Coca-Cola is Healthy, High Fructose Corn Syrup is Good for You, and the FDA Refuses to Define Natural
Coca-Cola is natural?
I don’t drink it, my family doesn’t drink it, but millions do.
And if you believe the latest “Pemberton” ads, it’s got “No added preservatives. No artificial flavors. Never had it. Never will.”.
Watch the video here: Pemberton ad by Coca-Cola
What a load of malarkey!
Find out about Coca-Cola’s corporate abuses:
Coke also owns Odwalla juices among its 450 brands, so buy a juicer or a find a local juice bar instead of giving Coke your money. Read up on greenwashing with the World Wildlife Fund (to the tune of $20 million).
- » See also: The Joy of Green Cleaning by Leslie Reichert
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In related news:
- FDA refuses to regulate the use of the “natural” claim on food packaging (Cornucopia Institute)
- The Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness (Coca-Cola) says: “The belief that drinking water is essential to maintaining hydration status is a common misperception”, and “although the body needs water, it doesn’t need drinking water per se as long as adequate amounts of other beverages are consumed.”
- The American Beverage Institute says: “Dietary glucose and fructose may be processed differently; however, the source of these simple sugars, whether from sucrose or HFCS, does not matter to the body. Obesity is caused by an imbalance in energy intake and energy output. Thus, too many calories and not enough exercise are the primary factors contributing to obesity. No one sweetener or single food can be blamed for causing obesity.” (Source- American Beverage Institute)
- HFCSfacts.com, a front group for the Corn Refiners Association, is a great source of high fructose corn syrup propaganda, like “HFCS is natural“, and “HFCS is metabolized by the body in the same way as honey, sugar, and fruit.“
- The Weston A. Price Foundation has a few articles on HFCS: The Murky World of High-Fructose Corn Syrup, and The Double Danger of High Fructose Corn Syrup.
- The FDA says HFCS is natural
Keep your kids off HFCS, say no to Coke, and read your labels carefully!
Related articles:
Image: CokeJustice.org by Design Action Collective
Ooh, I’ve got a little Coke habit.
Most Wednesdays you’ll find me taking a three mile run Straight Uphill to my favorite taco truck. They serve a mean ceviche and some Mexican Coca Cola (no HFCS - sugar only). It’s both delicious and guaranteed to make me huge.
I can’t stand the taste of US Coke with the HFCS and I tell my kids I won’t let them eat things with HFCS in in because I love them.
Just remember, the FDA trusts industry to do accurate research on their own products, tobacco industry notwithstanding.
So glad I gave up most of the soda habit years ago. Just a very rare treat now.
I was so addicted to the stuff in highschool. Little did I know so many of my health problems (migraines and even numbing sensations in my hands and feet) were the direct cause of Diet Coke. Now I know better and won’t touch the stuff! If people come over and expect something to drink, I’ve got nice organic Raw milk or well water, take your pick!
High fructose corn syrup and many other mischievous food additives or ingredients might indeed be ‘natural.’ this term means very close to nothing. poison ivy is ‘natural’ (even organic in most cases), but i don’t want it in my food. people have to become much more skeptical of and thoughtful about anything they are told in an ad or other non-regulated, or non-peer reviewed material, promotional material, or website.
fructose as almost all know by now is indeed a natural sugar, but unlike other sugars (which are not healthful in large doses, either), it is metabolized differently and is stored at a MUCH higher rate–that is to say, is MUCH more likely to produce fat cell content per calorie ingested–than glucose or other common sugars.
because its unusual metabolic pathway bypasses the normal liver glycogen processes,it is not even easily available for energy production as is usually thought to be the chief metabolic virtue of sugar. fructose tastes sweeter per gram; that is the end of the list of its good qualities.
all sugars can be considered obesigenic, but none so powerfully so, per calorie or per ounce consumed, as is fructose.
high fructose corn syrup is just a ‘natural’ way to get even more of this harmful sugar into your system.
Brendan: Agreed.
“Natural” can be applied to just about anything, kinda like “green”. All of us need to read labels, ask questions, and then make our choices.
Otherwise, we get what we get.
Which may not be what we wanted.
I used love coke, Until I became aware of HFCS. Coke used the “New Coke” fiasco to mask to addition of HFCS. Classic coke is not classic. The PR people at Coca-cola are programed to say that there is no difference. The educated consumer knows it’s all a sham. I will never buy another coke product again.
I’ve been on a rampage against HFCS for several years now. If anyone is interested, you can click on my name for a page I’ve written with some of my tips to help avoid it in our diets (particularly for families). It is bewildering how much it has invaded our food supply. Since my husband and son are both highly allergic to corn we have to be extra careful - the corn-derived fructose can easily contain traces of the proteins so I’ve learned how to be a label fanatic.
awww, i’m so sorry for u cchovitti!!!!!!
What a great article - that is exactly what I had a big problem with in terms of their adds, that made me write the article entitled: “Coca-Cola: Maybe the Real Thing, But Definitely Not the Healthy Thing” (You can find it at http://evolvingwellness.com)
Their newest ads are just so disgustingly misleading. Anyway, I too am happy that I don’t drink it but the more awareness we spread about this cause and their ads the better.
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