Posted on 01/11/2007 9:09:41 PM PST by PizzaDriver
Today Bill OReilly blamed "Sugar" for our obseity. HE, like most Americans, has confused High Fruitose Corn Syrup with Sugar.
In the Days when Soft Drinks and Fast Food actually used Sugar, 12 ounces was a BIG Pepsi. When Donut Batter included real Sugar, a box of a Dozen was expected to sevre 6 or more.
We got Full, not FAT.
Then Cuba fell to Castro. Industry discovered "Corn sweeteners".
Today, Government and the Media call "High Fruitose Corn Syrup" SUGAR. Then they blame "SUGAR" for our Obeisity.
That's Pizza Driver's point. Which is why you feel "fuller" on less w/real sugar.
Talk about a premium: I buy two cases of soda for $10.00 when they're on sale, so I'll be paying double, before shipping. Should be worth it, though.
I have seen studies that have seen differences in the metabolic transmitters to the brain satiety region with high fructose corn syrup. I don't have time to dig them up again, but I will later.
Hopefully those studies will explain how glucose and fructose from high fructose corn syrup differ from glucose and fructose from hydrolyzed sucrose. If the satiety profiles are different then the formulas and structures of glucose and fructose from one would have to be different than the other. They're not.
Sucrose is hydrolyzed very quickly in the gut and shouldn't vary much from hfcs. If anything, high fructose corn syrup, a monsaccharide, should get glucose into your blood sooner and, therefore, create a feeling of fullness faster than sucrose. This is the opposite of what you're claiming.
How much did cane sugar consumption drop? How does fructose+glucose consumption compare between those years?
I predict that the use of HFCS as a fuel source in the production of methanol will drive the price upward as it competes for its use in the food industry.
You sure about that?
Sigh.
None of those items, if made at home, would require sugar. So how come it's put in the processed versions? The only thing I can think of is that the sweet taste camouflages what would otherwise be a bland recipe.
This is my non-scientific observation, and as far as all of the technical stuff, I will leave it to people who know what they are talking about. I don't.
I only wish I'd thought of it first. Darn.
All I can say is...Don't blame sugar. It doesn't force anybody to eat it.
"I predict that the use of HFCS as a fuel source in the production of methanol will drive the price upward as it competes for its use in the food industry."
This was recently posted on the Free Republic as verification of the above statement:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1766482/posts
Don't forget that it is also used because tariffs and restrictions on sugar imports makes our sugar about twice as expensive as sugar on the world market.
This was recently posted on the Free Republic as verification of the above statement:
That thread did not mention methanol.
read later
Yeah, that's what I thought.
You can thank the ongoing protection of domestic sugar growers for most of this change. However, since 1970, HFCS has replaced sugar by a nearly one-for-one basis.
One thing that I found that I have no answer for is how few Asians were overweight. Are there any answers for this observation?
Americans are overweight because they consume more calories than they burn. Their choices of food may be poor but it's the quantity of calories that's the root of the problem. Some folks like to blame it on carbs but if you ever looked at what the old time farm families ate (high carb diet) and then considered how hard they worked, you realize that the formula for becoming overweight is pretty simple. When you look at photos of Americans in the early 20th century, you'll find that there weren't that many fat people. We ate high starch diets but worked like hell. For the most part the only fat people were the boozers.
Asians also consume a diet high in carbs. They just don't eat as much as we do. When I lived in Japan, we'd go out for sushi and, after just five or six pieces, my Japanese friends would be finished and ready to move on. I was just getting started and would find myself at a noodle shop or McDonald's later that night. They just don't eat as much as we do.
Specifically, that “unlike glucose, fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion or enhance leptin production.”
This is junk science. Since your liver easily converts fructose into glucose, that glucose will stimulate insulin, leptin and ghrelin once it enters the blood. See my post above on satiation.
They postulate that dietary fructose may be contributing to American obesity issues because “insulin and leptin act as key afferent signals in the regulation of food intake and body weight.”
Then how can they blame this on HFCS and not sugar when both are made up of glucose and fructose? Since this is a fact, why do they demonize HFCS and not sucrose? If you blame one for something bad you must also implicate the other.
In other words, this study proposes that because fructose doesn’t trip our sense of satiety as sugar would, we are, perhaps, eating more sugars to compensate, and upping overall caloric intake in the process.
Huh? Sugar (sucrose) is 50% fructose. Since HFCS and sucrose are made up of the same ingredients (fructose and glucose), in almost identical proportions, this has to be nonsense.
Further, they extrapolate that because HFCS is usually higher in fructose than table sugar, HFCS can be correlated with parallel increases in obesity.
There are two forms of HFCS used today. One, that's used mostly in baked goods and most other applications outside of beverages, is only 42% fructose. That's 8% less fructose than sucrose. Of course, this research has to ignore the fact that the body converts all fructose to glucose. The other formulation, used mostly in soft drinks, is 55% fructose and 45% glucose. There is no way that minor difference in quantities is responsible for anything other than contributing to the overactive imaginations of some bogus researchers.
I predict that the use of HFCS as a fuel source in the production of methanol will drive the price upward as it competes for its use in the food industry
They use HFCS as a fuel source?
With the recent dietary revelations maybe it would be wise if we can divert some of that HFCS to methanol production after all.
Dietary revelations? What, that people are eating too much and not exercising enough? No revelation there. People who believe that HFCS is responsible for obesity don't grasp even the basics of nutrition. They'll believe just about anything if it sounds technical and gives them something to blame. Again, not exactly a revelation.
HFCS is pretty much used as a sugar replacer. Where there was once sugar, or would be sugar, there is now HFCS. They normally use equal amounts since the sweetness is almost identical to that of sugar. The primary reason this substitution is being made is because we have to pay so much more for sugar in this country than the rest of the world. Thank the protectionists who cost us more than $2.5 billion a year on sugar alone. Some other products use HFCS because it provides a better texture (more chewy) and helps to retain moisture. It also mixes much better than sugar and resists breaking down better than sugar.
I have seen it as an ingredient in hot dogs, spaghetti sauce, chicken pot pies, and salad dressings.
I think most of your examples contain corn syrup rather than HFCS. Corn syrup is mostly glucose and is not as sweet as HFCS. Americans like their foods, hot dogs, pot pies and spag sauce included, with a little sweetness. Corn syrup also helps to maintain moistness and freshness. They may also use this to create a "flavor" without having to add more expensive seasonings. Mostly though, it's used to add a little sweetness to products because that's what American consumers prefer.
Thanks, that's what I thought.
I concur!
I misstated. I don't know why I wrote that HFCS could be used for the production of methanol. I meant to write ethanol. I do know the difference.
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