|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
Associated Press writer Frederic Frommer reminds us of the many failed government programs to get American kids to shape up since President Dwight D. Eisenhower tried more than 50 years ago. And Frommer points out that this year’s version of the White House slim-and-trim program for kids faces challenges from what Frommer calls “the triple whammy,” – the advent of video games, continued reliance upon cars and high-fat, fast-food diets. The latest White House initiative, called “Let’s Move,” which sounds more like a campaign for American kids who are having troubles with constipation, has created a newly formed child obesity task force to work alongside the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. With a legacy of failure, at least the White House should be congratulated for having the courage to even try to tackle such a problem. Yet it is government food scientists who unwittingly helped spawn the obesity epidemic in America when they developed high-fructose corn syrup. Its introduction into the American food chain parallels the current diabesity (diabetes + obesity) epidemic that now grips the nation. While corn growers have been quick to defend this cheap sugar, sugarized anything leads to greater consumption. Even the ants know this. Not only have slim-down programs failed, but government health promotion programs have not been met with much success either. The long-promoted 5-A-Day program (five servings of fruits and vegetables) embarrassingly did not reduce mortality from cancer or heart disease. So the recommendation is now 9-13 servings, but few Americans achieve that level of plant food intake. The failure to reach government established health targets has recently been documented. Government health agencies appear to solely serve as platforms to generate employment and covertly represent commercial interests. That the nation is mired in chronic disease and overwhelming health care costs is a testament to the failure of the entire consortium of government health agencies, ranging from the National Institutes of Health to the Centers For Disease Control and the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Agency. None of these failed arms of government is about to be scuttled, or their directors replaced. Non-performance is tolerated, even rewarded. It’s easy to see why government programs fail. They adopt food industry-led targets and guidelines. Just look at the “over-eaters food pyramid,” my name for that infamous graphic construction called the Food Pyramid that attempts to give Americans an idea what to eat to stay healthy – compliments of the dairy, meat and grain industries whose feeding-pen fattened, corn syrup sweetened and mislabeled products, like marbled red meat, sweetened white bread and so-called 2% “low-fat” milk, comprise most of the pyramid. But America does have a major new player in the war against diabesity, only this time it comes from nature, not government food research labs. It’s called rebaudioside-A (Reb-A), an extracted fraction from stevia leaf that is 200 times sweeter than table sugar. Stevia has been in use in other countries for quite some time, but predictably opposed for use in foods by the US Food & Drug Administration only till recently. Some critics claim the FDA favored problematic artificial sweeteners like aspartame over stevia. The threat of a tax on soda pop has prompted beverage manufacturers to lead the charge for stevia and begin substituting Reb-A for high fructose corn syrup. Oddly Vernor’s Ginger Ale use stevia leaf as a sweetener from 1866 to 1991 when the FDA made Vernor’s abandon stevia in favor of high fructose corn syrup. Stevia enters a class of what are called non-nutritive sweeteners. There are five nonnutritive sweeteners approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the United States. They are saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium (or acesulfame-K), sucralose, and neotame. Now add stevia. By definition, non-nutritive sweeteners add no energy value to food. This is where stevia has met yet another government roadblock. One of the most appealing areas to use stevia is as a non-caloric sweetener for young children’s foods, like kids’ vitamins, baby foods, toothpaste, etc. The problem is, according to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)101.60(c) and CFR 101.13(b)(3), non-nutritive sweeteners have no nutritional value and cannot be added to foods intended specifically for use by infants and children less than 2 years of age. The door has been slammed on stevia once again, and for the very reason it is used – that it contains no calories! Can you imagine how misdirected government agencies and their regulations are – you want a natural sweetener that has no added fat or sugar calories. Not even a company as big as Nestle can fight these regulations. An FDA warning letter says it all. Forget that Reb-A from stevia is a godsend, any food product intended for young children with stevia leaf extract would be declared “misbranded” under the Code of Federal Regulations. Now, now, we must follow the rules. The FDA isn’t going to life a finger to change the code. That’s because it isn’t an advocate for public health. Remember, this is the agency that allowed a pharmaceutical company to gain approval for an anti-inflammatory drug, using specious data, which ended up killing thousands of Americans. Also recognize that most other FDA approved artificial sweeteners are associated with obesity in lab animals and children. However, in countries like Japan and Brazil, where stevia has been in wide use for decades, no rise in the rates of diabetes or obesity have been linked to their use there. To be used as a sweetener that can be added to foods, the FDA requires an artificial sweetener to be classified as “generally regarded as safe” (GRAS). Only recently has stevia achieved GRAS status so it can be added to foods and beverages. It’s discouraging to realize the US is behind other countries in the use of stevia. Stevia leaf has been traditionally used for centuries. A more concentrated fraction of stevia leaf called rebaudioside-A (Reb-A) has a better taste than stevia leaf which has a bit of a licorice-like after taste. Reb-A has recently been described to offer therapeutic benefits, including anti-hyperglycemic, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-diarrheal, diuretic, and immune-boosting biological activity. Remarkably, Reb-A exhibits an ability to normalize blood sugar levels only when it is higher than normal. Unlike other sweeteners, stevia has been shown to reduce craving for sweets, and has been used successfully by diabetics. It is prescribed by physicians overseas. It even reduces the risk for tooth decay. Yet it’s not good enough for the FDA.
|
|
|
