HFCS is EVIL III
Because I have been asked several times, I'm going to address this question:
If HFCS is made from fructose and glucose and sugar is made from fructose and glucose, aren't they the same thing?
The answer is absolutely not.
Here is a mildly technical explanation. When sucrose (table sugar) is consumed it is as a disaccharide. When the body wants to digest it, it sends in sucrase to break the bond connecting the fructose and glucose. This allows the body to metabolize the sucrose at it's own rate. The fructose and glucose in HFCS does not contain that bond, so the body just absorbs the glucose and fructose as it enters digestion and metabolizes it. This is bad.
Here is the simple explanation. Water is made up of two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule or H2O! We all know this. When you put hydrogen and oxygen into a container you do not get water. You simply get two gases floating around and that's it! So if hydrogen and oxygen mixed together is not water, then fructose and glucose mixed together is not sucrose!
Here is the next question I get asked:
Fructose is the sugar in fruit, so it must be good for you! How can it be bad?
If our only source of fructose came from fruit, then it would NOT be bad. Unfortunately, Americans have been saturated with fructose for the last twenty years. And because of this, our bodies have adapted to all of this excessive fructose.
Let's compare!
Apple:
Serving size: 3.5 oz.
Calories: 50 Calories
Sugars: 10.4g (5.9 fructose / 2.4 glucose / 2.1 sucrose)
Fiber: 2.4g
Several vitamins and minerals
Cocacola Classic:
Serving size: 8 oz.
Calories: 100
Sugar: 28.0g (Standard HFCS-55 [15.4g fructose / 12.6g glucose])
Fiber: 0
Vitamins & minerals: Potassium & Phosphorous
But who eats serving sizes anyway!
Remember, fructose was not bad for us until the American food processors decided to use it to sweeten everything. If our only form of high fructose foods were apples and pears, we would not be in the situation we are in today.
If HFCS is made from fructose and glucose and sugar is made from fructose and glucose, aren't they the same thing?
The answer is absolutely not.
Here is a mildly technical explanation. When sucrose (table sugar) is consumed it is as a disaccharide. When the body wants to digest it, it sends in sucrase to break the bond connecting the fructose and glucose. This allows the body to metabolize the sucrose at it's own rate. The fructose and glucose in HFCS does not contain that bond, so the body just absorbs the glucose and fructose as it enters digestion and metabolizes it. This is bad.
Here is the simple explanation. Water is made up of two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule or H2O! We all know this. When you put hydrogen and oxygen into a container you do not get water. You simply get two gases floating around and that's it! So if hydrogen and oxygen mixed together is not water, then fructose and glucose mixed together is not sucrose!
Here is the next question I get asked:
Fructose is the sugar in fruit, so it must be good for you! How can it be bad?
If our only source of fructose came from fruit, then it would NOT be bad. Unfortunately, Americans have been saturated with fructose for the last twenty years. And because of this, our bodies have adapted to all of this excessive fructose.
Let's compare!
Apple:
Serving size: 3.5 oz.
Calories: 50 Calories
Sugars: 10.4g (5.9 fructose / 2.4 glucose / 2.1 sucrose)
Fiber: 2.4g
Several vitamins and minerals
Cocacola Classic:
Serving size: 8 oz.
Calories: 100
Sugar: 28.0g (Standard HFCS-55 [15.4g fructose / 12.6g glucose])
Fiber: 0
Vitamins & minerals: Potassium & Phosphorous
But who eats serving sizes anyway!
Remember, fructose was not bad for us until the American food processors decided to use it to sweeten everything. If our only form of high fructose foods were apples and pears, we would not be in the situation we are in today.