Do you really need someone else to explain holistic nutrition to you? We have a sort of love-hate relationship with our authorities. On one side, we seem to enjoy complaining about how the government “gets their hands into everything,” while on the other side we seem to have the expectation that our agencies and government bodies should be keeping us "in line" and safe from harm. The sensible thing for us to do is to take personal responsibility for our own choices and realize that we shouldn't even think about relying on others to tell us what we should or shouldn't be consuming on a daily basis. Essentially, each and every one of us is solely responsible for our own personal health and well-being, and we should be able to make informed choices when it comes to buying groceries that will help us to live a long and fulfilling life.

In almost every facet of society we can see powerful forces at work, often fueled by vested interests, lobbying groups and those who do not necessarily have the consumer's interest at heart. It seems that the more money is involved, the more powerful forces are exerted to try and impose a solution, standard, product or service when simple common sense might dictate otherwise. This is accurate in the food industry - just as much as anywhere else, and if you were well-aware that your sugar addiction was being fed by such political groups, you'd in all likelihood be less than pleased.

Whenever an addiction (obvious or apparent) is possible, the worst side of consumerism rears its head. If there is more money to be made simply because consumers “have to have” a certain item, then it will be provided. Manufacturers find a variety of different ways to provide us with sugar, sometimes out of necessity but many times out of excess. In some cases, sugar is often added to processed foods to help in preservation though, as otherwise they would have a much shorter shelf life and would not be so practical.

If you do not see evidence of the word sugar on one of those labels you are checking out, remember that the product can come in many different forms and anything ending with the letters “ose,” (like glucose, fructose) should give you a clue. Also be aware that certain sugar substitutes such as high fructose corn syrup can have the same addictive effect, and as these ingredients may carry fewer restrictions, they can be even more apparent.

The politics of power and the influence of the major manufacturers and importers should never be underestimated. Even though the administration does quite a good job of steering us in the right direction, understand that you need to be responsible for your own holistic health solutions and not rely on others to tell you what to do. Remember all that you have read about the dangers of sugar addiction and focus all the time on holistic nutrition.