Hey! You know what’s better than nasty ol’ high-fructose corn syrup? Natural sugar!
Except … that … it really isn’t much better, if it’s better all. Dan Mitchell, writing for Slate’s Big Money blog, astutely notes that the real focus of a recent public health effort—“putting sugar in everything is bad for us”—has drifted over into “let’s replace one kind of sugar with another kind of sugar and play some happy strumming guitar music and slow-motion footage of kids romping through fields of grass on a sunny day.”
This is one of the best deconstructions yet of a confusing issue that’s seen spin, counterspin, and respin flying fast and furious in the fight for consumer’s minds, wallets, and waistlines.
The crux of the piece:
“The [Corn Refiners Association], meanwhile, continues to run ads saying that HFCS is ‘fine in moderation,’ even as the industry continues to make it nearly impossible to consume it in moderation by putting it into all kinds of foods, from bread to barbecue sauce.”
But how much sugar (cane or HFCS) do we get from BBQ sauce and bread? According to the recent Heart Association press release (via wsj.com)
“The chief sources of added sugar in the diet include soft drinks, candy, desserts such as cakes and cookies, fruit drinks and sweetened dairy products, including ice cream and yogurt, the statement says.”
Limiting consumption of the obvious sources of sugar will cut our sugar intake a lot more than worrying about HFCS in hotdogs, bread, and savory sauces.
paulj, I can’t quite agree. We expect sugar to be found in “soft drinks, candy, desserts such as cakes and cookies, fruit drinks and sweetened dairy products, including ice cream and yogurt” – though I’d specify sweetened yoghourt, as there is very little sugar in natural yoghourt – less than in milk because of the good bacteria.
I almost never eat those products, so I’m very concerned indeed about sugar snuck into products that are not assumed to be sweet. Except for a somewhat sweet pain brioché, I want no sugar at all in my bread.
But why should you be concerned about that ’snuck’ sugar? Do you know for a fact that it is harmful?
It is likely that any bread that is designed to last more than a few days will have some added sugar. If you stick with the baguettes and crusty country loafs you’ll be sugar free (until your saliva starts acting on the starch).
A while back I tried a loaf of Milton’s bread that many rave about. Compared to the 9-grain I was used to, it was distinctly sweet. The 9-grain has some sugar, but Milton’s had much more. Neither had HFCS, just ‘healthy’ organic evaporated cane syrup, honey, molasses, etc. Whether you or I like or not, most consumers expect some sweetness in their bread – as well as resistance to going stale and hard.