Sugar Is Killing Me!
In the last few years, scientists have discovered the devastating effect that sugar is having on people’s lives.
What was considered before to be an essential ingredient as part of our daily diet has now been revealed as something far more deadly.
This has gradually taken place right underneath our very noses.
Go to any supermarket and you can find the shelves stacked with processed food that contains large amounts of sugar.
Sugar is added to everything!
Not just the kind of food that we associate with the stuff, such as ice cream, chocolate and fizzy drinks. It is in food such as breakfast cereal, bread, pasta sauce, pizza and jars of curry sauce.
Even when we are outside, our senses are attacked by signs from shop fronts selling us more sugary treats. There are fresh fruit juice stalls that make the drinks they sell look healthy and nutritious.
It’s all fruit, so what is wrong with that?
Except that in each cup, we are far exceeding our recommended daily allowance of sugar. There is a reason why nature contains each portion of fruit inside one apple, one orange or one banana.
Of course, in every town centre, there are many fast-food restaurants. But there are also bread shops.
The difference being that inside the bread is nothing like the kind that was made fifty years ago. This modern bread has lots of sugar in it to give it a longer shelf life.
And what is the result?
People are becoming fat. Not just a little overweight, but morbidly obese.
And not only adults…
Children are suffering from severe dental decay. Before they are even old enough for middle school, children are having their milk teeth extracted as they literally rot inside their mouths from consuming too much sugar.
How did this happen?
Only a few years ago, we were told that cholesterol was our worst enemy, not sugar.
Scientists, doctors and other experts stood upright in an American court and declared that the one thing that people needed to cut down on was fat.
Sugar was essential. Something we needed to consume.
But fat was bad.
So people cut down on fat and the food processing companies filled the supermarket shelves with ready meals filled with added sugar.
Fast forward several years and the scientists are now telling us a different story…
Fat is a necessary part of our diet, something we need to eat.
But sugar? No, this is bad for us and we all need to stop eating it.
Even though people have become hopelessly addicted to it.
And this is not just taking place in America.
Other developing countries, such as China and other Asian counties, and places in the Middle East, are now starting to see high levels of obesity.
Fast-food outlets have exploded in these regions. And so have people’s waistlines.
It looks like the whole world is getting fat from eating too much sugar.
What can we do about it?
Reading Comprehension Questions
What have scientists discovered recently?
How did people regard sugar in the past?
What can we see on supermarket shelves?
Name all eight foods the article cites as being heavy with sugar.
What shops look healthy but in fact are not?
Apart from fast-food outlets, what else can we see in town centres?
What is different between modern bread and traditional bread made in the past?
What are two immediate health risks the article talks about if we consume too much sugar?
What did scientists and doctors tell people to avoid eating in the past?
Where in the world is sugar having a bad effect on people’s health?
Essential Vocabulary
scientists | discovered | devastating |
considered | essential | ingredient |
daily diet | revealed | deadly |
gradually | stacked | processed food |
associate | fizzy drinks | cereal |
pasta sauce | jars | curry sauce |
senses | sugary treats | stalls |
nutritious | exceeding | recommended |
allowance | portion | shelf life |
overweight | morbidly obese | suffering |
severe | dental decay | milk teeth |
extracted | literally | rot |
consuming | cholesterol | enemy |
declared | consume | exploded |
Exercise
Write down all the words and phrases in your vocabulary notebook. Look in your dictionary and find the meaning of each word. Write the definition next to each word.
Then make up your own sentences using each word or phrase.
For example:
Scientist — a person who is studying or has expert knowledge of one or more of the natural or physical sciences.
“Scientists have now developed new forms of artificial intelligence”.
Discovered – find (something or someone) unexpectedly or in the course of a search.
“The police continued searching through the night and discovered the body by morning”.
Do this with all the vocabulary and, over time, this will help improve all your English skills – reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Choose The Right Synonym
Look at the selection of vocabulary in the first table.
Now match it with the correct synonym in the second table below.
devastating | gradually | jars | recommended | allowance |
severe | rot | portion | enemy | deadly |
chunk | flask | decay | acute | endorsed |
allocation | continuously | disastrous | lethal | rival |
You can do this alone. Or in small groups as a class activity.
Check your answers at the end of the lesson plan!
Choose The Right Antonym
Look at the table of words below.
Now match each word with the correct antonym in the second table.
overweight | suffering | exploded | nutritious | essential |
extracted | gradually | rot | revealed | consume |
skinny | inserted | unhealthy | grow | concealed |
abruptly | imploded | starve | joy | needless |
You can do this alone. Or in small groups as a class activity.
Check your answers at the end of the lesson plan!
Match the Words and Meanings
Take a look at all the words in the table below.
Now try to match them with the correct meaning.
All the words are from the article.
associate | milk teeth | enemy | suffering |
senses | considered | pasta sauce | gradually |
rot | exploded | daily diet |
To think about carefully, or to regard as important.
The food and drink that you regularly consume in one day.
Advancing or changing little by little over a period of time.
To connect one thing with another thing in your mind.
A sauce made to accompany pasta dishes, typically made with tomatoes, herbs, and other ingredients.
The physical abilities of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.
Pain or distress, either physical or emotional.
The first set of teeth in a child’s mouth, later replaced by permanent teeth.
Decay or deterioration caused by bacteria or fungi.
A person or thing that is actively opposed or hostile to another.
Burst violently and noisily apart, typically as a result of internal pressure or heating.
Check your answers at the end of the lesson plan!
Discussion Questions
Do you eat a lot of sugar? How much do you eat every day?
Do you eat a lot of processed food?
If you eat a lot of food with added sugar, do you plan on stopping?
Or are you happy to continue eating this kind of food?
Give your reasons why.
What are the health risks of consuming too much added sugar? Tell the class about the different health risks and the teacher can write them on the board.
Can you see any evidence of these health risks in your town or city? Do you know anyone who has any of these health risks?
If we eat too much sugar, how can it affect our energy levels and mood?
Is sugar healthy for our brains? What can sugar do to the human brain?
Why do companies add sugar to their processed food? What reasons do they have for doing it?
What are the ways that food companies hide the added sugar in what we eat and drink?
What kind of restaurants is selling food with added sugar in their meals in your town or city? Name the places and describe the food.
Do you think governments should ban sugar in our food?
Why/why not?
If we stop eating added sugar food, what should we eat?
Talk about a healthy, balanced diet. Give examples of healthy food in your culture.
Are people ‘hopelessly addicted’ to this kind of sugary food? Is there any chance to get people to eat healthy food now?
If an overweight person stops eating sugar, will they automatically lose weight?
Talk about ways that we can reduce the amount of sugar we consume every day.
Are there any healthy alternatives to sugar? What are they?
Should schools educate children to eat less sugar?
Stop Eating Sugar!
This is a group activity.
Get into small groups of three or four people.
You are going to create an education campaign to help wean people off added sugar in their diet.
You have to come up with a list of methods to help people stop consuming too much sugar.
Think about how to get people to eat healthily.
How to help people avoid fast food and fizzy drinks.
How to encourage people to eat more vegetables in their daily diet.
You can do this as a group presentation for homework.
Make a PowerPoint presentation using pictures to help with your presentation.
When you are ready, present your presentation to the class!
Role Play
This is a role play activity.
There are two people in the role play.
a doctor
a patient
The Situation
A patient goes to see the doctor for a general checkup.
Everything is mostly okay, but the doctor asks how much sugar the patient consumes.
The patient says what they eat and the doctor regards this as unhealthy.
Then the doctor gives some advice about healthier options.
What advice or tips can the doctor give the patient about sugar alternatives?
What advice or tips can the doctor give the patient eating less sugar — or cutting it out completely?
Does the patient agree with everything the doctor says?
Maybe the patient likes to eat fast food once a week…
Is this really unhealthy? It’s only once a week!
Get into pairs and prepare your role play.
When you are ready — show the class!
Debate
This is a debate activity.
Divide the class into two teams of equal number. Choose one person to act as a chairperson. The chairperson must make sure that everyone has an opportunity to speak in the debate.
Plus, the chairperson must keep order during the debate.
The Situation
A school has called a meeting. Parents, teachers and students have attended the meeting.
In the meeting, the school wants to discuss the banning of all sugar food in the canteen.
The school also wants to ban anyone from bringing added sugar food onto the premises. This means that students are banned from bringing soft drinks, potato chips or crisps, chocolate or candy with them into the school.
The canteen will now only provide food with no added sugar.
The school shop will no longer sell soft drinks, candy or chocolate.
Alternatives will be set up in the canteen and the school shop.
Team A
You wholeheartedly agree with the school’s decision.
You believe that sugar is evil. It is making people fat, destroying children’s teeth and affecting their brains so they cannot study efficiently.
There are no benefits to sugar, so it is time to ban it altogether!
Team B
You don’t like the idea of banning sugar at all.
Yes, eating too much sugar is not healthy. But it is the school’s responsibility to ensure that the canteen is serving healthy meals with a balanced diet.
And younger people often need treats and prizes. If they feel they have worked hard at school, they can go to the school shop and reward themselves with some candy or a soft drink.
Why not?
Banning things does not work. What we really need is better education about consuming sugar.
In your teams, discuss the points and ideas you would like to raise in the debate. Prepare well.
Then, when you are ready — begin the debate!
Writing
This is a creative writing exercise.
You are going to write a short story. The title of the short story is…
The Man Who Ate All The Sugar
Just use the title alone as a prompt.
Your short story can be in any style you choose. And the ending can be happy or sad. It is up to you.
When you have finished writing your short story, read it out loud in front of your classmates. Ask them for feedback.
Or you can hand it in to your teacher for review.
Choose The Right Synonym — Answers
These are the correct answers!
devastating | disastrous |
gradually | continuously |
jars | flasks |
recommended | endorsed |
allowance | allocation |
severe | acute |
rot | decay |
portion | chunk |
enemy | rival |
deadly | lethal |
Choose The Right Antonym — Answers
These are the correct answers!
overweight | skinny |
suffering | joy |
exploded | imploded |
nutritious | unhealthy |
essential | needless |
extracted | inserted |
gradually | abruptly |
rot | grow |
revealed | concealed |
consume | starve |
Match the Words and Meanings — Answers
These are the right answers!
Considered: To think about carefully, or to regard as important.
Daily diet: The food and drink that you regularly consume in one day.
Gradually: Advancing or changing little by little over a period of time.
Associate: To connect one thing with another thing in your mind.
Pasta sauce: A sauce made to accompany pasta dishes, typically made with tomatoes, herbs, and other ingredients.
Senses: The physical abilities of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.
Suffering: Pain or distress, either physical or emotional.
Milk teeth: The first set of teeth in a child’s mouth, later replaced by permanent teeth.
Rot: Decay or deterioration caused by bacteria or fungi.
Enemy: A person or thing that is actively opposed or hostile to another.
Exploded: Burst violently and noisily apart, typically as a result of internal pressure or heating.
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You have hit upon one of my favorite topics and one I’ve been ranting about for years. In fact when my kids were growing up, I refused to have sugar or a TV in the house. Even though this content is great for Second language learners, it would also be vital for school curriculums in English speaking countries to use. Our children worldwide need information like this in all schools instead of the prattle they are now getting!
Absolutely, Leona! I just cannot believe how we are being poisoned daily by this nasty substance. Hopefully, people are beginning to understand the dangers of sugar now.