A screenshot from Maroon 5's "Sugar" music video.; Credit: Maroon 5

Maroon 5 has a new music video built around a simple, viral-bait premise: Adam Levine and the rest of the band trying to crash as many weddings around Los Angeles as they can in one day (Dec. 6 of last year). It's a lot of fun, directed by "Wedding Crashers" movie director David Dobkin, but it appears that some of those "crashed weddings" may have been staged.

Watch the video (warning: contains adult language):

Maroon 5: Sugar

Fans have noticed that several of the couples seen in the video appear to be actors. Actors Stephen and Barbara Woo posted on Facebook that they played the parents of one of the brides in the video and said that not only were the weddings staged, they didn't even take place on one day, claiming that all the weddings were shot in the same location over the course of three days.

Facebook post by actors

The groom from the wedding featured the most in the video has been named by observers as Nico Evers-Swindell, according to Cosmopolitan. Evers-Swindell was already married to actress Megan Ferguson since 2011 — and she's not the "bride" in the video.

Fans have fingered one of the models as "America's Next Top Model" runner-up Raina Hein, according to Cosmopolitan. Also, the man believed to be her long-term boyfriend isn't the groom in the Maroon 5 weddings.

Don't lose heart, though — at least one of the weddings in the video appears to be real, with wedding photographer Duke Khodaverdian telling E! that yes, it was the real deal.

"It was an incredible surprise and everyone at the wedding is going to cherish those memories," Khodaverdian told E! in December.

Instagram 1

Instagram 2

A representative for the band told "Entertainment Tonight" that only the grooms knew about the band in each case — but it looks like that means in the case of the real crashed weddings. The representative did concede that some shots "had to be shot separately from the real weddings due to time and space constraints that were given," and the article does note that the video was shot over three days.

Levine expressed his excitement about crashing the weddings in an interview with People magazine.

"I had no idea I would be affected by the overwhelming reactions we received from the couples and guests," Levine said. He told "Entertainment Tonight" that it was stressful to arrange, but that the surprise felt good. "[We were] happy that they liked our band, too – [that] would have been a total disaster."

They also solicited Twitter to find people lip-syncing "Sugar" to possibly put in their music video, but it doesn't look like those submissions got used.

Maroon 5 Sugar tweet

If you want to see Levine involved in a different dubious outfit, you can see him back hosting "The Voice" on Feb. 23. Open call auditions for the show begin Jan. 24 in New York, with Los Angeles auditions on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

Did you spot any more actors you recognize in this video? Do you have any more evidence of any of these weddings being either real or faked? Let me know on Twitter at @MikeRoe.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The study showed that people without the SI gene may have a hard time digesting sugary foods, making them dislike it.

World Diabetes Day 2024: Altering night-time routines can be an effective strategy in managing diabetes, here's how.

Sugary foods are one of the most favorite foods for everyone. However, it has adverse health effects like obesity and type 2 diabetes. Recent research

Discover how genetic variations in the SI gene affect sugar preferences and intake, potentially offering new ways to reduce obesity and diabetes risk.

An international team of scientists has now found that a genetic mutation may enable people to cut down their sugar intake.

1. World Diabetes Day 2024: Top 5 Early Warning Signs of High Blood Sugar Levels That Appear In Morning  TheHealthSite
2. Tackling diabetes epidemic  The Hindu
3. World Diabetes Day 2024: Why type 2 diabetes often goes unnoticed, early signs of this silent killer, and associated risks  The Economic Times
4. World Diabetes Day 2024  PIB
5. 86% diabetics in India facing anxiety, depression; women more affected: Report  Gujarat Samachar

Exports help strengthen India’s economy by increasing revenue but the rapid surge in exports poses multiple challenges to the sustainability of production, processing, and distribution systems

1. World Diabetes Day 2024: Early signs of high blood sugar level you should not ignore  India TV News
2. World Diabetes Day 2024  PIB
3. World Diabetes Day: Why diabetes is more than abnormal blood sugar level  The Times of India
4. World Diabetes Day 2024: 10 Foods That Are Secretly Increasing Your Risk Of Diabetes  NDTV
5. World Diabetes Day 2024: 5 ways to detect diabetes quickly  Health shots

Brewers have taken exception to the draft notification on it and demanded its withdrawal

Agriculture committee says free trade mechanisms needed to boost competitiveness, curb inflation

NME’s Album of the Year for 1992 reissued with a wealth of worthwhile extras.

The bands paired up to take the house down on their Take Me Home Tour Thursday night.

The post Review & setlist: Little Big Town and Sugarland brought their harmonies home to TD Garden appeared first on Boston.com.

As food and beverage formulators work to meet both the pending regulatory changes regarding added sugars and consumers’ nutritional demands, Fibersol® soluble dietary fiber ingredients offer a solution to help formulators “redo” sugar in their products.

Food and beverages manufacturers are under pressure to reduce product sugar content. And it’s no surprise, considering the World Health Organization’s endorsement of soft drink “sugar taxes” and FDA’s new Nutrition Facts labeling guidelines, which require product packaging to list all added sugars. 

HEYLO is made of only two natural ingredients: water extracted stevia (not chemically extracted) and all-natural dietary fibers from the Acacia tree. HEYLO is a prebiotic that is entirely free from artificial sweeteners. It has no chemicals, no hidden sweeteners, no diuretic effect, zero glycemic index value and zero calories.  

Consumers are studying nutrition and ingredient labels more than ever before. While more than half look for calories, many are specifically zeroing in on added sugars, total sugars, and total carbohydrates.

Apura Ingredients, the industry’s leading supplier of highquality, low- and no-calorie sweeteners, is begun partnering with EPC Natural Products Company, which offers integrated sensation optimization through its portfolio of taste and flavor modulators.

Global concerns over obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease will usher in the new year’s health and wellness initiatives. Consumers will engage in the annual effort to seek out food and beverage choices with more moderate amounts of nutritive sweeteners (i.e., sucrose and fructose), lower amounts of “undesirable” fats, and fewer calories. 

Tagatose is 90% as sweet as table sugar, but with 62% fewer calories than regular sugar, with no bitter aftertaste. It is also ultra-low on the glycemic index, making it a suitable sweetener for people with diabetes or anyone watching their health. 

With only a couple of exceptions, lower-and zero-calorie sugar alternatives have failed to live up to the multifaceted functionality and flavor of sucrose and its components, glucose and fructose. In fact, great taste remains one of the primary obstacles to overcome with the range of sugar alternatives cropping up in the marketplace. A close second, of course, is performance in a formulation.

Sugar reduction solutions company SweeGen announced Food Standards Australia, New Zealand (FSANZ) has assessed and approved Bestevia® Reb E stevia sweetener as a food additive, stated in Application A1183, published on July 28, 2020.

Loverboy, the pioneer and innovation leader in premium sparkling hard teas, spritzes and canned cocktails, is ringing in 2024 with non-alcoholic versions of two of its original, top-rated sparking tea flavors.

As with every bottle of Pure Leaf Iced Tea, Pure Leaf Zero Sugar Sweet Tea is made from freshly picked, high-quality black tea leaves brewed fresh for each batch – creating a smooth, woody aroma with a level of sweetness.

Crafted for consumers looking for a smoothie with fewer sugars, the new Naked Lower Sugar Smoothies offer 50% lower sugar in an array of flavors including Berrylicious, Glorious Greens and Tropical Sunrise.

“Texture and color influence the perception of sweetness. So, it is not just about the texture and physical attributes of the sugars but also of preparing the base ingredients in ways that can enhance the sensory experience of the food product," said Kantha Shelke, PhD, CFS principal of Corvus Blue, LLC. “Processing techniques, such as caramelization, roasting, drying/dehydrating, and fermentation can help enhance sweetness without the need for sugar, too."

Nixie introduced Classic Cola, Root Beer, and Ginger Ale sodas that are better for you, and better for the planet, demonstrating that beverages can be made with healthy ingredients and still taste good. 

Sweegen will be debuting Tastecode™ Natural Flavor Technologies, taste tools that allow brands to unlock the code to delicious tastes consumers love by addressing specific taste challenges and optimizing the sensory experience at the molecular level.

Shakeology 0g Added Sugar flavors replace organic cane sugar with the high-grade stevia sweeteners, chosen to deliver a clean taste that is similar to sugar without a stevia aftertaste.

BENEO has expanded its ingredients portfolio with new Beneo-scL85, a short-chain fructooligosaccharide (scFOS). The new variant offers customers greater versatility for sugar replacement and enrichment of foods with dietary fiber.

The US yogurt category is already seeing high levels of low/no sugar development, with 20% of all launches in 2018 carrying such claims, up from just 4% in 2013.

Shoppers are increasingly ingredient-conscious and seek snack experiences that fit within evolving dietary preferences and personal goals.

The launch of the new ice cream – with the company’s name on the labels -- demonstrates PureCircle’s confidence in the great taste of its next generation non-GMO stevia sweeteners.  They are an important break-through. The capabilities of these sweeteners and the company’s unique expertise in formulating with them are what make possible the delicious ‘PureCircle’ ice cream.

Sugarbreak is empowering consumers to proactively achieve better health through a comprehensive, medical community-endorsed system that uses all natural, scientifically-proven ingredients to help manage blood sugar as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Introducing A1C Drinks, a new brand of healthy beverages designed to help people manage blood sugar, weight, diabetes and pre-diabetes.

Oobli, a company known for healthy sugar alternatives, introduced Oobli Milk Chocolate bars into its growing sweet protein-powered product portfolio as well as an expanded line of dark chocolate bars. 

DripDrop®, the electrolyte drink mix that offers a fast way to hydrate, announced the launch of three new offerings for its Zero Sugar lineup: Zero Sugar Peach, Zero Sugar Watermelon, and a 4 flavor Zero Sugar Variety Pack.

BENEO has extended a production line at its Pemuco, Chile, operation that enables processing capabilities for the production of its liquid chicory root fiber Orafti® Oligofructose LL with a significantly expanded shelf life of one year.

Sugar-to-Fiber is a genetically engineered probiotic specifically designed to address deficiencies in the American diet by converting dietary sugar (sucrose) into a special type of prebiotic fiber (levan) continuously throughout the day.

The ingredient was developed using a patented fermentation process on grape derivatives and allows food manufacturers to reduce sugar and sodium while enhancing flavor and increasing shelf-life across many different food and beverage applications.

These real food bars feature nutrient-dense chia seeds (rich in prebiotics and omega 3’s) as the first ingredient and only 3g of sugar per 100 calorie, 25g bar, making it easy to eat a healthy snack on-the-go without too much on sugar.

For its most innovative launch to-date, SmartyPants Vitamins announced new SmartyPants Sugar Free Multi & Omegas gummy multivitamins in Kids, Women’s, and Prenatal formats. SmartyPants’ new Sugar Free Multi & Omegas don’t use sugar alcoh

Zapp's, a brand of chips and pretzels inspired by the sights and sounds of New Orleans, added two bold flavors to its bestselling Kettle Potato Chip and Sinfully-Seasoned Pretzel Stix.

The new Smoothie Pops line includes three varieties: Organic Acai & Blueberry, Organic Dragon Fruit & Mango, and Organic Passion Fruit & Peach. The new Organic Smoothie Pops are both health-forward and tasty.

With zero sugar and zero BS, Main Character 5-hour ENERGY® gives you zero reasons not to bring it to every room, every Friday, and every moment of the summer.

The new varieties will join the original Red Bull Sugarfree and Red Bull Zero in this expansion of zero sugar options.

Kantha Shelke, PhD, CFS principal of Corvus Blue, LLC, shares effective ways to lower sugar content in RTE and heat-&-eat cereal products through both technical means as well as using alternatives to the refined sugars still predominant in these most popular breakfast products.

As we move into 2025, the food industry is poised for significant transformations. Reducing sugar in kids' cereals, embracing the snack revolution, and innovating in the bakery sector will shape the future of food. These trends reflect a broader shift towards health, sustainability, and consumer satisfaction, paving the way for a more nutritious and delicious future.

While the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends an intake of added sugar of less than 10% of daily calories, only 42% of Americans are meeting this guideline.