Posted on 08/09/2010 11:26:00 AM PDT by Ben Mugged
Thanks. Some people never learn.
I don't think it's about chemical differences but about proportions. More fructose in the stomach for a given quantity of sweetener = greater insulin response = more fat.
Doesn't seem far fetched to me.
So which is worse, more glucose or more fructose?
More fructose is worse.
Um, more hormones in cattle producing milk?
Great news. HFCS 42, used in baked goods and other foods, has less fructose than sucrose does.
You’re kidding. HFCS has more fructose than regular sugar? That seems counter-intuitive.
I notice you use HFCS 42. Are there other varieties with more fructose?
HFCS 42 has 42% fructose. Used in baked goods.
Are there other varieties with more fructose?
HFCS 55 is used in soft drinks.
Which one does the term “high fructose corn syrup” conventionally refer to? I’ll bet HFCS 55. And I’ll bet HFCS 55 — aka high fructose corn syrup — has more fructose than regular sugar.
Am I correct?
Depends on what you're making. Soft drinks, HFCS 55, baked goods, most other foods, HFCS 42.
And I’ll bet HFCS 55 — aka high fructose corn syrup — has more fructose than regular sugar.
Yes, just as HFCS 42 has less.
Okay, so the corn syrup kids are guzzling in soft drinks has more fructose.
It would be interesting to know people’s overall consumption of HFCS 42 versus HFCS 55.
Use your body as a ‘guinea pig’...guzzle both.
Fructose metabolism doesn't stimulate the secretion of insulin.
greater insulin response = more fat.
If that were the case, a person would get fat simply because he/she consumed a lot of caffeine. That isn't how it works.
I’m not talking about fructose metabolism; I’m talking about the presence of fructose, prior to its being metabolized.
Yes, obviously you need some glucose to be present in addition to the insulin.
You make it sound like more fructose in a stomach will deliver a greater insulin response. If not, what did you mean by this statement?
Yes, obviously you need some glucose to be present in addition to the insulin.
Not following you. Insulin facilitates the metabolization of carbohydrates. When you consume glucose, insulin will be released.
You said earlier that a greater insulin response = more fat. What does that mean? A greater insulin response doesn't necessitate the creation of more fat. Michael Phelps eats a massive quantity of carbs when he is training yet he's about as ripped as you can get. Caffeine consumption spikes insulin levels but just because a person drinks caffeine doesn't mean they're going to get fatter.
Yes, my point (or really my conjecture since I’m no expert on this stuff) is that more fructose in the stomach can cause a greater insulin response. My point is not that metabolism of fructose can cause a greater insulin response. Fructose being in the stomach and fructose being metabolized are different, and it’s the former that I think might cause the body to respond with more insulin.
I don’t follow the sugar wars closely, but I think research has shown that it’s more than just the presence of glucose in the stomach that signals your body to produce insulin. There are other signals, including even the flavor of sweetness in the mouth, whether from sugar or not. I’ve experienced this personally (or at least I think I have) with artificially sweetened soda. I drink it and my blood sugar takes a nosedive. The explanation that seems sensible to me is that the sweet taste fools my body into releasing a shot of insulin, which results in the relatively small amount of sugar in my blood (since I haven’t actually consumed any sugar) being consumed by my cells so that not much is left behind, causing a sugar crash.
I think fructose in the stomach — not the metabolism of fructose where it is broken down into glucose but just its presence in the stomach as unmetabolized fructose — might be another such signal to the body to respond with a greater amount of insulin.
As for Michael Phelps and the rest — yes, I agree that at the end of the day it’s calories consumed versus calories burned that determines body weight. The catch is that an incorrect insulin response creates the possibility of a short circuit so to speak, where the sugar tends to go into fat storage rather than be available for activity. That seems like a not implausible explanation for those fat lab rats who were fed high fructose corn syrup rather than sugar.
Here’s a somewhat dispassionate scientific summary:
http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/Factsheet/Diet/fs37.hormones.cfm
And the bottom line quotation is this:
“Large epidemiological studies have not been done to see whether or not early puberty in developing girls is associated with having eaten growth hormone-treated foods.”
Personally, based on the fragmentary evidence my own eyes have seen, I recommend organic milk. Everyone is of course entitled to their own opinion.
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