Sweet tooth – I blame my granny

Comment Darren Mcgarvey

The ubiquity of sugar in my childhood is typified by my first Halloween. I went from door-to-door, dressed as can of Cocacola, begging neighbours for chocolate.

Like many people, my terrible eating habits can be traced directly to my grandmother.

The very concept of food, how it should be sourced, produced and eaten, changed more in her lifetime than at any other period in human history. Myjourneyinto eating poorly started early in life. As kids, we’d queue up outside the dinner hall in school, talking about what 0 For Darren Mcgarvey, sugar has been a constant companion we were going to have for lunch that day.

Before lunchtime, a tucktrolley would roll through our classrooms, interrupting lessons for up to 15 minutes, filled to the brim with chocolate bars, sweets and fizzy drinks. fruit juices and crisps.

At my grandparents’ house we usually started the day with a heaped bowl of Sugar Puffs or Cornflakes, glazed with a tablespoon or two of sugar. Throughout the afternoon, we would snack on white bread, large mugs of tea with two or three sugars and nibble on biscuits. By the time I had navigated the labyrinth of contradictory disinformation available around nutrition, it was already too late – I was hooked.

Having recovered from other addictions, I now find my battle with sugar to be the central challenge of my life. And I don’t think I’m the only one.