Not what the doctor ordered

The sugar industry's sponsorship of dietary organisations is in the spotlight.

This comes as evidence mounts to show sugar is harmful to health and fruit juice removed from fibrous fruit is quickly turned by the body into fat.

The South Africa Sugar Association, representing farmers, has sponsored a new information booklet called Managing Diabetes that the Department of Health can give to patients. The sugar logo is on the cover page, despite the fact that diabetics need to reduce their sugar intake to manage their disease.

Exercise is Medicine, an intiative in which sports doctors encourage General Practitioners to prescribe exercise to patients as they would medicine, is sponsored by Coca Cola.

Coke spokeswoman Zipporah Maubane said the research done by the programme on the benefits of exercise in preventing and treating disease was completely independent.

Huletts Sugar and Nestle, maker of baby food and chocolates, are sponsors of the Association for Dietetics in South Africa.

The Association’s president, Claire Julsing Strydom, explained the group was an NGO that does not get funding from the department of health.

“All the dietitians that work for us do not get paid. for serving the public by informing them on nutrition related matters.”

The NGO only gets 34% of fund raised from businesses.

“Our advice is independent and we do not endorse products,” she said.

The Diabetic Association of South Africa has been accused by a former member, Manogran Govender, of being paid to endorse products that diabetics should not be consuming.

Companies pay a testing fee of about R14 000 and an annual fee of R8800 to get the Diabetes SA stamp. Four doctors approached by The Times were shocked to read what was endorsed but few wanted to comment publicly.

Products endorsed include Low GI Pronutro that has two spoons of sugar per 40 ml serving, 500 ml of Sir Juice apple juice which has almost 44 grams of carbohydrate in one bottle, and Appletiser.

A South African nephrologist who helps adults who have lost their kidney function, often due to uncontrolled diabetes, said he “didn’t think he would recommend Appletiser as drink”. Another doctor said it could only be drunk in “tiny” quantities.

The advocacy organisation also tells members to avoid canned fruit and fruit juice on its website. Yet it has given its endorsement label to a brand of tinned fruit in fruit juice.

Jan Delport from the GI Foundation that endorses the products explained: “The Glycemic Index is the most accurate dietary tool of modern science to determine the suitability of a product for diabetics. The GI is a rating of foods according to their actual effect on blood-glucose levels. Not all carbohydrates have the same effect on blood glucose levels”.

He said Appletizer has a low Glycemic Index, meaning it doesn’t spike blood sugar levels.

Wits HIV Professor Francois Venter said: “It’s deeply troubling when commercial companies with vested interests are sponsoring organisations responsible for guidelines”.

Precautions need to be taken, he said, noting that the HIV Clinicians Society, while sponsored by drug companies, had internal processes to ensure that drug companies that sponsored them had no influence over medical guidelines they put out on HIV.

Doctor Claudine Lee, who works with diabetics, said: “In my opinion diabetics can eat or drink what they like if they are injecting insulin. If they managing Type 2 diabetes through diet and are sedentary, then they cannot drink any drink with sugar in it, including weak fruit juice”.

“But if they are running a marathon they can drink Appletizer.”