(no subject)

[seraphcelene]

Oh, food lobbyists, you sure do bring the funny. In their reactionary panic to what I can only assume are diminishing sales, here comes a serious rotation of "milk comes from cows" commercials. However, for those of us who cannot actually, you know, digest milk, we totally appreciate the alternatives. Personally, I'm not all that fond of water in my cereal, plus dunking your cookies in kool-aid is kinda lame.

Then there's the corn people and their response to the high fructose corn syrup debate. I know there are studies linking it to increased cancer rates and to obesity as a result of the way that the body processes glucose versus fructose, but I don't know too much about it. Personally, it's not the high fructose corn syrup that I object to so much as it is the proliferation of high fructose corn syrup. Unlike sugar, it seems to be in practically EVERYTHING! Replacing HFCS with sugar doesn't solve the problem because the problem is an overabundance of non-nutritional, calorie laden junk. Break the junk food habit, I say. Reduce your consumption of canned, pre-packaged foods and you'll reduce intake of HFCS and sodium, to say the least.

Comments

[viciouswishes.livejournal.com]

The HFC lobbiest are super aggressive. I tweeted something about a study linking HFCs to cancer, and immediately, I got tweeted at from them with their counter-info. I then asked them some questions, to which they never responded...

[seraphcelene]

Wow! It all comes down to money. I just heard a news story on NPR about how the lobbyist from some food companies blocked the USDA from making changes to the regulations regarding school lunches that would have prevented them, or at least severely reduced, their ability to make a profit by selling frozen pizza and tater tots to schools. One of the changes would have included amending the definitions or classifications so that 2 tablespoons of tomato paste would know longer be considered a vegetable. One companies response was to extol the nutrient richness of tomato paste packed as it is with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Iron.

"Food companies including ConAgra, Coca-Cola, Del Monte Foods and makers of frozen pizza like Schwan argued that the proposed rules would raise the cost of meals and require food that many children would throw away.

The companies called the Congressional response reasonable, adding that the Agriculture Department went too far in trying to improve nutrition in school lunches.

“This is an important step for the school districts, parents and taxpayers who would shoulder the burden of U.S.D.A.’s proposed $6.8 billion school meal regulation that will not increase the delivery of key nutrients,” said John Keeling, executive vice president and chief executive of the National Potato Council. " - New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/us/politics/congress-blocks-new-rules-on-school-lunches.html

But somehow serving kids deep fried potatoes is A-okay.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

The best thing you can do for your health is cut out junk food that has no nutritional value. All it does it pack on pounds. There's a reason that diabetes is an epidemic.

[seraphcelene]

Amen to that. Be glad that your boys are out of primary education: Congress Blocks New Rules on School Lunches

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/us/politics/congress-blocks-new-rules-on-school-lunches.html

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

That is a really sad state of affairs.

[lettered.livejournal.com]

I've had to do a lot of research about HFCS for work, actually. Here's the thing:

HFCS is actually chemically almost exactly the same as sucrose. Sucrose is a fructose molecule + a glucose molecule. HFCS is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. It's called "high fructose" because it's made out of glucose (corn = starch, and starch is just a big chain of glucose molecules), and some of the glucose is altered into fructose. Some, meaning 50%.

From what I can tell, the problem with HFCS is exactly what you say: prevalence. Instances of obesity and diabetese have increased in conjunction with the use of HFCS, which has caused many people to cite HFCS as the cause. But the fact is, HFCS is cheap. That means it can be used in more products than use sucrose. The products that used to use sucrose are cheaper. There fore, people by more sweetened products; therefore obesity and diabetes increases.

And HFCS is cheaper because it is made from corn, and corn is a US cash cow.

Oh, look, back to cows.

The whole food industry is appalling. I like to put the onus on individuals and talk about how individual choice is the final decision maker etc etc, but individuals can't make healthy choices if they're working two jobs and every single quick cheap thing they can buy for their families to eat has a shit ton of HFCS in it because it makes big business a shit ton of money.

Oy.

[seraphcelene]

My BFF is a health coach and she always shares the most baffling stories about people who refuse to make the necessary life style changes to save their health. They talk to her because their jobs require them to or they face an increase in their contributions to their health care.

People are really, really, really resistant to being healthy and I just don't get it. The issue with cheap, quick food for low income people and communities, I understand. It is REALLY challenging to get what you need on a living wage or really low budget. But it can be done. Working individuals with two jobs are also highly challenged to eat healthy. But when people don't want to do it just because they don't want to give up certain bad habits or be told what to do?!?!?!?

It's a mess. A complete and total mess.

I can no longer eat certain meals when I dine out now that restaurants are required to post nutritional facts and calorie counts. I always look at the meal as it impacts my calorie consumption for the entire day and almost always pick something else. Plenty of people dive in full steam ahead. But, in a way, how can you blame them. People are being trained from childhood, in their school lunch programs, to develop certain eating habits.

Srsly.