high fructose corn syrup
I'm fairly miffed about these new pro high fructose corn syrup commercials. People are being dismissed for having well-founded health concerns, and our avoidance of the stuff is being mocked as overly-PC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEbRxTOyGf0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVsgXPt564Q
Anyone want to help me examine the claims?
1. Made from corn.
OK, true enough, but so are Fritos, which actually endure less processing than HFCS. That doesn't mean they're good for you.
2. Has the same amount of calories as sugar or honey
OK, again, true enough. 1gram of any pure carbohydrate contains 4 calories. But how are the calories handled during metabolism? Am I misremembering that HFCS was proven to impact people in a manner far worse than natural fructose due to its engineered chemical composition? Help me out if you know.
3. Is perfectly safe in moderation
Maybe, depending on the conclusions from #2. In any event, when has our culture ever done anything in moderation? Food advertising does not endorse moderation, and I wonder if the amounts of HFCS used in many foods could even be considered as moderation for the prescribed and/or actual serving sizes. Not eating something sugary at all will always be a better choice for us, but wouldn't we be better off eating something with natural fructose or sucrose rather than its (much cheaper to produce/use due to ridiculous govt. corn farming subsidies) HFCS counterpart?
Please weigh in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEbRxTOyGf0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVsgXPt564Q
Anyone want to help me examine the claims?
1. Made from corn.
OK, true enough, but so are Fritos, which actually endure less processing than HFCS. That doesn't mean they're good for you.
2. Has the same amount of calories as sugar or honey
OK, again, true enough. 1gram of any pure carbohydrate contains 4 calories. But how are the calories handled during metabolism? Am I misremembering that HFCS was proven to impact people in a manner far worse than natural fructose due to its engineered chemical composition? Help me out if you know.
3. Is perfectly safe in moderation
Maybe, depending on the conclusions from #2. In any event, when has our culture ever done anything in moderation? Food advertising does not endorse moderation, and I wonder if the amounts of HFCS used in many foods could even be considered as moderation for the prescribed and/or actual serving sizes. Not eating something sugary at all will always be a better choice for us, but wouldn't we be better off eating something with natural fructose or sucrose rather than its (much cheaper to produce/use due to ridiculous govt. corn farming subsidies) HFCS counterpart?
Please weigh in.