Another train wreck: Heart & Stroke Foundation recommends eating candy

November 5 2013 by in Industrial food-like products, Lobbyism, Sugar/fructose
freedhoff

Here’s another nutritional advice train wreck. The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation allows their “Health Check” symbol to be put on candy. Why? As far as I can tell because the candy uses the word “fruit” in its name.

CTV News: Ottawa doctor says Heart and Stroke Foundation is misleading parents over a “Health Check” product

Putting the spotlight on this insanity is one of my heroes, dr Yoni Freedhoff. Here are two recent posts from his blog:

The Heart and Lung Foundation put out a press release saying that they are trying to develop a “comprehensive position” on sugar and will be soliciting international experts to help out. Meanwhile they’ll keep recommending candy.

Here’s dr Freedhoff’s comment:

So what exactly do the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Health Check Registered Dietitians do for the Foundation if Health Check needs to ask for outside help to determine whether or not endorsing fruit juice gummis that are themselves 80% sugar by weight with virtually no associated nutrition is a good idea?

I guess what I’m trying to say is that if your organization needs international experts to tell them selling candy as a health food is a bad idea, perhaps you might want to consider the possibility that there’s something wrong with your organization’s own expertise.

I’d rephrase that last message for the Heart and Stroke Foundation:

If your organization believes that selling candy as a health food is OK, then your organization has zero credibility.

Bottom line: choose. You can have the candy money or you can have credibility. You can’t have both.

Earlier

What’s Wrong with this Picture?

Any Defense of Sugar is Pure Confection

Breakfast at Europe’s Biggest Diabetes Conference

How American Dietitians Sold Out to Coca Cola and Pepsi

14 comments

  1. 1
    mezzo
    November 5 2013
    Follow the money?
  2. 2
    alan
    November 5 2013
    money wins always, till one day...we will have no palm trees left to build boats and we will starve to death
  3. 3
    Daniel Ferreira
    November 5 2013
    The day they consider candy healthier than real food...
  4. 4
    Damocles
    November 5 2013
    But the fruit candy contains the vitamins Blue, Red, Purple and Yellow.
    cant be that bad then.
  5. 5
    Wade Henderson
    November 5 2013
    Does this mean that Fruit Loops are, or are not, healthy?

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/business/05smart.html?pagewanted=all

    Reply: #6
  6. 6
    Reply to comment #5 by Wade Henderson
    Paul the rat
    November 5 2013
    That's a good link Wade. Just to illustrate the point about publishing this or that, we chat about yesterday, Prof E.T. Kennedy is on an editorial board of one of the journals - just try to publish in that journal paper showing that sugar in cereal might be a health hazard. Prof. Kennedy seems to be able to see the difference between sugar in cereal and sugar in doughnut - fascinating ability of a true scientific insight. Article also says that Prof. Kennedy is not linked "financially to her comments" - and I am the next US President.
  7. 7
    murray
    November 5 2013
    According to the Kellogg's website, Fruit Loops has 12 grams of sugar per 29 grams of cereal (one cup), but the box says it is a "good source of fiber" (non-ironically, apparently, unless perhaps it refers to the box itself) and the box says "made with whole grain."

    Kellogg's leading breakfast cereal (by far) is Frosted Flakes, which is 11 grams of sugar in a 30 gram serving (3/4 cup)--"but" no fat (give it a "tick") and the box says it is a "good source" of vitamin D! (Go ahead, make it a "double tick.").

  8. 8
    Jan
    November 5 2013
    I think as many of the comments here state it is a case of 'following the money'. The food industry is so big, the money spent on advertising is 'out of this world'. Unfortunately many people are getting sicker, more obese, whilst many who should know better still do not tell the story of what too much sugar is doing to a lot of this worlds population.

    We can only keep on spreading the news of what bloggers here and on other sites believe can totally improve their health, and that is eat real food for your health.

    For me it's a LCHF lifestyle. Where I do not start the day with a bowl of sugar/starch or what many call a healthy cereal breakfast, it isn't. I have bacon and eggs, or low carb sausages, mushrooms etc.

    All the best Jan

  9. 9
    Angelyne
    November 6 2013
    I just discovered dr Yoni Freedhof on the physician network website. I was checking out ottawa doctors. He founded a weight loss clinic. I looked at that site but couldn't ascertain their methods for assisting patients with weight loss. They sure mentioned calories a whole lot, and I saw no mention of controlling carbs. It might be that they don't want to scare off people who are wary of the whole "low carb fad diet" thing. So I don't know.

    Irelevant to this piece I know. I checked Dr Yoni Freedhof website and I liked what he has to say.

  10. 10
    Galina L.
    November 6 2013
    I just ranted on the subject elsewhere, as Jan witnessed. The marketing of candies which contain some fruit juice as a healthy food is just the most outrageous manifestation of almost religious believe into the myth that fruits and vegetables contain some super substances which provide magical health benefits. There is way too much not accurate information concerning healthiness of eating fruits and vegetables, and an unfounded belief that not eating your "5 a day" colors of rainbow is health damaging. Things which contain fiber like beans (a real food, btw) get into the vegetables category, foods which are made from fruits (purees and juices, even candies) could be considered as good as fruits, many people believe that eating broccoli with your dinner compensates for having a cake as a desert, or an "apple a day keeps a doctor away".

    I am for eating vegetables, but against "the more the better" approach.

  11. 11
    @lowcarb_zealot
    November 6 2013
    Candy is low fat, so it must be heart healthy....
  12. 12
    alice russell
    November 7 2013
    The Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Health Check has lost all credibility to me and to many others. It is not a symbol a symbol of a healthy food choice . Grains and Omega 6 oils/Low fat.
    People are questioning the reasons for all the Un Health and science points to Sugar and Processed foods as the real culprits.
    I am Happy healthy and grain/sugar free.
  13. 13
    Mac
    June 2 2016
    Their website literally says to eat only a small amount of fat cause it has a lot of calories. Don't they collect money for research? Why haven't they learned anything? What was I jumping rope for?
  14. 14
    Hazel
    August 16 2016
    How self-serving and dangerous can a group be? Canadians, please consider objecting to tax-payer funding of this group.

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