By Dean L. Jones, C.P.M.
Over eighty years ago, Frick and Frack were the stage names for two Swiss ice skaters who performed with the Ice Follies show, and are best known for their bizarre and uncanny skating abilities. Both equally performed tricks that are still nearly impossible to replicate. In a similar manner, unusual tricks are what the sugar industry is selling to food consumers, because, just like Frick and Frack, there are two unnatural sweeteners competing for being healthier than the other.
Eating too much processed sugar or high fructose corn syrup will cause health problems, such as heart disease, obesity, some cancers, Type 2 diabetes, tooth decay, and 70 plus more illnesses. For that reason, please indulge me by referring to processed sugar as Frick, which does not want to be lump together with high fructose corn syrup that I will refer to as Frack. Frick has taken Frack to court filing a lawsuit accusing Frack of false advertising.
Frick (processed sugar) claims that it is not as bad for your health as Frack (high fructose corn syrup). Frick argues that Frack’s ad campaign is lying when they say their liquid sweetener is “nutritionally the same as table sugar” and claims “your body can’t tell the difference”. Even more bizarre is that Frick says the Frack ads “characterize high fructose corn syrup as a natural product”. The irony is that Frick is right that Frack it is a man-made product, yet Frick leaves out that they too are a man-made product, which comes about from some highly intense manufacturing processes, despite how Frick feels starting its processing from a natural sugar cane or sugar beet.
Frack has gone so far in pissing off Frick that they have officially applied to the Food and Drug Administration to change high fructose corn syrup to “corn sugar” on food labels. Frick is shouting to the rafters that Frack is worse for humans according to scientific research. Frick reports that studies showing the metabolic effects of eating processed sugar versus high fructose corn syrup results in that the corn product is much worse, because it has higher levels of fructose, hence, the name.
Frick says the soaring rise in obesity and diabetes is in direct relation to the infiltration of Frack in sodas, condiments, bread, pastries, jam and syrups. Nevertheless, Frack responds to this type of talk that obesity is caused by the overconsumption of calories from any source, not just from one ingredient. Even more, Frack points to a USDA study showing the consumption of high fructose corn syrup has actually been in decline, while obesity rates are rising. Thus, Frack believes it is just wrong for Frick to claim that high fructose corn syrup is uniquely responsible for obesity. Sadly, neither have a good-quality place inside the human body.
www.SugarAlert.com
Mr. Jones is a marketing strategist with the Southland Partnership Corporation (a public benefit organization), sharing his view on mismanagement practices of packaged foods & beverages.
