APR 11

I like what you're doing on your blog... so much so I just gave you the Liebster award. Find out about it by checking out my home page. Hope you like getting it as much as I did - Sharon (and Vinny)

Here's why HFCS is not similar to other refined sugars: it's the fructose. The human body does not digest and break down fructose as fast as it can the other refined sugars to separate out the glucose which gives a high-energy boost almost immediately. The body slowly breaks down fructose, and stores it as FAT until it is needed for sustained energy expenditure instead of a quick boost. Several high-quality studies verify this fact.

The other unfortunate coincidence is that video games and other sedentary pursuits for children (and adults too) happened to become really popular at the same time this less digestible sugar was being added to many foods and beverages. If kids and adults had remained as active as they were up to the late 1970s, the impact of the HFCS on obesity rates would have been much less pronounced. So HFCS has had a "double whammy" effect on the health and weight of people of all ages who consume it.

I limit my intake of HFCS as much as possible and have even added another job to my work schedule - one that allows me to burn off lots of calories three times a week and get paid for it. What kind of wonder job is this? I am a church custodian, who vacuums, dusts and washes over 5000 square feet of interior space weekly. It takes me 5 to 6 hours a week of intense, repetitive physical exertion to accomplish the task. A great workout, however: I have burned off about 20 pounds in the past 16 months, and kept them off. (Dropped 2 clothing sizes in the process.)

It's not about whether or not HFCS is a specific type of sugar, it's the fact that HFCS or other sugar is added to nearly every processed food on the market (whether they need it or not). Why do pickles need HFCS? Look at the label on most major brands and you'll see HFCS. The added sugar and processed foods are one of the reasons for the obesity epidemic and the increase of type 2 diabetes. It doesn't matter what type of sugar you eat, if you eat too much it's unhealthy. We shouldn't subsidize that.

HFCS has only a slighter higher percentage of fructose to glucose than normal sugar (sucrose) does.

Sugar and HFCS are both bad for you. If you don't want to be fat, remove both from your diet.

Complete avoidance is not practical and advisable if and unless you are diabetic. If you are going to avoid sugar, you have to stick to some artificial sweetener about which present results of some ongoing studies reveal their adverse health effects. So it is better to control the intake of sugar in proportion to your weight and daily requirement.