High Fructose Corn Syrup...the antichrist (1 Viewer)

[Ministry of Pain]

I try to avoid this as well, but I just can't find a substitute for ketchup. Any suggestions?

Avoiding it altogether is basically unpossible at this point. If ketchup is one of the few places you are getting it, you're in great shape. Just try to avoid processed foods as much as possible and use honey as a natural sweetener. Our government has created a major problem with the farming of corn. They'll fix it eventually, but as usual it will take 5 years longer than it needs to.

Sorry for the hijack, but I was reading the label of my spicy mustard bottle yesterday while grilling up some brats (yum) and it had NOTHING in it. No sugars, no fats, no calories, and like a tiny bit of sodium. Anyone know what is in mustard? I was surprised to see the label so bare.

ground up mustard seeds?

 

[ragincajun]

Let me ask you guys a serious question- what propels one to spiral into a 300 # weight gain?

In all seriousness.... Its all muscle.. Actually I have always been a bigger guy. Not fat, more muscle, but stocky, you know. Then I discovered beer and taco bell in college. Then I got a desk job. Then I got lazy.

 

[Dentist]

Let me ask you guys a serious question- what propels one to spiral into a 300 # weight gain?

1. Marriage...I packed on a good 75 lbs after I got married...wife put on about 50-60 which she lost before I even got started losing mine. She was on Jenny Craig and I have gotten her off that crap and more on my plan but modified for her lifestyle a bit more.

www.nomarriage.com

 

[Woz]

I see your point, but Gatorade just tastes so damn good and it does have electrolytes (maybe it's psychology after good marketing, but I just "feel" better after drinking it). If you work out and burn up all the calories you take in, what's the difference among the sources of the calories you consume?

woz>hiFirst of all. "electrolytes" is just a fancy word for salt. Gatorade is just salty poison water. Drink water when you work out.I don't know the exact answer to your last question, but it has to do with how the frutcose, sucrose, and glucose molecules react to each other naturally as opposed t chemically altered.

Right, and salt helps you maintain hydration. Also, I should have stated I only drink Gatorade before and after physical activity or during baseball where there is a prolonged lull between short bursts of activity to keep my calories up and glucose levels high. This is one of the main gripes I had in my nutrition class when my prof would bash different sources of energy. She could never answer my question of what makes one "calorie" better than another? For example, what's the nutritional difference between burning 200 calories of high fructose corn syrup and 200 calories of whole grain carbs? I understand it that it takes the same amount of physical "work" to burn one calorie. Therefore, the source of that calorie shouldn't matter... so the important factor when consuming foods is total cals - not the variety of sources of those total cals.

 

[Dentist]

I see your point, but Gatorade just tastes so damn good and it does have electrolytes (maybe it's psychology after good marketing, but I just "feel" better after drinking it). If you work out and burn up all the calories you take in, what's the difference among the sources of the calories you consume?

It's completely horrible for your teeth also.It's the 3rd most erosive beverage after lemonade and energy drinks

 

[Woz]

Let me ask you guys a serious question- what propels one to spiral into a 300 # weight gain?

1. Marriage...I packed on a good 75 lbs after I got married...wife put on about 50-60 which she lost before I even got started losing mine. She was on Jenny Craig and I have gotten her off that crap and more on my plan but modified for her lifestyle a bit more.

www.nomarriage.com

And gatorade kills your enamel. (I'm still mad at you for this, I drink Gatorade like it was drawn from the fountain of youth )

 

[Skippy the one eyed Beagle]

Sugar >>> corn syrup. It's the reason I switched to homemade ice tea & coffee over soda pop. Not only that ,it tastes better too.

FYI - breyers ice cream is corn syrup free

 

[NY/NJMFDIVER]

MOP.... you are so money and you dont even know it.I agree 100%. I am close to 300#'s and after reading the AB's diet book looked into this HFCS thing. It is in friggin everything. I am trying to ween myself of off of it, but its in EVERYTHING.... Even though its twice as expensive, I am about to solely shop at Whole Foods to try and get a leg up on it.

Evereyone thinks fat is what makes you fat but there are plenty of things I buy at Whole Foods that are not lowfat but they don't have all the other crap in them. People have a misconception that WHole Foods is expensive...it isn't cheap but the 365 Brand that they sell as the alternative to the name brands in just about everything...that 365 brand I have found ot be pretty good quality and honestly pretty cheap. I have found products there in the 365 brand that cost less than the regular brands that have HFCS in them at the regular grocery store...now why would someone pay more for worse food... But it's America!

Just to echo MOP and to answer any of the chicken little hecklers or more legitmate questioners, my own testament comes in eliminating HFCS. I was always heavy but when played college ball and always had a reason to be big, but when transitioning into real life, the apppetite stayed while the activity didn't. There was no excuse, and I would do things very differently if I had it to do again, one of my few regrets, but the long and short was me adding 100 pounds onto an already overtaxed frame. It wasn't immediate gain, but I always struggled with yo-yo dieting. In the last year to 18 months though, I did move to change, and it included eating better overall, food, portions timing and prioritizing working out again. And I can't begin to tell you how busy I am, during my busier times, 80 to 100 work weeks are not out of the norm. However, I always make time to work out. When I was fat, I always made time to eat, and working out is just as important to my overall health, so I make time to workout. You just have to do it. Anyway, dieting was always a struggle, and the more I read about the lack of saiety with HFCS, I think that was a problem as much as anything. I was obviously eating a lot ot get that fat, and I always had the appetite for more. Now there is a very destrucitve pattern at play there that would probably interest a therapist as much as a dietician, but the more I read of that junk, I don't think it was any small factor in how big I got.Anyway, I pulled the trigger on eliminating it and it's been a wonderful change. I've cut 140 pounds and I'm still what I'd call too heavy, but if I didn't drop another pound, I'm a world healhier than I was. I'm still losing and still getting healthier, but two things to be aware of. 1. If you are trying to diet, eliminating HFCS leaves you with only healthy choices. This is by and large true. I'm eating a local brand of bread here, or maybe its east coast, I don't know, but its called the Baker. It's expensive but its so stripped of junk, and believe me, you can really see the whole grain in action. It basically leaves you unprocessed, primarily healthy foods to work with. Foods that you can actually be satisifed once you break that chain of needing more HFCS2. You will feel better overall with it out of your system. I can't stress this enough, maybe its general over healthy eating, i don't know, i'm sure that getting fast food and all those preservatives were greatly benefical too, but I was feeling old and tired when eating that, and approaching my mid to late 20's, I was starting to think this is what life feels like. This is what getting old feels like. But things have changed, and I just feel GOOD. My legs have spring and I don't ache at every turn and I just feel better. It's ridiculous to ignore the mosaic of factors at play, it wasn't simply eliminating one thing but a bigger picture, a picture that was a long time in coming for me, with a lot of things tried, and lot of things failed. Eliminating HFCS has been something that's worked.

 

[prefontaine]

I see your point, but Gatorade just tastes so damn good and it does have electrolytes (maybe it's psychology after good marketing, but I just "feel" better after drinking it). If you work out and burn up all the calories you take in, what's the difference among the sources of the calories you consume?

woz>hiFirst of all. "electrolytes" is just a fancy word for salt. Gatorade is just salty poison water. Drink water when you work out.

I don't know the exact answer to your last question, but it has to do with how the frutcose, sucrose, and glucose molecules react to each other naturally as opposed t chemically altered.

Right, and salt helps you maintain hydration. Also, I should have stated I only drink Gatorade before and after physical activity or during baseball where there is a prolonged lull between short bursts of activity to keep my calories up and glucose levels high. This is one of the main gripes I had in my nutrition class when my prof would bash different sources of energy. She could never answer my question of what makes one "calorie" better than another? For example, what's the nutritional difference between burning 200 calories of high fructose corn syrup and 200 calories of whole grain carbs? I understand it that it takes the same amount of physical "work" to burn one calorie. Therefore, the source of that calorie shouldn't matter... so the important factor when consuming foods is total cals - not the variety of sources of those total cals.

It has to do with insulin levels. HFCS spikes your insulin. It's one of the leading causes in the increase in diabetes.

 

[Sand]

There's very little HFCS in most tuna salad. I've begun to bring cans of tuna to the movie theater to eat instead of candy or popcorn.

I would have you ejected from the theater for this.Disgusting.

 

[E-Z Glider]

I try to avoid this as well, but I just can't find a substitute for ketchup. Any suggestions?

Avoiding it altogether is basically unpossible at this point. If ketchup is one of the few places you are getting it, you're in great shape. Just try to avoid processed foods as much as possible and use honey as a natural sweetener. Our government has created a major problem with the farming of corn. They'll fix it eventually, but as usual it will take 5 years longer than it needs to.

Sorry for the hijack, but I was reading the label of my spicy mustard bottle yesterday while grilling up some brats (yum) and it had NOTHING in it. No sugars, no fats, no calories, and like a tiny bit of sodium. Anyone know what is in mustard? I was surprised to see the label so bare.

Mustard is not bad for you at all. It's a great emulsifier to use (rather than mayo or oil) in dressings for a healthier option.

 

[culdeus]

Right, and salt helps you maintain hydration. Also, I should have stated I only drink Gatorade before and after physical activity or during baseball where there is a prolonged lull between short bursts of activity to keep my calories up and glucose levels high. This is one of the main gripes I had in my nutrition class when my prof would bash different sources of energy. She could never answer my question of what makes one "calorie" better than another? For example, what's the nutritional difference between burning 200 calories of high fructose corn syrup and 200 calories of whole grain carbs? I understand it that it takes the same amount of physical "work" to burn one calorie. Therefore, the source of that calorie shouldn't matter... so the important factor when consuming foods is total cals - not the variety of sources of those total cals.

Calorically, you're right, 200 calories of HFCS has the same amount of calories as 200 calories of complex carbohydrates.What they do inside your body, however, is not dependent on the amount of calories you consume. Think of what happens when you eat a whole grain. You "process" it. You break the food down, digest the digestable part and pass the undigestable part.In processed foods, all that work is done, and the food hits your system much faster, and is available as an energy source for a shorter period of time. Also, since your body needs less energy for a shorter period of time, more of that energy source gets stored as fat - and then you're hungry again faster because your energy source is gone.That's just one basic difference. There's also the hormonal reactions different foods and macronutrients cause, the harmful effect artifical chemicals have, and a bunch more factors.Your nutrition teacher and her family are a #### for not satisfying that question.

Cliff notes: You want your food to take as much time getting digested as possible. HFCS is pre-digested.

 

[prefontaine]

Linky - a little older but an excellent article on the obesity epidemic.

David Ludwig, the Harvard endocrinologist, says that it's the direct effect of insulin on blood sugar that does the trick. He notes that when diabetics get too much insulin, their blood sugar drops and they get ravenously hungry. They gain weight because they eat more, and the insulin promotes fat deposition. The same happens with lab animals. This, he says, is effectively what happens when we eat carbohydrates -- in particular sugar and starches like potatoes and rice, or anything made from flour, like a slice of white bread. These are known in the jargon as high-glycemic-index carbohydrates, which means they are absorbed quickly into the blood. As a result, they cause a spike of blood sugar and a surge of insulin within minutes. The resulting rush of insulin stores the blood sugar away and a few hours later, your blood sugar is lower than it was before you ate. As Ludwig explains, your body effectively thinks it has run out of fuel, but the insulin is still high enough to prevent you from burning your own fat. The result is hunger and a craving for more carbohydrates. It's another vicious circle, and another situation ripe for obesity.

Realize that HFCS has a higher GI than the examples used above.

 

[culdeus]

Another problem with HFCS is that it frequently prompts the use of Sodium Benzoate a chemical now possibly linked with liver damage to prevent spoilage. This shows up in diet drinks too, but in less quantities. I checked my 365 cans and they do not use this product.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,275736,00.html Yes, it's Faux news, but it links another source inside.

 

[nortobc]

I never drink soft drinks. That is like the worst thing you can put in your body. If you can dissolve rust.

 

[nortobc]

What are some popular products besides soft drinks that have HFCS?

 

[culdeus]

What are some popular products besides soft drinks that have HFCS?

If it's in a plastic package or thin cardboard box odds are it has it.

 

[BroadwayG]

What are some popular products besides soft drinks that have HFCS?

List of productsDefinitely not comprehensive, but it'll give you a good idea of what kinds of stuff has it.

 

[Team]

about the price of sugar.... Sure it's cheaper to produce in Central & South Americas, but that's true for most products, not just agriculture.

The price of sugar today is almost the same it was in the mid-80s. Regardless of the govt. subsidies, it's still dirt cheap in the grand scheme of things. How much does a pound of cane sugar costs you? How long does a pound of sugar last an average household? Hell, just about every restauraut in America gives the stuff away on their tables.

 

[Power Monster]

I see this in my church with people that have given up drinking and other addictions. They have turned around and have decided to just go absolutely over the top with eating everything and anything in sight.

Great point MOP about playing sports. As we grow older we give it up- career, age, marriage, liability and such. However- it is just alarming to see that type 2 diabetes in this country is out of hand and spiraling towards an epidemic. Children are eating very poor diets as their parents make poor decisions based on time constraints, budget concerns, ignorance and a general lack of caring. Children are not even getting decent exercise at all. Pick up games of football; tag, baseball, "it" and such are activities of the past. Without sound nutrition and a lack of exercise the march towards a lack of a healthy lifestyle ensues. When disease kicks in it is off to the Walgreens for the prescription curse.

Your exercise program is very sound but I urge you to seek a personal trainer that understands mechanics and forces (RTS) or (NASM) so you can really get the benefits of your efforts.

Great advice, I work out with a man by the name of John Damon who owns This Gym. He has been featured in a lot of magazines and I think he has a real good understanding of weights...I have worked out with him probably 8-10 times to get a good routine for myself.

Good deal. He knows mechanics. Ask him if he has heard of MAT or RTS...

 

[Power Monster]

Also- great drink that is absolutely awesome is coconut water (all natural)

 

[patrickmcgroin]

Good thread going on here.

 

[prefontaine]

Some interesting stuff

Sucrose is composed of glucose and fructose. When sugar is given to rats in high amounts, the rats develop multiple health problems, especially when the rats were deficient in certain nutrients, such as copper. The researchers wanted to know whether it was the fructose or the glucose moiety that was causing the problems. So they repeated their studies with two groups of rats, one given high amounts of glucose and one given high amounts of fructose. The glucose group was unaffected but the fructose group had disastrous results. The male rats did not reach adulthood. They had anemia, high cholesterol and heart hypertrophy--that means that their hearts enlarged until they exploded. They also had delayed testicular development. Dr. Field explains that fructose in combination with copper deficiency in the growing animal interferes with collagen production. (Copper deficiency, by the way, is widespread in America.) In a nutshell, the little bodies of the rats just fell apart. The females were not so affected, but they were unable to produce live young.

"The medical profession thinks fructose is better for diabetics than sugar," says Dr. Field, "but every cell in the body can metabolize glucose. However, all fructose must be metabolized in the liver. The livers of the rats on the high fructose diet looked like the livers of alcoholics, plugged with fat and cirrhotic."

HFCS contains more fructose than sugar and this fructose is more immediately available because it is not bound up in sucrose. Since the effects of fructose are most severe in the growing organism, we need to think carefully about what kind of sweeteners we give to our children. Fruit juices should be strictly avoided--they are very high in fructose--but so should anything with HFCS.

I'd be interested in a link here. This must be really old because the American Diabetes Association recommended in 2002 that people with diabetes stop using fructose to sweeten foods - link

In subjects with diabetes, fructose produces a lower postprandial response when it replaces sucrose or starch in the diet; however, this benefit is tempered by concern that fructose may adversely effect plasma lipids. Therefore, the use of added fructose as a sweetening agent is not recommended; however, there is no reason to recommend that people with diabetes avoid naturally occurring fructose in fruits, vegetables, and other foods.

 

[FinHead]

My girlfriend has been slowly trying to cut this stuff out of our meals for the last several months. This #### is in everything and really hard to avoid.

Some great info in this thread, keep it going

 

[moleculo]

for those of you who cut out HFCS and seen dramatic results - would you not see the same results in cutting out sugar in general?

Is HFCS significantly worse than table sugar, and why?

 

[prefontaine]

for those of you who cut out HFCS and seen dramatic results - would you not see the same results in cutting out sugar in general?Is HFCS significantly worse than table sugar, and why?

Significantly worse. I'd point back to the article I posted above from the NY Times. The infiltration of HFCS into our food pretty much coincided with the obesity epidemic and the rise in Type II Diabetes. Summary: HFCS goes straight into your blood as glucose eliciting an insulin response. Insulin's job in the body is to lower blood sugar. It takes sugar from your blood and stores it in fat cells. It is necessary for your body to store fat. So after the insulin sweeps away all the energy in your body and makes fat, your body then feels hungry. You eat again and the HFCS does it again. Diabetes occurs when your body starts becoming insulin sensitive and the body needs to create more insulin to do the same work.Your body needs fuel and a constant burning fuel is much better. Table sugar takes longer for your body to break down into glucose (still quick compared to a lot of things) and thus is metabolized a bit slower into your blood. This means less insulin is needed. Less insulin = Good. Some have talked about a paleo diet. Well, a paleo diet would need very little insulin response.

 

[moleculo]

for those of you who cut out HFCS and seen dramatic results - would you not see the same results in cutting out sugar in general?Is HFCS significantly worse than table sugar, and why?

Significantly worse. I'd point back to the article I posted above from the NY Times. The infiltration of HFCS into our food pretty much coincided with the obesity epidemic and the rise in Type II Diabetes. Summary: HFCS goes straight into your blood as glucose eliciting an insulin response. Insulin's job in the body is to lower blood sugar. It takes sugar from your blood and stores it in fat cells. It is necessary for your body to store fat. So after the insulin sweeps away all the energy in your body and makes fat, your body then feels hungry. You eat again and the HFCS does it again. Diabetes occurs when your body starts becoming insulin sensitive and the body needs to create more insulin to do the same work.Your body needs fuel and a constant burning fuel is much better. Table sugar takes longer for your body to break down into glucose (still quick compared to a lot of things) and thus is metabolized a bit slower into your blood. This means less insulin is needed. Less insulin = Good. Some have talked about a paleo diet. Well, a paleo diet would need very little insulin response.

but wouldn't you see similar results in eliminating/reducing all types of sugars althogether? or is that too much to ask? in MOP's diet he mentioned, seems to me like he has knocked out sweeteners altogether, not just HFCS.

 

[culdeus]

for those of you who cut out HFCS and seen dramatic results - would you not see the same results in cutting out sugar in general?Is HFCS significantly worse than table sugar, and why?

Just look at atkins people. Now considered one of the best diets in recent history. Why? because it eliminates 100% of hfcs from your diet and keeps you off it when you cycle back into carbs (though they don't specifically call out HFCS AFAIK).

 

[Woz]

Right, and salt helps you maintain hydration. Also, I should have stated I only drink Gatorade before and after physical activity or during baseball where there is a prolonged lull between short bursts of activity to keep my calories up and glucose levels high. This is one of the main gripes I had in my nutrition class when my prof would bash different sources of energy. She could never answer my question of what makes one "calorie" better than another? For example, what's the nutritional difference between burning 200 calories of high fructose corn syrup and 200 calories of whole grain carbs? I understand it that it takes the same amount of physical "work" to burn one calorie. Therefore, the source of that calorie shouldn't matter... so the important factor when consuming foods is total cals - not the variety of sources of those total cals.

Calorically, you're right, 200 calories of HFCS has the same amount of calories as 200 calories of complex carbohydrates.What they do inside your body, however, is not dependent on the amount of calories you consume. Think of what happens when you eat a whole grain. You "process" it. You break the food down, digest the digestable part and pass the undigestable part.In processed foods, all that work is done, and the food hits your system much faster, and is available as an energy source for a shorter period of time. Also, since your body needs less energy for a shorter period of time, more of that energy source gets stored as fat - and then you're hungry again faster because your energy source is gone.That's just one basic difference. There's also the hormonal reactions different foods and macronutrients cause, the harmful effect artifical chemicals have, and a bunch more factors.Your nutrition teacher and her family are a #### for not satisfying that question.

Makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up for me. And thanks for making it sound like I basically asked the "which weighs more: lb. of rock or a lb. of feathers" type question. And yeah, my nutrition prof was a fatty so I didn't take her seriously.

 

[prefontaine]

for those of you who cut out HFCS and seen dramatic results - would you not see the same results in cutting out sugar in general?Is HFCS significantly worse than table sugar, and why?

Significantly worse. I'd point back to the article I posted above from the NY Times. The infiltration of HFCS into our food pretty much coincided with the obesity epidemic and the rise in Type II Diabetes. Summary: HFCS goes straight into your blood as glucose eliciting an insulin response. Insulin's job in the body is to lower blood sugar. It takes sugar from your blood and stores it in fat cells. It is necessary for your body to store fat. So after the insulin sweeps away all the energy in your body and makes fat, your body then feels hungry. You eat again and the HFCS does it again. Diabetes occurs when your body starts becoming insulin sensitive and the body needs to create more insulin to do the same work.Your body needs fuel and a constant burning fuel is much better. Table sugar takes longer for your body to break down into glucose (still quick compared to a lot of things) and thus is metabolized a bit slower into your blood. This means less insulin is needed. Less insulin = Good. Some have talked about a paleo diet. Well, a paleo diet would need very little insulin response.

but wouldn't you see similar results in eliminating/reducing all types of sugars althogether? or is that too much to ask? in MOP's diet he mentioned, seems to me like he has knocked out sweeteners altogether, not just HFCS.

All sugar is not equal. HFCS is half glucose and half fructose. It goes almost straight to your blood. You hear the term blood sugar but this does not = sugar. Blood sugar is glucose. Your body converts all carbohydrates to glucose to burn as energy. The more processing your body has to do, the slower a carb is released into your system. Since you burn this as fuel, a slow release is good. It gives you a constant blood sugar. If you get a spike in glucose, your body reacts by releasing insulin to store it as fat. Then later on when you need energy, you will burn this fat. Since you stored all that glucose, the insulin response makes your body crave more food fairly quickly. If you had a slow response, there is less insulin and the carbs are burned over a longer period of time. This means you process more of what you eat rather than store it as fat. It also means you are less hungry. It's very easy to eat too many calories when you eat high GI foods. Conversely, since going on a low GI diet, I have a hard time eating enough calories. I'm just not very hungry. Anyway, it would be virtually impossible to cut out all sugars unless you were on Atkins. Almost all fruits and some vegetables have naturally occuring fructose. Most of these are also high in fiber which is tough for your body to break down so it helps in slowing these sugars into your blood. You should avoid spiking your blood sugar level because it creates an insulin response. Not all sugar has that much of an effect.

 

[moleculo]

for those of you who cut out HFCS and seen dramatic results - would you not see the same results in cutting out sugar in general?Is HFCS significantly worse than table sugar, and why?

Significantly worse. I'd point back to the article I posted above from the NY Times. The infiltration of HFCS into our food pretty much coincided with the obesity epidemic and the rise in Type II Diabetes. Summary: HFCS goes straight into your blood as glucose eliciting an insulin response. Insulin's job in the body is to lower blood sugar. It takes sugar from your blood and stores it in fat cells. It is necessary for your body to store fat. So after the insulin sweeps away all the energy in your body and makes fat, your body then feels hungry. You eat again and the HFCS does it again. Diabetes occurs when your body starts becoming insulin sensitive and the body needs to create more insulin to do the same work.Your body needs fuel and a constant burning fuel is much better. Table sugar takes longer for your body to break down into glucose (still quick compared to a lot of things) and thus is metabolized a bit slower into your blood. This means less insulin is needed. Less insulin = Good. Some have talked about a paleo diet. Well, a paleo diet would need very little insulin response.

but wouldn't you see similar results in eliminating/reducing all types of sugars althogether? or is that too much to ask? in MOP's diet he mentioned, seems to me like he has knocked out sweeteners altogether, not just HFCS.

All sugar is not equal. HFCS is half glucose and half fructose. It goes almost straight to your blood. You hear the term blood sugar but this does not = sugar. Blood sugar is glucose. Your body converts all carbohydrates to glucose to burn as energy. The more processing your body has to do, the slower a carb is released into your system. Since you burn this as fuel, a slow release is good. It gives you a constant blood sugar. If you get a spike in glucose, your body reacts by releasing insulin to store it as fat. Then later on when you need energy, you will burn this fat. Since you stored all that glucose, the insulin response makes your body crave more food fairly quickly. If you had a slow response, there is less insulin and the carbs are burned over a longer period of time. This means you process more of what you eat rather than store it as fat. It also means you are less hungry. It's very easy to eat too many calories when you eat high GI foods. Conversely, since going on a low GI diet, I have a hard time eating enough calories. I'm just not very hungry. Anyway, it would be virtually impossible to cut out all sugars unless you were on Atkins. Almost all fruits and some vegetables have naturally occuring fructose. Most of these are also high in fiber which is tough for your body to break down so it helps in slowing these sugars into your blood. You should avoid spiking your blood sugar level because it creates an insulin response. Not all sugar has that much of an effect.

but if the point is to reduce your overall glucose intake, shouldn't all sugars be reduced? This thread implies that replacing HFCS with cane sugar would be enough. People are advocating buying sugar cane based soft drinks, as opposed to HFCS soft drinks. What is the point of that? You will still be getting a glucose surge when the sucrose breaks down, so I don't understand what the point is.

 

[prefontaine]

for those of you who cut out HFCS and seen dramatic results - would you not see the same results in cutting out sugar in general?Is HFCS significantly worse than table sugar, and why?

Significantly worse. I'd point back to the article I posted above from the NY Times. The infiltration of HFCS into our food pretty much coincided with the obesity epidemic and the rise in Type II Diabetes. Summary: HFCS goes straight into your blood as glucose eliciting an insulin response. Insulin's job in the body is to lower blood sugar. It takes sugar from your blood and stores it in fat cells. It is necessary for your body to store fat. So after the insulin sweeps away all the energy in your body and makes fat, your body then feels hungry. You eat again and the HFCS does it again. Diabetes occurs when your body starts becoming insulin sensitive and the body needs to create more insulin to do the same work.Your body needs fuel and a constant burning fuel is much better. Table sugar takes longer for your body to break down into glucose (still quick compared to a lot of things) and thus is metabolized a bit slower into your blood. This means less insulin is needed. Less insulin = Good. Some have talked about a paleo diet. Well, a paleo diet would need very little insulin response.

but wouldn't you see similar results in eliminating/reducing all types of sugars althogether? or is that too much to ask? in MOP's diet he mentioned, seems to me like he has knocked out sweeteners altogether, not just HFCS.

All sugar is not equal. HFCS is half glucose and half fructose. It goes almost straight to your blood. You hear the term blood sugar but this does not = sugar. Blood sugar is glucose. Your body converts all carbohydrates to glucose to burn as energy. The more processing your body has to do, the slower a carb is released into your system. Since you burn this as fuel, a slow release is good. It gives you a constant blood sugar. If you get a spike in glucose, your body reacts by releasing insulin to store it as fat. Then later on when you need energy, you will burn this fat. Since you stored all that glucose, the insulin response makes your body crave more food fairly quickly. If you had a slow response, there is less insulin and the carbs are burned over a longer period of time. This means you process more of what you eat rather than store it as fat. It also means you are less hungry. It's very easy to eat too many calories when you eat high GI foods. Conversely, since going on a low GI diet, I have a hard time eating enough calories. I'm just not very hungry. Anyway, it would be virtually impossible to cut out all sugars unless you were on Atkins. Almost all fruits and some vegetables have naturally occuring fructose. Most of these are also high in fiber which is tough for your body to break down so it helps in slowing these sugars into your blood. You should avoid spiking your blood sugar level because it creates an insulin response. Not all sugar has that much of an effect.

but if the point is to reduce your overall glucose intake, shouldn't all sugars be reduced? This thread implies that replacing HFCS with cane sugar would be enough. People are advocating buying sugar cane based soft drinks, as opposed to HFCS soft drinks. What is the point of that? You will still be getting a glucose surge when the sucrose breaks down, so I don't understand what the point is.

I'm apparently not explaining this well. Imagine if you have a pool (maybe you have one so you don't have to imagine). You have a machine that slowly release chlorine into it so that there is always a good level of chlorine and the pool stays clean. Alternatively, you can take a week's worth of chlorine and just dump it in the pool. In both cases, you get the same amount of chlorine but you have very different results.What your body does when you drop the gallon of chlorine in it - ie HFCS - is it releases an alternative chemical (insulin) to clear it out. Your body is preparing for a fast. It stores that fat until you desperately need it. But now it needs more chlorine. So you need to eat more. Your body tells you to give it more chlorine. Your whole system is thrown off. You end up eating more (a lot more) because your body is not designed to handle that kind of crap. Cane sugar is digested slower. It is not the chemical dump (although too much still is) that HFCS is. Even if you eat the exact same amount of carbs, the difference is that you will hurt the chemical balance of your body (plus you will be hungry all the time). And do it enough and you will develop heart problems, liver problems, diabetes. If you respond to your body asking for more food, you will have all those problems and be a fat ### to boot.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

Very good thread. The nurse at my son's school is an antiHFCS person and she sends home these updates every now and then.

This makes me think that the Atkins Diet might be better the currently treated. Get rid of all processed foods, eat proteins and whole grains. Granted, the guy that eats nothing but greasy cheesesteaks covered with butter isn't exactly living healthy, but if you do the diet right, and eat the whole grains and add in the greens you should eat anyway, you are doing your body right for the most part.

I'd venture to say that just about everything my family eats and drinks has this stuff in it. Before this thread I was beginning to wonder if I should enforce a more healthy diet on my wife and son and start shopping at local butchers and produce stands instead of the supermarket. Now, I'm thinking it even more.

 

[E-Z Glider]

Very good thread. The nurse at my son's school is an antiHFCS person and she sends home these updates every now and then.

This makes me think that the Atkins Diet might be better the currently treated. Get rid of all processed foods, eat proteins and whole grains. Granted, the guy that eats nothing but greasy cheesesteaks covered with butter isn't exactly living healthy, but if you do the diet right, and eat the whole grains and add in the greens you should eat anyway, you are doing your body right for the most part.

I'd venture to say that just about everything my family eats and drinks has this stuff in it. Before this thread I was beginning to wonder if I should enforce a more healthy diet on my wife and son and start shopping at local butchers and produce stands instead of the supermarket. Now, I'm thinking it even more.

I tried doing ALL my shopping at the local farmers market for a while. It was terribly inconvenient and much more expensive. Supermarkets arent entirely evil. Good advice is to just stick to the perimeters (meat, produce, dairy, grains) and avoid all the processed crap in the middle isles (cereal, snacks, soda, prepared foods) and go with organic whenever available.The other thing that is great is signing up for local CSA program. We get 10lbs of locally grown, organic produce each week. It's like a challenge to eat it all before next weeks shipment.

 

[BroadwayG]

The other thing that is great is signing up for local CSA program.

Country Singer's Association?

 

[Yankee23Fan]

The other thing that is great is signing up for local CSA program. We get 10lbs of locally grown, organic produce each week. It's like a challenge to eat it all before next weeks shipment.

??????

 

[E-Z Glider]

The other thing that is great is signing up for local CSA program. We get 10lbs of locally grown, organic produce each week. It's like a challenge to eat it all before next weeks shipment.

??????

Sorry. Community Supported Agriculture. This is the one we belong to, but they are everywhere. Here is a locator. The premise is that you pay a flat up-front fee for a set amount of produce per week. You get whatever is in season and its all fresh, local, and organic. Ours also includes a newsletter with recipes to use whatever you got (which is helpful becuase you get stuff that you otherwise wouldnt buy). I love it. As I said in another thread, Tuesdays is pretty much "stir fry night". Whatever is leftover come Tuesday gets tossed in the Wok.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

MOP.... you are so money and you dont even know it.I agree 100%. I am close to 300#'s and after reading the AB's diet book looked into this HFCS thing. It is in friggin everything. I am trying to ween myself of off of it, but its in EVERYTHING.... Even though its twice as expensive, I am about to solely shop at Whole Foods to try and get a leg up on it.

Evereyone thinks fat is what makes you fat but there are plenty of things I buy at Whole Foods that are not lowfat but they don't have all the other crap in them. People have a misconception that WHole Foods is expensive...it isn't cheap but the 365 Brand that they sell as the alternative to the name brands in just about everything...that 365 brand I have found ot be pretty good quality and honestly pretty cheap. I have found products there in the 365 brand that cost less than the regular brands that have HFCS in them at the regular grocery store...now why would someone pay more for worse food... But it's America!

Just to echo MOP and to answer any of the chicken little hecklers or more legitmate questioners, my own testament comes in eliminating HFCS. I was always heavy but when played college ball and always had a reason to be big, but when transitioning into real life, the apppetite stayed while the activity didn't. There was no excuse, and I would do things very differently if I had it to do again, one of my few regrets, but the long and short was me adding 100 pounds onto an already overtaxed frame. It wasn't immediate gain, but I always struggled with yo-yo dieting. In the last year to 18 months though, I did move to change, and it included eating better overall, food, portions timing and prioritizing working out again. And I can't begin to tell you how busy I am, during my busier times, 80 to 100 work weeks are not out of the norm. However, I always make time to work out. When I was fat, I always made time to eat, and working out is just as important to my overall health, so I make time to workout. You just have to do it. Anyway, dieting was always a struggle, and the more I read about the lack of saiety with HFCS, I think that was a problem as much as anything. I was obviously eating a lot ot get that fat, and I always had the appetite for more. Now there is a very destrucitve pattern at play there that would probably interest a therapist as much as a dietician, but the more I read of that junk, I don't think it was any small factor in how big I got.Anyway, I pulled the trigger on eliminating it and it's been a wonderful change. I've cut 140 pounds and I'm still what I'd call too heavy, but if I didn't drop another pound, I'm a world healhier than I was. I'm still losing and still getting healthier, but two things to be aware of. 1. If you are trying to diet, eliminating HFCS leaves you with only healthy choices. This is by and large true. I'm eating a local brand of bread here, or maybe its east coast, I don't know, but its called the Baker. It's expensive but its so stripped of junk, and believe me, you can really see the whole grain in action. It basically leaves you unprocessed, primarily healthy foods to work with. Foods that you can actually be satisifed once you break that chain of needing more HFCS2. You will feel better overall with it out of your system. I can't stress this enough, maybe its general over healthy eating, i don't know, i'm sure that getting fast food and all those preservatives were greatly benefical too, but I was feeling old and tired when eating that, and approaching my mid to late 20's, I was starting to think this is what life feels like. This is what getting old feels like. But things have changed, and I just feel GOOD. My legs have spring and I don't ache at every turn and I just feel better. It's ridiculous to ignore the mosaic of factors at play, it wasn't simply eliminating one thing but a bigger picture, a picture that was a long time in coming for me, with a lot of things tried, and lot of things failed. Eliminating HFCS has been something that's worked.

Thank you for sharing all of this.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

for those of you who cut out HFCS and seen dramatic results - would you not see the same results in cutting out sugar in general?Is HFCS significantly worse than table sugar, and why?

Significantly worse. I'd point back to the article I posted above from the NY Times. The infiltration of HFCS into our food pretty much coincided with the obesity epidemic and the rise in Type II Diabetes. Summary: HFCS goes straight into your blood as glucose eliciting an insulin response. Insulin's job in the body is to lower blood sugar. It takes sugar from your blood and stores it in fat cells. It is necessary for your body to store fat. So after the insulin sweeps away all the energy in your body and makes fat, your body then feels hungry. You eat again and the HFCS does it again. Diabetes occurs when your body starts becoming insulin sensitive and the body needs to create more insulin to do the same work.Your body needs fuel and a constant burning fuel is much better. Table sugar takes longer for your body to break down into glucose (still quick compared to a lot of things) and thus is metabolized a bit slower into your blood. This means less insulin is needed. Less insulin = Good. Some have talked about a paleo diet. Well, a paleo diet would need very little insulin response.

but wouldn't you see similar results in eliminating/reducing all types of sugars althogether? or is that too much to ask? in MOP's diet he mentioned, seems to me like he has knocked out sweeteners altogether, not just HFCS.

Actually I reference having a piece of dark chocolate at night sometimes for a snack...I get my fair share of sugar during the week. The Kashi breakfast bar I absolutely love has dark chocolate chips in it but no HFCS, and I probably eat 5-6 of those a week...taste like a candy bar almost. I also eat a Kashi Cookie that has 3g of fiber per cookie and they taste amazing. I do get sugar but I don't eat Doritos and Oreos anymore so I have cut way back...but I eat all natural sweets and treats during the week.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

The other thing that is great is signing up for local CSA program. We get 10lbs of locally grown, organic produce each week. It's like a challenge to eat it all before next weeks shipment.

??????

Sorry. Community Supported Agriculture. This is the one we belong to, but they are everywhere. Here is a locator. The premise is that you pay a flat up-front fee for a set amount of produce per week. You get whatever is in season and its all fresh, local, and organic. Ours also includes a newsletter with recipes to use whatever you got (which is helpful becuase you get stuff that you otherwise wouldnt buy). I love it. As I said in another thread, Tuesdays is pretty much "stir fry night". Whatever is leftover come Tuesday gets tossed in the Wok.

That is a really good idea.Here's something funny. I live in the Garden State. Our farms get a lot of play. I just did a search and there isn't one of these things within 30 miles of my town - and the 1 that is 30+ miles away only does berries.

But I'm thinking I will have a family meeting soon about changing our diet.

 

[Voice Of Reason]

It really isn't that to change your diet, if you go about 3 weeks without HFCS or any massive doses of sugar, then you'll likely start to detox yourself and stop craving it. It is even easier if you add in more fruits and veggies as body will get more nutrients and won't crave as much.

 

[Chaka]

Some have talked about a paleo diet. Well, a paleo diet would need very little insulin response.

I'm a big fan.

 

[nortobc]

for those of you who cut out HFCS and seen dramatic results - would you not see the same results in cutting out sugar in general?Is HFCS significantly worse than table sugar, and why?

Significantly worse. I'd point back to the article I posted above from the NY Times. The infiltration of HFCS into our food pretty much coincided with the obesity epidemic and the rise in Type II Diabetes. Summary: HFCS goes straight into your blood as glucose eliciting an insulin response. Insulin's job in the body is to lower blood sugar. It takes sugar from your blood and stores it in fat cells. It is necessary for your body to store fat. So after the insulin sweeps away all the energy in your body and makes fat, your body then feels hungry. You eat again and the HFCS does it again. Diabetes occurs when your body starts becoming insulin sensitive and the body needs to create more insulin to do the same work.Your body needs fuel and a constant burning fuel is much better. Table sugar takes longer for your body to break down into glucose (still quick compared to a lot of things) and thus is metabolized a bit slower into your blood. This means less insulin is needed. Less insulin = Good. Some have talked about a paleo diet. Well, a paleo diet would need very little insulin response.

but wouldn't you see similar results in eliminating/reducing all types of sugars althogether? or is that too much to ask? in MOP's diet he mentioned, seems to me like he has knocked out sweeteners altogether, not just HFCS.

All sugar is not equal. HFCS is half glucose and half fructose. It goes almost straight to your blood. You hear the term blood sugar but this does not = sugar. Blood sugar is glucose. Your body converts all carbohydrates to glucose to burn as energy. The more processing your body has to do, the slower a carb is released into your system. Since you burn this as fuel, a slow release is good. It gives you a constant blood sugar. If you get a spike in glucose, your body reacts by releasing insulin to store it as fat. Then later on when you need energy, you will burn this fat. Since you stored all that glucose, the insulin response makes your body crave more food fairly quickly. If you had a slow response, there is less insulin and the carbs are burned over a longer period of time. This means you process more of what you eat rather than store it as fat. It also means you are less hungry. It's very easy to eat too many calories when you eat high GI foods. Conversely, since going on a low GI diet, I have a hard time eating enough calories. I'm just not very hungry. Anyway, it would be virtually impossible to cut out all sugars unless you were on Atkins. Almost all fruits and some vegetables have naturally occuring fructose. Most of these are also high in fiber which is tough for your body to break down so it helps in slowing these sugars into your blood. You should avoid spiking your blood sugar level because it creates an insulin response. Not all sugar has that much of an effect.

but if the point is to reduce your overall glucose intake, shouldn't all sugars be reduced? This thread implies that replacing HFCS with cane sugar would be enough. People are advocating buying sugar cane based soft drinks, as opposed to HFCS soft drinks. What is the point of that? You will still be getting a glucose surge when the sucrose breaks down, so I don't understand what the point is.

I'm apparently not explaining this well. Imagine if you have a pool (maybe you have one so you don't have to imagine). You have a machine that slowly release chlorine into it so that there is always a good level of chlorine and the pool stays clean. Alternatively, you can take a week's worth of chlorine and just dump it in the pool. In both cases, you get the same amount of chlorine but you have very different results.What your body does when you drop the gallon of chlorine in it - ie HFCS - is it releases an alternative chemical (insulin) to clear it out. Your body is preparing for a fast. It stores that fat until you desperately need it. But now it needs more chlorine. So you need to eat more. Your body tells you to give it more chlorine. Your whole system is thrown off. You end up eating more (a lot more) because your body is not designed to handle that kind of crap. Cane sugar is digested slower. It is not the chemical dump (although too much still is) that HFCS is. Even if you eat the exact same amount of carbs, the difference is that you will hurt the chemical balance of your body (plus you will be hungry all the time). And do it enough and you will develop heart problems, liver problems, diabetes. If you respond to your body asking for more food, you will have all those problems and be a fat ### to boot.

So what if you eat the HFCS but don't eat again when you get hungary?

 

[nortobc]

This makes me think that the Atkins Diet might be better the currently treated. Get rid of all processed foods, eat proteins and whole grains. Granted, the guy that eats nothing but greasy cheesesteaks covered with butter isn't exactly living healthy, but if you do the diet right, and eat the whole grains and add in the greens you should eat anyway, you are doing your body right for the most part.

This is basically my diet. Throw in a banana and apple each day.

 

[jdoggydogg]

That hippy-dippy health conscientious California lifestyle is getting into your head bro.Eat what tastes good and F the rest. I got mine.

You are talking to a guy that was quietly working his way up to 300 lbs...I started January 16th of this year and cleared my entire kitchen of anything that had this crap in it...I don't even have a once in awhile coc cola anymore...if I want a coke I go to Whole Foods and get an organic soda that at least has pure cane sugar in it. I have dropped a lot of weight almost 50 lbs...we aren't even in June yet. Exercise of course too but this particular culprit has taken lives form people, the same as nicotine in cigarettes but society thinks this is OK to eat becasue they trust the FDA and their government...and since this board doesn't seem to trust the government on much else in this world why would you leave your health in their hands? I'm sure many of you don't, but some others need to seek out some info on all the crap that is going into your food. Like today, right now, before you eat that bagel.

First, you're 100% correct to crusade against HFCS. It's bad, bad stuff. Second, those Whole Foods sodas TASTE a lot better. The real sugar just is better for you and better tasting.

 

[prefontaine]

for those of you who cut out HFCS and seen dramatic results - would you not see the same results in cutting out sugar in general?

Is HFCS significantly worse than table sugar, and why?

Significantly worse. I'd point back to the article I posted above from the NY Times. The infiltration of HFCS into our food pretty much coincided with the obesity epidemic and the rise in Type II Diabetes. Summary: HFCS goes straight into your blood as glucose eliciting an insulin response. Insulin's job in the body is to lower blood sugar. It takes sugar from your blood and stores it in fat cells. It is necessary for your body to store fat. So after the insulin sweeps away all the energy in your body and makes fat, your body then feels hungry. You eat again and the HFCS does it again. Diabetes occurs when your body starts becoming insulin sensitive and the body needs to create more insulin to do the same work.

Your body needs fuel and a constant burning fuel is much better. Table sugar takes longer for your body to break down into glucose (still quick compared to a lot of things) and thus is metabolized a bit slower into your blood. This means less insulin is needed. Less insulin = Good. Some have talked about a paleo diet. Well, a paleo diet would need very little insulin response.

but wouldn't you see similar results in eliminating/reducing all types of sugars althogether? or is that too much to ask? in MOP's diet he mentioned, seems to me like he has knocked out sweeteners altogether, not just HFCS.

All sugar is not equal. HFCS is half glucose and half fructose. It goes almost straight to your blood. You hear the term blood sugar but this does not = sugar. Blood sugar is glucose. Your body converts all carbohydrates to glucose to burn as energy. The more processing your body has to do, the slower a carb is released into your system. Since you burn this as fuel, a slow release is good. It gives you a constant blood sugar. If you get a spike in glucose, your body reacts by releasing insulin to store it as fat. Then later on when you need energy, you will burn this fat. Since you stored all that glucose, the insulin response makes your body crave more food fairly quickly. If you had a slow response, there is less insulin and the carbs are burned over a longer period of time. This means you process more of what you eat rather than store it as fat. It also means you are less hungry. It's very easy to eat too many calories when you eat high GI foods. Conversely, since going on a low GI diet, I have a hard time eating enough calories. I'm just not very hungry.

Anyway, it would be virtually impossible to cut out all sugars unless you were on Atkins. Almost all fruits and some vegetables have naturally occuring fructose. Most of these are also high in fiber which is tough for your body to break down so it helps in slowing these sugars into your blood. You should avoid spiking your blood sugar level because it creates an insulin response. Not all sugar has that much of an effect.

but if the point is to reduce your overall glucose intake, shouldn't all sugars be reduced? This thread implies that replacing HFCS with cane sugar would be enough. People are advocating buying sugar cane based soft drinks, as opposed to HFCS soft drinks. What is the point of that? You will still be getting a glucose surge when the sucrose breaks down, so I don't understand what the point is.

I'm apparently not explaining this well. Imagine if you have a pool (maybe you have one so you don't have to imagine). You have a machine that slowly release chlorine into it so that there is always a good level of chlorine and the pool stays clean. Alternatively, you can take a week's worth of chlorine and just dump it in the pool. In both cases, you get the same amount of chlorine but you have very different results.What your body does when you drop the gallon of chlorine in it - ie HFCS - is it releases an alternative chemical (insulin) to clear it out. Your body is preparing for a fast. It stores that fat until you desperately need it. But now it needs more chlorine. So you need to eat more. Your body tells you to give it more chlorine. Your whole system is thrown off. You end up eating more (a lot more) because your body is not designed to handle that kind of crap. Cane sugar is digested slower. It is not the chemical dump (although too much still is) that HFCS is.

Even if you eat the exact same amount of carbs, the difference is that you will hurt the chemical balance of your body (plus you will be hungry all the time). And do it enough and you will develop heart problems, liver problems, diabetes. If you respond to your body asking for more food, you will have all those problems and be a fat ### to boot.

So what if you eat the HFCS but don't eat again when you get hungary?

 

[Ministry of Pain]

That hippy-dippy health conscientious California lifestyle is getting into your head bro.Eat what tastes good and F the rest. I got mine.

You are talking to a guy that was quietly working his way up to 300 lbs...I started January 16th of this year and cleared my entire kitchen of anything that had this crap in it...I don't even have a once in awhile coc cola anymore...if I want a coke I go to Whole Foods and get an organic soda that at least has pure cane sugar in it. I have dropped a lot of weight almost 50 lbs...we aren't even in June yet. Exercise of course too but this particular culprit has taken lives form people, the same as nicotine in cigarettes but society thinks this is OK to eat becasue they trust the FDA and their government...and since this board doesn't seem to trust the government on much else in this world why would you leave your health in their hands? I'm sure many of you don't, but some others need to seek out some info on all the crap that is going into your food. Like today, right now, before you eat that bagel.

First, you're 100% correct to crusade against HFCS. It's bad, bad stuff. Second, those Whole Foods sodas TASTE a lot better. The real sugar just is better for you and better tasting.

Agree, the Coke made by 365 they sell is far and away the best...and you pay a lot more for pure can sugar sodas in places that specialize in those types of drinks. Soda Pop Stop in Eagle Rock for example seels tons of specialty pure cane sodas...real Coca Colas imported from mexico etc...that sounds weird.But yes the sodas taste better without the HFCS.

 

[HoTnickZ]

So I guess that rules Corn Pops out.. I eat pretty well, but have such weaknesses.

 

[crystal]

I see your point, but Gatorade just tastes so damn good and it does have electrolytes (maybe it's psychology after good marketing, but I just "feel" better after drinking it). If you work out and burn up all the calories you take in, what's the difference among the sources of the calories you consume?

woz>hiFirst of all. "electrolytes" is just a fancy word for salt. Gatorade is just salty poison water. Drink water when you work out.

I don't know the exact answer to your last question, but it has to do with how the frutcose, sucrose, and glucose molecules react to each other naturally as opposed t chemically altered.

Right, and salt helps you maintain hydration. Also, I should have stated I only drink Gatorade before and after physical activity or during baseball where there is a prolonged lull between short bursts of activity to keep my calories up and glucose levels high. This is one of the main gripes I had in my nutrition class when my prof would bash different sources of energy. She could never answer my question of what makes one "calorie" better than another? For example, what's the nutritional difference between burning 200 calories of high fructose corn syrup and 200 calories of whole grain carbs? I understand it that it takes the same amount of physical "work" to burn one calorie. Therefore, the source of that calorie shouldn't matter... so the important factor when consuming foods is total cals - not the variety of sources of those total cals.

proninja and prefontaine have already given some good answers regarding the metabolization of the HFCS vs. whole grains into glucose.You asked about the nutritional difference between HFCS and whole grains, so I'll point out that, other than empty calories, HFCS doesn't have any nutrients. No amino acids or fatty acids, no vitamins or minerals, no fiber. Whole grains have all of those things.

One of the consequences of eating empty calories is that you're still hungry afterwards, so you end up eating more total calories.

If you eat nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, you will be much more satiated and will consume fewer total calories.

So HFCS sucks for lots of reasons.

 

[crystal]

for those of you who cut out HFCS and seen dramatic results - would you not see the same results in cutting out sugar in general?Is HFCS significantly worse than table sugar, and why?

Significantly worse. I'd point back to the article I posted above from the NY Times. The infiltration of HFCS into our food pretty much coincided with the obesity epidemic and the rise in Type II Diabetes. Summary: HFCS goes straight into your blood as glucose eliciting an insulin response. Insulin's job in the body is to lower blood sugar. It takes sugar from your blood and stores it in fat cells. It is necessary for your body to store fat. So after the insulin sweeps away all the energy in your body and makes fat, your body then feels hungry. You eat again and the HFCS does it again. Diabetes occurs when your body starts becoming insulin sensitive and the body needs to create more insulin to do the same work.Your body needs fuel and a constant burning fuel is much better. Table sugar takes longer for your body to break down into glucose (still quick compared to a lot of things) and thus is metabolized a bit slower into your blood. This means less insulin is needed. Less insulin = Good. Some have talked about a paleo diet. Well, a paleo diet would need very little insulin response.

but wouldn't you see similar results in eliminating/reducing all types of sugars althogether? or is that too much to ask? in MOP's diet he mentioned, seems to me like he has knocked out sweeteners altogether, not just HFCS.

All sugar is not equal. HFCS is half glucose and half fructose. It goes almost straight to your blood. You hear the term blood sugar but this does not = sugar. Blood sugar is glucose. Your body converts all carbohydrates to glucose to burn as energy. The more processing your body has to do, the slower a carb is released into your system. Since you burn this as fuel, a slow release is good. It gives you a constant blood sugar. If you get a spike in glucose, your body reacts by releasing insulin to store it as fat. Then later on when you need energy, you will burn this fat. Since you stored all that glucose, the insulin response makes your body crave more food fairly quickly. If you had a slow response, there is less insulin and the carbs are burned over a longer period of time. This means you process more of what you eat rather than store it as fat. It also means you are less hungry. It's very easy to eat too many calories when you eat high GI foods. Conversely, since going on a low GI diet, I have a hard time eating enough calories. I'm just not very hungry. Anyway, it would be virtually impossible to cut out all sugars unless you were on Atkins. Almost all fruits and some vegetables have naturally occuring fructose. Most of these are also high in fiber which is tough for your body to break down so it helps in slowing these sugars into your blood. You should avoid spiking your blood sugar level because it creates an insulin response. Not all sugar has that much of an effect.

but if the point is to reduce your overall glucose intake, shouldn't all sugars be reduced? This thread implies that replacing HFCS with cane sugar would be enough. People are advocating buying sugar cane based soft drinks, as opposed to HFCS soft drinks. What is the point of that? You will still be getting a glucose surge when the sucrose breaks down, so I don't understand what the point is.

I'm apparently not explaining this well. Imagine if you have a pool (maybe you have one so you don't have to imagine). You have a machine that slowly release chlorine into it so that there is always a good level of chlorine and the pool stays clean. Alternatively, you can take a week's worth of chlorine and just dump it in the pool. In both cases, you get the same amount of chlorine but you have very different results.What your body does when you drop the gallon of chlorine in it - ie HFCS - is it releases an alternative chemical (insulin) to clear it out. Your body is preparing for a fast. It stores that fat until you desperately need it. But now it needs more chlorine. So you need to eat more. Your body tells you to give it more chlorine. Your whole system is thrown off. You end up eating more (a lot more) because your body is not designed to handle that kind of crap. Cane sugar is digested slower. It is not the chemical dump (although too much still is) that HFCS is. Even if you eat the exact same amount of carbs, the difference is that you will hurt the chemical balance of your body (plus you will be hungry all the time). And do it enough and you will develop heart problems, liver problems, diabetes. If you respond to your body asking for more food, you will have all those problems and be a fat ### to boot.

So what if you eat the HFCS but don't eat again when you get hungary?

You'll be malnourished and have vitamin- and mineral-deficiencies.