Sugar vs HFCS - The Experiment

[CWS4322]

I just think it is prudent to eat foods that do not have added sugar of any kind....learn to appreciate food without that "sweet" component...Learn to drink black tea / iced tea without sugar, coffee, etc.

 

[CWS4322]

I just don't like the idea that the food industry is cramming HFCS down our throats not because it's good for us but because it's cheaper for them to produce sugary foods if they don't have to buy real sugar.

And worse, they've used this cheap sugar replacement to offer unhealthy sugary (high in "junk" calories) food which tempts people who are on a small food budgets to substitute cheap sugary foods instead of healthy but more expensive alternatives.

I'm glad I don't have a sweet tooth. (I have a salt tooth.) These HFCS foods don't tempt me, but what bothers me is that they're sneaking it into our other foods too. KC Masterpiece (original) is my favorite BBQ sauce. I hadn't noticed that they sneaked HFCS into it. And worse, maybe all BBQ sauces will contain HFCS, because they can sell it at 1-2 cents less per bottle.

This is why I make my own marinades, BBQ sauces, etc. I can control what goes in re: sweetner.

 

[Addie]

When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I tried all the artificial sweeteners. They all left a metallic taste in my mouth. Fortunately I am not a sweets eater. So I decided I would give up ALL sweets as long as I could have real sugar in my coffee. I also became a label reader. I was mainly looking for ....ose sweeteners. Shopping became quite a challenge.

At that time I also was trying to get all the chemicals out of my body. I feel so much better when I cook from scratch than when using convenience foods. I use real butter because the margarines, and other spreads are mostly oils and chemicals. And you can't even compare the flavor. Real cheese is in my diet. Processed, cheese products, etc. are not real cheese. They are altered products. I am a real person. And I want real food. I drink whole milk. My bone density is high. I use half and half or real light cream in my coffee. But I drink black tea with a small amount of sugar.

 

[bakechef]

It was divine and way too small...I didn't know it was filled, nice surprise.

This experiment is important for folks who do not check their sugars, too.

Based on a study I read on NIH.gov about 8 months ago, the body uses the glucose component right away, fructose takes the body some work to break down so it is apt to store it as glucagon, what your body uses for emergency stores, when starving or in "Fight or Flight" responses...that rush of adrenalin uses up glucagon.

However, High Fructose Corn Syrups are manufactured, the body recognizes part of it but is not up to doing much with it, especially if it has a constant flush of them through the system. So the body stashes it in your liver after converting it to another energy source... FAT! This it creating fatty livers and fat people and also exhausts the body's ability to use it's own insulin effectively. There are your Type II Diabetics.

I believe this. In 2000 I weighed 270 lbs. I went to the doctor and had abnormal liver function, went for a sonogram and had fatty liver. I drank regular soda filled with hfcs. I went on a diet and lost a ton of weight and drank a lot of diet soda, the fatty liver corrected itself.

I gained the weight back, and then some, 290 lbs, still drinking diet soda, I had 6 month checkups because I was on Lipitor and a blood pressure med, and every 6 months there would be a liver function test, always came out normal (even before starting the meds). The only difference I wasn't drinking regular soda with hfcs.

Now I have most of the weight off again, and am off the meds, no diet soda, avoid hfcs whenever possible. I have a bit of Natural Bliss creamer (milk, cream, sugar, natural flavor) in my coffee with a packet of stevia sweetener. I use soda as a treat, and when I do have one, it is a real sugar sweetened Coke at the Farmer's market or a Sierra Mist (real sugar). When I get the Sierra Mist I usually share it with my partner, because the 20 oz bottle is almost too much. If you had told me a few years ago that I'd share a 20 oz bottle of soda with someone, I'd tell you that you were nuts! I have my hypoglycemia under control, what used to be a daily occurrence, is now a very rare one, and I know is has something to do with the hfcs, and artificial sweeteners.

 

[taxlady]

I just think it is prudent to eat foods that do not have added sugar of any kind....learn to appreciate food without that "sweet" component...Learn to drink black tea / iced tea without sugar, coffee, etc.

Well, I put milk in my black tea.

That rose hip and hibiscus tea we had was, of course, unsweetened.

A long time ago I put sugar in my coffee. I decided not to. I drank half strength coffee with extra cream for a couple of weeks. Now I can't stand sugar in my coffee.

A few years ago Stirling cut out the three teaspoons of sugar he was used to putting in his tea and coffee. In a period of about two months he lost 20 pounds. That was the only change in his diet.

My mother was diagnosed with type II diabetes in the '60s. I have considered it prudent to keep my sugar intake down, for a very long time.

We don't intentionally eat artificial sweeteners. When I buy ginger ale (it helps settle an upset tummy), I read the ingredients, looking for the sugar. I hate when I accidentally get the artificially sweetened stuff and the labels aren't all that clear.

 

[CWS4322]

You do know you can make your own ginger ale by steeping ginger root and adding that to club soda/seltzer?

 

[CWS4322]

PS--that tea was very refreshing. What brand is that? Or did you blend two?

 

[Steve Kroll]

I just don't like the idea that the food industry is cramming HFCS down our throats not because it's good for us but because it's cheaper for them to produce sugary foods if they don't have to buy real sugar.

Unfortunately, the food industry is an industry, and the bottom line is to minimize expenses and maximize profits for the shareholders. Most of them stopped caring decades ago.

 

[Dawgluver]

You do know you can make your own ginger ale by steeping ginger root and adding that to club soda/seltzer?

I did not know that. Will give it a try.

 

[CWS4322]

I did not know that. Will give it a try.

You can make a ginger syrup using fresh ginger root (but that needs sweetner) or you can steep it as if you were going to make ginger tea and add that to seltzer/club soda. The more ginger used, the stronger the ginger flavor.

 

[taxlady]

You do know you can make your own ginger ale by steeping ginger root and adding that to club soda/seltzer?

That sounds like a good idea, but it would be too gingery for Stirling. He doesn't like ginger tea. But, I would probably like it.

It might be more effort than one would want to expend when feeling crapulous. (Yes, with ginger infusion ready in the fridge or freezer)

 

[taxlady]

PS--that tea was very refreshing. What brand is that? Or did you blend two?

I just buy any old brand at the health food store. It comes blended and they have always been good. I think this is what we had. It might have been the last bags of a different brand.

If you add a bunch of honey, you can fool most kids into thinking it's cool-aid. A lot of kids don't want something "weird".

 

[Alix]

Thanks, it was a real chore...putting off that cupcake for a whole day, JUST for YOU folks!

You are a paragon of virtue and a Princess among women, er...ogres?

Thanks so much for doing this. Not only did I learn that HFCS will increase your blood sugar readings, I also learned that you measure differently in the US. If I had a reading of 124 or 130 points I'd be DEAD. Our standard is 4-7 is heaven, up to 10 is still a friend.

Also, thanks to taxlady for telling me about Stirling's weight loss when he eliminated the sugar from his coffee. BIG deal that I will share with a coworker who is really struggling to lose a few pounds. Oh, and that's a favorite tea of mine! Did you know it can help bring your BP down (up to 17 points diastolic) if you drink 3 cups a day regularly?

I'm being a bit more conscious of my sugar intake the last week thanks to this thread. I suspect that will change tomorrow when we hit the holiday trail. LOL!!

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Unfortunately, the food industry is an industry, and the bottom line is to minimize expenses and maximize profits for the shareholders. Most of them stopped caring decades ago.

The parasite isn't supposed to kill the host. Unfortunately the food industry seems to have adopted the tobacco industry model, okay to kill the host as long as it's done over a long time period, time enough for the host to breed more hosts.

 

[taxlady]

...
Also, thanks to taxlady for telling me about Stirling's weight loss when he eliminated the sugar from his coffee. BIG deal that I will share with a coworker who is really struggling to lose a few pounds. Oh, and that's a favorite tea of mine! Did you know it can help bring your BP down (up to 17 points diastolic) if you drink 3 cups a day regularly?

I'm being a bit more conscious of my sugar intake the last week thanks to this thread. I suspect that will change tomorrow when we hit the holiday trail. LOL!!

Just to be clear, Stirling didn't substitute an artificial sweetener for the sugar. He did add more cream to the coffee and more milk to the tea. He may have been consuming the same amount of calories from fat as he eliminated from sugar intake. Now, he can't stand the taste of sugar in coffee.

 

[Alix]

She's down to using 1% milk in her coffee so if we can just eliminate the sugar, things might move a bit for her. She won't use an artificial sweetener anyway, she doesn't like them. She's working on cleaning all artificial things out of her diet.

 

[Andy M.]

PF's experiment is good and bad. Good info to know but now I feel obligated to read more labels before purchasing stuff. This morning I find we are out of jam for the english muffin I toasted so I used some Nutella. The Canadians who made the Nutella kindly used sugar instead of HFCS.

When I go grocery shopping, I'll buy jam with sugar. (Actually I always look for preserves with the fewest number of ingredients - one fruit, sugar and maybe pectin.)

 

[taxlady]

...
When I go grocery shopping, I'll buy jam with sugar. (Actually I always look for preserves with the fewest number of ingredients - one fruit, sugar and maybe pectin.)

Same here, but if there is pectin, I want there to be more fruit than sugar. Citric acid is okay too.

I have always had good luck with the taste of jams chosen this way.

 

[Andy M.]

Same here, but if there is pectin, I want there to be more fruit than sugar. Citric acid is okay too.

I have always had good luck with the taste of jams chosen this way.

Forgot the citric acid. I won't buy jam that doesn't have the one fruit as the first ingredient.

I also avoid the "all fruit" jams because they are just loaded with other fruit sugars. If I buy blueberry jam, I don't expect to see apple and pear as the first two ingredients.

 

[Alix]

Andy, I've been looking at labels with an eye to HFCS the last couple of weeks and I haven't found very much. Most of the things that use any kind of sweetener are good old sugar, or that freaking Nutri Sweet crap. Splenda makes the occasional appearance, as does sorbitol.

Could someone check something for me? Coke is sugar sweetened here. Someone told me it is HFCS in the US and Mexico. True?