MetaFilter posts tagged with sugar

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

knave — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:04:07 -0800

Sugar: The Bitter Truth. Robert H. Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics at UCSF, discusses the biochemical properties of fructose and makes the case for why it should be considered, essentially, a poison. [Youtube, 1.5 hours] While the cane sugar vs high-fructose corn syrup issue is frequently discussed online, the two substances are remarkably similar. Sucrose almost immediately breaks into fructose and glucose (in 50:50 ratio) in digestion, while HFCS contains both in a 55:45 ratio. In Dr. Lustig's view, refined sugar and HFCS can be considered equally bad for humans, due to their fructose content. His talk is focused on fructose, and goes into detail on the metabolism of it in the liver (since, unlike glucose, fructose can't be used directly by the other parts of the body). He also touches on USDA dietary recommendations, including the recent decades preoccupied with reducing dietary fat, as well as the commonly cited (kcal in - kcal out = weight change) equation and its shortcomings for addressing obesity.

“If you are bitter at heart, sugar in the mouth will not help you”

bigmusic — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:33:04 -0800

American Heart Association: American men should not consume more than 150 calories of sugar a day[pdf], American women 100 calories. paper[pdf]

That single-serving website sure is sweet

Asparagirl — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:20:15 -0800

Need to settle a dispute with a friend, but don't want to flip a coin? Try Diabetting, a new way to settle decisions using the most-recently-updated blood sugar readings of a Type I diabetic web developer.

Some food with your sugar

up in the old hotel — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:02:11 -0800

Would you eat a stack of 16 sugar cubes? SugarStacks makes it clear how much food you're having with your sugar. The McDonald's chocolate shake is particularly disgusting.

The decline and fall of high-fructose corn syrup

Afroblanco — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:51:29 -0800

Everybody knows that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is unhealthy, unnatural, and unappetizing. Or is it?

saturday morning 70

vronsky — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:33:58 -0800

Count Chocula::Freakies::Honda 600::Quisp::Pufnstuf::Spümcø - Quaker "Quisp"

What do you get when you guzzle down sweets?

Saydur — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:44:09 -0800

What's a soda lover to do when Passover Coke has, well, passed over? Find other cane sugar sodas, of course! We've been previously informed about Mexican Coke, and there is certainly a following for Dublin Dr Pepper, which is popular enough to be used as beef jerky marinade. How else does one find a soda which shuns high fructose corn syrup when they have that urge for cane sugar? The Jones Soda line is full of the good tooth-rotting stuff. Cane sugar soda can even be found in store brand form. Feeling especially lazy? Avery's will deliver their line of sodas right to your door if you are fortunate enough to live in a few select parts of Connecticut. If you have a friend passing through Oklahoma, Pops on Route 66 offers an in-store kiosk for shipping a wide variety of cane sugar sodas including regional favorite brands such as Moxie, Thomas Kemper, and Foxon Park, just to name a few. So remember, you don't need to travel back in time to get cane sugar sodas. Let Pepsi do the work for you there. Disclaimer: Does not come in Blue.

Hype Fructose Corn Syrup

jock@law — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:49:53 -0800

High-fructose corn syrup is a corn-based sweetener that has been blamed for being partially responsible for the obesity epidemic in the United States. Some producers of HFCS products have responded in the PR war over its health effects. Others may finally be giving anti-HFCS consumers what they want.

Don't Cry for Me, I'm Already Dead

clockworkjoe — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:40:04 -0800

Don't Cry for Me, I'm Already Dead. A comic about brotherly love, loss and quoting the Simpsons. A brilliant short comic by Rebecca Sugar, creator of the excellent Pug Davis. Stupid sexy Flanders.

Cornbread Nation

Miko — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:07:03 -0800

The Southern Foodways Alliance is one weighed-down church-supper table, full of oral history/blog projects like The Tamale Trail, the Boudin Trail, interviews and recipes from the Bartenders of New Orleans, photo essay/interviews from Birmingham's Greek-Americans, a mess o'homemade films, and a passel of event and BBQ-shack photos on Flickr, all smothered in the tangy-sweet academic goodness of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at Ole Miss. These folks get my vote for most flavorful, funkiest food-loving folklorists in the lower forty-eight. Tamales previously mentioned here, and Prince's Hot Chicken here, but the whole site is worth a bookmark and a long evening on the porch.

Put down that diet soda and back away slowly

Mr_Zero — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:05:04 -0800

An older study that claims artificial sweeteners actually cause weight gain, has resurfaced. In addition to the other health hazards linked to artificial sweeteners, it appears there is yet another reason to go back to nature. Unless of course you take advice from Nancy Appleton, Ph.D, who seems to think sugar is the cause of almost everything.

No to the skinny platform!

Armitage Shanks — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:01:30 -0800

No to the skinny platform!

I have gut feeeling this is sweet.

orthogonality — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 03:50:02 -0800

I really enjoy discoveries that, in retrospect, should have been obvious (but weren't). It's not just your tongue that can taste sugar.

Roses are red / Violets are blue / Sugar is sweet / And so is... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EATING?

Faint of Butt — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 03:58:33 -0800

"Splenda's advertising claims that it is 'Made from Sugar, so it Tastes Like Sugar.' What they don't tell you is that Splenda is not natural, it's a chlorinated artificial sweetener." So states The Truth About Splenda, a site devoted to saving us from this chemical menace. But who are the good samaritans behind this truth-telling campaign? Why, none other than the good people of The Sugar Association, who only want to promote the consumption of sugar as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. McNeil Nutritionals, the maker of Splenda, fight backs with SplendaTruth.com.

CandyFab

exogenous — Wed, 09 May 2007 13:02:36 -0800

Sweet! Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has made a 3D printer that forms objects out of sugar.

sweet dreams around the world

nickyskye — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 15:11:18 -0800

The art of sugar: flowers, lace, birds, sculpture, cubes, gardens, construction site, houses, paintings, underwear. In Britain. In Mexico sugar skulls are created to celebrate the Day of the Dead. Amezaiku is a Japanese candy craft and wagashi the art of Japanese confection.

Cap'n Crunch is a gateway drug!

loquacious — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 10:22:38 -0800

Breakfast of the Gods: The Last Good Morning. A serialized webcomic featuring the sugary, crunchy stars of your childhood - destroying your childhood dreams one after another. Via Monkeyfilter.

When the weather outside is frightful

dilettante — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 22:01:38 -0800

The Science of fudge .

"I'm #1 at the box-office, Sugar Tits!"

Strawman — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 02:26:52 -0800

"I'm #1 at the box-office, Sugar Tits!" The mystery continues: what or who is Sugar Tits? Is it a baby pacificer? Is it a breakfast cereal? Is she an "attractive female law officer dispatched to oppress good Christian men by her masters within the international conspiracy of invisible Zionist superjews"? Maybe it's Mel's next movie?

You're fired! (in real life)

mr_silver — Thu, 11 May 2006 06:09:39 -0800

After 12 weeks, viewers of the UK version of "The Apprentice" saw Michelle Dewberry beat off Ruth Badger to win a £100,000 a year job working for Sir Alan Sugar. Inspired by the show, some organisations are leaning towards this style of hiring for their own recruitment. Not surprisingly, others are dismayed.

The Real Thing, hecho in Mexico

445supermag — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 08:24:43 -0800

Want the real "Real Thing", plenty of people know to look for the yellow cap and stock up on some passover Coke. But unsanctioned by the corporation, Mexican Coke is now showing up in the USA, in the old fashioned glass bottles.

Gycoaldehyde... In... Space!!!

brownpau — Wed, 22 Sep 2004 14:18:50 -0800

Sweeeet.

Old Time Candy

plinth — Thu, 29 Jan 2004 16:05:08 -0800

Old Time Candy - ready to say goodbye to your New Year's Resolution diet? Old time candy will sell you gift boxes based on decade! We looked for the nostalgic sweet stuff before, but here is another good collection.

US and Big Sugar challenge WHO Plan

kokogiak — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 17:14:36 -0800

US and Big Sugar challenge WHO Obesity Plan William Steiger, of the US Department of Health and Human Services sent a 28-page letter to the World Health Organization on January 5th. On behalf of the Bush Administration, he writes "rigorous scientific studies do not clearly show that marketing fast foods or high calorie foods to consumers increases their risk of becoming obese. Nor do scientific studies definitively link particular foods, such as soft drinks or juices, or foods high in fat or sugar, to a higher risk of obesity." Attacking the science, protecting the status quo, it's a familiar tactic.

The WHO's efforts to combat worldwide obesity, and the reactions of US Sugar and Food Manufacturers were already discussed here last year. Now that the plan is outlined, after 3 years of work, it recommends "advising people to limit sugar and refined foods, restricting junk food marketing, improving food labeling and raising prices on unhealthy foods". The US, however, is demanding strong changes before it signs off.

you're my butterfly, sugar baby

fotzepolitic — Thu, 24 Apr 2003 04:03:37 -0800

Yesterday the World Health Organization launched a report on diet and nutrition, saying that sugar should be restricted to 10% of caloric intake. Predictably, the sugar industry (press releases) threw fits and called on their cronies in Congress to cut off WHO funding. Apparently they're fighting and clawing even more than the tobacco industry in similar circusmtances, and WHO fears that lobbyists have more power with the Bush administration. The SA believes that inactivity, not our increased sugar consumption, is the primary cause of the obesity epidemic. Are we in for another few years of declarations of junk science and endless gov't investigations into what seems obvious, a la most environmental and health concerns?