HFCS - Good or Bad?

I haven't talked much about High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) on here. I guess the reason being is because as of late, I've always thought it was bad stuff, avoid at all costs, etc.

I came across this article though that says sure, it's bad, but it's not any worse than regular added sugar (doesn't that seem like a very odd argument to make?).

We all know what sugar is, and that it's been around for awhile, and that in high doses, it's not good and it can make your kids climb the ceiling or do something else that is well,,,,not good.



But HFCS we know little about because we haven't been able to see the full effects of it over long periods of time. It's very hard to find a sugary product without HFCS. It has pretty much taken over and the "sugar" that is added to regular soda (at least in North America).

I had read a while back (and for the life of me I can't find the link) that when HFCS is ingested, there is no mechanism in the body to tell the brain that it's coming in. In other words, the brain has no idea that calories are being consumed to turn on the signal at some point that we are full and no longer need more calories. So basically, these calories just "sneak in" and your insulin and blood sugar don't even move. Which is different with regular sugar when the insulin and blood sugar levels will react accordingly. I don't believe this has ever been proven at this point though.

But, I found another interesting study here that tested the different in cholesterol levels for those ingesting a fructose-sweetened drink and a glucose sweetened drink and found that LDL cholesterol was significantly higher among the group that drank the fructose sweetened drink after a period of time. The study stated though that this was strictly a study using fructose and not HFCS so it's unclear if the results would be the same (I would hope that would be the next step for another experiment).

So it's still up in the air and a mystery as to what HFCS is really doing to us. My guess? Considering that humans don't have the best track record with man-made products such as hydrogenated products (that I discussed here), I have to believe we could be headed towards another train wreck once more studies look into it.

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The Fizzle on Diet Soda

I tend to go back and forth on the issue of diet soda and whether I'm for it or against it (I know this would appear obvious but, there really is no reason to drink regular soda, see my write up on that here).

But I think i'm starting to lean a little more towards the side that it's not the end of the world is someone is addicted to it.

This article talks about the "dangers" of it and quite frankly, I think the author is reaching a little bit.

Here he says:

Just because diet soda is low in calories doesn't mean it can't lead to weight gain.

It may have only 5 or fewer calories per serving, but emerging research suggests that consuming sugary-tasting beverages--even if they're artificially sweetened--may lead to a high preference for sweetness overall. That means sweeter (and more caloric) cereal, bread, dessert--everything.

I guess I just don't know if I can relate to that. What he's saying is that because diet soda taste sugary, then it might lead you to dive into wanting to eat something else that really does have sugar in it (ice cream, candy, etc). I think that's assuming a lot. From my own experience, there are times when I'll grab a diet soda just to get a little caffeine in me because maybe I'm feeling sluggish. I've never had one and then thought "I know those Ho-Ho's are around here somewhere!!"

His second part of the argument says:

Guzzling these drinks all day long forces out the healthy beverages you need.

Diet soda is 100 percent nutrition-free, and again, it's just as important to actively drink the good stuff as it is to avoid that bad stuff. So one diet soda a day is fine, but if you're downing five or six cans, that means you're limiting your intake of healthful beverages, particularly water and tea.

Okay fine. I'll give him this one.

And lastly he states:

There remain some concerns over aspartame, the low-calorie chemical used to give diet sodas their flavor.

Aspartame is 180 times sweeter than sugar, and some animal research has linked consumption of high amounts of the sweetener to brain tumors and lymphoma in rodents. The FDA maintains that the sweetener is safe, but reported side effects include dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, memory loss, and mood changes. Bottom line: Diet soda does you no good, and it might just be doing you wrong.

This one bothers me the most. These side effects in my opinion don't seem all that common. But the bigger issues I have with this is that these effects are no where NEAR the effects that other man-made ingredients such as trans fats and High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
have that can out and out lead you to possibly falling over dead while waiting for the bus.

I guess the bottom line is that I think we need to look at the big picture and realize that sure, maybe diet soda isn't the greatest if you're consuming a case a day, but, I don't see any studies out there that are concluding that it's leading to heart disease, increases in cholesterol, causing your brain to drip out of your ear, etc. Let focus on the man-made crap out there that we're consuming that's actually doing us harm rather than maybe making us sit on the toilet a little longer than we wanted in the morning.

www.leanbodyfitness.com