Sugar is Sugar…
I have a Master’s degree in Food Science…that’s food technology, to be specific. And in my humble opinion, it was the bestest major EVAH! In addition to getting a fantastic, in-depth, multidisciplinary education; it gave me a perspective on foods that profoundly influenced my own eating habits, as well as the those of the people I advise.
Nonetheless, there are times when the industry (which I trained to be part of) makes me want to tear my hair out in frustration. Marketing drives the priorities of the profession, as this New York Times article firmly demonstrates…
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.
“Sugar was the old devil, and high-fructose corn syrup is the new devil,” said Marcia Mogelonsky, a senior analyst at Mintel International, a market-research company.
With sugar sales up, the Sugar Association last year ended its Sweet by Nature campaign, which pointed out that sugar is found in fruits and vegetables, said Andy Briscoe, president of the association. “Obviously, demand is moving in the right direction so we are taking a break,” Mr. Briscoe said.
AAARRRGH!!!
Now, I’ve written about the evils of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) myself. Consuming excess fructose is bad news and HFCS in sodas and other sweetened food products is a primary source of it.
BUT…
Sucrose (table sugar) is a disaccharide, composed of glucose and (wait for it!)…fructose. Fructose-wise, there isn’t a real big difference between sucrose (50% fructose) and the predominant form of HFCS used in food products like sodas – which is 55% fructose.
Like the man says…
Dr. Robert H. Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco Children’s Hospital, said: “The argument about which is better for you, sucrose or HFCS, is garbage. Both are equally bad for your health.”
…Dr. Lustig studies the health effects of fructose, particularly on the liver, where it is metabolized. Part of his research shows that too much fructose — no matter the source — affects the liver in the same way too much alcohol does.
DO NOT get suckered by this sort of marketing…sucrose-sweetened junk isn’t “better” than HFCS-sweetened junk. You’re still getting a bolus of empty calories and highly lipogenic fructose, whether it’s from cane sugar or HFCS. Both should be avoided.
March 24, 2009
It always seems like if a food company is doing you a favor, there is always a down side.
As you said, taking out one bad thing to put in another bad thing dose’nt make it good.
March 24, 2009
Well, the goal of the food industry is to maximize sales. If a company can increase sales of a product by making superficial changes that have relatively little impact on the manufacturing process or associated costs, so much the better.