Posted on 03/21/2009 3:32:08 PM PDT by neverdem
Sugar, the nutritional pariah that dentists and dietitians have long reviled, is enjoying a second act, dressed up as a natural, healthful ingredient.
From the tomato sauce on a Pizza Hut pie called The Natural, to the just-released soda Pepsi Natural, some of the biggest players in the American food business have started, in the last few months, replacing high-fructose corn syrup with old-fashioned sugar.
ConAgra uses only sugar or honey in its new Healthy Choice All Natural frozen entrees. Kraft Foods recently removed the corn sweetener from its salad dressings, and is working on its Lunchables line of portable meals and snacks.
The turnaround comes after three decades during which high-fructose corn syrup had been gaining on sugar in the American diet. Consumption of the two finally drew even in 2003, according to the Department of Agriculture. Recently, though, the trend has reversed. Per capita, American adults ate about 44 pounds of sugar in 2007, compared with about 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup...
--snip--
Some shoppers prefer cane or beet sugar because it is less processed. High-fructose corn syrup is produced by a complex series of chemical reactions that includes the use of three enzymes and caustic soda.
Others see the pervasiveness of the inexpensive sweetener as a symbol of the ill effects of government subsidies given to large agribusiness interests like corn growers.
But the most common argument has to do with the rapid rise of obesity in the United States, which began in the 1980s, not long after industrial-grade high-fructose corn syrup was invented. As the amount of the sweetener in the American diet has expanded, so have Americans.
--snip--
Both sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are made from glucose and fructose. The level of fructose is about 5 percent higher in the corn sweetener.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I hate you. ;-)
Actually, you'd be surprised to know that HFCS has replaced sucrose on nearly a one for one basis over the past 35 years. Where there was one (or would be sucrose) there is now HFCS.
It is also interesting to note that England and Mexico are also experiencing an obesity problem similar to ours, along with a rapid increase in diabetes, but use little or no HFCS in their diet. People need something to demonize and it seems that HFCS is the ingredient du jour.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet there are other things made from corn Maltodextrin is a flavor enhancer and dextrose and maltose.
yep, when my allergist confirmed the corn allergy he had me buy a book to learn of such things.
Corn syrup can be 98% glucose. Glucose is just a little less sweet than sucrose.
So to get something sweet we eat or drink many times the amount of corn syrup than we would of sugar.
What? Corn syrup is used because it's sweet and cheap. Your statement above makes no sense.
High fructose corn syrup is high on calories but low on sweetness.
All carbs offer 4 calories per gram. High fructose corn syrup is desired by industry because it's cheaper than sucrose and offers a relatively same sweetness as sucrose.
If you're lucky enough to live in an area that has a decent size Jewish population, you can get "Passover Coke". Look for the yellow top on the two liter bottles, and you get Coke with real sugar.
It keeps well, too, my lady found one from LAST year and I just had some today, it tastes like the old fashioned stuff I grew up with as a kid!
The Leaf Lady? Not exactly the best place to get an education on nutrition. Hydrolyzed sucrose and HFCS are metabolized in the exact same manner. Stressful to the pancreas? Good grief.
Corn syrup is made from corn starch and it bypasses digestion going directly to the liver where enzymes are released telling the body to store fat.
Corn syrup is mostly glucose. The author of this article should probably find something other than nutrition to teach about. He/she doesn't even know the difference between corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup.
Wow, and if you look for it in parts per trillion you can find it in the plastic bottles used to hold food and beverages. Did you know you can find benzene in even higher quantities than BPA in plastic bottles in the air we breath. Can benzene be harmful to babies and young children? BPA has never been shown to have any sort of health effect on humans in the extremely low doses we are exposed to from plastic bottles, can liners, or eyeglass lenses. Cancer causing chemicals can be found in foods you eat every day. The dosage, as it has since the beginning of time, determines the toxicity. Just because something is found doesn't mean it's harmful.
Liar! Fructose is hypnotizing you with all its chiral centers.
So does my wife :-(
When I disclosed the list of can't do's - she looked like she was going to cry. You wouldn't believe how many of my favs I had to give up. Nuts, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, cheese, wheat (except beer), corn, soy, citrus, carrots, most berries, garlic, and several more. Eggs, pork, beef, rice, fish, shell fish, grapes - all OK.
I make a killer dry rub for baby back ribs! It has about 12 spices. Melt in your mouth with a crispy outer layer... mmmmm. Tomorrow they'll fill the house with the aroma of perfection.
Corn derivatives are potent and common allergens. Just about anything ending in “-ose” on food labels is corn-derived in the U.S. and off-limits to those with corn allergies, which can be debilitating. And the constant barrage of corn derivatives prompts the development of allergies. Though I’m no fan of sugary stuff, I welcome the removal of corn products from our foods. Even common table salt is laced with corn-derived dextrose as a flowing agent and can cause problems in susceptible individuals.
What is pinhead oats? My wife and most Americans eat rolled oats, and I eat steel cut oats, but I haven't heard of pinhead oats.
Me too. Bus stops, cafeterias, etc. If I see one more OH BOY or HOPE propaganda poster from Pepsi I'm going to puke.
I’m all for sugar making a comeback in soda. Corn syrup just doesn’t taste the same, and the pop doesn’t taste as good as a result.
Coke made with cane sugar is absolutely delicious. It made in Mexico and shipped into the U.S.
Um, while there is a lot of debate about the digestion of HFCS, please, please use even a rudimentary understanding of basic biology. Your liver does not “digest” anything.
I too almost snorted upon seeing your reference from Leaf Lady. I had a Performance Nutrition class recently (Continuing ed. for Physical Training) and this is actually a common question. There is VERY LITTLE research about the effects of using HFCS. The very little research is disheartening.
This ‘LeafLady” is ignorant, and you will be too by following such ignorant ramblings. Your liver does not “digest” anything. It secretes bile, which is a physical emulsifies of Lipids. It does not break them down chemically, but in fact makes them into small bubbles. think “Dawn” and grease. Same thing. The liver does, however, store water and glucose for immediate use if you go hungry. It’s a little resivoir, for when you haven’t eaten. Going hungry releases the water and glucose, a large amount in fact. A few cups. Which, is why, at least from my understanding, the first couple of pounds you lose on a starvation diet is ALWAYS technically water weight. you just don’t know it. And that is the rest of the story.
RESEARCH folks, don’t just browse. Thanks
Ahh, yes! Something I do also. I smoke my baby backs on the Weber Smoky Mountain Cooker over hardwood charcoal.... some pecan wood for the smoke... and here's the rub (recipe), with some variations:
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar *
1/2 cup granulated garlic
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup paprika
2 tablespoons granulated onion
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning **
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground red (cayenne) pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
* I substitute 1 heaping cup Turbinado sugar (or "sugar in the raw").
** I substitute Old Bay seasoning.
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