Posted on 03/21/2009 3:32:08 PM PDT by neverdem
Sugar, the nutritional pariah that dentists and dietitians have long reviled, is enjoying a second act, dressed up as a natural, healthful ingredient.
From the tomato sauce on a Pizza Hut pie called “The Natural,” to the just-released soda Pepsi Natural, some of the biggest players in the American food business have started, in the last few months, replacing high-fructose corn syrup with old-fashioned sugar.
ConAgra uses only sugar or honey in its new Healthy Choice All Natural frozen entrees. Kraft Foods recently removed the corn sweetener from its salad dressings, and is working on its Lunchables line of portable meals and snacks.
The turnaround comes after three decades during which high-fructose corn syrup had been gaining on sugar in the American diet. Consumption of the two finally drew even in 2003, according to the Department of Agriculture. Recently, though, the trend has reversed. Per capita, American adults ate about 44 pounds of sugar in 2007, compared with about 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup...
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Some shoppers prefer cane or beet sugar because it is less processed. High-fructose corn syrup is produced by a complex series of chemical reactions that includes the use of three enzymes and caustic soda.
Others see the pervasiveness of the inexpensive sweetener as a symbol of the ill effects of government subsidies given to large agribusiness interests like corn growers.
But the most common argument has to do with the rapid rise of obesity in the United States, which began in the 1980s, not long after industrial-grade high-fructose corn syrup was invented. As the amount of the sweetener in the American diet has expanded, so have Americans.
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Both sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are made from glucose and fructose. The level of fructose is about 5 percent higher in the corn sweetener.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
That's wrong. Cane sugar or beet sugar is sucrose which is one to one compound of fructose and glucose. I used to think what's the big deal with HFCS? Both fructose and glucose are 6 carbon sugars and have the same amount of calories. That was until I read some papers describing de novo lipogenesis when fructose is metabolized.
So in HFCS-55, it's fructose 55% to glucose 42%, that's almost one third more fructose compared to glucose.
Methinks this is more about the rising cost of corn syrup (because of ethanol) than about being “natural.”
remember what Michael the Archangel said: “You can never have too much sugar.”
Is it any surprise that so many people in this country are obese and that reported cases of diabetes are on the rise?
Sugar consumption is important but I happen to believe that the massive consumption of simple carbs (other than sugars) is the real culprit in the unprecedented proliferation of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, and btw, heart disease.
Just direct me to the Coca-Cola made with sugar instead of corn syrup.
Heck — they used to advertise their sugar content — brag about it. Remember “Sugar Jets” cereal? How about “Sugar Frosted Flakes”? Or Post Sugar Crisp?
Next, I’d like to see more honesty in the ingredients. I can’t believe they can get away with “dehydrated cane juice” for sugar.
“Corn Pops” used to be “Sugar Pops”.
For years Coke has used high-fructose corn syrup in the USA while Coke in Canada (only 5 or 6 miles from where I live) has used real sugar. The difference in taste is remarkable. Corn syrup may be sweet and no more calories than sugar, but sugar beats it hands down for actual taste.
I can tell you that real sugar tastes better.
I was in Bangladesh and thirsty, keep in mind, the chances of getting a civilized, properly chilled beverage decreases exponentially the further you get away from the USA. I had the choice of warm brominated water out of my canteen or warm Coca Cola from a little shack beside the road. I chose the Coke, really regretting that I was probably 100 miles away from the nearest safe cube of ice. I popped the top and took a swig, immediately, I flashed back to my childhood and how much I loved Coke back then. Even luke warm, it was awsome. It hit me later that it was made with sugar not corn syrup.
I don’t drink regular pop stateside, it just tastes nasty. I may have to look into these products.
Look for Mexican Coca Cola or the Coke formulated for Jewish passover. I believe both have sucrose instead of HFCS.
Yep.
I’m glad to see this. As a diabetic, I’m an old hand at reading labels for the nutrition info, but was surprised to see some of the ingredients in foods that I thought were OK. For example, there’s HFCS in Campbell’s tomato soup and in Kraft fat-free salad dressings. Jeez.
Personally, I’d rather have the sugar. I know how to deal with that. I’m not thrilled about having a bunch of chemicals in foods that, as far as I can tell, don’t need them. Tomatoes, water, maybe some salt, garlic, and sugar; that should be it for tomato soup. Who knows what havoc all these chemicals are playing with our body over years of use?
Well, it is made in the USA and/or imported, so who the hell knows? :))
They sell Mexican cane sugar coke in socal Costco’s.
Same base component but processed differently. Sort of like the difference between rolled oats and pinhead oats.
I am certainly glad to see this since I am allergic to corn in any form. Shopping for corn free products takes a lot of time.
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