Talk about health

You know, I'm beginning to get a reputation among my friends as being the "one that watches what he eats". Were people being nasty to me, I wondered. Maybe they were, but why should I care when I eat mostly what is good for me. It struck me that many people find it difficult, to get away from some widely accepted behaviour.

I was a child in the 50's when sugar and sweets were something reserved for special occasions, such as birthdays, Christmas and so on. Chocolate was a reward for a job well done, a chore successfully completed, a test passed. And, I suppose that thinking has come down through the years in my brain.

However, I am not alone. The food industry has worked hard to perpetuate the thought of sweet food and chocolates being a treat. The result is that, almost without thinking, when we want to give a friend, family member or colleague a small present we automatically walk to the sweet counter.

The human race has evolved with a delight for things sweet, partly because they were few of them around in those long-off days. Now in the 21st century, our bodies enjoy the sweet treat as our ancestors did. The difference is that such things are commonplace. No longer are they something for the occasional celebration.

To give you a recent example, my wife and I were going to visit our nephews. We should take a gift for them. What do we buy? Correct! Chocolate bars. There's no way these boys had been deprived of chocolate. In fact, they get money regularly for just such a treat ... almost daily! But, there we were, buying more.

To have given them nothing would mean dropping in the popularity stakes at their house. Or would it? What do you take if not sweets? (Any suggestions gratefully received.) Cash is no answer either. My uncle used to flip me a coin when he visited, and I just spent it. And they are hardly in need of money in any case. Computer games are costly, and they've probably got them already.

Anyway, that isn't the point of this little rant.

It suits the food industry to have created this mindset in us. Their profits show that only too clearly. My point is, why do we insist on heading for the sweet shop all the time. Refined sugar is harming our health. It poisons our immune system and feeds harmful bacteria and viruses. It makes us fat and gives us diabetes. It rots our teeth. But, it tastes so very good, we don't really think of the consequences.

Perhaps we should care a little more for both ourselves and those whom we think about buying even more refined sugar.

Next time you go to friends for an evening out, take the bottle of wine, but skip the sugar and get a few flowers instead ... unless they suffer from hay fever!