The average American consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar every day.

The world is hooked on sugar. Ray Kurzweil calls it the “White Satan.” And he might be onto something. The futurist guru has found overwhelming evidence that consuming refined sugar is linked to cardiovascular disease, obesity, type-2 diabetes and even cancer. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), women should consume no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar per day and men no more than 9. At 22 teaspoons of sugar consumed by the average American each day, it’s no wonder that our excessive habit is so costly. Scientific innovation is pushing human longevity past the traditional limits. Yet despite this upward trend, we’re still not much smarter about what we put in our bodies. And, according to recent studies, food manufacturers and the U.S. government aren’t doing much to curb our voracious appetite for sugar. We found a video featuring a talk by University of California professor Robert Lustig that exposes the bitter truth about sugar. Make sure you check it out below.

Here at the Hub we think the world of technology. It’s thought that by the year 2030 there will be about one million people living in the triple digits. If we lose a tooth because we ate too much sugar, we will one day replace it with our stem cells, but one simple truth remains: state-of-the-art medicine and brand-name prescriptions can’t—at least not yet—compare to a good dose of common sense. As the singularity’s fiercest advocate, Kurzweil stands by the power of human reasoning, but he also might say that in the battle against sugar, willpower isn’t to blame. The fight can seem futile at best for the more than 17 million Americans currently diagnosed with diabetes. And it seems as though the U.S. government and product manufacturers aren’t doing their share to balance a system that caters hand and foot to sugar-holics.

For one, many foods that aren’t considered desserts actually contain more sugar than their seemingly sweeter counterparts. Some foods considered more natural, like salads, might be higher in sugar if served with a sweet dressing. There isn’t much to alert consumers to this misnomer. In fact, the FDA has yet to issue regulations to control claims of what is and isn’t “natural.” Sugar is everywhere. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists the common aliases of sugar found in most food products, and links to resources that explain how to navigate those misleading product labels we frequently forget to read. But what good is a nutritional label if it lists dubious information? The World Health Organization puts the safe amount of sugar in a healthy diet at no more than 10 percent, whereas the sugar industry in the United States has claimed that 25 percent of our diet can safely consist of sugar—a disagreement with an obvious agenda.

Sugar is subtle. Manufacturers bombard us with half-truths and misleading information on boxes and product labels are skewed to make ingredients seem more benign. It’s been suggested, for instance, that nutritional information be made less confusing by replacing “per serving” quantities with what’s present in the entire container for some products. This popular breakfast cereal is described as “lightly sweetened” on the box, yet sugar is the second ingredient listed (ingredients are generally listed in order of prominence). Websites are no different. Coca-Cola advocates for an “active, healthy lifestyle” on its nutritional information page. Here’s a novel idea: how about skipping soda altogether? Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology would agree. In a recent video presented by the UCSF’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Lustig exposes a few dietary myths, going so far as to call high-fructose corn syrup “poison.” It’s a long video, so if you don’t have time to watch it through (which you should), there are a few highlights not to miss: at 15:50 Lustig links Type II diabetes to sugar sweetened soft drinks; find out how juice can cause obesity at 27:21; and at 34:50 who would have thought that doughnuts could unite the world? Check out the video below.

Sugar is addictive. Sugar—along with chocolate, cheese and meat—releases an opiate-like substance that activates the brain’s reward system. So kicking the habit isn’t quite as easy as taking everything in moderation. But we as consumers have more power than we think when it comes to dictating food industry trends, which could advocate for a healthier population in the long run.

Health and longevity is on everyone’s mind. But what good is immortality if we’re riddled with disease and calamity—all because we can’t exercise a little discipline? What good is modern medicine when we demand no less than a miracle? Are we expecting technology to take the place of a healthy lifestyle? If we really want to live longer, we need to take responsibility for our bodies and stop expecting technology and medicine to clean up the mess when we can’t say ‘enough is enough.’

[image credit: Yes-Zim.com]
[video credit: University of California Television]
[source: FDA, CDC, Life Extension Magazine, Coca-Cola, Purdue University, CSPI]

Why are Americans living longer? (Left) Why aren't we living as long as everyone else? (Right)

Almost half of all deaths (48.5%) in this country are due to heart disease or cancer. The overall death rates for stroke, heart disease, hypertension, and cancer fell between 2006 and 2007, and lifespan rose as a result. It’s clear that those two culprits are what is keeping the US from the longevity it might otherwise have.

And longevity means a lot to us here at the hub. We’ve shown you surgical advances, and promising medical developments. We’ve given you a look at some of the oldest people in the world, and some of the healthiest places in the world. The one thing we’ve learned through it all is that the secret to a long life is really, really simple: lifestyle.

You think a futurist blog would talk about advanced nutrients, or remarkable medical cures, but the truth is much more low-tech. People live longer when they focus on wellness, not illness. In other words, the daily routines we follow have a statistically bigger impact than trips to the doctor or hospital. As we mentioned in our discussion of blue zones, a longevity-lifestyle includes daily exercise, a diet low in fats, sugars, & meats and high in fruits, vegetables, & (some kinds of) fish, and avoiding stress. These things won’t just help you live longer, they’ll help you live healthier and happier lives.

Exercise. It helps you live.

Let’s take another look at heart disease and cancer. Exercise, good diet, and low stress reduce weight gain which is linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Even cancer might be avoidable through our simple plan. As Dr. Terry Grossman mentioned at Singularity University, cancer cells live almost exclusively off of glucose in the bloodstream. Avoid high glycemic indexed foods and you starve the cancer.

The US has a “health care equals medical treatment” mind set. We focus on curing diseases, not living healthier lives. Our signature meal is a burger, fries, and a soda. Many of us complain when we have to walk across a large parking lot. We avoid routine visits to the doctor, but then rely on expensive surgeries, prescriptions, and other treatments when we get horribly ill. And we let ourselves grow very stressed over almost everything. It’s a recipe for disaster.

The ongoing debate about how to insure Americans is missing a vital point. Taking more people into any insurance system, public or private, is just treating the symptom, not the condition. As a country we need to change the way we live. Complaining about how trillions of dollars are used, may be less important than figuring out why we have to spend the money in the first place.

Have those trillions of dollars been wasted? The CDC report shows, in fact, that when it comes to diseases unrelated to exercise and diet, the US is doing very well. Take HIV/AIDS, who’s death toll was just over eleven thousand people in 2007, despite an increase in the number of cases. That’s a 10% drop from 2006 – the largest decrease in almost a decade. Improvements in treatments are obviously making a dent in the disease. Influenza and pneumonia also saw appreciable drops.

I think the CDC report reveals that we are living longer despite our bad habits. Imagine our longevity if we kept our medical funding, and also improved our lifestyle! Some of this may already be happening. I hope that the US starts to realize that health care starts in our homes, not our doctor’s office. There are some really amazing things in our future – modular robots, tactile holograms, and the singularity! We just need to live long enough to enjoy them, and a better lifestyle is more likely than a more expensive doctor to get you there.