High Fructose Corn Syrup article. This guy is a moron.

[KetoOwnsMe]

If You're Fat, THIS May Be to Blame
Quick! Go get your favorite packaged food. Look at the label. Does it have an ingredient called high fructose corn syrup? If so, beware. It could be making you fat--and you don't even know it.

Food manufacturers love to use high fructose corn syrup because it's cheap and sweet. In October 2003, researchers at the University of Michigan concluded that fructose in high levels elevates dangerous triglycerides by as much as 32 percent and makes the body's fat burning and storage system sluggish, which causes weight gain.

Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found more evidence of a link between a rapid rise in obesity and a corn product used to sweeten soft drinks and food since the 1970s, reports The Associated Press. Specifically, the data showed an increase in the use of high fructose corn sweeteners in the late 1970s and 1980s that was "coincidental with the epidemic of obesity," said one of the researchers, Dr. George A. Bray, a longtime obesity scientist with Louisiana State University System's Pennington Biomedical Research Center. The research was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"Body weights rose slowly for most of the 20th century until the late 1980s," Bray told AP. "At that time, many countries showed a sudden increase in the rate at which obesity has been galloping forward."

High fructose corn syrup is not a natural product. Called HFCS for short, it is processed from hydrolyzed corn starch and contains:

14 percent fructose

43 percent dextrose

31 percent disaccharides

12 percent other products
Over the past 15 years, our consumption of HCFS has increased a belt-busting 250 percent. By some estimates, we get as much as 9 percent of our daily calories from fructose.

What foods are likely to contain high fructose corn syrup? Soft drinks, juice, candy, baked goods, cookies, syrup, yogurt, soup, ketchup, breakfast cereal, and pasta sauces.

Still, Bray insists there is not enough evidence to say there is a direct link between high fructose corn syrup and obesity. Spokesmen with the food and beverage industry agree. "It's not about the high fructose corn syrup being a part of foods, it's about how many calories we're eating against how many calories we're burning," Alison Kretser, a registered dietitian and director of scientific and nutrition policy for the Grocery Manufacturers of America, insisted to AP. She may be right. Even the USDA report lays the blame on people for eating too much and not exercising enough.

He's in denial.
http://channels.aimtoday.com/homerealestate/package.jsp?name=fte/hiddeningredient/hiddeningredient

[KetoOwnsMe]

Ok so if they have some evidence that shows Fructose makes your body's "fat burning processs sluggish", why would it matter how many calories you're eating or burning? No matter what your current activity level is, you shouldn't have to excersise MORE just because you're eating corn syrup.

[kyrie]

I was always suspicious of high fructose corn syrup, before I even knew what it was, because it
a) sounded nasty, and
b) was one of the first ingrediants in all of the junkiest food.

At least, that was the basis of my arguments about it in high school. I'm now consuming zero hfcs, and very pleased about it.

[nobimbo]

Too Much Fructose May Skew Appetite Hormones

Wed Jun 9, 4:20 PM ET
By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Consuming too much fructose -- a form of sugar found in corn syrup, honey and fruit -- appears to alter levels of hormones involved in appetite regulation in such a way as to encourage overeating, a new study suggests.


After people in the study ate a meal followed by a drink flavored with the same amount of fructose found in two cans of soda, they showed relatively low levels of insulin and leptin, hormones that help people know that they are full.


On the other hand, they showed relatively high levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates eating.


These hormonal changes "we think could promote overeating," and subsequently obesity, study author Dr. Karen L. Teff told Reuters Health.


Teff explained that sugar occurs in two forms, fructose and glucose. Glucose, but not fructose, stimulates insulin secretion, which in turn regulates leptin production.


Both fructose and glucose are naturally found in fruit and fruit juices. However, over the years manufacturers have sweetened sodas and some foods with corn syrup, which contains concentrated amounts of fructose, she said.


"If people are drinking five sodas a day, they're getting a huge amount of calories, plus they're getting a large amount of fructose," she said.


Based on these findings, Teff recommended that people limit their intake of soda and other drinks containing large amounts of fructose. "I've changed my eating patterns because of this, honestly," she said in an interview.


To investigate whether drinking fructose plays a role in obesity, Teff and her colleagues asked 12 normal-weight women to wash down balanced meals with drinks sweetened with either fructose or glucose.


When the women drank the fructose drink, their levels of insulin and leptin were lower than when they consumed a drink flavored with glucose, and levels of ghrelin were higher, the researchers report in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.


In addition, drinking the fructose drink was associated with a spike in levels of blood fats, a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease.


Teff, who is based at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, explained that drinking glucose-sweetened beverages may not encourage overeating as much as fructose drinks because glucose triggers insulin release from the pancreas, which tells people they are no longer hungry. Moreover, glucose is metabolized in a healthier way by the liver than fructose, she noted.


Teff emphasized that there is no way to avoid fructose, which is a natural molecule. But drinking large amounts of it in soda, without any other nutrients, is not natural, she said.


"I don't think there's anything wrong with (fructose), it's just that people are drinking it in large quantities," Teff noted.


SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, June 4, 2004.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...e_appetite_dc_1

[MyJourney]

well I suppose the tiny amount of fructose in some fruits that have other nutrients and fiber is fine, but using it as a sweetner in the form of HFCS is not.

I remember a time when people were all talking about using granulated fructose instead of sugar because its sooo much better for you.

I thought stuff sweetened with fruit juice concentrate was healthy.

I dont know what I was thinking!!!

[ceberezin]

According to the Eades, High fructose corn syrup creates less of an insulin surge than glucose, but it's actually worse since it acts directly on the liver to induce insulin resistance. That's why there's an alarming rise in type II diabetes among adolescents who drink lots of soda. It's becoming clearer every day that there's a direct link between HFCS and childhood obesity.

When my son was thirteen, he noticed he was getting a little paunchy. He decided to cut out soda and dropped 10 pounds very quickly. And he wasn't a heavy soda drinker to begin with.

[mio1996]

I think that most of America's sugar problem is soda. Most overweight people would lose tremendous weight if they stopped drinking them. Also, that article shows that diabetics certainly should stop eating fructose-sweetened candy. What a sham that candy is!

[caligrrl]

I've read for years about how bad high fructose corn syrup is. Why do people think they can concoct food products in a lab and our body will know what to do with them?

[Ginga]

You are so right!! I stopped drinking regular soda a few years ago and the weight just kept coming off. I didn't change my eating habits or anything.

[CindySue48]

Have any of you seen this in ingredients? Evaporated Cane Juice.

I saw an article about a new "heart healthy" cereal. (http://www.kashi.com/hrt2hrt.html It has25 carbs, 5 are fiber, per 3/4c serving.

Here's what I was able to find on Evaporated Cane Juice:

http://www.floridacrystals.com/ingredients/ingredient_partner_line.asp

"Florida Crystals Evaporated Cane Juice sweeteners are derived from the first carbohydrate of photosynthesis, sucrose. In addition to sweetness, their functionality plays a role in flavoring, gluten development, leavening, protein coagulation, caramelization, Maillard Reactions (browning) and surface texture."

[cc48510]

Have any of you seen this in ingredients? Evaporated Cane Juice.

Evaporated Cane Juice is basically Brown or White Sugar. The main difference if I remember correctly is that Evaporated Cane Juice is extracted using a slightly different process than Brown and White Sugars. The difference in the process supposedly makes it less Refined, which is BS IMHO. No matter how they extract the sugar from the Cane, it doesn't change the fact it is still Cane Sugar.

[CindySue48]

cc: "which is BS IMHO"

I agree!!!! Sugar is sugar.

[woodpecker]

Sugar Alcohols

Sugar alcohols are chemically alcohols, but are derived from sugar molecules. They include sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, lactitol, maltitol, and others. They vary in their sweetness, ranging from about half as sweet as sugar to about as sweet.

Sugar alcohols, or polyols, may be used in place of sugar by most people on a low-carbohydrate diet or who have diabetes. Polyols are slowly and incompletely absorbed from the small intestine into the blood. Absorbed polyols are converted to energy by processes that require little or no insulin. Some of the polyol that is not absorbed into the blood is broken down into fatty acids in the large intestine.

Since they are incompletely absorbed by the intestine, over-consumption may produce a laxative effect in some people. They are often used in "sugar free" candies and syrups. They have about half to three-fourths as many calories as sugar. They also do not promote tooth decay.

Although they are much preferable to sugar, low-carb dieters may still wish to avoid them because some people report that sugar alcohols act as "trigger foods," causing carb cravings or binges.

The information below provides a summary of each of the different sugar alcohols currently used in the U.S. as ingredients in food products. Nutrition labels include them as either "Sugar Alcohols" or as the individual name if there is only one used in the ingredients. They are also included in the "Total Carbohydrate" count. The names of individual sugar alcohols are listed in the ingredients on food products.

Erythritol Erythritol is a white crystalline powder that is odorless, with a clean sweet taste that is similar to sucrose. It is approximately 70% as sweet as sucrose and flows easily due to its non-hygroscopic character. Like other polyols, erythritol does not promote tooth decay and is safe for people with diabetes. However, erythritol’s caloric value of 0.2 calories per gram and high digestive tolerance distinguishes it from some other polyols. It has approximately 7 to 13% the calories of other polyols and 5% the calories of sucrose. Because erythritol is rapidly absorbed in the small intestine and rapidly eliminated by the body within 24 hours, laxative side effects sometimes associated with excessive polyol consumption are unlikely when consuming erythritol containing foods.

Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysates- A mixture of sorbitol, maltitol and hydrogenated oligosaccharides. Depending on the type of HSH desired the maltitol and sorbitol content can be varied, the sweetness of HSH therefore varies from 25 to 50 percent that of sucrose. Suitable for a wide variety of confectionery. Also known as maltitol syrup and hydrogenated glucose syrup. FDA allows the use of a caloric value of 3.0 calories per gram. Permitted for use in many countries, including the U.S.

Isomalt- A disaccharide polyol, approximately 45-65 percent as sweet as sucrose. Can be used in candies, gums, ice cream, jams and jellies, fillings and frostings, beverages and baked products. As a sweetener/bulking agent, it has no off-flavors and works well in combination with other sweeteners. FDA allows the use of a caloric value of 2.0 calories per gram. Permitted for use in many countries, including the U.S.

Lactitol- Sweet-tasting disaccharide polyol derived from lactose. Provides bulk and texture of sucrose with half the calories. Thirty to 40 percent as sweet as sucrose. Potential applications include: baked goods, chewing gum, confections and frostings, frozen dairy desserts and mixes, candy, jams and jellies. FDA allows the use of a caloric value of 2.0 calories per gram. Approved in many countries, including the U.S.

Maltitol- A disaccharide polyol produced by the hydrogenation of maltose. It occurs widely in nature (e.g., in chicory and roasted malt). About 0.9 times as sweet as sucrose with similar sweetness and body. Suitable for many kinds of confectionery, particularly good for candy coating. FDA allows the use of a caloric value of 2.1 calories per gram. Permitted for use in many countries, including the U.S.

Mannitol- A monosaccharide polyol, approximately 0.7 times as sweet as sucrose. Used as a bulking agent in powdered foods and as a dusting agent for chewing gum. Excessive consumption (more than 20 g/day) may have a laxative effect. FDA allows the use of a caloric value of 1.6 calories per gram. Permitted for use in many countries, including the U.S.

Sorbitol- A monosaccharide polyol approximately 0.5-0.7 times as sweet as sucrose. Used in special dietary foods including candies and gums. Excessive consumption (more than 50-80 g/day) may have a laxative effect. FDA allows the use of a caloric value of 2.6 calories per gram. Permitted for use in many countries, including the U.S.

Xylitol- A monosaccharide polyol derived from fruits and vegetables (e.g., lettuce, carrots, strawberries) and from plants and fibrous vegetation. Same sweetness, bulk and caloric value as sucrose. Used in chewing gums, foods such as gum drops and hard candy, and in pharmaceuticals and oral health products. FDA allows the use of a caloric value of 2.4 calories per gram. Permitted for use in many countries, including the U.S.

The information on this page is used with permission from the Calorie Control Council.

Sugar alcohols make it possible for many people to stay on a low-carb diet without cheating. Other dieters believe that they stimulate cravings. It's an individual choice. But keep in mind, most sugar alcohols will give most people gastric distress if consumed in excess.

Here's a short ditty that may drive home the point:


Ode to Sugar Alcohols
If sweets are the bane of you diet
And sugar causes insulin to spike
There's a substitute, and I think you should try it
Especially if sweet chocolates you like.

Sugar alcohols are the saviors of pleasure
Because they don't count as carbs, don't you see?
You can eat them at your own leisure,
Just be sure you have the bathroom door key.
-by Jerry Wilson

http://wilstar.com/lowcarb/sugaralcohols.htm