Let them eat cake

The law is often an ass, but every now and then it gets it right. A few months ago, the Irish Supreme Court ruled that the bread in Subway sandwiches contained too much sugar to be classified as bread [1]. The EU statutory limit of sugar in bread is 2% of the flour base but Subway’s ‘bread’ came in at 10%, a mere 5 times the legal limit.

That meant, said Ireland’s 5 top judges, that whatever Subway was wrapping round its sandwich fillings might be cake or brioche, but it was definitely not bread. Mr Justice Cocklecarrot [2] - sorry, Donal D. O’Donnell - explained that the definition was designed to distinguish the staff of life from such frivolous products as brownies and doughnuts.

References

1. https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/sandwiches-in-subway-too-sugary-to-meet-legal-definition-of-being-bread-39574778.html
2. https://livetoad.blogspot.com/search/label/rufo-nanitis
3. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/popular-brand-of-soup-as-salty-as-seawater-zb935ql93ds
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK50958/#!po=98.8189
5. Steiner JE. “The gustofacial response: observation on normal and anencephalic newborn infants”. Symposium on Oral Sensation and Perception 4 (1973): 254-278.
6. Khan HA., et al. “Mapping excessive “disgust” in the brain: Ventral pallidum inactivation recruits distributed circuitry to make sweetness “disgusting”. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience1 (2020): 141-159.
7. Pepino MY and Mennella JA. “Sucrose-induced analgesia is related to sweet preferences in children but not adults”. Pain1-3 (2005): 210-218.
8. Mennella JA and Bobowski NK. “The sweetness and bitterness of childhood: Insights from basic research on taste preferences”. Physiology and Behavior 152 (2015): 502-507.
9. Wada-Katsumata A., et al. “Changes in taste neurons support the emergence of an adaptive behavior in cockroaches”. Science6135 (2013): 972-975.
10. Mennella JA., et al. “Evaluation of the Monell forced-choice, paired-comparison tracking procedure for determining sweet taste preferences across the lifespan”. Chemical Senses 4 (2011): 345-355.
11. Mennella JA., et al. “Preferences for salty and sweet tastes are elevated and related to each other during childhood”. PLoS One3 (2014): e92201.
12. http://www5.agr.gc.ca/resources/prod/Internet-Internet/MISB-DGSIM/ATS-SEA/PDF/6196-eng.pdf
13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mq59ykPnAE
14. Sebastian RS., et al. “Snacking Patterns of US Adults; What we Eat in America NHANES 2007-2008”. Food Surveys Research Group Dietary Data Brief No.4 (2011).
15. Liem DG and Mennella JA. “Sweet and sour preferences during childhood: role of early experiences”. Developmental Psychobiology4 (2002): 388-395.
16. Sullivan SA and Birch LL. “Pass the sugar, pass, the salt: Experience dictates preference”. Developmental Psychobiology 26 (1990): 546-551.
17. Turnwald BP., et al. “Nutritional Analysis of Foods and Beverages Depicted in Top-Grossing US Movies, 1994-2018”. JAMA Internal Medicine (2020).
18. Gallus S., et al. “Food Advertising During Children’s Television Programs in Italy”. Public Health Nutrition 18 (2020): 1-20.
19. https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/nhp/documents/sugar.pdf
20. Martínez Steele E., et al. “The share of ultra-processed foods and the overall nutritional quality of diets in the US: evidence from a nationally representative cross-sectional study”. Population Health Metrics1 (2017): 6.
21. Lenoir M., et al. “Intense sweetness surpasses cocaine reward”. PLoS One8 (2007): e698.
22. Warlow SM., et al. “The central amygdala recruits mesocorticolimbic circuitry for pursuit of reward or pain”. Nature Communications1 (2020): 2716.
23. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/42665/WHO_TRS_916.pdf;jsessionid=B225DCE9E1F21A95975A2BD835723152?sequence=1
24. https://www.wphna.org/htdocs/downloadsapr2012/Vio%20Uauy%20Cornell%20Sugar%20controversy%202007.pdf
25. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/added-sugar-subtracted-science
26. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sugar-lobbyists-sour-on-study/
27. Lexchin Joel. “Doctors in Denial: Why Big Pharma and the Canadian medical profession are too close for comfort”. Lorimer Press (2017).
28. Fickweiler F., et al. “Interactions between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry generally and sales representatives specifically and their association with physicians’ attitudes and prescribing habits: a systematic review”. BMJ Open9 (2017): e016408.
29. Alosaimi FD AKA., et al. “Physicians’ attitudes towards interaction with the pharmaceutical industry/Attitudes des médecins par rapport á l’interaction avec l’industrie pharmaceutique”. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 20 (2014): 812.
30. Andaleeb SS and Tallman RF. “Physician attitudes toward pharmaceutical sales representatives”. Health Care Management Review 20 (1995): 68-76.
31. Lieb K and Brandtönies S. “A survey of German physicians in private practice about contacts with pharmaceutical sales representatives”. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International 107 (2010): 392-398.
32. Lieb K and Scheurich A. “Contact between doctors and the pharmaceutical industry, their perceptions, and the effects on prescribing habits”. PLoS One 9 (2014): e110130.
33. Morgan MA., et al. “Interactions of doctors with the pharmaceutical industry”. Journal of Medical Ethics 32 (2006): 559-563.
34. Steinman MA., et al. “Of principles and pens: attitudes and practices of medicine housestaff toward pharmaceutical industry promotions”. The American Journal of Medicine7 (2001): 551-557.
35. Lieb K and Koch C. “Medical students’ attitudes to and contact with the pharmaceutical industry: a survey at eight German university hospitals”. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International 110 (213): 584-590.
36. Wolfe SM. “Why do American drug companies spend more than $12 billion a year pushing drugs? Is it education or promotion?” Journal of General Internal Medicine 11 (1996): 637-639.
37. Wall LL and Brown D. “The high cost of free lunch”. Obstetrics and Gynecology 110 (2007): 169-173.
38. Feinman RD., et al. “Dietary carbohydrate restriction as the first approach in diabetes management: critical review and evidence base”. Nutrition1 (2015): 1-13.
39. Al-Mrabeh A., et al. “Hepatic Lipoprotein Export and Remission of Human Type 2 Diabetes after Weight Loss”. Cell Metabolism2 (2020): 233-249.
40. Knowler WC., et al. “Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin”. The New England Journal of Medicine6 (2002): 393-403.
41. https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/oral-anti-diabetic-drugs-market#:~:text=Global%20oral%20antidiabetic%20drug%20market,10.2%25%20between%202017%20and%202022.&text=Diabetes%20is%20a%20group%20of,normal%20level%20in%20an%20individual
42. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2017/04/28/crash-test-dummies-heres-what-the-obesity-epidemic-is-doing-to-them/?sh=39ff227d26ec
43. https://www.us-funerals.com/funerals-for-oversize-people/
44. https://www.us-funerals.com/can-an-obese-person-be-cremated/#:~:text=The%20simple%20answer%20is%20that,that%20a%20family%20may%20face
45. Zanzer YC., et al. “Black pepper-based beverage induced appetite-suppressing effects without altering postprandial glycaemia, gut and thyroid hormones or gastrointestinal well-being: a randomized crossover study in healthy subjects”. Food and Function 5 (2018): 2774-2786.
46. Westerterp-Plantenga M., et al. “Metabolic effects of spices, teas, and caffeine”. Physiology and Behavior 1 (2006): 85-91.
47. Woo HM., et al. “Active spice-derived components can inhibit inflammatory responses of adipose tissue in obesity by suppressing inflammatory actions of macrophages and release of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 from adipocytes”. Life Sciences 10 (2007): 926-931.