The Skinny on FOX’s Report on Sugars

Real Facts vs. Media Facts About Sugars

My brother forwarded me a FOX News article that outlined facts on sugars. I cringed at the misleading, incomplete information presented by the media, a regular fact-producing funland. And we wonder why people are so confused about what to eat.

Some Facts About Artificial Sweeteners

Let’s clarify a couple things – whether you saw the report or not:

While the FDA has approved artificial sweeteners for ingestion and does not consider them “carcinogenic” or “cancer causing,” there are other points that the FOX left out of their report.

1. Yes, at this point in time, Saccarhin is considered the “safest” of the artificial sweeteners in terms of its cancer-causing potential.
2. We know from history that the FDA often approves things one day, people get sick or die, and then it changes its mind. Although research does support that you would have to ingest an awful lot of Saccarhin to develop cancer from it.
3. But there are other side effects to artificial sweeteners, like headaches, sugar cravings, and weight gain, not to mention seizures, dizziness, and other reported problems. People who consume diet beverages with artificial sweeteners on average ingest more calories and weigh more. Hmmm, how is that strategy working out for you?

Some Facts About Sugars

In its report Fox said that agave nectar was much like high fructose corn syrup. I’d like to know how they make that comparison. Let’s look at some facts:

High Fructose Corn Syrup
Highly Refined/processed at high temperatures
Very high glycemic index, meaning it makes blood sugar spike (which leads to blood sugar crashing and causing lethargy, hunger and more sugar cravings)
Tastes very sweet

High Quality Agave Nectar
Minimally processed at controlled temperatures
Lower glycemic index, meaning it does not make blood sugar spike and is digested/processed more evenly in the body
There are various kinds with different tastes: light, raw, and amber. They vary in depth and sweetness. Not so similar to high fructose corn syrup.

If Fox’s report was still online, I could correct the rest of their misleading, irresponsible reporting. No coincidence, however, the article has vanished. When you go to it, you get this message:

Page Not Found
The page you are looking for has either moved or is no longer available, but you may be interested in the content below.

Perhaps someone else outed them before me.

Don’t believe what you read so easily. Check facts. Look for multiple respected sources that say the same thing. Here’s a bunch of reports on artificial sugars:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4271246&page=1 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080210183902.htm
http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-sweeteners.html
http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/aspartame071905.cfm

You can get more info on lower glycemic sugars in my other blog entry, Sugar, Are All Kinds Created Equal.

Sadly enough, let the media be one of the last places to go for the full fact list. In my experience, they’re great for about 2/3 – 3/4 of them, just enough truth to make them dangerous.