In recent weeks, there has been a rash of inaccurate reports about all-natural sugar. These reports have continually misrepresented the facts surrounding several scientific studies, overlooked biological differences between all-natural sugar and man-made sweeteners, and ignored government data. Rather than educating consumers, they have only contributed to greater confusion about sugar and its role as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.
This confusion has been amplified, at least in part, by the multi-million-dollar advertising campaign coordinated and funded by members of the Corn Refiners Association, the manufacturers of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). These members include agri-conglomerates Archer Daniel Midland, Cargill and Corn Products International, to name a few.
Their false and misleading ads claim that ‘sugar is sugar’ and ‘your body can’t tell the difference’ between HFCS and natural sugar, despite the fact that HFCS is a manmade sweetener that’s chemically distinct and derived from a different source (corn) than common table sugar.
This advertising campaign is the basis of an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by sugar farmers, in which a federal judge has already ruled that the plaintiffs have demonstrated ‘a reasonable probability of success on their argument that the statements are false’.
“Enough is enough,” said The Sugar Association’s attorney Mark Lanier. “Neither HFCS nor fructose is the same as sucrose, what consumers know as sugar, and has been a part of diets for more than 2,000 years. Consumers need the facts about how sweeteners differ chemically and how the body can tell the difference between them. The Sugar Association seeks to educate consumers and encourages the media and researchers to embrace a scientific dialogue based on facts and not scare tactics.”
Those facts are clear on several important issues, including:
The most recent example of this alarming trend came from headlines claiming ‘Sugar can make you dumb, US scientists warn’ and ‘Too Much Sugar Makes Us Dumber’. These particular headlines were prompted by a study at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) designed to assess the effects of omega-3 fats and fructose on memory in rats. The study didn’t test the effect of all-natural sugar.
Because fructose was used as a research tool in the UCLA study, it seemed to suggest that pure fructose could cause memory loss. Headlines proclaiming anything other than this, such as those that read ‘Sugar can make you dumb’, completely misrepresent the study and misinform consumers.
.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024