Free Republic

Finland’s Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is questioning a government proposal to raise the VAT value-added tax on sweets and chocolate. The THL, a Finnish research and development institute which is attached to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, announced that it did not agree with the decision to raise the tax from 14 to 25.5 percent. Talking to STT, the Finnish news agency, a senior THL investigator Heli Kuusipalo explained that the institute would prefer to see a sugar taxation system that was health-based rather than a direct VAT hike. The higher the sugar content in any...

Tennis star Maria Sharapova has reportedly set in motion a plan to change her last name to Sugarpova for the duration of the U.S. Open. The Russian opened a candy company by that name and is said to have sunk half a million dollars into it. According to several reports, Sharapova has approached the Florida Supreme Court about the possibility of changing her name.

A citizen, whose nephew attends Brevard Community College, reports that he brought home the below bookmark pledging to vote for President Obama. The bookmark and pledge was handed out during a mathematics class taught by Assistant Professor Sharon Sweet. This occurred “while the student was in class at the request of his College Algebra teacher, Sharon Sweet, from Brevard Community College in [Melbourne] Florida.”

A Florida lawmaker is pushing a bill that would ban the use of food stamps to purchase snacks and sweets, such as cookies and cakes. Republican State Sen. Ronda Storms, of Valrico, says her goal is to stop a small percentage of recipients who misuse food stamps. Her bill would also require food stamp recipients to take state-run classes on healthy eating and how making your own baked goods is cheaper than store-made sweets. The bill is moving through state committees in Tallahassee. Critics say the government shouldn't be telling people what to eat.

WESTFORD (CBS) – Westford school officials are getting tough on classroom holiday parties. They’re banning sugary snacks and sweetened beverages from the celebrations this year. Students are being told to leave the Christmas cookies, cakes, candy bars, and soda at home and to bring fruits, unsweetened juices, popcorn and raisins instead. Superintendent Everett Olsen says the ban on holiday sweets has nothing to do with being politically correct, rather, his motive is simply promoting a healthy lifestyle. “We aren’t trying to take the Christmas out of Christmas. We’re not trying to take the enjoyment out of children’s lives. We’re just...

Researchers Say Precise Link Between Sweets And Violence Unclear We know candy is bad for your children's teeth. But could it also cause bad behavior later in life? CBS 2's Jim Williams looks at a new study linking kids and sugar to violent crimes. Laura Budill had her hands full with her sons, Nathan, 3 and Tyler, 2, at a Lincoln Park playground Tuesday. They were active enough without sweets; but with sugar? "Every child is different," said Budill. "For my children, I know that it causes them to act out in hyperactivity." So Laura only allows them to have...

It's a toddler's dream: locked in a world of lollipops. But the situation rapidly turned into a mother's nightmare as two-year-old Cohen Stone became trapped inside an arcade machine. Attracted by the colourful prizes of sweets and teddy bear.

Sweet-toothed Swedes who have spent hours constructing edible Christmas gingerbread houses are seeing their creations collapse in the Scandinavian country's unusually damp winter, suppliers said on Monday. "The damp weather spells immediate devastation for gingerbread houses. The problem is the mild winter," spokesman at Sweden's leading gingerbread wholesaler Anna's, Aake Mattsson, told Swedish news agency TT. Gingerbread houses are a popular Christmas tradition in Sweden and across the Nordic countries, with many people buying slabs of pre-baked gingerbread from stores which they decorate and stick together using icing sugar and brightly coloured confectionery. While much of Sweden is usually gripped...

As cat owners know, their feline friend would much rather chase and eat a live mouse than snack on the chocolate equivalent, and now researchers have discovered the reason – cats are simply unable to taste sweet things. An examination of feline genetics has shown a significant defect in one of the genes that codes for part of the sweet taste receptor. This “huge deletion” of 247 base pairs in the gene that codes for the T1R2 protein – one of two proteins that make up the sweet taste receptor in mammals – has left cats unable to detect sweet-tasting...

Sugar and Grains Increase Depression   Depression may be the culprit behind both mental and physical health conditions. According to studies, more than normal rates of depression can be found in patients with clinically manifest type 2 diabetes. Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes and can be characterized by insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency--either of which can be present at its onset.And, while the relationship between insulin resistance and depression is a vague and contradictory area, a more recent study may have made some headway.Treading New GroundResearchers discovered a positive connection between higher levels of...

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Three minutes after Jim Hager started eating M&Ms with a pair of chopsticks, he was headed for the Guinness Book of World Records. The 47-year-old Oakland resident gobbled 115 M&Ms in 3 minutes Sunday, breaking a previous record of 112 Smarties consumed by Kathryn Ratcliffe of England in December 2002. The new record won't become official until event organizers send documentation to the Guinness association, including a videotape, photographs and written declarations from witnesses, but it seems likely he'll have his place in the list. For his efforts, he received 25 pounds of M&Ms courtesy of...

America's largest chocolate business is off the auction block - a sweet victory for campaigners who feared a sale would lead to massive job cuts and the destruction of a small town. Yesterday the trust that controls Hershey Foods said it had rejected at least two offers for the business, acknowledging that the bidding process had triggered fierce local opposition. Residents of Hershey in Pennsylvania staged rallies and lobbied trustees to prevent the sale of the company behind the eponymous chocolate bars. An $89-a-share bid from chewing gum maker Wrigley that valued Hershey at $12 billion was rejected, even though...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When it comes to resisting the siren call of sweets and other goodies, genes may make all the difference, researchers say. The answer to whether you can eat just one chip, or say no to that luscious piece of chocolate cake, may be locked deep in your DNA, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (news - web sites). "Although environmental, psychological and physiologic factors affect appetite and nutrient intake, several studies suggest that behaviors such as food and beverage preferences and nutrient intake are at least partially genetically determined,"...