"Cartoons using overweight characters may encourage children to eat more," according to a Nutrition Action Review summary of a recent study. When children were shown a cartoon character before they got candy, children who saw an overweight character took more Hershey Kisses or cookies than children who were shown a normal-weight character. But if asked to think about things "that make you healthy" and to choose healthier pictures (say, milk over soda), the "characters had no impact on the number of cookies the kids ate."
The message? "Beware of subtle influences that make you--or your children--overeat."
*From the J. Consumer Pschy 2015: doi:10.1016, summarized in Nutrition Action Review Oct 2015
High Fructose Corn Syrup raises LDL
One reason to avoid daily sodas:
From the June 2015 Nutrition Action Review: "In just two weeks, even modest doses of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) raise LDL ("bad") blood cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease and gout." A study on 85 adults found that the more HFCS they drank, the "higher their LDL cholesterol, after-meal tri-glycerides, and average uric acid levels." The article also reminds readers that while this study used HFCS, table sugar has roughly the same amounts of fructose and glucose.
The article in Nutrition Action Review summarizes a study found in Am. J. CLin. Nutr. 2015. doi:10:3945/ajcn.114.100461.
From the June 2015 Nutrition Action Review: "In just two weeks, even modest doses of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) raise LDL ("bad") blood cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease and gout." A study on 85 adults found that the more HFCS they drank, the "higher their LDL cholesterol, after-meal tri-glycerides, and average uric acid levels." The article also reminds readers that while this study used HFCS, table sugar has roughly the same amounts of fructose and glucose.
The article in Nutrition Action Review summarizes a study found in Am. J. CLin. Nutr. 2015. doi:10:3945/ajcn.114.100461.
What exactly is "Honey Sauce?"
You'd think that a package of honey to spread on a biscuit would be just that, honey. But, presumably to cut even more costs in a competitive fast-food market, KFC doesn't actually serve real honey. Instead, it's "Honey Sauce," made from the ingredients many parents try to avoid: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, and sugar.
Here's the full ingredient list:
This makes me really reluctant to try their other biscuit topping, "Buttery Spread." The ingredients aren't listed in this one--who knows what it contains? Probably not butter.
Just another example of "Finding Hidden Candy" everywhere we look!
Here's the full ingredient list:
- high fructose corn syrup
- corn syrup
- sugar
- honey
- fructose
less than 2% of - Caramel color
- molasses
- water
- citric acid
- natural and artificial flavors
- malic acid
This makes me really reluctant to try their other biscuit topping, "Buttery Spread." The ingredients aren't listed in this one--who knows what it contains? Probably not butter.
Just another example of "Finding Hidden Candy" everywhere we look!
Polyphenols in Chocolate bars
"Chocolate bars with higher "% cocoa solids" generally have more polyphenols (flavenols) than ones with lower content." When researchers analyzed 46 different bars, the dark chocolate bars had more polyphenols than milk chocolate, and polyphenol content was higher in bars with increased percentage of cocoa solids. "Even small amounts of dark chocolate (6 to 10 grams--or 0.2 to 0.35 ounces--a day) have been linked to cardiovascular benefits."
Summarized in The University of California, Berkeley, Wellness Letter, Oct 2015: Volume 32, Issue 1. Original study appeared in the Journal of Functional Foods.
Summarized in The University of California, Berkeley, Wellness Letter, Oct 2015: Volume 32, Issue 1. Original study appeared in the Journal of Functional Foods.
San Francisco requires warning labels on soda ads
San Francisco lawmakers voted to add warning labels to soda ads:
WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This is a message from the City and County of San Francisco.
Maybe they were looking at this!
WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This is a message from the City and County of San Francisco.
Maybe they were looking at this!
Pixy Stix Crystals?
You can make great crystals with Pixy Stix that seem to explode out of the bowl (one of the experiments from my first book, CANDY EXPERIMENTS)
but if you're in a hurry, and try heating them in the oven at 170, hoping this will speed up evaporation, you get Pixy Stix mushrooms instead!
I suppose that the heat prevented good crystal formation, causing the sugars to melt and stick together in more of a glassy state than crystalline form.
but if you're in a hurry, and try heating them in the oven at 170, hoping this will speed up evaporation, you get Pixy Stix mushrooms instead!
I suppose that the heat prevented good crystal formation, causing the sugars to melt and stick together in more of a glassy state than crystalline form.
Smash it, Crack it: Turkish Taffy
It bends. It snaps. It shatters into small pieces. How can Turkish Taffy do all those things? Thanks to CandyFavorites.com, which sent me a box of Turkish Taffy to play with, I got to find out.
Kenny Weisen, who decided to bring the candy bar back after it was discontinued for decades, loved smashing the candy when he was a kid. "It was the first interactive candy. You smashed it and cracked it--it was like playing a game." (as seen in "Tropical Delights," Kid in a Candy Store on the Food Network)
Turkish Taffy is a non-Newtonian fluid. Newtonian fluids, like water, flow at the same rate unless you change the temperature or pressure. But non-Newtonian fluids flow at different rates when force is applied. If you smash a ball of Silly Putty, it cracks, while ketchup flows more freely under pressure. Turkish Taffy is also a fluid, which is why it bends if you gently push on it. But if you apply too much stress at once, by hitting it against the sidewalk, it thickens and breaks.
The experts remind consumers to crack the taffy BEFORE you peel off the wrapper, to keep shards from flying all over the place. As a candy experimenter, I have to say that watching the pieces fly is part of the fun. (Sweep up the mess fast, or it will leave sticky specks all over the floor.)
Find out more about how Turkish Taffy gets made in this segment from "Kid in a Candy Store."
Kenny Weisen, who decided to bring the candy bar back after it was discontinued for decades, loved smashing the candy when he was a kid. "It was the first interactive candy. You smashed it and cracked it--it was like playing a game." (as seen in "Tropical Delights," Kid in a Candy Store on the Food Network)
Turkish Taffy is a non-Newtonian fluid. Newtonian fluids, like water, flow at the same rate unless you change the temperature or pressure. But non-Newtonian fluids flow at different rates when force is applied. If you smash a ball of Silly Putty, it cracks, while ketchup flows more freely under pressure. Turkish Taffy is also a fluid, which is why it bends if you gently push on it. But if you apply too much stress at once, by hitting it against the sidewalk, it thickens and breaks.
The experts remind consumers to crack the taffy BEFORE you peel off the wrapper, to keep shards from flying all over the place. As a candy experimenter, I have to say that watching the pieces fly is part of the fun. (Sweep up the mess fast, or it will leave sticky specks all over the floor.)
Find out more about how Turkish Taffy gets made in this segment from "Kid in a Candy Store."
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