Todays Newsbites

Sugar producers may be celebrating and corn growers grumbling as softdrink companies turn to sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to sweeten their beverages-at least temporarily. Pepsi-Cola and Mountain Dew recently introduced Throwback soft drinks sweetened with sugar for a limited time only (the nostalgic promotion was scheduled to end Feb. 22). Some soft-drink fans swear the sugarsweetened sodas taste better, but are they also better for you? Chemically, both sugar and HFCS contain similar amounts of glucose and fructose.

New York City officials are leading the charge in a nationwide effort to reduce the amounts of salt in packaged and restaurant foods. The National Salt Reduction Initiative aims to cut such hidden salt-a major source of dietary sodium-by 25% over the next five years. New York is the first to enact the initiatives targets, with final approval expected this spring.

Dessert is off the menu for the American Heart Association. The AHAs red heart checkmark symbol, introduced in 1995 as one of the first front-of-package nutrition labeling plans, will no longer be issued to desserts, and the five desserts still carrying the symbol wont be allowed to renew their certification. The move comes as part of the heart groups ramped-up battle against sugar (see story page 1).

When consumers see on the Nutrition Facts panel that a product provides 25% of the Daily Value (DV) of carbohydrates, some interpret that percentage to mean the product is made up of 25% carbohydrates. Thats one of the findings in a new research project by the Interna - tional Food Information Council, an industry association. The results are being provided to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is currently undertaking its own research before possible changes to nutrition labeling.

Those herbal remedies youre taking for your health may actually interact with your prescription drugs, altering their effectiveness or increasing the risk of bleeding or other cardiovascular problems. A new Mayo Clinic review of nearly 90 studies over the past 44 years warns that patients and physicians may be dangerously unaware of the ways herbal nostrums can interact with common cardiovascular medications.

Remember when the standard beverage at mealtime was milk? That Father Knows Best image is as dated as black-and-white TV, according to a study of changing beverage consumption. Using data from four national surveys, the study found a steady decline in milk drinking, with only a partial shift towards reducedfat milk. Children ages 2 to 18 are averaging 91 fewer calories daily from milk than in 1977- 78.

If you like your coffee with a little milk, Nestl scientists say go ahead: You dont have to worry about missing out on the antioxidants in coffee that are increasingly being linked to possible health benefits.

Tucked into the controversial healthcare legislation recently signed into law was a surprisingly uncontroversial provision requiring big restaurant chains to list calorie information on menus and drive-through signs. The measure was backed by the National Restaurant Association, which preferred a national standard to a patchwork of conflicting local ordinances. Restaurants with 20 or more outlets, as well as vending machines selling food items, will be covered by the law,

If youre reading this, youre not alone-Americans are thinking more about food and health and, in general, know more about nutrition and prevention of chronic disease. A newly released survey by the US Food and Drug Admini stration (FDA) reports that the percentage of people who say they read the nutrition label before buying a product for the first time increased from 44% in 2002 to 54% in 2008. Nearly half of the more than 2,500 adults surveyed said such label information had changed their decision to buy or use a product. On the other hand, 56% said they didnt believe such front-of-package claims as low fat or high fiber.

Keeping a promise made last year when food packagers were warned to voluntarily police their label claims-or else-the FDA fired off warning letters to 17 companies, including many familiar names. Some were singled out for boasting that products contain zero trans fat, without the required disclaimer that the foods are, however, high in saturated fat; these included several Dreyers icecream treats, Mrs. Smiths Coconut Custard Pie and Gortons Fish Fillets. Such claims can be misleading, FDA chief Margaret Hamburg, MD, explained, because they imply that the product is a better choice than products without the claim.