May 31, 2012

Why the FDA’s “High Fructose Corn Syrup Isn’t Sugar” Verdict Doesn’t Matter

Flickr/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nexus_icon/4577789974/sizes/z/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Christian Cable</a>

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Today, the FDA told the Corn Refiners (the good people behind that awesomely audacious series of ads about how corn syrup is natural) that they’re not allowed to change the name of high fructose corn syrup to “corn sugar.” Consumers Union cheered the ruling, stating in a press release that “If the name had been changed, it would have given consumers the wrong impression that this product is ‘natural.'” Which it’s definitely not.

I’m probably going to take a lot of flack for this, but I don’t think the ruling makes a lot of difference one way or the other. Sure, it’s nice to make the industry come clean about products that are heavily chemically processed (though cane sugar processing is hardly chemical-free), but the real problem with sweeteners is not quality but quantity. As I’ve said before, Americans eat too many sweeteners, period. And in excess, HFCS and sugar do the same bad things to your body: They can trigger insulin resistance and lead to a whole host of metabolic problems.

The HFCS verdict is sure to please the sugar refiners, who aren’t exactly small-batch artisenal craftsmen. In fact, the two industries have been locked in a decades-long PR battle, of which this is just the latest skirmish. I’m not saying that today’s ruling is a bad thing; there are plenty of perfectly valid reasons to be wary of HFCS—most recently, the stuff has been linked to memory loss. But just because cane sugar gets to be called “natural” doesn’t mean it’s good for you.

Okay, done ranting, you can go back to eating your cupcake now. 

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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