Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I remember last year when Starbucks and others removed trans fat and replaced it with tropical oils, which if you are not familiar, are very high in saturated fats which if you are not familiar are one of the key reasons trans fat became so prevalent. But guess what? Tropical oils are trans fat free and "all natural," which gave them a healthy halo despite the fact that they were doing an injustice to consumers who felt that the switch was better for their health.

So now when I read about and see the in-store marketing materials at Starbucks showing how they are removing high fructose corn syrup from their baked goods, I feel that once again Americans may be mislead into confusion because this switch somehow implies that products sweetened with other sweeteners, such as sugar, are healthier.

As a Registered Dietitian (RD) and an adjunct nutrition professor (NYU, Queens College, Columbia University/Teachers College), I can say with all certainty that everyone is a marketing movement to ban high fructose corn syrup, yet there is no scientific basis to suggest that coffee cake made with sugar is ‘healthier’ than one made with high fructose corn syrup.

As an RD I can confirm that the nutrition science community generally agrees that Americans should cut back on all sweets and calories and that high fructose corn syrup is nutritionally no different from sugar. It is the calories that count. Even the American Medical Association in June 2008 helped put to rest misunderstandings about this sweetener and obesity, stating that “high fructose syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners.”

High fructose corn syrup may have a complicated-sounding name, but it is essentially a corn sugar that is nutritionally the same as table sugar. High fructose corn syrup is not sweeter than sugar; and high fructose corn syrup, sugar and honey all contain the same number of calories (four calories per gram).

This is a marketing not a health issue. Consumers are being misled into thinking that sugar is healthier than high fructose corn syrup, which is simply a kind of sugar. They are nutritionally the same and both are fine in moderation. A sugar is a sugar, whether it’s honey, high fructose corn syrup, table sugar, or fruit juices.

Kyle Shadix, MS, RD
Registered Dietitian, NYC

How "serious" is serious eats when the focus is mass produced dreck available at only a select 14,000 places?

I'm glad that the 'bucks is attempting to get a little healthier. But I would put money on the fact that the calorie content of absolutely everything is still totally outrageous. If you're attempting to watch what you eat and drink- go online, check out the cals for Starbucks' drinks and snacks and prepare to be blown away. The amount of calories and fat in a piece of their coffee cake is comparable to a burger from McDonalds.

Know how you reduce the calories in a rice crispy treat?

You remove all the taste. Which means you remove the butter/salt.

Instead you are left with marshmallow, rice crispy cereal and air (notice the hunks of marshmallow, they are fluffy sugar air).

A good one is made with butter, and is slightly savory. You can add something like dried sour cherries to further battle the overpowering sweetness.

A bad one is tooth achingly sweet and bland.

That was so easy....NY post...gotta be Bethany...

I know everyone hates Sandra, but note that the chefette credits 'good eating habits' for her bony frame--BF goes on and on about how she eats teeny pieces of totally healthy food and is oh-so-satisfied.

Padma's not skin&bones, either. My vote is for BF.

Padma?

Either way, both SL and BF are annoying and not real food people.

Thank you for participating, and congratulations to our winners:

LiveToEat
wwe11
Universe Master
coconutgoddess
Beanalicious1

Winners have been notified by email and also appear on our Contest Winners page.

Word to that, Sandra Lee!

My nephew made up a burger that he calls a Squeezal Burger. I know it is not "good" for you. It is delishous. I don't know exactly what is in it. I know I saw him grinding the beef with a pound of bacon and adding loads of spices. I know that one of his secret ingredients is morel mushrooms dried and then ground into a powder. JeansandTs@hotmail.com