Fast food restaurant Wendy’s is catching some heat from at least one blogger for a diabetes fund raising promotion aimed at selling lots of sugar-loaded frostys at a discount in order to raise money to help fight diabetes.
On her blog Sugar Shock, Connie Bennett pointed out the recent promotion at Wendy’s Restaurant in Austin, Texas. She notes that a fund raising effort to fight diabetes might be better constructed if it didn’t include the selling of products that can potentially cause the disease. She points out that numerous studies have drawn a link between consuming too much refined sugar and Type 2 diabetes. While she applauds efforts to raise money to fight the disease, she calls the current campaign irresponsible.
The food chain owned and operated by Pisces Foods has been donating funds to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which seeks to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes, for almost 13 years. Donations have totaled $700,000 since then. This year, Pisces Foods has raised at least $72,000 for the JDRF from Wendy’s franchise outlets through their new fundraising strategy. That amount was produced in a month’s time.
Wendy’s Restaurant has encouraged people to support the cause by buying coupon books to get sugar-loaded Frostys at a very low price or for free. Each book contained four coupons for either a free small frosty or $1 off any frosty product, including the new bestsellers Frosty-Cino and Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty. Earnings from coupon book went to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Now checking the nutritional or caloric contents of the sweet beverages from the Wendy’s website makes you jump off from your seat. A small chocolate frosty has 41 grams of sugar or at least 10.25 teaspoons and is loaded with 320 calories. A large serving of Frosty contains 79 grams of sugar or at least 19.75 teaspoons screaming with 510 calories.
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It’s not about sugar for Type 1s, it’s about carbohydrates! Eating a baked potato would elevate your blood sugar more than a Frosty, for Type 1s. As to refined sugar “causing” Type 2 diabetes….let’s just say it doesn’t help! Would you say having coupons for baked potatoes was irresponsible? …probably not. I applaud any and all efforts to raise money. By the way, JDRF not only raises money for the cure, but also to cure the complications. That part of the message is often forgotten. It is in their mission statement. The cure for the complications will help Type 2s as much as Type 1s, if not more.