Sugar Makes Comeback on Corn Syrup's Bad Rep

Nutritionists slam food makers' efforts to sell sugar as the healthy choice
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 21, 2009 5:50 AM CDT
Sugar Makes Comeback on Corn Syrup's Bad Rep
Pepsi is introducing a line of soft drinks that replace corn syrup with pure sugar.   (AP Photo/Phil Coale, file)

Sugar, once a nutritional outcast, is back in fashion as American consumers start to turn away from high-fructose corn syrup, the New York Times reports. Manufacturers are rushing to replace the syrup—used in everything from soft drinks to spaghetti sauces—with sugar, and selling the switch as a move to a more natural, healthier, "retro" sweetener.

Consumers associate the rise in obesity with the spread of corn syrup as a sweetener but researchers have yet to establish a definite link. Doctors and nutritionists, exasperated by sugar's resurgence, point out that an empty calorie is still an empty calorie. "The argument about which is better for you, sucrose or HFCS, is garbage," one pediatrician said. "Both are equally bad for your health." (More sugar stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X