Monday Moaning

The world is slowly waking up.

Realising the major causes of obesity; organisations are trying to get the governments to listen.

But the governments don’t want to listen, there’s too much lobbying and money involved.

One article I read:

Shoppers ‘misled’ over level of fat, sugar and salt in food

Call for ban on promoting foods claiming to be healthy but which actually contain high levels of sugar, fat and salt – The Guardian Recommended reading

Is on the right track.

Another:

Health group calls for ‘sugar tax’ to cut child obesity

– BBCNews More recommended reading

Is barking up the wrong tree, close to the right one, but not close enough.

The blame is put on sugar, maybe true, but the real culprit is High Fructose Corn Syrup that is replacing true sugar in the majority of sodas and prepared foods.

Generally, the public, and these do good organisations are unaware of HFCS; and the industries want to keep it that way.

Instead of a sugar tax, although it’s a good idea, they should be calling on a double or triple tax on any product that contains HFCS. Better still they should be calling for a complete ban on the poison.

HFCS is cheaper than true sugar, ergo more profits.

What is the problem?

As I see it, supported by reading many sources, sugar is 50% sucrose & 50% fructose.

HFSC is 55-60% fructose and correspondingly less sucrose.

Doesn’t sound too bad…

But this imbalance, however it appears slight is the problem. Our bodies cannot process the excess fructose, it goes straight to the liver and becomes fat.

Therefore, an increase in obesity.

Everybody is clamouring about the obesity epidemic, but nobody is putting the blame where it belongs.

Which foods contain HFCS?

These…

And these…

And these…

And nearly every other product you buy at the supermarket or fast food outlet.

First introduced into the American food industry in the 1970s, HFCSs were used in sodas from 1984.

Looking at this graph can you see the rise in childhood obesity beginning in 1980s?

And, continuing to rise rapidly since then.

It’s only in recent years with a little awareness that there has been a slight dip.

The rapid rise in obesity in the U.S. correlates to the introduction of HFCS into processed food. – Source

There’s another issue:

As Addictive As Cocaine: HFCS – America’s Most Deadly Addiction?

– From the Trenches well worth reading because it contains info about bees too.

Much has been said on both sides of the Atlantic about declining bee populations.

If you don’t have bees, you don’t have pollination; you don’t have pollination, you don’t have food.

Sugar is a problem, but nowhere near the problem of HFCSs

We have to get the governments to put the blame where it belongs; instead of saying kids need to exercise more, sure they do, BUT THAT’S NOT THE PROBLEM! That’s just passing the buck.

We have to take personal responsibility and shun these products.

We have to send a strong message, because if we don’t, we’ll have more cases

Do you want this…

…as the future for your kids?