Cleveland Clinic targets added sugar in effort to make its food, drinks healthier

First it was smoking. Then it was trans fat. Now, the Cleveland Clinic is taking aim at sugar-sweetened beverages and food.

 

By Aug. 9, the Clinic and its system affiliates will no longer sell food or drinks that have added sugar or sugar variants whose names end in “-ose.”

 

The Clinic has been slowly removing sugar-sweetened foods and beverages from its facilities. Since 2007, at least 70 percent of food and drinks sold in Clinic vending machines and in its cafeterias had to be no-sugar-added. Retailers such as Au Bon Pain and Starbucks in the main-campus food court even voluntarily modified their bakery menus to comply.

 

That mandate will grow to 100 percent in the coming weeks. The main campus began to eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages about two weeks ago.

 

Drinks with artificial sweeteners still will be available. Clinic leadership is still sorting out whether to ban sugar-added food served to patients.

 

The edict came from Chief Executive Toby Cosgrove, who banned smoking on Clinic property systemwide in 2005 and abolished artery-clogging artificial trans fats systemwide in 2007.

 

More recently, the Clinic directed its food vendor to supply it with antibiotic-free meat and locally sourced produce.

 

Pop and other sweetened beverages, like bottled iced teas, energy drinks and canned lemonade, are the No. 1 source of added sugars in the U.S. diet, the American Heart Association says. Many health experts say the drinks promote diabetes and other diseases and blame them, at least in part, for the soaring U.S. obesity rate.

 

A 12-ounce can of pop, which has no nutritional value, can contain up to 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories.

 

“It’s an important initiative,” said Bill Barum, the Clinic’s senior director of hospitality. “There’s been a longstanding discussion in the health care community around what a poison sugared beverages are.”

 

Barum acknowledged the new policy isn’t going to be popular with some employees, but he said hospital leaders feel strongly about not having a role in providing unhealthy food and drink to its visitors.

 

“It’s a tough thing to tell adults you can’t have any more Coke,” Barum said. “People are going to complain and get upset, but when they realize the type of impact on their health, then it really starts to hit home. We have to put a line in the sand and it’s up to the Clinic to start those kinds of things.”

 

Employees and visitors can, however, still bring their own sugary drinks and food to the Clinic or its regional hospitals.

 

Or, on the main campus, they can stop in at the food court and buy a Coke at McDonald’s.