[zlopikanikanza]

Ok, so I saw this video today



Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Series: UCSF Mini Medical School for the Public It was very interesting. I don't know if this doctor is considered legit in his field or if he's just another wacko. He seemed calm and rational and fact-based without selling anything, so I tend to lean more towards he is NOT full of shit. He sounded like he was giving a talk at TED.

Some of his basic points were that when it was recommended we cut out fat, the fat-free foods manufactured sucked so bad we added more sugar and how we metabolize fructose (esp high fructose corn syrup, as opposed to natural fructose in fruit) causes us to turn that sugar into fat. He says that's why our patterns of diet and exercise don't work: we don't get the sugar out enough because we're worrying too much about fats. We're told a calorie is a calorie and it's not so.

How fructose is metabolized is like how ethanol is metabolized. But the difference is that some of it is done by the brain with ethanol, giving us the drunk feeling. Fructose affects the body the same way, so we're getting beer bellies.

So it's not carbs that are the problem inherently, but the wrong ones. That's why like Atkins and some of the other ones work: little or no fructose.

And this shows how insidious fructose has become, like why there is salt in soda is to make you thirsty so you drink MORE, but to hide the taste of the salt, they have to add more fructose and how hard it is to find ANY food that doesn't have fructose added.

I knew some of this stuff, but not all of it, and I thought the overall presentation was good. I'm trying to overall be healthier, so I'm just learning a lot of things.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting and if it was total bullshit or totally awesome, I'd want to hear people's thoughts, and not the unwashed masses on Youtube.

The video is an hour an a half long, fyi.

[BostonDoctorTTT]

It's long been established that high fructose corn syrup is the ultimate in frankenfood and avoiding large doses of it is advisable, though very difficult in today's processed food markets. I can't remember if the topic was covered in Fast Food Nation but I definitely recall it being covered in Diet For a New America which was written by the heir to the Baskin Robbins fortune. Now the latter has to be read carefully because the author is vegan and does tend to write to that slant, but he does have a lot of good information in that book so his slant shouldn't be a huge issue in separating out the facts.

I really, really hate the ads on TV that the corn growers are running claiming that high fructose corn syrup is safe and that anything bad you've heard is just an exaggeration. The fact is few viewers will actually go research to see what the issue is about and a lot of people will blindly accept that message which is exactly why they went about advertising it in that manner.

Fun Fact: Buffy's demon ex-roommate plays the "uneducated" mom getting told in one of the commercials.

[zlopikanikanza]

I knew HFCS was crap and I laugh at those commercials (and cry a little on the inside). I just never knew HOW it worked and why it was so bad until I saw this video. "It's like booze without the buzz," is putting it in a way I can understand. He didn't say that exactly, but something to that effect. He did talk about how we all need much fiber, despite its digestive side effects and he said an awesome phrase I am going to have to remember next time I go shopping: fat or fart.

[SkatrySkith]

The solution is fresh fruit! Fibrous and sweet, but with far, far lower levels of fructose than HFCS, and it's, you know, naturally occurring rather than isolated and made into deathtastic gloop. It becomes a lot easier to dodge the stuff when you buy whole foods.

The one thing that always reminds me of how creepy HFCS is is coke. Here, it contains sugar. In the States, it contains HFCS instead. The taste is markedly different and, in my experience, so much more addictive. When I was living in the US I went from having coke once in a while to having it almost every fucking day for a short while. It became compulsion! Then I switched to Vitamin Water - essentially paying for expensive urine that's packed full of "crystalline fructose." Code words!
Soft drinks really are the easiest way that this junk is sneaking into people's lives, because a lot of people just don't pay attention to drink ingredients or nutritional values. And in the end they might as well just be drinking HFCS.

[Scukonaher]

I know Diet Coke is bad, but I still think it's better than drinking a giant bunch of HFCS every day.

I have been trying to cut HCFS out of my diet completely. IT IS HARD TO DO THAT. It's in fucking everything.

[barsikjal]

Then I switched to Vitamin Water - essentially paying for expensive urine that's packed full of "crystalline fructose." Code words!

Code words indeed. I'm over Vitamin Water. They discontinued my favorite drink anyway. But, looking back, it did help me kick my soda habit.. and there are certainly far worse things one could be drinking. There was a time when I could drink a couple liters of soda a day, and now months can go by without one.

Right now I'm all about Vita Coco & Alodrink. LOVE THEM, I tell you! I just wish they were cheaper.

[gernica]

.

The one thing that always reminds me of how creepy HFCS is is coke. Here, it contains sugar. In the States, it contains HFCS instead. The taste is markedly different and, in my experience, so much more addictive. When I was living in the US I went from having coke once in a while to having it almost every fucking day for a short while. It became compulsion! Then I switched to Vitamin Water - essentially paying for expensive urine that's packed full of "crystalline fructose." Code words!
Soft drinks really are the easiest way that this junk is sneaking into people's lives, because a lot of people just don't pay attention to drink ingredients or nutritional values. And in the end they might as well just be drinking HFCS.

I am hopelessly addicted to Coke. We do have a store that sells Mexican Coke (real sugar!) but it costs $1.85 for a glass bottle!

[Sleflanna]

I have been trying to cut HFCS out of my diet completely. IT IS HARD TO DO THAT. It's in fucking everything.

I'm right there with you. I read labels now like it's a job! Physically, I feel so much better when I'm not cramming myself full of foods/drinks laden with HFCS and other junk.

[15Praxanant]

isn't just regular white sugar less bad than HFCS? I avoid both anyway.

someone here at @ posted a molecular comparison of the two on a chart and it shows how HFCS spikes blood sugar a lot more than cane sugar.

I use agave nectar in my tea.
and when I eat, I make all my food bland and simple.

anyway HFCS has an after taste that I can't stand and makes every sweet beverage taste the same.

I quit drinking soda regularly five years ago (including diet)

I just drink filtered water with a little lime juice in it.

[SkatrySkith]

Code words indeed. I'm over Vitamin Water. They discontinued my favorite drink anyway.

Oh no! I wouldn't touch the stuff now, but I'd still feel a little sad if they discontinued XXX or the 50 Cent grape flavour. They were great. Sugary, vitamin-excessive greatness.

And Autumn, it's worth that $1.85! Coke just tastes more awesome from a glass bottle. Science.

[zlopikanikanza]

At Passover, Coke usually puts out a lot of Passover-approved Coke that is made with sugar, not HFCS, so a lot of people stock up for a while.

[barsikjal]

Oh no! I wouldn't touch the stuff now, but I'd still feel a little sad if they discontinued XXX or the 50 Cent grape flavour. They were great. Sugary, vitamin-excessive greatness.

I loved rescue.

Thanks a lot, vitaminwater/Coke!

[ebonytipchik]

At Passover, Coke usually puts out a lot of Passover-approved Coke that is made with sugar, not HFCS, so a lot of people stock up for a while.

I was looking for that stuff everywhere! I heard it has a yellow cap on it. I could not find it for the life of me.

[brorwargy]

[brorwargy]

I watched the entire Lustig lecture with my other half last night. This was very informative and compels me to be even more vigilant about cutting sugar and HFCS out of my family's diet. Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Scarlet!

[investmentonlinev2006x]

I know Diet Coke is bad

So I've heard, but I never understood why exactly...
*googles*

*edits*
Woah. I never knew how artificial sweeteners work. They trick your brain?
I'm glad I don't touch the stuff much.
But I'm going to check other non-soda "light" products from now on.

[Nglvayhp]

I had some coke for the first time in months. I've gone off soda for the most part. I just drink Poland Spring Sparkling Water/seltzer and regular water most of the time (um and iced tea and coffee, hee). It doesn't have fructose or sugar in it, just "natural flavors" (fruit "essences", lol). However, I think drinking too much carbonated anything can be problematic.

[Viyzarei]

However, I think drinking too much carbonated anything can be problematic.

How come?

[Nglvayhp]

How come?

It's my understanding that too much of it can sometimes irritate your stomach. When I was in high school and had a lot of digestive problems due to stress, I was told to avoid carbonated beverages because they could further aggravate my condition.

Some people also say it can block calcium absorption, but I don't know if that's true or just Modern Jackassery.

[Viyzarei]

Okay. Interesting.

I loOoOooooOve carbonation and was just hoping I wasn't givng myself bubble cancer or something.

(And my doctor told me I'm not absorbing enough calcium and is having me take D3 supplements. Though I think it's because I don't like milk.)