HFCS, OMG!

Before you going running to the nearest teenager, I'm talking about High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). If you do go ask a teenage, please share their response. It could very enlightening.

I am almost to the end of my look into the various sweeteners to see which I am truly comfortable eating. Many I just intuitively know aren't wise choices or, more likely, have built a bias toward because of the various blogs and books I've read. This whole exercise of writing about the different sweet options has been to determine for myself why or why not a particular sweetener is okay for me. I've been pretty happy with what I've learned and hope my examination of the subject has prompted you to do a little of you own investigating.

Anyway, let's get back to looking at why or why not HFCS should be part of a healthy diet. I really like the quick to the point bullet list from my post on the colorful table-top sweeteners from last week. It's simple, straight forward and saves you from all my wordiness. Instead of a top 5, however, let's do a top 10 of why it's bad for you and why it's good for you. But, before we get to that, let's define what it actually is.

HFCS is defined as 'a sweetener made by processing corn syrup to increase the level of fructose, usually to between 42% and 55% of the total sugar, with the balance being glucose. It is used extensively as a sweetener in processed foods and soft drinks, particularly soda and baked goods, but it is included also in many foods not normally thought of as sweet foods.' Essentially, HFSC is a cheaper option for food manufacturers as compared to sugar (sucrose). As such, it has become the go to sweetener for cheaper engineered foods.

HFCS is manufactured through a series of steps. First, corn starch is converted to corn syrup through hydrolysis using enzymes and chemicals including hydrochloric acid. Then, another enzyme is utilized to change the chemical structure of the mostly glucose corn syrup to create a syrup with a higher fructose content. Due to this higher fructose content, HFCS is metabolized by the body much quicker than sucrose (sugar). source

Top 10 Reasons HFCS Is a Bad Choice

1. In a study at Princeton University, HFCS was shown to cause more weight gain than table sugar with equal calories.
2. HFCS may contain mercury, up to 0.57mg per 1g of HFCS. The mercury is used in the manufacture of caustic acid and chlorine which in turn is used to produce HFCS. The concentration is high enough for concern when feeding products with HFCS to young children or adults sensitive to mercury.
3. Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a substance formed when HFCS is heated. HMF has been shown to be toxic to bees.
4. The same HMF that kills bees has been linked to DNA damage in humans.
5. HFCS increases the risk of heart disease by increasing LDL and triglycerides in the blood.
6. Studies have shown a link between daily HFCS consumption and liver damage.
7. Fructose does not satisfy hunger as it does not stimulate production of hormones critical to communicating the need to stop eating to the central nervous system.
8. Many doctors, nutritionists and researchers believe HFCS plays an important role in the current obesity epedimic.
9. HFCS contains no nutrients, vitamins or minerals. Furthermore, it may interfere with the body's ability to utilize nutrients in the bloodstream.
10. Obviously, HFCS is derived from corn. As I noted regarding Sweet 'n Low, unless the corn is from a local farmer, slathered in butter and hot off the grill, I don't want corn.

Top 10 Reasons HFCS Is a Good Choice

1. It makes food sweet.
2. It allows food to set on the shelf longer before going bad.
3. It provides really cheap calories. But, then again, if you have to eat a ton of a food in order to feel food, is it really cheap?
4. It's a great way for farmers to offload tons of corn that they are paid to produce by the US government.
5. It's a great way to make barely edible foods palatable.
6. It's no worse than sucrose, table sugar. That's not really great, but it's something. See my post on sugar here.
7. The HFCS industry keeps thousands employed.
8. HFCS gives some food products a chewy texture.
9. Here's a great place to read the industry's take on it's own favorite sweetener.
10. I can't think of anything else. I'm amazed I could come up with nine.

For all these reasons, HFCS is at the bottom of my sweetener choice. That said, I don't believe the people peddling the stuff are evil. I also don't think a bit of HFCS now and again is horrible for anyone. The key is moderation. Moderation brings me back to what I feel is my best option: changing my palate by avoiding overly sweet stuff on a daily basis. I somewhat confirmed my theory the other day when I had a strawberry. (Yes, a total cheat at this point in my ACD, but my youngest left it on her plate and, out of habit, I finished off the last berry for her.) That thing overwhelmed me. Keep in mind we're talking mid-winter, shipped around the world strawberries here. Nonetheless, it tasted like it was the sweetest thing ever to my poor deprived sweet-detecting taste buds. I can't wait to have a peach this summer. My point? I don't think I'll feel I'm missing anything when I pass up the vending machine full of candy bars if fresh fruit tastes so darn decadent.

Happy President's Day!

-Melie

Honey, Honey

I am so sorry for the title of this post. I've been singing that blasted 60's tune in my head all day. I love oldies music, but that song has to be the pop culture equivalent of "It's a Small World." Great. Now that one is stuck in my head.

Moving on.

As you may have noticed, I'm a bit obsessed with sweeteners right now. Perhaps it's because I can have so few on the Anti-Candida Diet (ACD). I've covered one of the three that I'm allowed, Stevia, previously, and was tempted to move straight into yacon syrup. I chose not to because I doubt many of you are on the verge of ordering yourselves yacon syrup. I'll cover it in a later post along with my other legal sweet, vegetable glycerin.

Since I'm moving on to mainstream sweeteners, I'd like to take a look at honey. I've been digging and doing some reading about all the various sweeteners and the more I learn, the more I like honey. It's ancient and therefore primal. It can be purchased readily from local producers. It tastes amazing. It makes me think of Pooh Bear.

Do any of those points make it healthy? Well, I planned to investigate for myself when I mapped out the month of blog posts. Coincidentally, Mark Sisson had the same plan. If you aren't familiar with Mr. Sisson over at Mark's Daily Apple, get to know him. He is the godfather of the Primal Movement and someone I really enjoy reading. Regardless of what you might think of the primal approach to eating, when he dives into a subject you will learn something. Please click over to his post on honey for some truly interesting insights on the golden sticky stuff.

For those of you who'd prefer the cliff notes, here's a summary:

• Honey is more than a sweetener. It's a food with hundreds of elements including vitamins and minerals.
• Honey has been shown to have a positive impact on blood, including lowering LDL, triglycerides and inflammatory markers.
• Darker honey has more bioactive compounds and is, therefore, more beneficial.

 
I'll also add a few points of my own including some draw backs of honey. For one, the glycemic index of honey varies widely depending on the pollen source of the bees in question. Where sugar (sucrose) is around 65, honey can range from 35 up to 87. However, honey is also 1.5 times sweeter than sugar, so you might be able to replace sugar with half the honey, reducing the total glycemic load. Refer to the American Honey Producers Association website for some guidelines on baking or cooking with honey.

While doing my reading, I also stumbled on a rather clinical yet thorough report on the different characteristics of honey. The report was created by the National Honey Board, so it's not exactly a clinical or unbiased source. However, according to their report, honey is a very effective prebiotic. Prebiotics are food for the good gut bacteria that fight off the bad bacteria such as Candida. Ding, ding, ding! Honey also contains sucrose and small amounts of yeast that will feed Candida as well, so I can't have it on the ACD. However, once I've got my system back in order, I'll be using honey regularly to keep my gut in balance.

There are an overwhelming number of types and flavors of honey. I would recommend going local as long as it is pasteurized. Buying local honey will not only support local businesses, but will also be fresher, less processed and, therefore, more beneficial. However, and this is important, don't give any raw honey you've purchased at your local farmer's market to a child under the age of 3. Raw honey can carry botulism. Older children and adults have strong enough systems to fight it off, but little one simply aren't equipped. I keep raw honey in the house with my first aid stuff as it is a fantastic natural astringent, but don't keep in your pantry if you have little ones as it might be offered to them by an unwitting adult.

Lastly, if you do find yourself at the stand of a local purveyor of honey, you may very well find yourself overwhelmed by the variety in color. In general, the darker stuff is stronger and is ideal when the honey flavor is what you are wanting. For baking or cooking that simply requires sweetness, go for the lighter amber.

That's all I've got for today, but I'll have more tomorrow, including an update on how my 30 Days to Fit program is going.

Take care!

-Melie

Sugar: The Other White Drug

Last week, I mentioned the book that started me on my way to better health. That book opened my mind to the crazy idea that what I was eating was more important than how much. I still cringe when I read or hear someone saying that losing weight is simple math: calories in must be less than calories out. When you really stop and think about that statement, it is completely asinine. Kerosene has 'calories' just like gasoline, but I don't put kerosene in my car and expect it to get me down the road. Our bodies are complex and require specific fuels. Our bodies are also incredibly resilient and will put up with years of abuse, neglect and bad fuel, but they will eventually break down, giving us warning signs along the way.

Four years ago, when I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance and informed I most likely had celiac disease, I had to give up all food with gluten. That was tough, but my body worked so much better without that little protein and my health made a massive move to the better. However, it was my choice to cut back on sugar one year prior that put me squarely on the right path. I won't claim I gave it up completely at that point, but I did make a commitment to taking in considerably less.

The difference was significant. My moods became more level and my afternoon slump lessened. I felt empowered. Coupled with the probiotics I began taking, in time, my heartburn disappeared and I no longer felt like I 'had' to have sugar. I could actually pass things up and be okay.

Why did reducing my sugar intake make such a difference? There are far too many reasons for me to list here. Plus, I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist and not qualified to break down all of the bodily processes impacted by sugar. Instead, let's focus on one dietary truth. Okay, some might say assumption, but, to me, it's a truth. If a food is highly processed and chemically altered, our bodies have not evolved to consume it. This holds for any modern, highly engineered food product. Not to belabor the car metaphor, but if I try to put ethanol in a 1970's Ford, I'm not going to get too far. Why? Because the Ford was designed and built before ethanol was considered a commercially viable fuel. I would be forcing fuel into a machine that wasn't designed to use it.

With that in mind, we should consider what the sugar we eat really is. Sugar is sucrose and is present in all plants. Sucrose is gleaned from sugar cane and sugar beets as these two plants have the highest concentration of sucrose. So far, that doesn't sound too bad, but to get from cane or beet to our favorite sweet stuff, the plants must be processed. I'll let the American Sugar Alliance describe the process:

During the refining process, the natural sugar that is stored in the cane stalk or beet root is separated from the rest of the plant material. For sugar cane, this is accomplished by a) grinding the cane to extract the juice,- b) boiling the juice until the syrup thickens and crystallizes- c) spinning the crystals in a centrifuge to produce raw sugar; d) shipping the raw sugar to a refinery where it is; e) washed and filtered to remove the last remaining plant materials and color; and f) crystallized, dried and packaged. Beet sugar processing is normally accomplished in one continuous process without the raw sugar stage. The sugar beets are washed, sliced and soaked in hot water to remove the sugar-containing juice. The juice is purified, filtered, concentrated and dried in a series of steps similar to sugar cane processing.

That doesn't sound all that bad. This makes sugar processing sound like something you could do in your own kitchen with the right equipment. Unfortunately, they leaving out all the chemicals used in the process. Here's a snippet from the website of one vendor of chemicals for the sugar industry:

Our wide range chemicals includes antiscalants, colour precipitants, bleaching aids, biocides/preservatives, dextran & starch inhibitor, viscosity reducers, defoamers, flocculants, descalants, bio-enzymes can significantly improve the efficiency of the operation.

Ooh, yummy!

Returning to the American Sugar Alliance website, you'll also see that although they don't mention all these chemicals, they do own the fact that sugar contains no nutrients. They also boast sugar is an important part of processed foods for texture, color, taste, bulk and rise. I'll give them credit that they don't refer to sugar as food. Obviously, it's not. It's simply used to make other processed food (read 'non-food') more palatable. For me, that means if a food has to add sugar for taste, it probably isn't a food, or at least, not a good one.

Of course, some might say that something that isn't good for you, isn't necessarily bad either. Since I've already promised to not overstep my qualifications, or lack thereof, I'll hand that argument over to the experts or at least the better informed. Read through the following pieces and decide for yourself if continuing to consume sugar is worth the way you feel right now.

Is Sugar Toxic by Gary Taubes: If you only read one article, read this one.

Processed Sugar Can Cause Addiction and Depression by Annette Nay, Ph.D.: A clinical report, but very interesting.

The Truth About Sugar from WebMD: This article doesn't take as hard a line on sugar, but does offer some interesting tidbits to consider.

Why Sugar Kills BBC interview with Dr. Anna Furth: This one might be a bit too far out there, but I found the discussion of how sugar interacts with protein in the body very interesting.

If after reading these articles, you decide you'd like to curb your sugar intake, but don't think you can, check out the Whole Approach website and take the online quiz. If you have an uncontrollable craving for sugar, you might benefit from the Anti-Candida Diet. If your problem isn't that extreme, investigate adding probiotics to your daily supplements. You'll be amazed at how quickly it takes the edge off. Even if you don't think sugar is your problem, prove it. Try cutting it out of your diet for a week and see how you feel. I think you'll be amazed.

Hope you had a SUPER weekend!

-Melie