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Is Sugar Really Toxic? Sifting through the Evidence
Scientific American ^ | July 15, 2013 | Ferris Jabr

Posted on 07/29/2013 8:56:46 AM PDT by SgtHooper

The argument that sugar is a toxin depends on some technical details about the different ways the human body gets energy from different types of sugar. Today, Americans eat most of their sugar in two main forms: table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. A molecule of table sugar, or sucrose, is a bond between one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule—two simple sugars with the same chemical formula, but slightly different atomic structures.


TOPICS: Food; Health/Medicine; Science
KEYWORDS: fructose; sugar
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To: LibertarianLiz

I’ve stopped listening also.


21 posted on 07/29/2013 9:45:33 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: SgtHooper

the old adage of “all things in moderation accepted” applies to sugar, salt, “red meat”, starches, fats, etc.; etc.; our problems with weight are not do directly to any of those things; our problems with weight (we they do not have real genertic or phsyiological systemic causes) come from our having become gluttons for many foods and how easy the processed food industry has made it for us to to that.

Like the rich man who has a harder time getting into heaven, not because of his wealth or how he got it but because it has provided temptations, temptations not open to the poor or avarge person, though the power of that wealth, to make choices that can be morally problematic.

We have become “wealthy” in what food, what kinds of food and how much food is available to us - wealthy beyond the imagination of people hundreds and thousands of years ago, and we have allowed some degree of that wealth, and our relative ease in obtaining it, to become gluttons, without even realizing it.

Control caloric intake and eat all things, including salt, sugar, fats etc in moderation, not gluttonous excess, and there are few real health concerns from either salt or sugar or fat.


22 posted on 07/29/2013 9:53:45 AM PDT by Wuli (uir)
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To: IamConservative

Real food is what it used to be called. It’s almost impossible to get fat if you stay away from processed foods.


23 posted on 07/29/2013 10:01:38 AM PDT by antidisestablishment (Mahound delenda est)
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To: Gaffer

So, for over half my adult life, the scientific consensus about salt was that it is bad in any form. Low salt, no salt, salt is poison and so forth.

If salt were that bad for you, all the people from asia would have died out long ago, I swear it seems they drink more soy sauce than water....


24 posted on 07/29/2013 10:02:58 AM PDT by GraceG
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To: goodnesswins
“...eating any kind of flour or grain MAKES me HUNGRY”

Same for me! I roll my eyes whenever I read an article — often in women's magazines — that asserts you “must” eat breakfast or you “won't” lose weight because your “metabolism will be sluggish” and you'll “eat more at lunch” because skipping breakfast makes you hungrier at lunchtime.

While I know breakfast CAN be low-carb, breakfast for most people, including moi, means cereal or a bagel. Carbs! Well, I am ALWAYS hungrier at around 11am when I have breakfast than when I don't because carbs make me hungry. (I also like carbs so much that I always finish them and wish I could have more.)

Last week, I started fasting from after dinner (about 7pm) until noon the next day. Guess what? I am less hungry for lunch than when I ate breakfast, and I appreciate having more calories to spend for lunch and dinner.

I also now break another rule: I weigh in every morning. Knowing I have to face the scale has helped keep me on track. By not eating anything before 12noon and by weighing in every morning, I have jump started my weight loss efforts. I have lost a couple of pounds and — more importantly — I am feeling optimistic about losing weight for the first time in years.

I feel that by listening to my gut and ignoring the experts, I have rediscovered what used to work for me when I needed to lose weight. I am hopeful I'll lose twenty pounds by Christmas.

25 posted on 07/29/2013 10:03:29 AM PDT by utahagen
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To: Gaffer

AMEN!

Preach it, Brother!


26 posted on 07/29/2013 10:13:37 AM PDT by BwanaNdege ("To learn who rules over you simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize"- Voltaire)
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To: Girlene
Regardless of where they come from, excess calories are the greatest problem with all modern diets. I am not an advocate of any particular diet, and never have been obese. That said, I played around with the Lean Gains and lost about 15 lbs. It’s an intermittent fasting regimen that also parallels a paleo-diet.

While I never became a zealot—I believe in moderation in all things—I have pretty much adopted the principles of high-protein, low carb and low fats. There are a couple of cool site to play with:

The IF Calculator
This is a cool site that allows you to figure out your caloric needs. It is fully customizable, so don’t worry about the “fasting” aspect. It is designed to show what your body needs and devise a diet set to the caloric intake that you want—from losing to gaining weight. The other site is:

Eat This Much
This is another great site that plans meals base on caloric intake. The first page is the starting point and builds a quick meal plan, but if you click on the advanced link, you can set a variety of variables such as food types and macro-nutrients. It is a good way to play with meal planning.

27 posted on 07/29/2013 10:15:47 AM PDT by antidisestablishment (Mahound delenda est)
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To: Gaffer
It is all political or it is self-serving designed to garner funding for their impartial “studies" ...yes.

There's no money in telling people "Moderation in all things is the best course."

28 posted on 07/29/2013 10:39:10 AM PDT by wbill
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To: IamConservative

“Ingredients shouldn’t have ingredients.”

I like that! Thanks.


29 posted on 07/29/2013 10:42:03 AM PDT by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: lacrew
"I always think about cattle in a feed lot. They are fed corn to get fattened up...'"

Your analogy is not far off.but for different reasons than you think.

Sugar is is sugar in what ever form. Cattlemen put their livestock in a pen not only to control what they eat but to restrict their animals, described in the old days, "from burning off their tallow" i.e, fat.

People today are stuck in their "feed lots" by their sedate lifestyle and job requirements.

In the days when labor required physical effort a high calorie diet was quickly consumed by the bodies' demands for mantainence and repair.

Simply put we are eating like a field hand but working like a pampered prince.
30 posted on 07/29/2013 10:57:41 AM PDT by RedMonqey ("Gun-free zones" equal "Target-rich environment.")
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To: antidisestablishment
It’s almost impossible to get fat if you stay away from processed foods.

I had some great grand parents who are examples that say otherwise but I get your point.>

Read any processed food label and your will find "flavor enhancers"that intensifies the taste of food. Of course chief villians among them are sugar, salt, vinegar etc as well as the artifical types but all are to "trick" your senses to eat more.

I, myself have a weakness for Tabasco sauce which have all of the above and I put it on everything.
31 posted on 07/29/2013 11:09:23 AM PDT by RedMonqey ("Gun-free zones" equal "Target-rich environment.")
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To: Wuli
We have become “wealthy” in what food...wealthy beyond the imagination of people hundreds and thousands of years ago......become gluttons, without even realizing it.

Totally agree. I would add:

"We are eating like a field hand but working like a pampered prince."
32 posted on 07/29/2013 11:15:33 AM PDT by RedMonqey ("Gun-free zones" equal "Target-rich environment.")
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To: lacrew

Part of what is wrong with America. Get rye or pumpernickle bread from a real bakery. Don’t use peanut butter or ketchup - that’s children’s food. As for drinking soda, all I can say is bless my strict parents for never having it in the house - I never developed a taste for it.


33 posted on 07/29/2013 11:18:02 AM PDT by kabumpo (Kabumpo)
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To: antidisestablishment

My grandparents never ate out. They had a nuge garden for most of their vegetables. My grandpa hunted for dear (and later the grandsons left them meat from the dear they shot) . They didn’t drive much. My grandpa walked to play domnoes every day. My grandma made the best homemade desserts that they had every day. They never had cancer. They had mild heart problems. They were never over weight and they both lived until they were in their 90’s.

I think there are a lot of lessons from the way they lived.


34 posted on 07/29/2013 11:21:43 AM PDT by luckystarmom
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To: Qwackertoo
Give up everything with HFCS in it. It's easier than it was just a few years ago, as more people demand that it not be in foods. For sweetening, get individual packets of 1 tsp granulated cane sugar portions. That way, it's easy to control your sugar intake.

I started doing this a few years ago. It took awhile, but my body has improved, my taste buds don't require the fake sweetness I used to crave, and the weight came off. But it does take a few years for the body to heal.

Another thing....no heavy sauces or gravy on foods. An all-natural tomato sauce is fine. Natural juice from beef with the fat removed is fine. Except for that, rely on seasoning instead of sauces or dressings. It cuts out most of the sources of unnecessary calories.

35 posted on 07/29/2013 11:28:14 AM PDT by grania
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To: RedMonqey

Tabasco is a mild vice. It has no caloric value, negligible salt content, and vinegar and capsicum are both good for you.

I am a hot pepper/hot sauce aficionado. I have a terribly high heat tolerance and love really spicy foods. As long as the sauces are not filled with preservatives (totally unnecessary, given the vinegar) and sugars, I find little not to like.


36 posted on 07/29/2013 11:56:21 AM PDT by antidisestablishment (Mahound delenda est)
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To: luckystarmom

I agree. Though it is hard to eat in this manner today, I believe that it is much more preferable in all regards. My grandparents lived on a farm and ate their own produce their whole lives.

While they both had had heart issues, I believe that was more due to the high fat diet than anything else. They were Okies, and loved their fried foods. I love the taste of fried food, but have pretty much tried to cut them out, especially since most are now fried in fake, non-nutritive poisons.


37 posted on 07/29/2013 12:03:16 PM PDT by antidisestablishment (Mahound delenda est)
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To: kabumpo

Its not too hard to find bread without corn syrup, by checking the labels. I have found that the store brand peanut butter often has no corn syrup, and now some major labels have ‘corn syrup free’ varieties. I disagree with the characterization that its children’s food - its cheap, cheap, protein.

My parents never let me have soda either. but somewhere along the way I developed a taste for it....in moderation. But I wouldn’t mind if I were to never drink a soda again.

Now, if you want some examples of more ‘adult’ foods that have corn syrup - there’s salad dressing, worcestershire sauce, some pickles, barbeque sauce, shrimp sauce, flavored yogurt, and even soup.

I see the endless trains of black tanker cars, with bright yellow ears of corn on the side, traveling back and forth on the rails every day. Corn syrup is big business. Unless you do most of your cooking from scratch, you probably consume some every day.


38 posted on 07/29/2013 12:13:30 PM PDT by lacrew (Mr. Soetoro, we regret to inform you that your race card is over the credit limit.)
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To: Gaffer

The best thing to do is to refrain from food, water and air


39 posted on 07/29/2013 12:21:34 PM PDT by woofie
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To: woofie

10-4. I submit Democrats go first!


40 posted on 07/29/2013 12:26:01 PM PDT by Gaffer
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