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The Fog of Sweeteners
The Fog of Sweeteners
By Dan Mitchell
Posted Friday, August 21, 2009 - 12:50pm
An article in Advertising Age shows once again how the food industry exploits the confusion over high fructose corn syrup. Food processors are increasingly capitalizing on misplaced public fears about HFCS by advertising foods made with "natural sugar." Meanwhile, makers of HFCS are continuing to run ads pointing out that the stuff isn't any worse for you than sugar—which is true but beside the point.
As people like Michael Pollan and Marion Nestle have issued warnings about HFCS in recent years, the public at large has taken the message to be "HFCS bad; do not consume." But actually, the problem isn't the simple consumption of HFCS in place of sugar, it's the ubiquity of it. As I've pointed out several times, it's probably no worse for you than sugar is. The trouble is that, for reasons of both economics and food-engineering, food processors put it into all kinds of products where you would least expect it. So people are consuming more of it than they should.
But the public just thinks HFCS is bad for you—worse than sugar—so it is now "near the top of many a mother's hit list," Ad Age says.
"Some major manufacturers," the article continues, "have responded by removing the offending syrup, and the Corn Refiners Association has staged a full-fledged media assault aimed at what it perceives to be 'misinformation' in the media."
And as any good corporate lobbying organization knows, the best way to counter misinformation is with even worse misinformation. So the CRA has been running ads poking fun at the notion that HFCS is poison. But that notion has little to do with the real problems that HFCS poses.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the equation, food processors like Kraft Foods (KFT), similarly taking advantage of public ignorance, are reformulating products by trading in HFCS for sugar, which, depending on the formulation, may have zero net effect on sweetener content or total calories per serving. Consuming 100 calories of sugar is no different than consuming 100 calories of HFCS, healthwise. (There are some studies that say HFCS might be worse for you in some ways, but so far they haven't eclipsed the studies that say there is essentially no difference.)
Comments
Sweeteners
“Given that high fructose corn syrup and table sugar are nutritionally the same, the moderation message goes for all sweeteners – not just high fructose corn syrup. The corn sweetener is nearly identical to table sugar(sucrose) in composition, which comes from sugar cane or beets and is handled similarly by the body. HFCS is a natural sweetener made from corn and it meets the FDS's definition of natural. And if someone is worried about the amount of sugars in a particular food, they need only look at the Nutrition Facts panel. But it’s also important to note that many foods contain only small amounts of high fructose corn syrup, for a variety of functional reasons. For example, you may see high fructose corn syrup used in breads or bran cereal, but you’d have to eat 87 bowls of bran cereal or 39 slices of bread in one day to reach the daily allowance for added sugars. Many foods – like spaghetti sauce and barbeque sauce – have always contained a little sugar or high fructose corn syrup to enhance flavor. High fructose corn syrup also is used in small amounts to keep food fresh, retain moisture in bran cereals, help keep breakfast and energy bars moist, maintain consistent flavors in beverages and keep ingredients evenly dispersed in condiments. It enhances spice and fruit flavors in yogurts and marinades. In salad dressings and spaghetti sauce, it improves flavor by reducing tartness. It provides excellent browning characteristics for breads and baked goods. In terms of battling obesity, the key piece of information for people to watch is the calories in foods. Americans are eating more of everything – it’s the excess calories and sedentary lifestyle that are having the greatest impact.
Suzanne Martin, PhD, RD
Unexpected HFCS
I was amazed this weekend while grocery shopping to find there was HFCS in hot dogs. It took several attempts before finding a brand without it.
easy enough
To avoid extra sugar -just do what we've been taught for years: buy fewer processed foods. My shopping cart is full of cheese and meat, veggies and fruit. Kids clamor for packaged cereal, but my breakfast is a bowl of oats. Lots of bread available now without added sugars. Snacks are nuts, okay, also corn chips, and cookies. But at least when I eat a cookie, I know I'm getting sugar!