Loading ...Featured Article Healthy NutritionSugar as a Health Food?
Sugar’s about to show up on food labels, all dressed up as a new “natural ingredient” and a better alternative to the demon du jour, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
Never let it be said that there are no “second acts” in the marketing of junk food.
OK, in case you haven’t been paying attention, HFCS has gotten quite a whipping in the press. The Corn Refiners Association tried fighting back, most notably with a series of commercials showing a clueless mother unable to explain why the stuff was so “bad,” but even the best PR campaign wasn’t able to put out the fire. And the death blow was delivered recently by Michelle Obama who declared any product with high-fructose corn syrup to be off-limits at the White House.
So now sugar — plain old white table sugar, the poor little guy that got displaced by HFCS, is being reinvented… this time as the “natural” healthy alternative to HFCS.
Oh, brother.
Let’s recap for a moment. Sugar is one part glucose and one part fructose (50/50). HFCS is very close to the same formula, marginally higher in fructose — 55% fructose, 45% glucose — but probably not enough to make that much difference (or at least that’s what the proponents of HFCS claim).
But the point is moot and the argument about which is “better” diverts our attention from the real problem, which is this: The more damaging half of this dastardly duo of glucose and fructose — regardless of whether it occurs in table sugar or HFCS — is clearly fructose.
Numerous studies have shown fructose raises insulin resistance, raises triglycerides in the bloodstream and contributes to fatty liver disease. Pure refined fructose is bad news, whether it comes from HFCS or from sugar.
The big problem with HFCS is the fact that it’s so cheap and widely available that it’s now in products that were never sweetened before. And the fact that it’s so cheap means that manufacturers can use a ton of it, sweetening everything in sight. The result is that we now consume more fructose than we ever did when manufacturers used plain old white sugar.
Going back to “natural” (give me a break), white sugar accomplishes exactly nothing. Refined fructose is metabolic poison, and whether we get it from the old-fashioned sugar or the cheap and abundant HFCS matters not a whit. We’re eating too much of the stuff.
And lest there be any confusion, let me add that I’m quite aware that fructose is found naturally in fruits. But fructose in fruits — surrounded by fiber, vitamins, phytochemicals and other good stuff — is a very different “animal” than refined fructose — as different as an animal’s fur is from a fur coat in the store window.
You don’t need to avoid fructose when it occurs (in small amounts) in whole foods. When it occurs in refined sweeteners — be they “natural” sugar or high-fructose corn syrup — run the other way.
[Ed. note: Dr. Bowden is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition and health. He is also a life coach, motivational speaker, former personal trainer and author of The Seven Supplements You Need Now. His new book, The 150 Most Effective Ways to Boost Energy Naturally is available now. For more information, click here.]
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Tags: Corn Refiners Association, fructose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, sugar
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What you forgot to mention about sugar is now that the FDA has permitted GMO foods (and without labeling), the only sugar in my mind to get is organic sugar which is not a GMO.
Entered: May 1st, 2009 at 6:35 am. PermalinkAn excellent article that explains simply and clearly what could be a complicated subject. Isn’t it amazing what nature can produce and how man always thinks he can do better. Keep eating the whole foods and you can’t go wrong.
Entered: May 1st, 2009 at 9:39 am. PermalinkI totally agree that sugar consumption in this country is a huge problem - consider that at the beginning of the 20th century the average American consumed only 5 lbs. per year and now we consume 150 lbs. per year. However, getting HFCS out of all processed foods is extremely important and should not be minimized. There is plenty of scientific information available that demonstrates that HFCS and sugar do not operate the same way in the body. HFCS literally makes you fat…PERIOD. There is a startling scene in the Canadian TV documentary, Big Sugar, where a scientist shows us two lab rats fed the same calories - one diet containing sugar and the other HFCS. The one fed HFCS was so fat it could hardly move, the one fed sugar was slender - check it out: http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/bigsugar/
Entered: May 1st, 2009 at 10:12 am. PermalinkI’d be interested in knowing what the experts say on agave nectar, since it is also touted as being a “healthy” alternative, or at least, diabetic friendly. It’s not supposed to spike blood sugar levels like HFCS and refined white sugar. From what I’ve read about it it is also high in fructose, so I would like comments on what makes it different from the others.
Entered: May 1st, 2009 at 11:12 am. PermalinkYou have whitewashed all the issues with HFC — it’s contaminated with mercury, which occurs during the processing. That’s the biggest problem. Otherwise compared to white sugar, it’s about the same. But, if one substituted unprocessed cane sugar - the stuff that still has minerals and b vitamins, then it would be health food. Someone should tell Michelle, otherwise, she and her family will all end up with diabetes. That’s all type II diabetes is … a chromium deficiency. Because the food processors have been excluding chromium from wheat and sugar since 1920. Now, generations later, toddlers are getting age onset diabetes. Because their moms don’t have enough to pass on to them.
Entered: May 1st, 2009 at 11:20 am. PermalinkYou have cleared confusion about fructose. But can you give information about effect of ‘Honey’ on diabetes?
Thanks
Chakrapani
Entered: May 1st, 2009 at 11:48 am. PermalinkI wrote to Nestle’s and asked for the MSDS sheet on their powdered coffee creamer. MSDS sheets are required by OSHA for any product containing poisons or toxic chemicals that workers may use on job, i.e., painters, janitors, plumbers, etc.. They ignored my requests but I continued sending e-mails asking for a response. They finally did reply:
Entered: May 1st, 2009 at 11:50 am. Permalink“According to the FDA, if it is labeled ‘FOOD’ it does not require an MSDS sheet.” That means that aproximately 75% of what is considered food at the grocery store contains ingredients that are poisonous to your body. ‘Favor Enhanced’, ‘Artifical Colors’. Artifical means not real.
People are slowing killing themselves and passing it on to their children out of ignorance and laziness. Pre-packaged and instant foods are soo convenient. And pop everything into the Micro which was invented by accident, as a side effect of producing a War Weapon, that blows molecues apart. What does microwaves do to our foods? Blow apart the molecues and kill the vitamins and enzymes?? Ask questions and read every label. If you continue to buy it, they will continue to make it. Every time you buy a bad product you are sending a message….Make more and they do.
You have cleared confusion about fructose.However, can you tell something about effect of ‘Honey’ on diabetes?
Thanks
Chakrapani
Entered: May 1st, 2009 at 11:51 am. PermalinkOrganic sugar in moderation is a much better choice than HFCS. Before HFCS, we didn’t have diabetes in our society like we have now. And HFCS is in everything! sodas, baked goods, ketchup — even Worcestershire Sauce! And the FDA finally admitted it was created with an unnatural process and therefore could not be claimed as a “natural” ingredient. Come on, if the FDA won’t even buy into it, why should we? I have read about many studies showing how harmful HFCS is and how it spikes insulin levels much more dramatically than sugar. I’m not buying the doc’s argument here.
Entered: May 1st, 2009 at 4:29 pm. PermalinkThere must be a difference between regular sugar and HFCS. If I have a can of iced tea, sweetened with HFCS, I’m breaking out before I finish drinking the can (I’m a sipper). I’ve no such problem sweetening a glass of iced tea with regular sugar. Of course, organic sugar is much better.
Entered: May 2nd, 2009 at 7:30 am. PermalinkThank God for Michelle Obama
Entered: May 5th, 2009 at 10:49 pm. Permalink