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Posts Tagged ‘corn syrup’

Fatwashing is the new Greenwashing

October 5th, 2009

Frank Lampard and Thierry Henry are the celebrity faces of a new anti-obesity ad campaign being launched by Pepsi.

Anti-obesity & Pepsi?

That’s an odd combination

I always thought that soda helped to cause obesity.

But, if Pepsi wants to help me lose weight and get fit, then they must be one of the good guys…and therefore, I must drink more Pepsi

MUST DRINK PEPSI….MUST DRINK PEPSI….MUST DRINK PEPSI….

Nooooooo!!!!!!!

Help….I’ve think I have just been fatwashed by Pepsi

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Soda Tax = Tax Grab

September 17th, 2009

It looks like my prediction of a American Soda Tax may soon come true.

According to ABC News, “several of the nation’s leading health experts are calling for a tax on soda as a means of curbing America’s obesity-epidemic”.

But wait, here’s the good part:

Their paper, appearing in the most recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, calls for a tax on “sugar-sweetened” drinks in order to reduce the consumption of the drinks and lower health costs as well as fund government-run health programs.

FUND GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH PROGRAMS

“A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is really a double-win,” said Dr. David Ludwig, a co-author of the paper and director of the Optimal Weight for Life program at Children’s Hospital, Boston.

“We can raise much-needed dollars while likely reducing obesity prevalence, which is a major driver of health care costs, the paper states.

“Ultimately the government needs to raise more money to cover the deficit, and in terms of ways of raising that revenue, a tax on sugar sweetened beverages is really a no-brainer.”

So, there you go.

Just like I said here, the government will take advantage of America’s Obesity Epidemic™ and introduce a soda tax in order to help reverse the defecit.

But will it help reduce the nation’s obesity problem?

According to the latest research, small tax increases will have little effect on behavior.

On the other hand, big tax increases should do the trick. Especially for America’s poor.

So, there you go, just like I predicted:

5 Bucks for a Can of Coke

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New York City’s public health officials opened a new front in their struggle against high-calorie beverages on Monday, unveiling a new ad campaign that graphically depicts globs of human fat gushing from a sideways drink bottle.

Mmmmmmmm….I could rally go for a great big glass of globby liquified human body-fat.

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, diabetes, fat, fat loss, fitness, health, nutrition, obesity, weight loss

Tags: carbs childhood obesity corn syrup diet Diet/Nutrition fat fitness food government health hfcs high fructose corn syrup insulin new york new york city nutrition nutritious nyc obese obesity pop soda sugar weight loss

Here Come the Soda Tax

September 9th, 2009

Last month, I predicted that America will soon be paying 5 bucks for a can of Coke.

And it looks like that prediction may be coming true.

In an interview with Men’s Health magazine, President Obama was asked “would he consider so-called sin taxes, on soda and other sugar-laden products, or on activities that sabotage the health of the masses?

His response:

“I actually think it’s an idea that we should be exploring,” the president says. “There’s no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that’s been done about obesity shows that there is as high a correlation between increased soda consumption and obesity as just about anything else. Obviously it’s not the only factor, but it is a major factor.”

But even the most powerful man on the planet needs to keep an eye on what’s politically feasible:

“Obviously there is resistance on Capitol Hill to those kinds of sin taxes,” he says. “Legislators from certain states that produce sugar or corn syrup are sensitive to anything that might reduce demand for those products. And look, people’s attitude is that they don’t necessarily want Big Brother telling them what to eat or drink, and I understand that.

It is true, though, that if you wanted to make a big impact on people’s health in this country, reducing things like soda consumption would be helpful.”

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Somehow, I don’t think that this is the type of change that the people at Jones Cola had in mind when they came up with their Orange “You Glad For Change” Cola to commemorate the inauguration of President Obama.

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Loneliness worse for your health than smoking and obesity

February 16th, 2009

Picasso - the old guitarist

According to the research of Dr. John Cacioppo, loneliness has a major impact on your overall health – both mental and physical.

In his research, Dr. Cacioppo employed brain scans, monitoring of autonomic and neuroendocrine processes, and assays of immune function to test the influence that social connection has upon our health. His research showed how our perceptions, behavior and physiology are strongly affected by a loss of that connection.

In fact, Dr. Cacoppo’s research has shown that loneliness can cause:

an increase in your blood pressure
an increase in your level of stress and cortisol production
a negative impact on your immune system
an inability to get a good nights sleep
an increased level of depression and anxiety
an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease
a reduction in your will to exercise
an increase in your cravings for comforting foods high in processed carbohydrates
an increase in caloric consumption
an increase in alcohol consumption
an increase in the consumption of a variety of drugs…both legal and illegal, and…

a feeling of sadness that feeds upon itself, causing even more isolation and an even greater sense of loneliness.

These finding were presented by Dr. Cacioppo at the most recent conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

According to Dr. Cacioppo, “healthwise, the difference between a lonely person and a popular person was akin to “a smoker and a non-smoker”.

“That stunned all of us, myself and all my colleagues in terms of the effects it had,” he said. “It shows just how powerful it is.

“Loneliness lowers the ability to control yourself. It is really easy after a bad day to have a second scotch and a third to get some comfort.”

Dr. Cacioppo’s research has led him to believe that our need for connection can be traced back through our evolutionary roots.

In order to survive in the past, humans needed to bond to rear their children. In order to flourish, they needed to [increase their levels of altruism and cooperation].

Just as physical pain is a prompt to change behavior, such as moving a finger away from the fire, loneliness evolved as a prompt to action, signaling an ancestral need to repair the social bonds.

The problem of social isolation is likely to grow as conventional family structures die out, said Dr. Cacioppo.

People are living longer, having fewer children later in life and becoming increasingly mobile around the world.

Surveys also show that people report significantly fewer close friends and confidants than those a generation ago.

All of this adds up to more loneliness and more health problems because of that loneliness.

According to the good doctor, we need to realize that “human beings are simply far more intertwined and interdependent—physiologically as well as psychologically—than our cultural prejudices have allowed us to acknowledge”.

And if we don’t address our very real need for connection, we are risking our own psychological and physiological health.

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“If you want to go fast,” says an African proverb, “go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

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High Fructose Corn Syrup: Now with 33% More MERCURY

January 29th, 2009

I am almost starting to feel sympathetic for the folks over at the Corn Refiners Association.

For years and years, we (the government) have been encouraging them to find new markets for their highly subsidized product. And boy oh boy, they have done a heck of a job.

Just look at all of the different products that are “hooked on corn”.

And how do we repay them for their ingenuity?

I’ll tell you how:

By bitching and complaining about HFCS and it’s links to obesity and depression and diabetes and high blood pressure and dementia and Alzheimer’s and coronary artery disease and anxiety and…..

What a bunch of spoiled babies!

It’s not like they found mercury in the HFCS.

Ooops

They just found mercury in the HFCS.

The Story

Study Finds High Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury

Wednesday, January 28, 2009; 12:00 AM

MONDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) — Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.

HFCS has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average.

“Mercury is toxic in all its forms.

Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered.

We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply,” the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement.

And what do the “corn people” have to say in rebuttal?

MERCURY STUDY OUTDATED; BASED ON DISCONTINUED TECHNOLOGY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2009

CONTACT: Audrae Erickson, President
(202) 331-1634

WASHINGTON, DC – The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) today challenged the relevance and accuracy of information published by Environmental Health asserting that certain tests found measurable levels of mercury in high fructose corn syrup.

“This study appears to be based on outdated information of dubious significance. Our industry has used mercury-free versions of the two re-agents mentioned in the study, hydrochloric acid and caustic soda, for several years. These mercury-free re-agents perform important functions, including adjusting pH balances,” stated Audrae Erickson, President, Corn Refiners Association. “For more than 150 years, corn wet millers have been perfecting the process of refining corn to make safe ingredients for the American food supply.”

“It is important that Americans are provided accurate, science-based information. They should know that high fructose corn syrup is safe,” continued Erickson. “In 1983, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally listed high fructose corn syrup as safe for use in food and reaffirmed that decision in 1996.”

“High fructose corn syrup contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients or color additives and meets FDA’s requirements for the use of the term ‘natural.” Erickson said.

Hmmmm

That seems odd.

The Washington Post tells the world that High Fructose Corn Syrup is loaded with toxic mercury and all the Corn Refiners Assn. can say in their defense is that “This study appears to be based on outdated information of dubious significance“.

It APPEARS to be based on outdated information?

That doesn’t sound very positive, does it?

It’s almost as if they didn’t want to come right out and say that HFCS is 100% Mercury free.

Now, why wouldn’t they want to say that?

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Your Kids are being Targeted

August 4th, 2008

I just read a great post by Lisa Newton (CEO of Iowa Avenue), in which she exposes the amount of marketing money spent to encourage your children to drink pop, eat cereal and get fat.

Summary of Lisa’s Post

Food producers spend $867,761,000 per year marketing carbonated beverages, breakfast cereals and snack foods to your kids.

In comparison, $65,938,000 (or 8% of the pop/cereal/junk food budget) was spent marketing dairy products, fruits and vegetables.

Here is the full list

But wait, the government is taking steps to reverse the growth of childhood obesity.

Big government money.

“The Centers for Disease Control’s current annual budget for nutrition, physical activity, and obesity is about $41 million for Americans of all ages. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Team Nutrition, whose goal is to improve children’s eating and physical-activity habits, has an annual budget of about $10 million“.

$51 million?

That’s it?

Hell, Dick Cheney spent that much on shotgun ammo last year alone.

Let’s recap:

$867,761,000 per year spent on marketing carbonated beverages, breakfast cereals and snack foods to your kids.

In comparison, $65,938,000 was spent marketing dairy products, fruits and vegetables to your kids.

And the government spent $51,000,000 marketing healthy eating and exercise to your kids.

In total, just under 13.5% of the pop, cereal and junk food budget is spent on marketing healthy alternatives.

And we wonder why our kids are FAT.

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Tags: cheap food corn corn syrup Exercise fitness food health high fructose corn syrup marketing obesity weight loss

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Health Habits

Posts Tagged ‘corn syrup’

Fatwashing is the new Greenwashing

Related Posts

Soda Tax = Tax Grab

5 Bucks for a Can of Coke

Related Posts

NYC Declares War on Soda

Here Come the Soda Tax

Related Posts

High Fructose Corn Syrup: Now with 33% More MERCURY

The Story

Study Finds High Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury

MERCURY STUDY OUTDATED; BASED ON DISCONTINUED TECHNOLOGY

Related Posts

Your Kids are being Targeted

Summary of Lisa’s Post

Let’s recap: