HFCS The Good the Bad the Ugly

If you are a fan of western movies you know that phrase. If not you may be under the impression that anything labeled good is actually good without any reservations.

I was just sort of watching TV yesterday, you know when you are doing housework and stuff and the TV is on. A commercial caught my eye. Two teenage brothers are sitting at the breakfast table and the younger (nerd) is eating cereal. The older (football jock) is telling him that he is eating junk cereal loaded with HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) and everybody knows that is bad. The football jock cannot tell him "who said" it was bad and ends with everybody knows.

The slim younger boy proceeds to tell his brother that HFCS is good for you. That it is the same as sugar. That the body processes it as sugar and that eating it is not bad for you. The older brother immediately steals the bowl and eats the cereal.

The older boy was presented as a dim witted unthinking football player. Sorry but my grandson is a high school football player, and an A student. He knows more about nutrition than most kids and yet his information is still lacking. His coach has him on a regimen to bulk up and is pushing protein.

The younger slim boy was presented as being knowledgeable without giving any backup to his statements. He quoted no sources or statistics. It was the same sort of visual imagery that women face everyday - Buy this or that product and you will be young beautiful and desirable.

Facts that you can verify --

"Natural Sugar" processed first to syrup and then dried, has a higher glucose percentage which our body burns as a source of immediate energy. The glucose is stored in muscles and liver for later use, and also signals for the release of insulin.

HFCS is higher in fructose rather than glucose and fructose does not signal for the release of insulin.

Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps to metabolize our foods by pushing carbohydrates into our muscle cells to be used as energy, and allows carbohydrates to be stored in our liver for later use.

Glucose also stimulates production of another hormone, leptin, which helps to regulate our storage of body fat and increases our metabolism when needed.

These two hormones regulate our body fat and tell us when we are satisfied when eating and sends the message to our brain to stop eating.

These two hormones are influenced by glucose but not fructose.

Therefore --


HFCS - good - a cheap sweetener in manufactured products. Originally kept the cost of the product low. Since the US government sets the price of sugar to protect USA growers, sugar costs more here than anywhere else in the world. Cheap sugar is one reason the rest of the world still consumes more "natural" sugar than HFCS.

HFCS - bad - distorts the body's ability to process sugar, causes the appetite controlling hormones to ignore the intake of this sweetener thereby leading to eating more. This form of sweetener has more fructose which is basically ignored by your body.

HFCS - ugly - some claim fructose is addictive like MSG- the more you eat, the more you want. This can lead to excessive eating and insulin problems,which certainly contributes to disease and early death. Again, the fructose in comparison to the glucose.

I am sure when the manufacturers first came up with HFCS as an alternative sweetener it was a boon. It was created using "natural" ingredients. More and more manufacturers found HFCS a cheap way to add flavor to prepackaged foods.

Why is it necessary to put HFCS in canned vegetables? Then again why is it necessary to put regular sugar in canned vegetable. Same reason you add salt - take away the salt and the sugar and canned vegetables would taste like - nothing.

Can you become obese with regular sugar? Sure - diabetes and gout have always been part of society. Don't most people prefer something sweet to anything else? The sweet stuff usually has no redeeming value just empty calories - but it tastes good. Parents know that babies must be given the less appealing vegetables before they are introduced to the tasty desserts. And what busy parent can resist the temptation of giving the children a box of cereal and milk rather than cooking a high protein breakfast.

The big controversy here is fructose (yes found in fruits but balanced by the entire benefits of the fruit) and glucose. Fructose, more than sugar, contributes to your overweight problem. Natural sugar is just as processed as HFCS, but the difference is the balance of fructose and glucose. One the body can't cope with and the other is used.

Researchers at the University of Michigan found that men who consume very high levels of fructose elevated their triglyceride level by 32 percent. As triglyceride enters our blood stream, it makes our cells resistant to insulin, making our body’s fat burning and storage system even more sluggish.

In 1966 per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup was zero – in 2001 that rose to 62.6 pounds per person per year. Yes, we consumed more sweet stuff knowing it was fattening, but we also consumed the HFCS because we didn't know it was in the prepackaged products. Then again we probably didn't know about the sugar and salt either. MSG is another one of those lovely taste enhancers that leads to obesity.

That small but significant difference in sweeteners can help to explain why we are, as a nation, becoming obese. The same amount of exercise cannot accomplish the same fat burn because of the nature of what we eat and drink. Add to that the fact that we are all becoming more sedentary and using less energy -- the result is overweight and diseased bodies.

Wait you say, I know people who consume vast amounts of sugar and HFCS and fats and they never gain any weight. They have no health problems. They don't do lots of exercise.

Our genetic nature is so diverse that there will always be people who do not fall into the general statistics of any society. My mother ate sweets like there was no tomorrow and never gained a pound. Why oh why didn't I inherit that gene?

until next time -- smile

Sharon
AnswersforYourHealth.com

What is Harder - Starting Over or Starting New

We have all been there. The new project, the fear and anticipation, the excitement of something new.

We have all been there. Trying to breathe life into an old project, the boredom, the failures, knowing in your heart that it is just no good. Knowing that you are just not good enough to do it.

These words bring to mind all the diets, exercise programs, eating healthy resolutions and promises to yourself and others.

It is the promise to mow the yard and plant some flowers that keeps getting put off until tomorrow.

It is the vacation that goes wrong from day one and has to be salvaged rather than enjoyed.

IT is the sub conscious knowledge that is working to protect you from some unknown fear that is holding you back, making you sleepy and forcing you to put off starting over. So much easier to start new. Problem is, eventually you reach a point that there really is nothing new.

Vacation to a new place still starts as a vacation - plan or no. Did you learn from the last one to pack differently, to have a larger budget, to buy tickets in advance?

Your first attempt at a diet was probably a vague I will eat healthier. I'll have more salads and stay away from sugar. When that failed you had to start over with a specific diet, Atkins, cabbage or what ever. When that failed you were too afraid to start again. You fell back on the statement - everyone knows those diets don't work.

Maybe you eventually tried a meal plan diet where your meals are delivered to you and all you have to control is how many you eat every day. Yes if you eat 2 days of meals in one day the plan won't work. And by the way, did you learn to count calories or recognize portion size.

Have you reached the point of realizing that the only way to control your eating habits is to control what is available to eat? Do you accept that you must plan menus and alternate menus and buy only for those menus? Does that food delivery plan look more appealing?

Have you reached the point of realizing that no food plan alone will get you to your true health goal? Without the exercise to build muscle and burn fat you are just washing dishes in cold water without soap.

Gloom, despair, what is the point of trying, I will just fail.

It is buried deep in our subconscious, the will to live. That subconscious desire to live keeps us from doing some of the things we need to do to live well. Sounds strange doesn't it. How could our minds keep us sick and fat and weak when the mind is supposed to be keeping us alive and well.

The mind can be tricked with drugs and with memories. Otherwise how could any one say they can't live without a cigarette or a drink or a fix from cocaine or sugar.

EFT can be a valuable tool in the detox of the mind to free you to go on to a healthier life. But freeing your mind does not change the fact that losing 40 pounds will not happen this weekend. That falls into the category of life goal - once you lose the weight you have to keep it off.

The body has to go through a period of cleansing -- detox if you will. In a hospital, they use drugs to help the body go through a withdrawal from cocaine. If they didn't you could be looking at heart failure just from the stress and toxins released.

Your personal addictions to sugar or cigarette may not require hospitalization to overcome, but they do put a strain on your body and mind when you take them away. Since your mind wants the body to feel good, it will demand those things that are not good for you. Your mind may be confused about what is good or bad, but it remains strong in the demand for what it is use to on a daily basis.

Every day you must start over. You may add some new experiences to the mix, but basically you are working from an existing starting point. Habits are now just unconscious actions. You don't think about brushing your teeth in the morning, you just do it. You do what you do every day because that is what you do every day.

Getting healthy does not fall into the category of new project or starting over project. To be healthy falls into the category of habit, each day doing the same things, eating well, exercising moderately, sufficient sleep and managing stress. Remember that the managing of your stress is a great place to insert strength training - punching a speed bag will do more to remove your stress than a cigarette and it will build muscle which will burn more fat.

Curtis Grant said,

Having the world's best idea will do you no good unless you act
on it. people who want milk shouldn't sit on a stool in the
middle of a field in the hopes that a cow will back up to them.

So maybe it is start new or maybe start over, but take some action today to build the habits that will take you to a long and healthy life.

until next time smile
Sharon

What if you knew

what if you knew there were only 2 things that made you sick or fat? What if that number was 3? Would you be able to give up those 2 or 3 things? Sure you say -- without a second thought.

Now what if those 2 or 3 things had you addicted? Your body is so dependent on getting those things that it will cause you pain and suffering when you are going through detox. Irritation and anger and depression will be with you 24 hours a day for a week.

Still a pretty small amount of time compared to the rest of your life.

Since you are not alone in this world, what about your family, what if your husband or wife had 2 or 3 different things that made them sick or fat? What about the children?

The numbers are growing and this is becoming complicated. Still a life time of good health versus a shorter life time of sickness and disability.

Lets look at the case of a middle aged woman, over weight, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, arthritis and depression. History of failed diets, inability to exercise because of the arthritis, and long term use of physician prescribed steroids and drugs. She goes to a different type of doctor. He finds a chronic infection in an old root canal. That is the first thing to take care of before moving on to address her other complaints. She has multiple food intolerances and her body has encased these toxins in body fat.

With the chronic infection cured and her diet changed to one of simple whole foods with no sugar, no colas, no milk products she very quickly loses the excess pounds and the arthritis. The weight loss removes the metabolic syndrome and the high blood pressure. The non inflammatory diet removes the arthritis and the depression. She has been on a simple low-impact exercise program from the beginning and can now take walks. She is no longer in pain and depression is just a word. In 6 months she went from the beginning of death to the beginning of life.

Did she suffer while all of this was happening? I am sure she did but she was already suffering a great deal of pain.

There are blood tests to determine if you have food intolerances. In fact blood tests can now determine possible cancer as well as infection. Two major problems here. Insurance companies will not pay for these tests and the cost is high.

In this complicated world, doctors perpetuate disease and insurance companies fund this system. Alternative treatments are not covered and finding a competent doctor can be a frustrating search. What happened to plain old common sense? Isn't it more financially prudent to prevent heart disease than to replace the heart? Isn't it more financially responsible to prevent obesity than to do a stomach bi-pass?

For most of us it comes down to taking our health care into our own hands. Eliminate the most common toxic inflammatory foods from your diet. These include processed sugar, colas, milk and milk products, fried foods and processed cooking oils, processed and stripped grains and the MSG additive found in 99% of canned or frozen foods. Our tap water has mercury the most common toxic chemical in our bodies. Depending on the current health of your body, you may or may not be able to flush toxic chemicals from your system on a daily basis.

Look at your own body for chronic infections. Sinus infection and yeast infections are the most common. Are you still smoking? Do you walk a mile at least 3 times a week? Are you doing resistance exercise to build or maintain muscle?

In the end it comes down to how long do you want to live and what quality of life do you want to have. Yes it is up to you. Genetics play a part but your daily habits are the driving force. Pain now for a few weeks or pain later that devastates your quality of life.

It is easy to say I will do these changes ----- tomorrow. Today I feel fine, oh maybe a little tired, a little brain fogged, or little stiff in the joints, but after all I am getting older. I don't have to worry about those diseases for another 20 or 30 years.

You don't have to worry about them when you can simply eliminate them!

Do You Think You Are Healthy?

There are three groups in the world -- those who think they are healthy and are not, those who think they are healthy and are and those who know they are not healthy.

Everyone wants to be healthy. Everyone wants to keep all those bad habits that lead to an unhealthy condition.

I was talking with a friend who is very health conscious. He does cardio exercises everyday. Red meat has not touched his lips in years. One glass of wine a day.Herbal supplements and vitamins used everyday. Walks two miles every day. Here is one healthy guy, right.

I asked him why he was using a flavored artificial creamer in his coffee. I pointed out that it is full of junk and in fact contributes to the storage of fat. His reply, it tastes so darn good.

Lets take a quick look at the food he eats - artificial sugars, margarine, low fat milk and cheese, no eggs. Oh, I might add, he appears totally calm always but is under tremendous stress.

He falls in the first category. His meals rarely have fresh fruit and vegetables. He worries about his family history of disease. He relies too heavily on supplements from a bottle to meet his body's needs. He does not deal with his stress, he suppresses it and denies it.

Of all of these what do I think is the most damaging - his stress. Knowing what your parents and grandparents died from can increase your worry level. If you determine in your own mind that genetically you are pre-disposed to a certain disease or dysfunction, then you increase your chances of fulfilling that prophesy.

If there is one supplement you take to specifically prevent one specific condition, then each time you take it -- your mind says pill X is to not get disease X and since the mind recognizes positives over negatives - the mind says get disease X. Over simplified but you get the idea.

Try to remember that your gene pool is very large. You had two parents and they each had two parents and so on up the chain. I had one grandmother who lived to be in her 90's and was active and alert right to the end. Her heart finally gave out. My other grandmother died at a very early age and was an alcoholic. The family never talked about her much as she walked out on her 4 children when they were very small. I have no idea what exactly killed her but she was only in her late 30's.

The basics of health and longevity have always been and will always be your level of exercise and the food and liquid you put in your body. The contributing factors always include all the damages that have been inflicted on your body. Everything from sunburn to sprained knee. Over the years you have breathed insecticide, exhaust fumes, and cig smoke. You have ingested gallons of chlorine and fluoride.

Your body has responded every time with healing. You may not be happy with how the body has protected itself -- increased belly fat to isolate toxins -- but you have to acknowledge that the body is basically doing its job to the best of its ability.

Did you think I was telling you to not take supplements? Never.

Supplements are the support for your support system. They take up the slack created by fruits and vegetables that do not contain the maximum nutrition.

The aging process includes reduced amounts of certain hormones and enzymes that in turn cause more aging. Sort of a chicken or egg scenario. Which comes first. Your body loses the ability to heal itself because it lacks the necessary daily nutrition.

Our goal should be to remain as healthy as possible today. This body today. Nobody lives forever. Sounds kinda funny, but do you want to die of old age still active or do you want to die too young and sick and feeble.

Hospital joke for you

Hospital regulations require a wheelchair for patients being discharged. However, while working as a student nurse, I found one elderly gentleman--already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet--who insisted he didn't need my help to leave the hospital.

After a chat about rules being rules, he reluctantly let me wheel him to the elevator. At the exit I asked him if his wife was meeting him.

"I don't know," he said. "She's still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown."

What's on your list of healthy today? Is it vitamins, herbal supplements, a walk around the block, lifting weights, meditation or a healthy meal. All of the above, good for you.

until next time - smile
Sharon
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