HEALTH - ~ The Nutrition Source High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Health

The Nutrition Source
Sugary Drinks or Diet Drinks: What's the Best Choice?
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Soft drinks are the beverage of choice for millions of Americans. Some
drink them morning, noon, night, and in between. They're tasty,
available everywhere, and inexpensive. They're also a prime source of
extra calories that can contributeto weight gain. Once thought of as
innocent refreshment, soft drinks are also coming under scrutiny for
their contributions to the development of type 2 diabetes, heart
disease, and other chronic conditions. Diet soft drinks,made with
artificial sweeteners, may not be the best alternatives to regular
soft drinks./

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2] The Nutrition Source
High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Health:
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How we satisfy our cravingfor sugar has changed dramatically over the
past fifty years. We once relied almost exclusively on sucrose—common
table sugar—made from sugar cane and sugar beets. Today, more than
half of our sugar comes from corn,most of it in the form of
high-fructose corn syrup. Itis found in everything fromsodas to baby
food. Sally Squires, a former nutrition columnist for the Washington
Post , has called it "the floozy of the sugar world: sweeter and
cheaper than sucrose, but viewed with distrust by some consumers." ( 1
)
Some researchers have fingered high-fructose cornsyrup as one of the
villains behind the obesity epidemic. ( 2 ) They note that the
dramatic increase in high-fructose corn syrup use closely parallels
the trajectory of obesity rates. They also point out that the body
metabolizes fructose differently from glucose, and that the
differences in the way the body metabolizes fructose may predispose
the body to turn fructose into fat.
But there's a catch to this argument. Table sugar is made of one
glucose molecule joined to one fructose molecule, so it contains
glucose and fructose in equal proportions. High-fructose corn syrup
also contains glucose mixed with fructose, with just slightly more
fructose than glucose(or, in some varieties, slightly more glucose
than fructose). Since table sugar and corn sweeteners are made up of
the same "raw materials"—glucose and fructose—and these raw materials
are used in roughly similar proportions, it is likely thattable sugar
and corn sweeteners have the same physiological impact on blood sugar,
insulin, and metabolism.
At least for now, high-fructose corn syrup doesn't seem to be any
better or any worse than any other kind of added sugar. What is
important islimiting your intake of all added sugars. That's why
sugary drinks and sweets are at the use-sparingly tipof the Healthy
Eating Pyramid . A good goal is keeping added sugars fromall sources
to under 10 percent of your daily calories. Learn how to spot added
sugars on the food label /

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