The Heart and Stroke Foundation says that unhealthy diets cause a risk of stroke, high blood cholesterol, cancer and other illnesses. As a result, the foundation is recommending a tax on sugary drinks to lower consumption.
Canadians get 13 per cent of their daily calories from sweeteners that are added to food and drinks, though the Heart and Stroke Foundation says that a healthy maximum should ideally be five per cent of a person’s daily caloric intake, with a maximum of 10 per cent.
“The bottom line is that Canadians are eating too much added sugar, and this can result in serious health consequences,” says Bobbe Wood, president of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, in a press release.
According to the foundation, sugar sweetened beverages are the cause of 180,000 deaths worldwide per year, including from diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
The foundation recommends Canadians prepare meals with fresh and staple foods, limit eating out at restaurants and the consumption of ready-to-eat food and drinks, buying fresh or frozen fruit or fruit canned without artificial sweeteners and reducing the amount of sugar used when cooking in order to reduce their sugar intake.
It has recommended a tax on sugary drinks, which at five cents per 100 mL, would raise $1.8 billion in tax revenue per year. “We want Canadians to focus on reducing added sugars, not the sugar that occurs naturally in vegetables, fruit and other foods that are also packed with nutrients such as vitamins and fibre,” says Wood. “You cannot compare those healthy choices to a can of pop that is loaded with sugar and has no health benefits – just health risks.”
