Bug Juice is natural??

I recall a television commercial a few years ago that was promoting high fructose corn syrup, and the internet being what it is, I was able to find it. It was paid for by the Corn Refiners Association. The spot centered on a mom to mom conversation about high fructose corn syrup and a gallon jug of a red beverage that looked eerily similar to the “bug juice” I had at summer camp.

It begins with one mom accusing the other of not caring what she feeds her kids because she’s giving them high fructose corn syrup - “You know what they say about high fructose corn syrup...” The bug juice pouring mom comes back with, “It’s made from corn, it’s natural, and, like sugar, it’s fine in moderation.” You are then encouraged to “get the facts” from a website created by the Corn Refiners. The commercial did not have a very long life - sometimes consumers are smart.

But, it’s made from corn…

Hi I’m Dr. Lisa Schwartz.  Today I want to let you in on a little secret.  There may be sugar hiding in your food and you don’t even know it.  Whether you are trying to watch your waistline or just being mindful of consuming more natural and whole foods, you need to know if you are being sabotaged by hidden sugars.

Consuming added sugar in a food can lead to extra calories and an increase in insulin secretion which in some cases increases your risk for breast cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.  So this is important. 

It would be really helpful if food ingredient labels had to say “sugar” when they added sugar, but the truth is that sugar has many, many different names.  And you may not recognize it in spite of your diligent label reading.

In my last post, I talked about processed foods, what they are, and why we should be avoiding them.  One of the big reasons to avoid processed foods is that they...