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When it comes to promoting weight gain, not all sugars are equal, Yale researchers report. A recent brain imaging study on healthy adults who consumed either a fructose- or glucose-laced beverage found that while one triggered feelings of fullness and satiety, the other encouraged study participants to eat more. More
Gary Taubes, author of Why We Get Fat and Good Calories, Bad Calories, as well a new Mother Jones article about the sugar industry, “Sweet Little Lies,” did a IAmA session on Reddit yesterday. Post-Halloween sugar rush, his session reminds us all of the damaging effects of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup on our bodies. More
A new study says high fructose corn syrup is no worse than sugar if you’re trying to lose weight. While the very premise of this study is a bit confusing — anyone trying to lose weight would be wise to cut both from their diets as much as possible — it does help answer a controversial issue in dietary science right now: Is high fructose corn syrup nutritionally different from “real” sugar in any important ways? It looks like in terms of weight gain, the answer may be no. But need we remind you of the 10.3 million other reasons you don’t want high fructose corn syrup in your diet? More
A pair of California moms has brought a lawsuit against General Mills charging the food giant with deceptively marketing its Nature Valley products. On packaging and in ads, the line of granola bars is described as “100% natural.” But these products are actually packed with highly processed ingredients, the women say. More
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the Corn Refiners Association can’t start using the term “corn sugar” instead of “high fructose corn syrup” on food labels and ingredient lists. With HFCS—a liquid sweetener derived from corn that’s added to processed food ranging from cereal to lunch meat—often blamed as one of the drivers of America’s weight problems, the CRA ostensibly thought that “corn sugar” sounded a little bit better. More
A sugary diet won’t just put on pounds, it could also slow down your brain. A new study from UCLA researchers shows for the first time how a diet high in high-fructose corn syrup can hamper your ability to learn and remember information. But Omega-3s (which are pretty much goddamn magic, right?) can help counteract the effects of too much fructose, the authors say More
Autism rates are climbing in the U.S.–which is leading scientists to look for some of the genetic and environmental factors which may be leading to the spike. So far, they’ve identified the age of the father and the weight of the mother, just to name a few. But a new peer-reviewed study, which specifically compared known metabolic causes of autism with environmental factors like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has found some pretty disturbing preliminary findings–including the conclusion that HFCS may not be as harmless as the corn industry would like you to think. More
Does corn syrup by any other name taste as sweet? Of course. Is it as legal? That’s up for debate. Last year, a commercial made by the corn industry featured a dad worried whether high fructose corn syrup was safe for … More
What better day to dicuss food dyes than on March 17, when beers, cupcakes, people’s faces and bodies, and the Chicago River (among other things) are dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day? Unfortunately, the truth is that most food dyes aren’t so lighthearted, carefree, and fun-loving. Though we tend to associate them with birthday parties, annual parades, and community bake sales, food dyes can contain some pretty scary ingredients, and can lead to some pretty serious health issues including cancer, allergic reactions, and hyperactivity. (And the dyes are present in a lot of foods you might not expect.) Damn distressing dyes. So I asked our Fearless Foodtrainer, nutritionist Lauren Slayton, exactly what’s so bad about about eating foods that contain dyes, and for ten facts we may not know about these seemingly innocent additives. More
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This Saturday Night Live spoof of the Corn Refiners Association commercial, featuring two moms at a birthday party, debating the pros and cons of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), is hilarious. A fruit punch-drinking Mom defends her beverage against criticism: “…it’s made from corn, doesn’t have artificial ingredients, and like sugar it’s fine in moderation.” Oh wait, that quote is from the real commercial. SNL writers didn’t have to reach far to ridicule the CRA’s ad for high fructose corn syrup, in which the party host tells off a concerned parent who doesn’t want her kids drinking HCFS More
Last week, nutritionist and Foodtrainers founder Lauren Slayton brought us 10 foods you didn’t know contained protein, and this week she’s back stirring up some condiment controversy.
So your beef is grass-fed and your produce organic. You don’t microwave in plastic and you always recycle. Sounds as though when it comes to food and health you’re doing pretty well. Not so fast. There’s one area you may be neglecting: Condiments (and a few other suspect foods thrown in for good measure). Do you really know what’s in them? Sorry, but I’m here to burst your nutritional bubble. So here’s our gallery of ten condiments you should carefully consider before consuming. More
Last week, Lauren Slayton, Blisstree’s resident nutritionist, gave us 10 foods we didn’t know contained (so much) salt. Today she’s back, and she’s not sugar-coating anything:
I’m not anti-sugar. I’m staunchly pro-chocolate and I’m sipping coffee with agave nectar (which is pretty much sugar) as I blog. (Obviously, I’m also pro-Joe.) But we have a problem: Yes – you, me, all of us. We’re getting sugar from places we don’t necessarily realize. Though you may know why salt is bad (high blood pressure, bloat) or why pesticides are bad, you may not know why, for a healthy person, sugar is bad. Simply stated, sweet begets sweet. The more sugar you have (and that means sugar, honey, molasses, evaporated cane juice, sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, etc.), the more you’ll crave, which can lead to fatigue, obesity, diabetes, depression, heart disease, a suppressed immune system, and a host of other serious health problems. So you owe it to yourself to know where sugar lurks in order to do something about it. The American Heart Association suggests that women keep added sugar to 25 grams daily and men slightly more (unfair!) to 37.5 grams daily. Fine, but do you know how much a gram of sugar is in real terms? One teaspoon of sugar equals a little more than 4 grams. Here’s our gallery of ten places where sugar is lurking in your food (and drink). More
For the first eight years of my life, I only ate cereal. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And I’m not talking Special K, granola, or Cheerios, either. I mean Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes, Cookie Crisp, Golden Grahams, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, Sugar Smacks, Trix, Alpha-Bits, and the like. I was adamant about my simple, yet highly-processed diet, and my chronic behavior regularly brought my mother to tears. (I’ve since made it up to her by becoming a travel and food editor, developing a much more well-rounded palate, and running this health and wellness site.)
Problem was, after kicking my three-bowls-of-sugary-cereal-a-day habit, all I really did was graduate to different equally processed and packaged foods – or what passes for foods according to the FDA. More
If you love Coca-Cola (for whatever sick, twisted reason) but don’t dig the high-fructose corn syrup that comes with every sip, you might be one of thousands of people who lust after Mexican Coke. The rumor is that in Mexico, Coke is made with real sugar cane rather than HFCS, which apparently makes it taste better.
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