sugar news stories on Newser

High-Fructose Corn Syrup Can Also Make You Dumb

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:34:34 CDT

Too much high-fructose corn syrup could do more than just make you fat : It could also make you stupid. A new study on rats found that after just six weeks on a high-fructose diet, the rats’ brain synaptic activity had been so affected that they had trouble recalling a maze...

California Students Eating Less Junk Food

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:12:48 CDT

Why do teens in California consume fewer calories a day than young people in other states? It's because they snack less when at school, a new study finds, and they snack less because state laws have curbed the sale of junk food and banned the sale of soda and sugary...

60 Minutes Asks, 'Is Sugar Toxic?'

John Johnson — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 11:29:34 CDT

Crank up the sugar lobby. The sweetener will get the 60 Minutes treatment tomorrow night, with a spate of doctors arguing that it's essentially poison. One UC endocrinologist uses the word "toxic," and thinks the big debate between sugar and high-fructose corn syrup is a waste of breath. "They are...

Sugar Will Duke It Out With Corn Syrup in Court

Matt Cantor — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:00:05 CDT

It's a battle of the sweeteners. The sugar industry is taking the makers of corn syrup to court in a much-anticipated case that starts tomorrow. Sugar producers say corn syrup makers are guilty of false advertising in their assertion that the two products are "nutritionally the same" and "your body...

It's Time to Regulate Sugar

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:45:05 CST

Tobacco, alcohol, and ... sugar? Yes, according to professors at UC San Francisco, sugar should be regulated like tobacco and alcohol in order to cut down on ailments like heart disease, high blood pressure, and fatty liver disease, the Los Angeles Times reports. “For both alcohol and tobacco, there is robust...

Half of America Downs One Sugary Drink Daily

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:29:14 CDT

Well, this could have something to do with why we’re fat : Half of Americans drink at least one soda or other sugary beverage per day, and one in 20 drinks the equivalent of four-plus cans. The alarming CDC report follows interviews conducted between 2005 and 2008 with more than 17,...

Boston Bans Soda From City Property

Mark Russell — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:11:32 CDT

No more soda on Boston city property, or sports drinks or sweetened ice teas, for that matter. In an effort to reduce the city's rising obesity rates—and the soaring health costs associated with obesity— Slashfood reports that Mayor Thomas Menino has banned all sugary beverages from vending machines, cafeterias,...

Forget Corn Syrup: Now It's 'Corn Sugar'

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:45:02 CDT

The backlash against high-fructose corn syrup has finally led its makers to try out a new name: corn sugar. The Corn Refiners Association wants people to know that—according to its marketing campaign—"whether it's corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can't tell the difference. Sugar is sugar." The...

Is Diet Soda the Devil?

Evann Gastaldo — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 10:55:00 CDT

You've probably read about the studies claiming that artificial sweeteners, like those found in diet soda, do more harm than good . But the studies that indicate those types of sweeteners cause weight gain were done with rats (click here or here for two examples), whereas a study done with actual...