Sugar or HFCS? Which is worse...

Pick your poison, as they say. Whether you eat sweet treats made with sugar or with cheap and ever-present high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the result remains the same — it’s unhealthy. This was confirmed for me when I asked for expert guidance on the relative merits of “natural” sugar versus “unnatural” HFCS, having noticed the barrage of ads and commercials that now position real sugar as a health food.

I called Patricia Crawford, DrPH, RD, director of the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health at the University of California, Berkeley, to discuss the issue. She said flat out that there is no redeeming quality to sugar — and there is even less to like in HFCS.

HFCS is Everywhere

The problem with HFCS is that it is in many, if not most, processed foods — you can quickly verify this by checking the label of frozen foods, packaged foods, condiments such as ketchup, and many other seemingly unsweetened foods. Crawford told me that HFCS is ubiquitous because it is so inexpensive, and its development coincided with the introduction of new kinds of processed foods.

A particular concern with HFCS is that research has established that it is not only high in calories, but it doesn’t make you feel full or satisfied — for instance, when it is added to beverages. It’s why you can load up on a 64-ounce HFCS-sweetened regular cola and still feel hungry. The HFCS does not signal the body that it just drank a bucketful of calories, so you still feel like you need a full dinner, too. Unfortunately, the calories do matter — too many calories mean obesity is on the way. Interestingly, the increase in HFCS in our food supply parallels the alarming increase in obesity and type 2 diabetes in the population.

Smart food scientists and marketers are catching on to the bad press about HFCS, which is why careful label-readers may have noticed that cane sugar (in cereals, for instance) is making a comeback. Don’t be fooled. Though this form of sugar may satisfy a sweet tooth, it doesn’t make foods better for you… even when they’re found in health-promoting supermarkets, such as Whole Foods. In the end, according to Dr. Crawford, all simple sugars (even the raw ones) send blood sugar on a roller-coaster ride. These sugar calories add no nutrients and all too often end up replacing healthier foods.

Sweet Solution

Many scientists believe our sweet tooth is innate. In fact, our first food — breast milk — has a sweet taste. Also, sugar seems to enhance mood, and there is some evidence that low serotonin levels even trigger cravings for sweets. Nonetheless, eating too much sugar or HFCS — or worse, both — will take a toll on your health. Limit yourself to a nibble here and there, and balance it with plenty of healthful food and exercise.

Source(s):

Patricia Crawford, DrPH, RD, codirector of the Center for Weight and Health at the University of California, Berkeley.

Take the time to look through all your meal options and get exactly what you want. Make sure that you include one of the Medifast Coupons so that you can get a great discounted price on your next Medifast Diet Plan.

Reprinted with the permission of:
Bottom Line Publications/Daily Health News
Boardroom Inc.
281 Tresser Blvd., 8th Floor
Stamford, CT 06901
www.BottomLineSecrets.com

There are many foods on the market now a days that are dangerous for your health and we all know that high fructose corn syrup is already not the healthiest. See what it is even more dangerous then you thought and why we make sure it never touches our Medifast Meals.

As though anyone needs yet another reason to avoid buying foods that contain high fructose corn syrup — here’s one. A recent small study found that many common foods that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) also contain traces of mercury. Though the study didn’t prove that the mercury in these foods came from HFCS, it was the first or second more common ingredient in all of them… and another Environmental Health study on high fructose corn syrup samples, conducted using FDA investigation data, found detectible levels of mercury in half of samples studied. Therefore, researchers believe it is the most likely explanation for how the heavy metal got there.

Dangerous treats that you should avoid

This is no small matter, given that HFCS provides 10% of daily calories for the average American… and often even more for small children, for whom exposure to mercury is especially dangerous. The list of tainted foods includes family favorites such as Quaker Oatmeal-to-Go bars, Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly, Frosted Blueberry Pop-Tarts and Hunt’s Tomato Ketchup.

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

Please bear with me for a moment because the story of mercury in HFCS is a little complicated. To separate corn starch needed for HFCS production from the kernels requires caustic soda (lye), which was for decades made with mercury cells. Safer methods to accomplish this have been developed, but the new technology is expensive. Here in the US only a few plants are still using the old mercury-cell methods, but in Europe and other parts of the world many processors have not upgraded their technology. The problem then: American food manufacturers use HFCS from all over the world and there is no way for consumers to know where the HFCS in foods we buy was sourced from.

Not surprisingly, the corn industry is protesting loudly about this small study, but it hasn’t been able to drown out the results. Performed by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) in Minneapolis (www.iatp.org), the study sampled 55 foods and beverages with HFCS as the first or second ingredient. Nearly one-third of these products contained detectable mercury. (For the list of tested foods and results, go tohttp://www.healthobservatory.org.) The industry also protests that the levels are so low it shouldn’t matter, but as regular Daily Health News contributor Mark Stengler, ND, says, “No amount of any mercury is safe.”

WHAT TO DO?

I spoke with the study coauthor, David Wallinga, MD, to get his advice for consumers. He suggests consumers write their legislative representatives urging anti-mercury-cell legislation, as well as additional funding for health-watchdog agencies. It’s no secret that the FDA, the agency charged with ensuring the safety of our food supply, is grossly under-funded, he said, adding it has also been arguably under-active in recent years.

For the time being, the only real solution is to stay away from foods and beverages that contain HFCS since the list of reasons to avoid it grows ever longer… and there’s never been a very good reason to eat the stuff anyway.

Source(s):

David Wallinga, MD, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) in Minneapolis.www.healthobservatory.org.

Mark Stengler, ND, a naturopathic physician and leading authority on the practice of alternative and integrated medicine. He is author of Bottom Line Natural Healingnewsletter, author of The Natural Physician’s Healing Therapies (Bottom Line Books), director of the La Jolla Whole Health Clinic in La Jolla, California and adjunct associate clinical professor at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. To learn more about his work, visit www.drstengler.com.

Take the time to look through all your meal options and get exactly what you want. Make sure that you include one of the Medifast Coupons so that you can get a great discounted price on your next Medifast Diet Plan.

Reprinted with the permission of:
Bottom Line Publications/Daily Health News
Boardroom Inc.
281 Tresser Blvd., 8th Floor
Stamford, CT 06901
www.BottomLineSecrets.com