Over the past fortnight, (my beloved) coffeehouse chain Starbucks has been ‘outed’ on how much sugar content is in their beverages. Alongside this, the head of supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has also expressed that supermarkets should be ‘forced’ to cut the sugar content in their products, and reduce the portion sizes of their ready meals.
There are two things I find problematic with these reports. Firstly, it is no ‘big secret’ how much sugar and fat are in Starbucks drinks, as well as other beverage and fast food chains. Not only is it obvious that something which looks like the Cookie Monster gave birth to and covered in syrup and cream isn’t paleo, but full nutritional information is readily available online at a click of a button, along with nutritional facts on the back of every food item. But the second and more concerning problem for me is the language and attitude adopted by the media and health officials on how the public should approach these foods. Being told that refined sugar or a high fat ready meal is something that I should be disgusted by and actively avoid instils anxiety and dark emotions rather than health and wellbeing. As someone who has suffered with a restrictive eating disorder, diets are not temporary and restriction is extreme: not being allowed dessert means not deserving dessert. It isn’t about food or health, it is about control.
So for those in recovery from an eating disorder such as anorexia, allowing yourself to enjoy a Frappuccino after a long day of classes, or saying yes to whipped cream with your hot chocolate, goes hand in hand with learning how to love yourself again. Yes, for some people drastically reducing these foods from their diet is a positive lifestyle change, particularly for diabetics or binge-eaters, but for others it leads to further restriction and impedes upon their self-care. Having an actual fear of eating and an obsession with starving your body of food, healthy or unhealthy, is something that needs to be confronted by the victim. But this is extremely difficult in a society where there is constant fear mongering about how many teaspoons of sugar are in a fizzy drink. The media has a sensationalised view on healthy eating which is eerily similar to the rational of an anorexic. We are told that one can of Coke or a bar of Galaxy will affectively rot you from the inside and quadruple your belly fat. Sweets and fatty foods aren’t like cigarettes, you will have to have a lot of them for an extended period of time for them to have detrimental consequences.
So whilst substituting water for sugary drinks or having a ready meal everyday is undoubtedly bad for your body, not everyone who consumes these things has it everyday or in extortionate amounts. If syrup makes my porridge tastier. I will have it; if the ‘recommended’ serving size of pasta isn’t filling enough, I will add more. As someone who tries to eat in accordance to their needs, portion sizes will vary depending upon how hungry I am and how much energy I have used up during the day. The human body’s needs will vary daily: I will not reduce my body’s requirements to abide by numbers on a label. There is no denying that overeating is a huge problem in the Western world, but so is under eating. Whilst a diabetic may cause harm to themselves by eating refined sugar, an eating disorder victim may risk their lives by refusing it. The media nor the government can apply the same set of rules for each individual or belittle ones ability to make their own decisions. So, rather than banning these foods altogether and controlling our portion sizes, people should be educated on moderation and balance. Deprivation doesn’t need to be the alternative to excess.
Edited by Tia Ralhan
Image sources:
http://puppiesaremyprozac.com/2014/07/25/fear-foods/
https://www.instagram.com/frappuccino/
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/places/coffee-house/starbucks-drinks-have-25-t…
Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/do-you-know-how-much-sugar-is-in-your-starbucks-drink/
http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Sugar-Starbucks-Drinks-40253291