sugar

Here's a clever idea. If drinking too much soda is bad for you, don't drink less of it, drink LESS of it.

Confused? Me too. But the bigwigs at Coca-Cola figure reducing the size of Coke cans to a "90 calorie mini can" is a slam-dunk to fight obesity.

Just like fun-size candy bars are! Here's the gist of it, sucking down a 90 ounce can keeps your calories down, but still lets you get your fix.

If you count on blueberry muffins or chocolate brownies to banish the back-to-school blues, you might be disappointed.

The latest regulations from New York City's Education Department have banned most bake sales in schools, as well as cracking down on what can be sold in vending machines and student-run stores.

The American Heart Association say people must cut their sugar intake dramatically. And, you can see why, the typical American diet has three food groups: sugar, saturated fat, and marshmallow cereal! The diet of champions--not really.

In a new report, the AHA claims all this sugar is making Americans fat and setting us up for diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and cardiovascular disease.

Here's an idea--get a bunch of lab rats hopped up on sugar and see what happens. Someone tried it, and no, rats don't get a sugar rush.

Instead, they get dopey. Rats fed lots of fructose developed problems with spatial memory.

Spatial memory refers to a person's ability to navigate a familiar place, or the way a rat locates food through a maze. How fitting.

If you eat a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts and then start bouncing off the walls, it's safe to say your brain activity has been altered.

It could also go the other way. If you eat a bunch of doughnuts and then purge because of shame, you'd be pretty bummed out.

That's why experts believe new findings on the effects of high-fat, high-sugar foods on brain receptors may give insight into eating disorders.

Most people have a sweet tooth. It's the ultimate comfort food. But, that candy bar could make you less manly. A new study claims glucose, i.e. sugar, decreases testosterone levels.

Presented at the Endocrine Society's Annual Meeting, researchers found that of the 74 men tested, 73 had significantly lower levels of testosterone two hours after being administered glucose.

Milk is gross. It makes me sick. And honestly, I don't know why people drink it. We don't need it. Milk is for baby cows, not humans.

Now, even though I don't like milk, it's got to be better than sugary fruits drinks, right? Make no mistake, fruits drinks are not the same as fruit juice. Juice is fresh squeezed. Drink comes in a jug marked "grape".

AMD is an eye condition that normally affects people late in life causing a deterioration of central vision. This condition is related to the macula of the eye, the part of the eye that controls vision focus and sharpness. The macula is located in the center of the eye's retina - a light sensitive tissue that converts lights into images and electric impulses to send to the brain for interpretation.

But a new study claims sugar can be addictive. At least it is in rats, and maybe even humans.

And just like drug-addiction, the problem is in our heads.

It seems as though the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) industry - apparently reeling from all of the negative press over the years, has aired a couple of television spots to "clear up" the "misconception" that HFCS is any different than sugar. Let's take a look at the commercials and discuss...

We like it sweet. Too sweet - and I can't help wondering how our obsession with sweetness is tied to our expanding waists.

Food mega-giant Kraft recently scored a hit in China with Oreos cookies - but not the kind that Americans eat. According to the Wall Street Journal: "Kraft learned that traditional Oreos were too sweet for Chinese tastes".

So they reformulated the flavor - and Oreos are now the No 1 cookie in China.

The No-S Diet is the simplest diet I've ever come across. It has just three rules: No snacks No seconds No sweets Except (sometimes) on days that start with an S.

Here's a useful "diet dodge": Enjoy an ice cream shortly before lunch - it will prevent overeating at lunchtime.

Good advice? Am I serious?

A genuine affliction or part of a victim mentality? Now that carbohydrates are the shunned macro-nutrient of choice, the term "addiction" has been attached to them - particularly refined carbohydrates and sugars. Let's take a look at both sides of the argument:

In the world of nutrition - nothing is as it seems. Despite the popularity of diet foods - we keep getting fatter. So what gives?For some time now research has been unclear. Why does diet soda seem to correlate with weight gain? and is there a link to heart problems or metabolic syndrome?Now another study shows that rats fed with saccharin gained more fat then their sugar-fed counterparts.

Corn Syrup is a form of sugar that everybody loves to hate. Various forms of sugar are found everywhere - but corn-based sugars have become increasingly prevalent due to the heavy subsidies paid to US corn farmers over the last decade or two.

So does corn syrup impact appetite in a different way to standard table sugar? Do you end up eating more?

So says the propaganda in an old advertisement from "Sugar Information Inc".

The ad (below) was an attempt to stave off the commercial threat from the burgeoning artificial sweetener industry.

Nutrition advice can be frustrating. It's often confusing and sometimes flat out contradictory. Fruit juice consumption is a perfect example.

New research concludes that consumption of fruit juice in children has no association whatsoever with risk of being overweight.

Hang on. Just two months ago, Australian research concluded the complete opposite.

So which is it?

Added sugars are the bane of our modern diet - and drinking sugar is arguably the easiest way to over-indulge.

What are the most sugary drinks?