centuries ago, accounting for about one-third of Europe’s entire economy.
“The importance of those sugar-rich colonies, especially those belonging to Britain and France, had enormous consequences for the map of the Americas during the 1700s,” said Whipp.
Whipp wrote that historians believe Britain lost the original 13 American colonies, in part, “because its military was busy protecting its sugar islands... .”
