Really Really High Fructose Corn Syrup

I have no idea how many of you are soda drinkers, but even if you don't touch the stuff, we all know people who do. Here's an interesting topic for discussion:

Researchers discover soda beverages have higher than expected amounts of fructose. The typical range of fructose in high fructose corn syrups is approximately 45%-55%. However, researchers recently found as much as 65% fructose in sodas, including Coke and Pepsi.

Gross.

What's the problem and who cares? Too much fructose is linked to serious health issues, including metabolic disorders. Marion Nestle of Food Politics says:

• Fructose: increasing evidence suggests that the metabolism of fructose–which differs from that of glucose–is associated with abnormalities. This means that it is best to reduce intake of fructose from table sugar as well as HFCS. -Click here for full post
  

If you're interested in reading more about the latest on high fructose corn syrup and sodas, go to the following links:

Los Angeles Times article

Food Politics Blog

Coke, PepsiCo, Michelle Obama, & Other News...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Recently in the news:

PepsiCo
PepsiCo makes a world-wide commitment to not sell sugary drinks in schools. However, they will still sell non-caloric beverages and sports drinks like Gatorade. We all know Gatorade is sugary, but at least Pepsi is taking a step in the right direction. Thanks to CSPI for their work in this effort. Unfortunately, Coke is not doing the same.

Michelle Obama "Scolds" the GMA
Thanks to Food Politics for outlining excerpts of Mrs. Obama's speech to the Grocery Manufacturer's of America. It certainly packed a punch!

Let's Move! Campaign: A Closer Look
Take a look at the informative post on Appetite for Profit's blog. If you haven't been interested before, reading A for P's take on things is sure to get you fired up!

Fooducate
Here's more on the Let's Move! Campaign, plus, look around this blog for lots of great nutritional information.

Bob's Red Mill: An Incredible Change of Ownership
When I found out that Bob transferred his multi-million dollar business to his employees, I teared up. Not just because I miss my hometown, but because of this amazing act of kindness. He inspires me to make decisions that I can look back on and feel proud of (giving away material items rather than storing them). Click here for the scoop. And if you happen to run out of date sugar or garbonzo bean flour, order from the Red Mill. Better yet, take a vacation to Portland, Oregon and plan to eat at and tour the facilities. It's quite charming.

That's it for now. I have an itch to write something provocative and juicy. Any topic suggestions?

Is Sugar Addictive?

(picture: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/231/471510638_94acf2e71f.jpg)

"IS SUGAR ADDICTIVE?" is the title of Marion Nestle's blog post dated January 7, 2010, on her wonderful, most informative blog, Food Politics.

Either way you flip it, both sides of the coin are extremely interesting here:

Say there is such a thing as sugar addiction (I know most of you reading this believe there is, and that is why you are here). What is going to happen to the multitudes of people with this addiction?! How are food suppliers/manufacturer's/FDA/USDA going to respond, not to mention nutritionists, dietitians, naturopath doctors and M.D.'s? Not only do we have a national eating disorder (preoccupation with food, food used as entertainment, overeating, etc.) but a possible national sugar addiction?

What is at stake? Health, money and politics, in my opinion.

1. HEALTH: Being addicted to a non-nutritive substance related to diabetes, heart disease, overweight, and other health issues. What are the national and individual implications?
   
2. MONEY: The trade-off for food suppliers to supply us with food is to make money. When we buy food at the grocery store we are surrounded by obvious junk foods/beverages but also foods with "hidden" sugars, like salt, pepper, bread, sauce, etc. With every purchase of food we are casting a vote in the system of supply and demand. Though in some cases the supply creates the demand, for the most part suppliers follow demand trends. Because we love our goodies so much and continue to buy them, we are putting money in the pockets of those who are creating the goodies.
   
3. POLITICS: Ever heard of the Snack Food Association? (I can't help myself from picking on them). In part, they: "Serve as the voice for the snack food industry before government," among other things.

By chance the book is closed on the issue and it is concluded by experts that there is no such thing as sugar addiction. What do we call it, then, when someone (like myself, back in the days of sugar consumption) obsesses all day about where to get sugar, and then eats it in unnatural proportions to fulfill the "sweet tooth"?

Whether there will ever be a clinical term coined for sugar addiction, there exists a problem. I had it, and I see it, hear about it and read about it every day.

If you have the time, jump over to Food Politics to read the post and the very interesting comments that follow. "Mason" put it best: "So is sugar physically and chemically addictive, or is that dependence purely psychological? I don’t think it matters. Either way, we’re so addicted to our lifestyles and our rabid-overconsumption that arguing the point seems trival. Who cares if the lights don’t work when the plane is crashing?"

More News About Coke

Sadly, my computer has been battling a computer virus and I have been virtually unable to blog, among other things. Hopefully this FIOS thing works out next week.....

There is no way I will be able to catch up on world sugar-related news anytime soon, so to share from the latest (and extremely important!) Food Politics blog, here I present to you, Another Sad Partnership Story: AAFP and Coca-Cola. The comments following the post are rather interesting, as well.

Hope to be back in the saddle by next week, though I've done a ton of writing on paper recently and was reminded how very much I enjoy writing exercises by hand...