The Case Against Sugar

From Megan Garber:

Substances like alcohol are regulated according to four criteria. For a government to take that big step on behalf of its citizens, a substance must:

1. Be ubiquitous

2. Be toxic

3. Be addictive

4. Have a negative impact on society

There is, according to Robert Lustig, a substance that fits the bill times four — save for the fact that it is not currently regulated. And that is sugar. Specifically,fructose. In a conversation with The Atlantic‘s Corby Kummer at the Aspen Ideas Festival today, Lustig — a pediatric endocrinologist who doubles as a sugar detractor — made the case.