Though I've been super busy with school, I have been following Chef Jamie Oliver and his campaign against sugar.  Bravo, Sir! Thank you for speaking out and spreading the 411 on the sugar epidemic.

Sugar is a HUGE problem not only in the UK, but in America as well. Sugar is delicious, addictive and hiding in EVERYTHING. Even your child's school lunch is packed with hidden sugars. Ketchup, which is actually considered a school lunch "vegetable" has 4 grams of sugar per tablespoon. These hidden sugars add up over time, eventually contributing to obesity and worse- childhood diabetes.

Now I'm not saying sugar is bad. I've seen the how to "QUIT SUGAR!" articles all over the Internet, which are a bit ludicrous. Sugar is part of a natural diet. It's found in fruits, nuts, berries and even some vegetables. It's a great form of quick energy for birds and bees and other living things, including us. It came in pretty handy before we had cars and grocery stores and had to be continuously active to survive. Unlike fat, sugar is energy that is ready to be used as soon as it's consumed. Fat is stored to be burned later. If you eat a pasta-heavy dinner (remember, carbs turn into sugar), and plop down on the couch without putting the energy you consumed to use, it will turn into fat.

As with all things, and again I stress, MODERATION. No child needs a 12 ounce soda with their lunch. No child needs Pop-Tarts or sugary cereals for breakfast. Some people do not know or understand this. They were raised in households where sugary, processed foods are an every day, normal way of life. I was one of those children, and I was extremely obese as a child because of this. My dad didn't want me to be obese or unhealthy, he just didn't know any better. He himself was raised in the same type of "clean your plate" household he grew up to recreate.

What makes things worse, is when people start becoming more educated on sugar, their first go-to is low fat, low calorie processed foods. Even I am guilty of this. I enjoy fat free Greek yogurt. It's wonderful in smoothies and helps with good gut bacteria. But when I checked the label, I was shocked to find there were 17 grams of sugar in one serving of it. To make up for the lack of fat, the company doused it with extra sugar, which again- will turn into fat unless I work out or do something active. Tricky, tricky, right? I could not find ANY Greek yogurt, with or without fat, that did not have added sugar. What if I don't want sugar in my yogurt? Or my peanut butter? Or anything else I eat that companies feel need extra sugar?

READ LABELS! Eat more fresh foods and less processed foods. And stop giving kids so much damned sugar. I promise you, when you cut back on sugar, you will eventually notice just how sweet many processed things are. You won't want as much sugar, in fact, a regular Coke will make you scrunch your face. And while you're at it, check out what Jamie Oliver is doing and educate yourself and friends. We can beat the childhood obesity epidemic together.