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Despite what the cheesy ads say, High Fructose Corn Syrup is not good for you. Aside from common sense telling you something so modified from its original content should be avoided if possible, there are several known health risks associated with HFCS. Most disturbingly, it has been linked to severe liver damage. It has also been linked to decreased leptin production (which can lead to obesity) and a type of compound which is thought to do much of the damage from diabetes. Now, it appears that much HFCS is contaminated with mercury.
HFCS is the result of the high subsidies on corn and the high tariffs on sugar. With corn so much cheaper than sugar, it was cost effective to massively modify corn into sugar. This is also the reason US ethanol sucks, and overseas ethanol works. Ethanol here is made from corn, because it's subsidized. If you make it from sugar, it's much more efficient. One of the cures for HFCS is free trade. Ironically, many of the people most concerned about HFCS also hate free trade. These subsidies and tariffs were efforts by both parties to buy votes. They also illustrate how little difference there is between the parties. But I digress.
The other irony with HFCS is due to people simply hearing that HFCS is bad for them, then embracing the idea without doing their own research (it'd take about 5-10 minutes using Google). The idea that people won't drink soda because it has HFCS but will chug fruit juice all day is the most ironic. First, a good chunk of what people call fruit juice is loaded with HFCS. Second, even if you're getting pure fruit juice, think about what it is. It's all fructose, the very thing you were trying to avoid with the HFCS. It'll have the same effects, or worse, than soda. Fruit contains a multitude of nutritional compounds, many of which are left behind when it's juiced, such as fiber. Drinking juice is very different from eating fruit.
HFCS won't kill you (quickly), but if you're trying to get healthier, it's probably something to avoid.
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2 comments:
So what are you supposed to drink. Water only? I find it hard to believe that a glass of Orange juice is bad for you. I'm with you on the HFCS part, but what will have to happen to get companies to start using regualr sugar? Or will it take companies like Jones Soda to get big enough using cane sugar for the big companies to realize they might want to switch back?
Healthy things to drink:
Water
Milk
Tea
Diet Drinks (arguable)
The reason juice is bad for you is very simple. All of the studies I cited, except for the mercury one, involved fructose, or what is in fruit. Our bodies have a very limited ability to process fructose. It doesn't matter if it comes from corn juice or orange juice. When it is eaten as a solid, fruit contains fiber and other nutrients, and due to volume, less total fructose. Is it the worst thing by itself? Not at all. Is it one part of being healthier? Yes. It's also a matter of scale. A 6 oz. glass of OJ isn't a big deal. Replacing a normal American's soda intake with juice- bad.
As far as companies ceasing use of HFCS, the quickest way is free trade. *All* of them use sugar in every other country. Coke outside the US is made with sugar. So 60%+ of their global sales come from sugar based drinks. US politicians are literally paying them to kill us.
Realistically, it's unlikely to happen, due to the way Senators are elected and that most people who care about HFCS don't drink any real amount of soda anyway.
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