What's the big deal about high-fructose corn syrup? Actually, though, my first question would be, why some corn syrups are high-fructose to begin with? Fructose is the natural sugar found in fruits. It's name, in fact, derives from the Latin Fructus meaning "fruit". It seems to me to be a good thing, ironically. So what's the big deal? But back to my two questions: (1) why are some corn syrups (esp. those in pop) advertised as "high-fructose" and (2) what's the big deal all of a sudden about that fact? Thank you in advance to all who reply.
Fructose, sucrose (cane sugar), and glucose (grape sugar) are all natural sugars but when added to foods such as soda, they are devoid of the components of the original fruit or food that have big impacts on how the sugar is managed in the body. Diabetics know that there is huge difference between eating an orange and drinking a glass of processed orange juice. And high fructose corn syrup has been called the floozy of sweetners. It quickly and (for diabetics) dangerously elevates blood sugar. It is unfortunate that it is added to a wide array foods.
^this Your body digests all sugars in essentially the same way so it is a bit of a myth that pure cane sugar is better than corn syrup or hfcs, etc But, and thats a big BUT (see the butt threat for an example)....as granite stated, fructose when consumed in natural form through fruit is also digested with fiber and vitamins and minerals found in fruit which makes a huge difference And there is a huge issue with the simple fact that the majority of processed foods contain added sugars in some form. When humans consumed an unprocessed, whole food diet before the advent of supermarkets and the proliferation of processed food, fruit was consumed at a minimal and with aforementioned fiber, vitamins, etc When humans eat a diet mainly comprised of processed food we're consuming far more sugar than the human body was ever designed to digest
And I will add that corn syrup is widely accepted by doctors to be the root cause of type 2 diabetes. The human body is simply not equipped to deal with fructose in those concentrations. Several leading doctors have attempted to highlight the problem, but despite considerable case studies, it is impossible to prove conclusively. (emphasis on conclusively). While threat of legal action from the soft drinks giants has prevented governments from ratifying these papers, instead the UK government is now starting to impose heavy taxes based on the sugar content of fizzy soft drinks. At last, the companies are starting to react. It is also believed that it is the combination of sugars and carbonized water that causes the higher risk in drinks, particularly when people involved in sports drink them on a near empty stomach. Few people would add 12 spoons of sugar to their tea, so how on earth can they imagine that this concentration of sugars is not harmful to their health. Looked at from a medical standpoint, as I am sure that you know, carbohydrates (such as bread) start to break down into simple sugars by the action of enzymes in saliva. Once the food reaches the acidic environment of our stomach this action stops. This produces a slow sugar level in the digestive track that our glands fine tune to 4% in our blood. Flooding our stomach with sugar simply overloads the glands and they go haywire, often causing permanent damage. One serious fear is that this damage will be passed down to the next generation, causing a hugely increased number or people to be born with a tendency towards diabetes. We all eat too much processed sugar, so in a sense, corn syrup may have just been the straw that has broken the camels back. However we look at it, serious action is needed..
I agree with most of your post but at this point it seems unclear if its fructose in particular. Its too much concentrated and processed/refined sugar as a whole. Like, changing your fructose intake to other forms of sugar without changing the amounts will likely not matter at all.
All sugars are harmful when they reach the stomach in high concentration. Since glucose is used for the rapid correction of hypoglycemia, I suspect that fructose is not the major culprit when it comes to absorption. However, the human body is less used to it in the sort of concentrations that exist in corn syrup, which is an artificial use of the sugar. Eating fresh fruit in normal quantities has never been associated with ill health. Although both glucose and fructose have the same chemical composition, C6,H12,O6, their molecular construction is very different. While every cell in the body can use glucose, the liver is the only organ that can metabolize fructose in significant amounts, so when people eat a diet that is high in calories and high in fructose, the liver gets overloaded and starts turning the fructose into fat. Many doctors believe that excess fructose consumption may be a key driver of several of the most serious diseases of today. These include obesity, type II diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. It is a friend of mine who is the expert in diabetic conditions, but I don't see her very often these days, since she travels all over the country running clinics and treating patients. Drinks manufacturers use corn syrup simply because it is much cheaper than conventional sugar (sucrose) and only a fraction of the cost of glucose. Their is no other reason. People often condemn fast foods, but eaten AS A MEAL, occasionally, they do no harm. It is eating them additionally to your normal meals that does most of the damage. Likewise, a can of drink containing 12 spoonfuls of fructose can never be healthy, particularly since they are drunk more in summer, when the body is not burning sugar to produce heat and we also tend to be less physically active.
I thought it can be just as glucose when consumed in excess on a regular basis. But (even fresh) orange juice has. Last time I got into this it was still arguable this mainly or only counts for fructose sugar. A lot of experts were sure both glucose and fructose get absorbed pretty much the same way, esp. when consumed in excess. I would say occasionally is a keyword here too. Eaten as a meal they do no harm, unless you have it as a meal like more than 3 times a week. Same with other processed/refined sugar it seems 12 spoonfuls of glucose in a drink is not much better, unless perhaps it would be a person's only sugar intake on a day
At the end of the day, it all comes down to excesses and common sense, (which quite a few people seem to lack) We all know that water is vital in order for us to remain alive, but even that can cause kidney failure if drunk in largely excess quantities and we all know what happens when we stick our head in a bucket of water.
If I recall correctly we get way too much corn in our diet. List Of Foods That Contain High Fructose Corn Syrup I'm sure you'll find many more if you just look at the labels on the food you buy.
Aren't the grains in grainfed cows (which seems the far majority of cows in the US) also predominantly coming from corn? This might not be most relevant to the sugar discussion, but in regards to corn being a too large factor in diets: even indirectly through meat consumption.
Corn is fed to cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys, catfish, tilapia, and salmon. A chicken nugget comes from a corn fed chicken, is held together by corn starch, is coated with corn flour batter, and may be fried in corn oil. It also contains corn based leavening, and lecithins, glycerides, and coloring may come from corn. The interesting thing is that as we are increasingly reliant on corn...corn is also reliant on humans as it can't grow without us!
I read a book once that traced the source of all ingredients in a twinkie to reveal the true nature of america's food supply. It was quite fascinating and eye opening. For instance, most people dont realize how the chlorine industry of all things profits from pushing processed food on people And corn of course, thats a big one. Corn is in everything and it isnt accidental. The corn industry has talented lobbyists
i only use sugar free sugar when i was a child i lost my front teeth from drinking constantly a kids sippie cup filled with koolaid with TONS OF SUGAR its horrible for you & after dental surgery where my back 2 teeth on both sides top & bottom were surgically CUT OUT to prevent dental loss i made the switch to sugar free sugar SWEET N LO & SPLENDA COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!! U 2 can MAKE THE SWITCH NOW!!!
