The Reframing Of A Killer: Sugar Is Good

I recently came across a banner ad on the internet that read: "Skip artificals. Go natural. Sugar: sweet by nature. Only 15 calories per teaspoon."

Interesting. They seem pretty defensive, but quite clear. Somehow, though, the message is wildly absurd.

From just the banner ad I got the main frame of "artificial=bad, natural=good" and that mother nature, which would never try to harm us, is responsible for the perfect sweetness of sugar. Obviously.

I had to see what kind of spin the sugar industry is on about now so I clicked on the banner. The main page, gives a "taste comparison" of sugar versus artificial sweeteners. Sugar is natural, like a crisp apple and has been around since 200 B.C.

Conversely, artificial sweeteners (or "phonies") are made by chemists (who are obviously evil and trying to kill us) and were all developed in the last half of the last century. I mean, how can you really trust something that hasn't been around since 200 B.C.? How can you possibly know the long term effects of Dextrose, Maltodextrin, Sucralose or Aspartame? (Actually, I do think these artificial sweeteners are somewhat evil but I am playing devil's advocate here.)

(Seems like if the folks at gonaturalsugar.com were so eager to get us all on the natural path to sweetness, they might have mentioned Agave syrup, barley malt sweetener, maple syrup, molasses, honey. . .none of which effect the body's glycemic index therefore being much healthier alternatives to both sugar and the artificial sweeteners mentioned on their site.)

I don't know. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive because of my recent brush with death as a result of sugar poisoning (for which I absolutely take full responsibility as an adult with the ability to make healthy or non-healthy choices). But this reframe did kind of irritate me.

We have a great many industries that are being bombarded by bad press in the recent years (for good reason)--the tobacco industry, the fast food industry, meat and dairy industries, oil and gas industries. Our use and reliance on all of them isn't doing our bodies or the earth any good, but we all partake to an extent.

Sugar used to be considered a luxury item. Now it's in almost every product you find on the shelves of your supermarket.

Fortunately for us, (according to www.gonaturalsugar.com), "The sugar in a bag at the store is sucrose, *exactly the same as the sucrose you find in a piece of fresh fruit*. Sugar is not a substitute for fruits and vegetables."

At least they added, 'Sugar is not a substitute for fruits and vegetables.'

On the "Sugar and a Healthy Lifestyle" page they give a full paragraph of disclaimers like, you need to exercise, yada, yada, yada, everything in moderation, yada, yada, yada, but at the top of that page they say, 'Sugar is more than a "fun" food ingredient, it's an essential one you can consume with confidence.'

Interesting. Essential? Reading this sentence about granulated sugar being essential is deceptive and fraudulent and yet it's a fabulous reframe of a deadly substance.

About the Author

Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of affluent clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion strategies.

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