Saturday, August 26, 2006

Sugary drinks are piling on the pounds

An extra can of soda a day can pile on 15 pounds (7 kilograms) in a single year, and the evidence strongly suggests that this sort of increased consumption is a key reason that more people have gained weight, the researchers say.


Full Article Here

Soft drink trends have marched lock-step with the growing obesity epidemic, but industry groups have long fought efforts to say one directly caused the other. Not all studies conclude that beverages are at fault, and the new analysis ignored some that would have discounted such a link, the American Beverage Association said in a statement issued in response to the study.


"When it comes to beverage trends and obesity, "it's like documenting the force of gravity," he said. "There's an overwhelmingly strong case to be made for a causal relationship."
--Dr. David Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children's Hospital in Boston

High Fructose Creates Obesity

"If we talk about dangerous things - and trans fats have certainly been something that people have been looking at—but high-fructose corn syrup has probably done more to create obesity in this country than any single item.”

-Dr. Terry Mason, Chicago’s Commissioner of Public Health

The Wilmington Journal

More than 12 million adults to be obese within four years

By 2010, more than 12 million adults and more than 1 million children will be classified as obese unless preventive measures are taken, according to a Department of Health report, Forecast for Obesity to 2010.

Full Article here

Monday, August 14, 2006

Foods That Have High Fructose Corn Syrup

It is difficult to avoid products containing High Fructose Corn Syrup, which is why the average American is consuming over 40 pounds of it every year. In most cases, an alternative product can be found but it is usually more expensive (organic, for example).

Check the ingredients on many products. Corn syrup is showing up everywhere:
  • Jelly: Smucker's, Welch's, other
  • Syrup: Aunt Jemima Original Syrup, Log Cabin, Mrs. Butterworth's, other fake syrups
  • Soda: Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7Up, Dr. Pepper, etc. - nearly all
  • Power Drinks: Gatorade, Powerade
  • Juice:
    • Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail
    • Capri Sun Drinks- almost all High Fructose Corn Syrup with a little pear juice
    • Minute Maid Products
    • Most "fruit drinks"
  • Barbeque Sauces
  • Bread (nearly all high-volume brands)
  • Flavored Mustard
  • Ketchup
  • Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
  • Salad Dressing
  • Ice Cream (any cheap store brand)
  • Pickles
  • Frozen and refrigerated products aimed at kids:
    • popsicles
    • ice cream treats
    • juice boxes
  • Candy
    • M&Ms
    • Caramels
    • Twizzlers
    • Lollipops
    • Hard candies
    • Gummy Bears
    • GumBalls
    • Jelly Beans
For a more complete list, click HERE

Note: Brands are trademarked and owned by the brand owners

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Opinion on the NY Times Article Saying HFCS is Not Bad

This guy makes some interesting counterpoints about the NY Times Article-

Opinion Article That Rips on the NY Times Article


About the NY Times Article:

"If that doesn't get your corporate shill radar detector going I don't know what will."

High Fructose Makes Ninth-Grader Fat

Story About an Overweight Teenager

Ninth-grader DeAndre Patrick of Oxford has an admitted sweet tooth, and at 265 pounds and 6 feet tall, it shows.

"Sprite, Power-Ade, Vault, Fanta, Pepsi and Coke. I've been drinking them all my life, since I was 2," DeAndre said.

Comments-
In addition to being morbidly obese this kid had two abscessed teeth, one of which had to be pulled. His mom, who used to put soda in his baby bottle, is a moron.

Again, this article argues that too many of any calories make you fat which is a true statement. But it is not a relevant point as to whether HFCS is a problem or not.

UK Paper Summarizes Problems with HFCS

From a UK paper-

UK Paper - Times Online

Richard Faulks, ofthe Institute of Food Research in Norwich says:

“The problem with it is that it is too easy to consume too much,” Faulks says. “It is everywhere. You don’t always realise where it crops up because you don’t look for it, so you can take in large quantities of HFCS and think you are eating healthily.”

---
Juan Zapata, a Republican in the Florida House of Representatives, calls HFCS the “crack of sweeteners” and wants it banned.