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Sugar Is Back on Food Labels, This Time as a Selling Point
NY Times ^ | March 21, 2009 | KIM SEVERSON

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...

--snip--

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.

--snip--

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 ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: agriculture; conagra; fructose; glucose; hfcs; nutrition; obesity; sucrose; sugar
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To: uncommonsense
> eat as much bacon / steak as I want without gaining an ounce.

I hate you. ;-)

61 posted on 03/21/2009 8:12:19 PM PDT by NewJerseyJoe (Rat mantra: "Facts are meaningless! You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!")
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To: Wuli
And, is there any study that looked at the 5% greater portion of fructose in HFCS, compounded by the massive degree with which HFCS permeates the food industry, and asked about how the increased rate and dosage of the metabolization of that may, possibly, have adverse long term consequences.

Actually, you'd be surprised to know that HFCS has replaced sucrose on nearly a one for one basis over the past 35 years. Where there was one (or would be sucrose) there is now HFCS.

It is also interesting to note that England and Mexico are also experiencing an obesity problem similar to ours, along with a rapid increase in diabetes, but use little or no HFCS in their diet. People need something to demonize and it seems that HFCS is the ingredient du jour.

62 posted on 03/21/2009 8:14:58 PM PDT by Mase (Save me from the people who would save me from myself!)
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To: Freedom Dignity n Honor

In case you haven’t figured it out yet there are other things made from corn Maltodextrin is a flavor enhancer and dextrose and maltose.


63 posted on 03/21/2009 8:23:44 PM PDT by Ditter
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To: Ditter

yep, when my allergist confirmed the corn allergy he had me buy a book to learn of such things.


64 posted on 03/21/2009 8:26:51 PM PDT by Freedom Dignity n Honor (There are permanent moral truths.)
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To: Aroostook25
Corn syrup is a fraction of the sweetness of sucrose sugar.

Corn syrup can be 98% glucose. Glucose is just a little less sweet than sucrose.

So to get something sweet we eat or drink many times the amount of corn syrup than we would of sugar.

What? Corn syrup is used because it's sweet and cheap. Your statement above makes no sense.

“High fructose corn syrup” is high on calories but low on sweetness.

All carbs offer 4 calories per gram. High fructose corn syrup is desired by industry because it's cheaper than sucrose and offers a relatively same sweetness as sucrose.

65 posted on 03/21/2009 8:27:39 PM PDT by Mase (Save me from the people who would save me from myself!)
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To: RandyGH
Just direct me to the Coca-Cola made with sugar instead of corn syrup.

If you're lucky enough to live in an area that has a decent size Jewish population, you can get "Passover Coke". Look for the yellow top on the two liter bottles, and you get Coke with real sugar.

It keeps well, too, my lady found one from LAST year and I just had some today, it tastes like the old fashioned stuff I grew up with as a kid!

66 posted on 03/21/2009 8:30:17 PM PDT by hunter112 (SHRUG - Stop Hussein's Radical Utopian Gameplan!)
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To: Wuli
“HFCS is metabolized dfferently than sugar, and it is very stressful to the pancreas

The Leaf Lady? Not exactly the best place to get an education on nutrition. Hydrolyzed sucrose and HFCS are metabolized in the exact same manner. Stressful to the pancreas? Good grief.

Corn syrup is made from corn starch and it bypasses digestion going directly to the liver where enzymes are released telling the body to store fat.

Corn syrup is mostly glucose. The author of this article should probably find something other than nutrition to teach about. He/she doesn't even know the difference between corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup.

67 posted on 03/21/2009 8:37:04 PM PDT by Mase (Save me from the people who would save me from myself!)
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To: the anti-liberal
[Bisphenol A is a xenoestrogen, a known endocrine disruptor, meaning it disturbs the hormonal messaging in our bodies. Synthetic xenoestrogens are linked to breast cancer and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and are particularly devastating to babies and young children

Wow, and if you look for it in parts per trillion you can find it in the plastic bottles used to hold food and beverages. Did you know you can find benzene in even higher quantities than BPA in plastic bottles in the air we breath. Can benzene be harmful to babies and young children? BPA has never been shown to have any sort of health effect on humans in the extremely low doses we are exposed to from plastic bottles, can liners, or eyeglass lenses. Cancer causing chemicals can be found in foods you eat every day. The dosage, as it has since the beginning of time, determines the toxicity. Just because something is found doesn't mean it's harmful.

68 posted on 03/21/2009 8:47:23 PM PDT by Mase (Save me from the people who would save me from myself!)
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To: Mase
High fructose corn syrup is desired by industry because it's cheaper than sucrose and offers a relatively same sweetness as sucrose.

Liar! Fructose is hypnotizing you with all its chiral centers.

69 posted on 03/21/2009 9:03:03 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot (Havoc has been back since September. Or was it April?)
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To: Toddsterpatriot
You're right. The stereoisomers have taken control of my mind. I know HFCS is poison but they won't let me speak truth to power. Somebody help me!
70 posted on 03/21/2009 9:13:26 PM PDT by Mase (Save me from the people who would save me from myself!)
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To: NewJerseyJoe
"> eat as much bacon / steak as I want without gaining an ounce. I hate you. ;-)

So does my wife :-(

When I disclosed the list of can't do's - she looked like she was going to cry. You wouldn't believe how many of my favs I had to give up. Nuts, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, cheese, wheat (except beer), corn, soy, citrus, carrots, most berries, garlic, and several more. Eggs, pork, beef, rice, fish, shell fish, grapes - all OK.

I make a killer dry rub for baby back ribs! It has about 12 spices. Melt in your mouth with a crispy outer layer... mmmmm. Tomorrow they'll fill the house with the aroma of perfection.

71 posted on 03/21/2009 10:49:52 PM PDT by uncommonsense
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To: neverdem

Corn derivatives are potent and common allergens. Just about anything ending in “-ose” on food labels is corn-derived in the U.S. and off-limits to those with corn allergies, which can be debilitating. And the constant barrage of corn derivatives prompts the development of allergies. Though I’m no fan of sugary stuff, I welcome the removal of corn products from our foods. Even common table salt is laced with corn-derived dextrose as a flowing agent and can cause problems in susceptible individuals.


72 posted on 03/21/2009 10:59:56 PM PDT by RightOnTheLeftCoast (1st call: Abbas. 1st interview: Al Arabiya. 1st energy decision: halt drilling in UT. Arabs 1st!)
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To: RandyGH
"Just direct me to the Coca-Cola made with sugar instead of corn syrup."

Costco often carries Coke in glass bottles, imported from Mexico, and made with sugar.
73 posted on 03/21/2009 11:01:19 PM PDT by RightOnTheLeftCoast (1st call: Abbas. 1st interview: Al Arabiya. 1st energy decision: halt drilling in UT. Arabs 1st!)
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To: Mase
"High fructose corn syrup is desired by industry because it's cheaper than sucrose..."

Until you subtract the taxpayer subsidies courtesy of the corn lobby.
74 posted on 03/21/2009 11:06:28 PM PDT by RightOnTheLeftCoast (1st call: Abbas. 1st interview: Al Arabiya. 1st energy decision: halt drilling in UT. Arabs 1st!)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear
"Sort of like the difference between rolled oats and pinhead oats. "

What is pinhead oats? My wife and most Americans eat rolled oats, and I eat steel cut oats, but I haven't heard of pinhead oats.

75 posted on 03/21/2009 11:07:29 PM PDT by matthew fuller (Coming Soon: DJIA 3500 (03 07 2009)-Thanks, Buckwheat!)
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To: Longhair_and_Leather
I also stopped buying Pepsi when they went with the Hussein logo.

Me too. Bus stops, cafeterias, etc. If I see one more OH BOY or HOPE propaganda poster from Pepsi I'm going to puke.


76 posted on 03/21/2009 11:30:59 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Yes, Gorbachev is better than Obama. At least Gorbachev admitted he was a Communist)
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To: neverdem

I’m all for sugar making a comeback in soda. Corn syrup just doesn’t taste the same, and the pop doesn’t taste as good as a result.


77 posted on 03/22/2009 12:11:49 AM PDT by DemforBush (Somebody wake me when sanity has returned to the nation.)
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To: RandyGH

Coke made with cane sugar is absolutely delicious. It made in Mexico and shipped into the U.S.


78 posted on 03/22/2009 2:57:21 AM PDT by jonrick46 (The Obama Administration is a blueprint for Fabian Socialism.)
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To: Wuli; Mase; All

Um, while there is a lot of debate about the digestion of HFCS, please, please use even a rudimentary understanding of basic biology. Your liver does not “digest” anything.

I too almost snorted upon seeing your reference from Leaf Lady. I had a Performance Nutrition class recently (Continuing ed. for Physical Training) and this is actually a common question. There is VERY LITTLE research about the effects of using HFCS. The very little research is disheartening.

This ‘LeafLady” is ignorant, and you will be too by following such ignorant ramblings. Your liver does not “digest” anything. It secretes bile, which is a physical emulsifies of Lipids. It does not break them down chemically, but in fact makes them into small bubbles. think “Dawn” and grease. Same thing. The liver does, however, store water and glucose for immediate use if you go hungry. It’s a little resivoir, for when you haven’t eaten. Going hungry releases the water and glucose, a large amount in fact. A few cups. Which, is why, at least from my understanding, the first couple of pounds you lose on a starvation diet is ALWAYS technically water weight. you just don’t know it. And that is the rest of the story.

RESEARCH folks, don’t just browse. Thanks


79 posted on 03/22/2009 3:30:25 AM PDT by JDW11235 (I think I got it now!)
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To: uncommonsense
> I make a killer dry rub for baby back ribs! It has about 12 spices. Melt in your mouth with a crispy outer layer... mmmmm. Tomorrow they'll fill the house with the aroma of perfection.

Ahh, yes! Something I do also. I smoke my baby backs on the Weber Smoky Mountain Cooker over hardwood charcoal.... some pecan wood for the smoke... and here's the rub (recipe), with some variations:

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar *
1/2 cup granulated garlic
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup paprika
2 tablespoons granulated onion
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning **
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground red (cayenne) pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

* I substitute 1 heaping cup Turbinado sugar (or "sugar in the raw").

** I substitute Old Bay seasoning.

80 posted on 03/22/2009 4:26:04 AM PDT by NewJerseyJoe (Rat mantra: "Facts are meaningless! You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!")
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