Striving4Zen

On June 30, the world's top coffee chain will begin selling baked goods without high-fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors and dyes, and will introduce salads and other items.

"Food has been the Achilles' heel of the company ... That statement will be long buried after we launch this program," Michelle Gass, Starbucks' EVP of marketing, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The new campaign -- which will be promoted with the tag "Real Food. Simply Delicious" -- follows last year's health and wellness push that added food like oatmeal, smoothies and a protein plate to Starbucks' repertoire.

The ingredient changes, which also include removing preservatives where possible, will affect about 90% of the baked goods Starbucks sells and are part of the coffee chain's ongoing efforts to appeal to increasingly health-conscious consumers as recession has damped spending on little luxuries like lattes.

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Labels: baked goods, eating healthy, health trend, healthier, high fructose corn syrup, marketing, pastries, recession, Starbuck's

Snapple, once the “official beverage of New York City,” is being redesigned — inside and out — this year.

The popular iced teas are losing the high-fructose corn syrup and the dated font. The bottles are becoming more svelte (to better fit into cup holders). The labels will also emphasize the green and black tea leaves used to make the drink. The changes are rolling out over the first few months of the year, and they are expected to hit New York in early March, according to Dr Pepper Snapple Group, which is now the owner of the brand.

“Through that work we really found that Snapple had lost of its luster and had been replaced in the minds of consumers by other beverages out there,” said Jim Trebilcock, an EVP with Dr Pepper Snapple. President Obama prefers (the more lightly sweetened) Honest Tea, and the White House is now stocked with his favorite flavors, Black Forest Berry and Green Dragon.

Real sugar is replacing the corn syrup. (Sugar vs. corn syrup, by the way, is the difference between Mexican and American Coca-Cola.) In some cases, that has actually resulted in a decrease in calories.

The old ingredient list for Lemon Snapple Iced Tea: “water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, tea, natural flavors.” Calories: 200. The new ingredient list: “filtered water, sugar, citric acid, tea, natural flavors.” Calories: 160.

The label is also being refreshed. Gone is the print-block style sun, the handwritten fonts, and the red highlights. Instead, they are putting more emphasis on “All Natural” and “Made From Green & Black Tea Leaves.” The “Snapple” itself is going from a heavy-set typeface to a more elegant serifed typeface.

Of course, Snapple’s origins are rooted in selling juices to health food stores. Originally, in 1972, it was a partnership of three men that was named Unadulterated Food Products.

While on the phone with the Snapple executives, this reporter took the opportunity to lodge a protest about the inability to find Mint Snapple Iced Tea, which apparently was discontinued despite protests and petitions. (Others are trying to take steps to remedy the absence, too.) Mint Snapple Iced Tea lovers, your voices have been heard.

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Labels: beverages, high fructose corn syrup, new product, Snapple, sugar

In a new study published Monday in the scientific journal Environmental Health, mercury was found in nearly 50 percent of tested samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup. The news is disturbing given that this ingredient is present in a large portion of processed American foods. According to David Wallinga, M.D., co-author of the study,

"Given how much high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the FDA to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply."

A separate study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where high fructose corn syrup is the first or second highest labeled ingredient-including products by Quaker, Hershey's, Kraft and Smucker's.

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Labels: Hershey's, HFCS, high fructose corn syrup, Kraft, mercury, Quaker, Smucker's, study, toxic

In his revolutionary new book, The UltraMind Solution, Dr. Mark Hyman offers not just an explanation validated by hundreds of recent peer-reviewed medical studies, but a solution for this invisible epidemic that now affects 1.1 billion people worldwide and will cripple one in four among us during our lifetime.

So, what's causing our "broken brains"?

Essentially two things - our modern diet and environment - both of which are loaded with brain-toxic compounds, including:

• Brain-toxic foods, such as high-fructose corn syrup and trans/hydrogenated fats
• Excessive consumption of sugar, caffeine, alcohol and nicotine
• Additives and toxins in our foods (more than 3,500 can be added to food; more than 3,000 are in our homes)
• Toxic chemicals (more than 80,000 have been introduced since 1990; 500 have been tested for safety)
• Heavy metals, including lead, mercury, cadmium
• Over-the-counter and prescription medications, which interfere with the body's use or production of several compounds essential for brain health (e.g., coenzyme Q10, B vitamins, glutathione)
• Mycotoxins, which, according to a number of very current studies, cause severe symptoms of brain damage in 70%, and autonomic nervous system abnormalities in 100% of patients living with them.
• Sleep deprivation
• Sedentary lifestyle, which lowers brain repair mechanisms (e.g., IGF-1 and brain-derived neurotropic factor)
• Chronic stress, which chronically elevates the "stress hormone," cortisol

What's the UltraMind Solution? Heal the Body, Heal the Brain

First, as the discussion of current research in Part I makes clear: the brain is not disconnected from the rest of the body. Dr. Hyman sums it up saying: "the barrier between the body and the brain is no iron curtain. It is more like cheesecloth."

What this means is that brain disorders are not only in the brain. Their root cause(s), and therefore their cure, is to be found in finding and treating imbalances in the rest of the body-in the body's seven key systems. Restoring balance to these core systems restores health, both in the body and the brain.

Dr. Hyman marshals these seven key systems as the Seven Keys to UltraWellness.

They are:

• Optimize nutrition
• Balance your hormones
• Cool off inflammation
• Fix your digestion
• Enhance detoxification
• Boost energy metabolism
• Calm your mind

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Labels: caffeine, Dr. Mark Hyman, high fructose corn syrup, living holistically, stress, sugar, The UltraMind Solution, toxic metals, toxins, UltraWellness

A glass of fruit juice is a lot of calories and sugar, for very little satisfaction (it won’t make you feel full or satisfied).

Ideally, switch your fruit juice to whole fruit. When the fruit is intact and whole, its fiber will moderate the release of fructose into your bloodstream and temper your insulin release. The fruit pulp and skin are actually two of the healthiest parts of most fruits, which you miss entirely if you only drink the juice.

Fruit juice, especially freshly squeezed and organic, is far better than any soda, I strongly believe that most people are better off avoiding fruit juice. If you don’t want to give up fruit juice entirely, cut back on it by mixing in some sparkling water.

And always keep these tips in mind IF you choose to drink fruit juice:

1. Only buy 100% fruit juice (“fruit drinks,” “fruit beverages,” and “fruit cocktails” usually have added sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, coloring or artificial flavors)

2. Choose juices that are darkly colored (pomegranate or blueberry instead of apple or orange)

3. Opt for juices that are packaged in glass and have sediment on the bottom (this indicates the nutritious skins are included)

When you help yourself to a glass of fruit juice, it’s true that you get some antioxidants. But you also get a hefty serving of sugar -- even if the label says “no sugar added.” An eight-ounce glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice has about eight full teaspoons of sugar!

This sugar is typically a fruit sugar called fructose, which is every bit as dangerous as regular table sugar since it will also cause a major increase in your insulin levels. But even beyond that, fructose is not metabolized the same as other sugars. Instead of being converted to glucose, which your body uses, it is removed by your liver.

Because fructose is metabolized by your liver, it does not cause your pancreas to release insulin the way it normally does. Fructose converts to fat more than any other sugar. This may be one of the reasons Americans continue to get fatter.

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Labels: fruit juice, high fructose corn syrup, Obesity, Whole Foods

Unfortunately, names can be deceiving. While corn syrup may originate as corn, its nutrient profile does not resemble corn at all. Unfortunately, corn syrup is basically a storehouse of calories and sugar, and not much else. It is found in so many processed foods, and some researchers feel that its commonplace role in the diets of many people may be anything but beneficial. While it is from a whole, natural food, I don't consider corn syrup to be a whole, natural food and avoid it when I can. The body supposedly does not process high fructose corn syrup in the same way it does cane or beet sugar. This not only affects the way that metabolic hormones function, but also causes the liver to send more fat into the bloodstream.

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Labels: high fructose corn syrup, sugar