Sugar, Science and Regulation

[Chuckanut]

if anything, they managed to demonstrate how safe the stuff is, but still spun it the way they wanted to spin it to make the point they were being paid to make.

Gotta love that kind of objective science.

Gary Taubes tells the story of talking to a scientist in the physical sciences about how he wants to write stories exposing 'bad science'. The reply ws something to the effect of "Look into human health, there's a ton of bad science in that field."

 

[HadEnuff]

Yes, wine season. I acquire my Chilean and South African grapes late April, early May, so my vintages that have aged from the prior spring must be tasted, blended, and bottled to make room for current vintage. I have worked too hard on my wines to taste and spit. Besides, after working in the coal mines for 35 years, a lot of my co w@rkers used oral tobacco and spat all the time, yuck.
The California and New York grapes come in about early September until mid October, so the prior years vintage has to be bottled in August to make room. It's a tough job but someone has to do it.

as a wine maker myself, I feel compelled to pick nits with you.

Wine "making", and grape growing have seasons. Wine consumption has no season. Or, to pick nits with myself, no off-season.

 

[Winemaker]

No offense taken.
DW and I try to maintain a "healthy alcohol consumption rate" of 2-3 glasses a day for me, 1-2 for her. During the adjusting period, I may have to exceed that level, here at the "house winery" and at the commercial winery. While I never went through the stage to get wasted in my earlier days, I don't intend to ever start.
My observation for the thread was that alcohol, while not considered as a carb, it is a obtuse form of sugar, and will screw blood tests up royally. I drink more during my "wine making season" than usual and my test results reflect that, and that in turn, caused much unwanted angst with my physician and several more unnecessary followup tests.

 

[Lsbcal]

...
DW and I try to maintain a "healthy alcohol consumption rate" of 2-3 glasses a day for me, 1-2 for her.
...

I'd love to drink 2 glasses but 1 eight ounce glass is about 190 calories. So that is my limit.

 

[audreyh1]

A glass of wine is 4 to 5 ounces, no?

I usually drink half that, and not every day either.

 

[Lsbcal]

A glass of wine is 4 to 5 ounces, no?

I usually drink half that, and not every day either.

DW agrees with you and only goes for a thimble every now and then. Apparently there is some link between breast cancer and alcohol in women.

The "Lsbcal official" glass measure is 8 ounces.

Yes (after I looked it up), I guess I could be drinking 2 of those little glasses of wine. But I was right on the calories (190 for 8 ounces).

 

[audreyh1]

LOL - yes, you're drinking 2 glasses of wine!

a normal serving of wine is five ounces (and 127 calories per glass of red)

So you could always up it to 10 ounces, but then the calorie count would be 250+

 

[HFWR]

DW agrees with you and only goes for a thimble every now and then. Apparently there is some link between breast cancer and alcohol in women.

The "Lsbcal official" glass measure is 8 ounces.

Yes (after I looked it up), I guess I could be drinking 2 of those little glasses of wine. But I was right on the calories (190 for 8 ounces).

One glass every day...

 

[braumeister]

One glass every day...

Simpler to just use my method:
Only one glass a day, but I can refill it as often as I like.

 

[Clone]

This is science. It changes all the time. We don't know what we're talking about but do what we say anyway until "latest studies show"

Every time I hear about these sin taxes I have to wonder-

Where is the money going to go once we receive the taxes? It seems like a popular theme is to use the taxes to fund research! Academic research is quite an industry. Given enough money, we can produce lots of results that can be quoted either for or against just about any issue. Sometimes it seems that the money is available to support research on issues that have political elements. But of course, the science is always unbiased and truthful. (So long as it produces results that I agree with...)

In today's world, scientific research is treated just like the 'news' and views that appear on social media. We can pick and choose what we believe is good science or flawed science, and we have a lot of data to support whatever views resonate with us.

Perhaps scientific research is the new sausage- you really don't want to see how it is made. Just find what appeals to you and enjoy it!

 

[HFWR]

Humans are notoriously bad at "self-reporting". And most humans aren't interested in being sequestered for months while being used a lab rats. Thus, "real" science is hard to come by...

In addition, lax regulations seem to allow all manner of claims to be made about food, supplements, medicines, etc., with any gotchas hidden in font so small you'd need an electron microscope to see...

 

[ponyboy]

People should be allowed to put whatever they want into their bodies.

Any kind of drug should be fair game imo...caffeine, alcohol, cocaine, sugar...if you're a grown adult have fun. If you want to destroy your life and your families life...have fun. I couldnt care less.

Its no secret that sugar isnt good for you. Neither is tobacco...yet people still consume it. Who cares.

Oh and btw...I was just in colorado. I was stoned to the gills for a couple hours throughout the vacation...im still alive and well. Get over it.

 

[Winemaker]

The onerous 18% tax on alcohol in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was put in place to rebuild Johnstown of the 1936 Johnstown Flood. They had enough money at the end of 1942, and the tax is still in place.

 

[tmm99]

The onerous 18% tax on alcohol in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was put in place to rebuild Johnstown of the 1936 Johnstown Flood. They had enough money at the end of 1942, and the tax is still in place.

I've been told the price of alcohol in Ontario, Canada is up to 60% more than in NY. It's a good thing we don't drink, but we do use wine for cooking. Interestingly, cooking wine (nowhere near TJ's Two Buck Chuck in taste but wine nonetheless) is inexpensive and can be purchased at regular supermarkets because it has salt in it. Anyway, I am fine with things that are considered bad for health in excess are taxed heavily. (Everyone knows cigarettes cost more in Canada, but I do see sugary drinks sold pretty cheap here..)

 

[harley]

I've been told the price of alcohol in Ontario, Canada is up to 60% more than in NY. It's a good thing we don't drink, but we do use wine for cooking. Interestingly, cooking wine (nowhere near TJ's Two Buck Chuck in taste but wine nonetheless) is inexpensive and can be purchased at regular supermarkets because it has salt in it. Anyway, I am fine with things that are considered bad for health in excess are taxed heavily. (Everyone knows cigarettes cost more in Canada, but I do see sugary drinks sold pretty cheap here..)

I've read that being overly judgmental and dependent on other people's authority is bad for one's health and karma. I'm waiting for the tax to kick in on that one. Should solve the financial problems of the world.

The problem with taxing "things that are considered bad for health" is that the target is constantly moving, the science is constantly disproving, the decisions are based on politics and morality as opposed to science, and the taxes never get revoked. It wouldn't take long until pretty much everything is being sin taxed.