Ads for Sugar?! Yep, you read that right! In the 1970s1the sugar industry tried to push sugar as a healthy means to weigh loss. I found these ads on Time magazine, while I was torturing myself collecting cigarettes ads from the 1970s for my previous post.
The ads make the absurd claim that sugar is a healthy way to curb hunger and manage appetite, even though eating sugar will actually make you want to eat more sugar.
The sugar industry was well aware of sugar’s dangers as early as the 1950s. The Sugar Research Foundation2 actually tried to suppress evidence from the 1960s that showed sugar’s link to heart disease and cancer.
“We know it sounds odd—but it can work.
Spoil your appetite by eating something with sugar.
Sugar works faster than any other food to turn your appetite down, your energy up.
Then when mealtime comes, you’re less apt to overeat.
Willpower never tasted so good.
Sugar… only 18 calories per teaspoon, and it’s all energy.”
“When you’re hungry, it usually means your energy’s down.
By eating something with sugar in it, you can get your energy up fast.
In fact, sugar is the fastest energy food around.
And when your energy’s up, there’s a good chance you’ll have the willpower to undereat at mealtime.
How’s that for a sweet idea?
Sugar… only 18 calories per teaspoon, and it’s all energy.”
The ads even advise readers to consume something sugary before meal, which by today’s dietary guidelines would be criminally irresponsible, as this would lead to sudden blood sugar spikes and insulin resistance. Ah, the good old days.
a trade association of the sugar industry↩