Playing online casino Malaysia through Alibaba33 online casino Malaysia can be a fun and rewarding experience for those who enjoy playing games for fun. trusted online casino malaysia alibaba33Bet on your favourite slots, live, sporting events and win big! If you enjoy sports, slots like Mega888 ewallet Alibaba33 online casino Malaysia has something for you.

Viagra Malaysia treat erectile dysfunction with the original ED treatment that has helped men feel confident in bed for decades. We’ll connect you with a licensed viagra malaysia healthcare provider to evaluate if our prescription ED treatments could be right for you, including super-affordable generic Viagra viagramalaysiaofficial Viagra is an oral ED medication that works by suppressing an enzyme in the body called PDE5.

Tag: High Fructose Corn Syrup - Organic Lifestyle Magazine Tag: High Fructose Corn Syrup - Organic Lifestyle Magazine

Fructose is Directly Linked to Gut Inflammation in New Study

A new study finds that fructose, a commonly used sweetener, causes intestinal inflammation to worsen. Inflammation in the intestine can lead to Intestinal Bowel Disease (IBD) like Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. The study comes from Stony Brook University and tested three different mouse models of IBD.

Our findings provide evidence of a direct link between dietary fructose and IBD and support the concept that high consumption of fructose could worsen disease in people with IBD. This is important because it has the potential to provide guidance on diet choices for IBD patients, something that is currently lacking.”

David Montrose, PhD, of the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University

Related: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut

The most famous form of fructose in the modern Western diet is high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The corn-based sweetener was introduced to the public in the 1970s, and since then it has become a rather controversial ingredient. HFCS provides no nutritional value and has been linked to multiple inflammatory conditions like diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, and others.

This study is part of the growing research into the importance of the gut microbiota and the negative impact of the modern Western diet on that. Many scientists are analyzing the guts of hunter-gathers in comparison to ours and finding our gut microbes have been permanently weakened and altered. Many types of bacteria present in the hunter-gatherer’s gut were completely gone from ours.




If You Drink Soda, It’s Probably The Worst Thing You Do To Yourself (even worse than smoking!)

Sodas are worse for your health than eating sugary junk foods and may even be worse for you than smoking. Soda is proven to be addictive and consumption has been clinically linked to increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, weight gain, kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, depression, asthma, headaches, ear infections, joint and muscle problems, developmental delays, ADHD, heavy metal toxicity, yeast infections, urinary tract infections, candidiasis, other increased pathogenic activity, increased PMS symptoms, brain damage, liver toxicity, tooth decay, acne, mood swings, decreased fertility in men and women, and so much more!

In other words, drinking soda feeds infections, disrupts the gut microbiome and the metabolic processes, degrades cells, causes chronic illness, exacerbates virtually all chronic illness symptoms, and rapidly ages the body.

This is true for sugary sodas, diet sodas, and most energy drinks.

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut

The Sugar in Soda

A 20-ounce bottle of Coke contains approximately 65 grams sugar which equates to about or 16 teaspoons of sugar. There are 39 grams of sugar in a 12 oz can of Coke, which is equivalent to about 10 teaspoons of sugar. Most sodas that aren’t artificially sweetened are made with high fructose corn syrup, so the teaspoons of sugar are just equivalents.

The American Heart Association recommends that Americans consume no more than five to nine teaspoons of sugar per day.1 We contend that nine teaspoons of processed sugar are too much. Even one is too much. We don’t recommend any refined sugar.

A 20 oz soda has 2.5 servings. A standard serving size is eight ounces. There are 100 calories in one eight ounce serving of soda. These calories are void of nutrition. There’s an easy trick to figure out how many teaspoons of sugar a food has: divide the total sugar grams by four.

A 20-ounce bottle has 65 grams of sugar; 65÷4 = 16.25 teaspoons of sugar.

A can of coke has 35 grams of sugar; 35÷4=8.75 teaspoons of sugar.

If you’re trying to stick with the American Heart Association’s recommendations of no more than nine teaspoons of sugar per day you’re pretty much done after a can of soda.

Beverages are the most significant source of added sugars in the American diet.  The average American drinks almost 42 gallons of sweetened beverages a year. That’s about 39 pounds of sugar.2

Our genes are arranged within double-stranded molecules of DNA called chromosomes. At the ends of the chromosomes are stretches of DNA called telomeres. Telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes from deterioration and from fusion with other chromosomes. When chromosomes replicate, the enzymes that duplicate DNA cannot continue their duplication all the way to the end of a chromosome. Consequently, when a chromosome is duplicated it is also shortened. The telomeres act as disposable buffers at the ends of chromosomes, protecting the genes from being shortened. Over time, with cell replication, the telomere ends become progressively shorter.

Telomere length is positively correlated with lifespan, and shorter telomeres are associated with aging and an increased risk of age-related diseases. Sugar-sweetened soda consumption is associated with shorter telomeres. “Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas might influence metabolic disease development through accelerated cell aging.” 3 The good news is that telomere length has been shown to increase with positive dietary and lifestyle changes.

Recommended: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

It’s Not Just the Sugar

Plain sparkling water is slightly acidic. We don’t believe these weak acids acidify the body significantly but the carbonation may cause some damage to the teeth’s enamel even without the sugar (diet sodas have been shown to cause tooth decay). There is also a theory that the phosphate used in some carbonated beverages inhibits calcium absorption. But neither of these issues compares to the damage sugar and artificial sweeteners do to the body.

Artificial colors and flavors in many soft drinks have been shown to cause hyperactivity in children.  Yellow 5 has been associated with irritability, depression, and insomnia. Caramel coloring produces a chemical called 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI). The chemical may increase the risks of developing cancer. But, again, these risks are nearly negligible when compared to the health impacts of the sweeteners.

Soda has also shown in studies to have mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, and aluminum.4,5,6

Diet Soda

Artificial sweeteners increase hunger and make it harder to enjoy healthier foods.

When we consume artificial sweeteners our brain thinks real sugar is coming into the body. We produce insulin to deal with the sugar that’s not there. When the sugar doesn’t arrive the insulin has nothing to store. Elevated insulin causes inflammation and depresses the immune system.7 Blood sugar temporarily drops but long-term use of artificial sweeteners raises blood sugar levels overall.8 They also alter gut bacteria, disrupt normal serotonin levels, slow metabolism, and they alter how the body responds to insulin and glucose, which can lead to glucose intolerance.9,10

Studies suggest that drinking diet soda is associated with metabolic syndrome,11 a mix of conditions that includes: high blood sugar, increased blood pressure, and ironically enough, obesity. This can lead to diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Artificial sweeteners have been tied to Type 2 diabetes, Hypertension, Cardiovascular Disease, and cancer.11,13

Soda Addiction

You can definitely compare the intense pleasure I get from a cold can [of soda] to having a cigarette.” – Wouter, People Explain How Soda Addiction Is Ruining Their Life

Recommended: Sugar Leads to Depression – World’s First Trial Proves Gut and Brain are Linked (Protocol Included)

Soda Facts

Soda May Cause Headaches and Migraines

Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame are listed as top migraine triggers by numerous medical authorities and migraine sufferers.” – Migraine Triggers: Artificial Sweeteners, (1234567).

Caffeine and high fructose corn syrup are also common triggers for migraines.

Soda Messes Up Our Microbiome

Sugar (including dextrose, table sugar, and high fructose corn syrup) and artificial sweeteners have all been shown to disrupt gut bacteria, promote pathogenic activity, and increase the occurrence of yeast infections and urinary tract infections problems.

Soda and Diet Soda Are Making Us Fat

“The rise in soft drink consumption mirrors the national march toward obesity.” – Soda making Americans drink themselves fat

Obviously, sugar causes weight gain, but so does diet soda:

Several studies have proved conclusively that drinking diet soda is associated with weight gain.”

[…]

“Those who drank more than 3 of these drinks per day were more than twice as likely to become obese in the next 7 to 8 years.” – Here’s the Science That Explains Why Drinking Diet Soda Makes You Gain Weight

“And for another 8-year-long study between 1979-1988, participants who started out at a normal weight and drank an average of 21 diet beverages a week faced DOUBLE the risk of becoming overweight or obese by the end of the study, compared to people who avoided diet beverages completely.” – What drinking diet soda does to your body and brain

Soda Causes Diabetes

We all know sugar leads to diabetes and high-fructose corn syrup may even be worse (countries that use HFCS in their food supply had a 20 percent higher prevalence of diabetes than countries that did not use it 14). And artificial sweeteners fair no better.

A report published by the Washington Post stated that long-term use of foods and drinks containing artificial sweeteners are associated with a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Diet Soda and Sugary Drinks May Lead To Stroke and Dementia

High-fructose corn syrup causes cholesterol and triglycerides levels to rise. High-sugar diets lead to diabetes. High cholesterol, high triglycerides, and diabetes increase the likelihood of strokes and dementia.

But diet soda drinkers have a higher risk of stroke and dementia compared with those who consumed conventionally sweetened soda, according to research published in the American Heart Association’s journal.15

Soda Vs. Smoking

According to this study, drinking a 20-ounce soda every day ages your cells as much as habitual smoking, an astonishing 4.6 years of aging at the cellular level.

The study, published in the Journal of Public Health, analyzed data from 5,300 Americans, ages 20 to 65: those who reported daily soda slurping were found to have significantly stunted telomeres. Telomeres, the little caps at the end of your chromosomes, are essential in regulating the lifespan of your cells, and shorter telomeres have been linked to shorter life spans, diabetes, and cancer.” – Is Soda Worse Than Cigarettes?

“Research indicates daily consumption of a 20-ounce soda (though the study didn’t say over how long a time period) correlated to nearly five years of increased aging. This is comparable to the effects smoking cigarettes have on aging.” – If You Would Never Smoke a Cigarette but Still Drink Soda, Read This

Soda Makes Us Older

Soda makes us age faster. It influences metabolic disease development through accelerated cell aging. If you’re not off soda yet, hopefully now you’re ready to kick the habit. Once you remove soda from your life your body will begin to feel much better, provided you don’t replace it with another bad habit. Waking up will feel better, going to sleep will be easier, moving will feel better, thinking will be clearer, joints will hurt less, wounds will heal faster, healthy food will taste better, allergies will lessen or disappear, and everything in your body will work better.

Recommended:




Why You Should Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup & Aspartame

When chemicals added to processed foods earn a bad rep for causing disease and disability, one would hope the food manufacturers would remove them from their products or the FDA would protect the American people by banning them, but neither seems to be the case – not when big money is at stake. Instead the food manufacturers either launch dis-information campaigns claiming their additives are either healthy or benign, or they confuse and deceive the consumer by using a different name for the same additive. For example, according to The Truth in Labeling Campaign, MSG can be found in food under 50 different names.

With this history of deceit, it comes as no surprise to learn that we now have to look for high fructose corn syrup and aspartame under new names.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Dr. Mark Hyman has spent more than ten years studying high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), reading and interviewing “most of the ‘medical and nutrition experts'”.

He states the following reasons why we should never eat HFCS and why eating it may kill you.

  1. “Sugar in any form causes obesity and disease when consumed in pharmacologic doses.” Both are dangerous to the body in the amounts eaten by the average American.
  2. “HFCS and cane sugar are NOT biochemically identical or processed the same way by the body.” HFCS not only spikes insulin since it goes right into the bloodstream, it also goes right to the liver triggering the production of triglycerides and cholesterol. New research finds that it is a common cause of leaky gut syndrome. “High doses of free fructose have been proven to literally punch
    holes in the intestinal lining allowing nasty byproducts of toxic gut
    bacteria and partially digested food proteins to enter your blood stream
    and trigger the inflammation that we know is at the root of obesity,
    diabetes, cancer, heart disease, dementia, and accelerated aging.”
  3. “HFCS contains contaminants including mercury that are not regulated or measured by the FDA.” Mercury was discovered. Other contaminants were also detected but as yet are unidentified.
  4. “Independent medical and nutrition experts DO NOT support the use of HFCS in our diet, despite the assertions of the corn industry.” The industry takes comments out of context and passes them off as supportive to their products when they are not.
  5. “HFCS is almost always a marker of poor-quality, nutrient-poor disease-creating industrial food products or “food-like substances”.” Surely we all know by now that nearly all processed food is garbage.

Add to this impressive list the fact that most of the corn in this country is genetically modified. Do you ever want to put this in your body?

So now that the truth about high fructose corn syrup is more readily available, Chex cereal has decided to rename it – calling it fructose. Even while their packaging states that the product does not contain HFCS (which is 55% fructose), instead it contains HFCS-90, (note it is high fructose corn syrup with 90% fructose) and they are calling it fructose.

Aspartame

The makers of aspartame use the argument that orange juice is natural and good for you and all they did was take two of the amino acids from orange juice to make their product. What could possibly be wrong with that?

You can easily find arguments on either side of aspartame safety from a nutritionist with a PhD listing 92 reasons aspartame is dangerous and should be completely avoided to articles claiming test after test has proven it’s safe. It is interesting that those articles always say something about the level ingested. The fact that aspartame changes into formaldehyde in the body is enough for me. I’ve smelled it. Have you?

Again, this is big business with lots of money at stake. So now a rebranding is underway. Aspartame is now aminosweet. Consumer beware.

Though you can save yourself a lot of time and trouble deciphering labels and trying to figure our what the food industry is hiding. Eat – real – food! It’s simple. Check out the 80% Raw Food Diet. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and healthy replacement for HFCS laden beverages, check out this cranberry lemonade recipe.

Further Reading:
Sources:



No High Fructose Corn Syrup!

Hansel and Gretel Had It Easy

We have all read, seen or listened to some variation of Hansel & Gretel from the Brothers Grimm. A witch lives in a deep forest luring children with an edible house and sweet treats hoping to fatten them up for her cannibalistic urges. The children turn the tables as befits fairy tale heroes and get out alive.

Well, according to the newest research from Princeton University published officially in Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior1 and for the mass market in Science Daily2, Hansel and Gretel would be even fatter, slower and more lethargic eating today’s sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup because the weight gain from HFCS is far greater than ordinary sucrose. This would put the outcome of tricking the witch into her own oven in doubt.

HFCS is a corn derivative that typically has 55-percent fructose, 42-glucose and 3-percent other larger sugars. It is cheaper than sucrose in the United States where it is easier to grow corn than sugar cane or sugar beets. Sucrose is a naturally occurring blend of equally balanced fructose and glucose. HFCS replaced sucrose in the early 1970s and the rate of obesity as a population percentage has doubled from 15 to 33-percent since then according to CDC figures cited by Science Daily.

The researchers conducted two experiments. One compared male rats eating rat chow and HFCS water to similar rats eating rat chow and sucrose flavored water. The weight gain was described as “much for the rats eating the HFCS water. Thereally interesting fact about this study: the sucrose water was highly concentrated at levels similar to the few sodas sweetened with sucrose still in the US marketplace, but the HFCS water was half the concentration of the typical HFCS soda.

The second study lasting six months looked at high fructose corn syrup versus water. Here the rats ballooned up with 48-percent weight gains over rats just eating food and unsweetened water. The researchers described the high-fructose corn syrup rats as obese.

“These rats aren’t just getting fat; they’re demonstrating characteristics of obesity, including substantial increases in abdominal fat and circulating triglycerides,” researcher Miriam Bocarsly reported. “In humans, these same characteristics are known risk factors for high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer and diabetes.”

The researchers speculated on the reasons why HFCS might be more fattening than sucrose. Apparently, fructose molecules in sucrose are bound to glucose molecules and take longer to hit the bloodstream than the fructose in HFCS, which aren’t bound to anything. The researchers also mentioned that fructose seems to be processed in the liver into fat, while sucrose is metabolized by insulin from the pancreas and is more readily used as an energy source.

“Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn’t true, at least under the conditions of our tests,” says psychology professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction. “When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they’re becoming obese—every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don’t see this; they don’t all gain extra weight.”3

The researchers cite previous research articles that show fructose affects hormones like leptin that work with insulin to control satiety, the feeling of being full.

This excerpt from the abstract says it all – “The combined effects of lowered circulating leptin and insulin in individuals who consume diets that are high in dietary fructose could therefore increase the likelihood of weight gain and its associated metabolic sequelae. In addition, fructose, compared with glucose, is preferentially metabolized to lipid in the liver.”4

Not feeling full induces more eating. In the meantime, we can imagine Hansel and Gretel being fed soda and other fructose-laden foods and winding up in the witch’s meat pie. End of story.

Sources for this Article:

  1. Bocarsly, ME, et al. “High-fructose corn syrup causes characteristic of obesity in rats:
  2. sciencedaily.com viewed 3/30/2010
  3. sciencedaily.com viewed 3/30/2010
  4. Elliott, SS, et al. “Fructose, weight gain, and the insulin resistance syndrome.” Am J
  5. Increased body weight, body fat and triglyceride levels.” Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 2010; DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2010.02.012
  6. Clin Nutr. 2002 Nov;76(5):911-22.



High Fructose Corn Syrup A Sweet Surprise?

I’m watching TV and I see a commercial where a couple is in the park and the girl offers the guy a taste of her Popsicle. It’s a red Popsicle—a nutrient free snack of frozen artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup. He is hesitant. “It’s got high fructose corn syrup in it,” he says. She looks at him like he’s stupid. “So?” she says. He responds with, “So you know what they say about it.” “What?” she asks. He stutters, not knowing what to say. She then tells him “That’s it’s made from corn, has the same calories as sugar and honey, and is fine in moderation?” still looking at him like he’s an idiot. And then the commercial tells you to “Get the Facts at www.sweetsurprise.com.” 

So it turns out that high fructose corn syrup is no worse for you then table sugar! That’s great news! High fructose corn syrup is relatively low on the glycemic index, and it’s made from corn, a vegetable! They don’t mention the fact that excess fructose processed in the liver gets turned into fats-triglycerides, or that fructose is linked to significant increases of both cholesterol and triglycerides, or that high fructose corn syrup is a highly refined processed sugar devoid of any nutrition. So they took out all of the nutrients and refined corn down to an acidic, toxic, fattening, cholesterol raising, triglyceride increasing sweetener. Who cares? It’s made from a vegetable! Ok, so maybe the vegetable is genetically modified too, but still, it’s gotta be good for you, right? I mean the website www.sweetsurprise.com says it’s good for you! Well, okay, they don’t say it’s good for you, but they sure do their best to make you believe it.

Well, I for one am relieved to know that I can go drink a soda and know that it’s no worse than ingesting table sugar, because the high fructose corn syrup association says so. They say it’s fine in moderation. And if you can’t trust an association, who can you trust? Does this sound familiar? Didn’t the tobacco association tell us smoking was fine in moderation?

Well, anyway, since that Popsicle is obviously good for me, I guess I can eat all the Halloween candy I want. This is great!

Is it just me, or did that girl holding the Popsicle look evil? Kinda like one of Satan’s minions?

Oh well, I’m not concerned. We can all trust the high fructose corn syrup association and the sugar association, the Food and Drug Administration, oh, and any other association that has our best interests at heart.

And since you now know that high fructose corn syrup is no worse for you than white table sugar, go read about how good white table sugar is
for you in our August issue.

In this issue check out High Fructose Corn Syrup – A Not So Sweet Surprise, and get the rest of the facts!




High Fructose Corn Syrup, A Not So Sweet Surprise

Though the commercial said “It’s OK in moderation,” most Americans do NOT ingest a moderate amount of high fructose corn syrup. This sweetener is used in so many refined products, it’s actually difficult to find processed foods that don’t contain it. Take a look at breads, sauces, hot dogs, candy, crackers, frozen dinners, pizza, juice, and soda to see how prevalent it is. It is often listed as one of the first ingredients (remember ingredients are listed by highest content). Because high fructose corn syrup is easy to transport and inexpensive compared to refined sugar, (thanks to federal subsidies and tariffs on imported sugar), high fructose corn syrup is the sweetener used in more than 40% of sweetened foods and beverages and nearly 100% of the time in the non-diet soft drinks sold in the United States. If you eat processed foods, you definitely consume more than a moderate amount of high fructose corn syrup.

OLM gives you the rest of the story on high fructose corn syrup…

High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Not Just Fructose

evil high fructose corn syrupHigh fructose corn syrup is made by treating corn (typically genetically modified corn) with a variety of enzymes (many of which are also genetically modified) to first extract the sugar glucose and then convert some of it into fructose (fructose is sweeter than glucose). The end result is approximately 55% fructose and 45% glucose.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Not Natural

In April 2008, the FDA declared that any product containing high fructose corn syrup could not be considered ‘natural’ and should not be labeled as such, because high fructose corn syrup is manufactured using a synthetic fixing agent. Under pressure from lobbyists hired by the Corn Refiners Association, the FDA quickly changed its mind. Now the FDA says that if the synthetic agent – called glutaraldehyde – does not come into contact with the high-dextrose corn starch, it can be considered natural. But there is nothing natural about high fructose corn syrup. It’s made in vats of murky fermenting liquid with fungus and genetically modified organisms, all of which are changed through the use of chemicals. There are a lot of products that are called “natural” though they are far from it, but high fructose corn syrup may be the biggest imposter of all these “natural” foods.

Fructose Makes You Fat

There has been a rapid increase in obesity following the introduction and increase of high fructose corn syrup into the American diet. Excess fructose (and it doesn’t take much to be excessive) is converted into unhealthy fat.

High fructose corn syrup short-circuits the glycolytic pathway for glucose and does not stimulate insulin secretion. Insulin controls a hormone called leptin, which signals the brain to tell your body it’s full. Since fructose doesn’t stimulate glucose levels and insulin release, there’s no increase in leptin levels and no feeling of satiety. Also, fructose does not affect ghrelin, a hunger inducing hormone, which is normally suppressed with food.

Natural fructose from fruit is attached to fiber and is ingested in considerably smaller amounts, which cause the sugar to be released slowly into the body while the fiber makes you feel full.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Linked to Diabetes, High Cholesterol, and Heart Disease

In natural sugars, fructose is bound to other sugars. High fructose corn syrup contains unbound fructose, often in large amounts. Unlike glucose, which can be metabolized by every cell in the body, fructose can be metabolized only by the liver. When too much fructose enters the liver at one time, the liver can’t process it as a sugar; it converts it into cholesterol and triglycerides, which are in turn dumped into the bloodstream. The more fat and cholesterol your blood has to transport, the higher your blood pressure needs to be to get the job done. (Imagine a pump that has to move thicker liquid.) High levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. High triglyceride levels also cause our body’s cells to become insulin resistant. If enough cells are insulin resistant, diabetes will result.

Free fructose is also linked to blood clots, interference with the heart’s use of key minerals, functions of white blood cells, and high levels of uric acid. 

If you want to lose weight, lower your LDL cholesterol, lower you triglycerides, decrease your risk factors, treat, or reverse diabetes or heart disease, eliminating high fructose corn syrup from your diet is imperative – the first action you should take.

The Digestion of High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Hard On the Body

Acidic “foods”, which are void of nutrition, wreak havoc on the body. To compensate, the body will pull calcium and other minerals from our bones, teeth, and organs to keep our blood slightly alkaline. Enzymes must be produced to metabolize high fructose corn syrup and micro-nutrients must be utilized. High fructose corn syrup causes mineral imbalances and deficiencies, which can cause a host of other diseases and health problems.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Can Alter Magnesium Balance Leading to an Increased Risk of Osteoporosis

High Fructose Corn Syrup inhibits copper metabolism leading to both a deficiency of copper and copper toxicity (if you can’t metabolize the copper, it becomes toxic to your body), which can cause increased bone fragility, anemia, ischemic heart disease, defective connective tissue formation, gray hair, hair loss, and much more.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Accelerates Aging

Any food that is difficult to metabolize (foods void of nutrients or low in nutrients, acidic foods, foods low in enzymes, etc.) depletes the body’s store of minerals, vitamins, and enzymes causing every other body system to function improperly, accelerating aging in every way.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Bad for the Environment

Corn is generally grown as a monoculture crop (one crop planted over a large area with no diversity and usually without crop rotation). This maximizes yields, but at a price. Soil nutrients are depleted so farmers compensate with fertilizer and pesticides. Topsoil is weakened. Demand for corn is increasing due to the manufacture of high fructose corn syrup and corn-based ethanol. Corn is being planted world-wide at the expense of sustainable food crops in third world countries. Farmers throughout the world, who once produced a variety of food to feed their populations, are now growing one crop to ship to America–genetically modified corn.




Healthy Sugar Alternatives & More

Understanding both healthy & not so healthy sugars with their Glycemic Index & Load

Is there such a thing as healthy sugar?

Our body needs sugar to survive. But what we don’t need is refined sugars. Anyone suffering from an overabundance of Candida should limit their fruits, choose them wisely, and forget about sweets in general until the Candida is under control. This goes for those suffering from diabetes and any fungal, viral, or bacterial infection as well. If you do suffer from Candida problems we recommend Thorne SF722. It kills Candida better than anything we know of. A good probiotic to help rebuild the healthy gut flora is recommended too.

(Click here to scroll to table)

In nature, we didn’t eat a lot of sugar, and none of it was refined. In fact, just to get an idea of how easy it is for us to ingest more sugar than we would have ever done in nature, consider the fact that our fruit has grown in size and has become sweeter and easier to eat. One good example is the banana. Just google “wild banana.” Check out the pictures.

Sugar is wrecking havoc on our bodies in a few different ways. It’s hard on the pancreas, the liver, and it feeds fungus, bacteria, viruses, and other parasites that stress the whole body. Consuming refined sugars radically lowers the body’s immune system and leads to allergies, both seasonal and food allergies.

Note: If you’ve been eating too much sugar (and this includes those known as “healthier sugars,” check out How to Kill Candida and Balance the Inner Ecosystem. For a better understanding of how sugar interacts with the body, check out Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases.

Many people consider themselves healthy but suffer from certain ailments due to their sugar intake. In many cases, these people do not realize that the alternative healthier sugar choices they make still contribute to health problems. Sugars like brown rice syrup, honey, coconut palm sugar, and apple juice are still refined sugars and should be used sparingly. Maple syrup and dates are other sweeteners that, depending on your definition are not necessarily refined, but still are sugars none the less and need to be limited as well. If you or someone you know suffers from seasonal allergies or chronic Candida overgrowth, give up the honey, the brown rice syrup, the agave, and any other sweetener, save stevia, completely for a week and see what happens. We bet the results will surprise you.

The reality is that junk food, whether made with healthier sugar substitutes or high fructose corn syrup is still junk food. Healthy foods are whole foods, and whole foods should be the foundation of anyone’s diet.

Glucose

Glucose is the simple sugar made by the body through digestion of carbohydrates. It is the body’s chief source of energy. Sometimes glucose is called dextrose.

Sucrose

Sucrose is what we commonly refer to as table sugar. It is made from highly processed sugar cane or sugar beets. The composition of sucrose is a combination of glucose and fructose, which separates during digestion. Pure sucrose is devoid of any nutrients.

Fructose

Fructose, commonly called fruit sugar, is a simple sugar found in honey, tree fruits, berries, and melons. But don’t be fooled into thinking fructose on a label means you are eating fruit sugar. Pure crystalline fructose comes from two sources: corn or sucrose (table sugar). Corn starch is processed to release fructose. Sucrose (table sugar) is enzymatically hydrolyzed to separate into glucose and fructose. Crystalline fructose is pure fructose from one of these two sources.

High Fructose Syrups

High Fructose Corn Syrup is made from starches like corn, wheat, and rice. High fructose syrups contain nearly equal amounts of glucose and fructose, a composition nearly identical to sucrose (table sugar). The reason high fructose corn syrup is so abundant in our processed food is simple-it’s cheaper than sugar. Because we highly subsidize corn and place tariffs on sugar imports, high fructose corn syrup is much less expensive.

Pure fructose is 1.2-1.8 times sweeter than sucrose so less is needed for the same level of sweetness. It is low on the glycemic index, therefore it does not lead to peaks and dips in the body’s glucose levels. But fructose is processed in the liver. When too much fructose enters the liver at once, the liver can’t process fructose as a sugar. Instead, the liver turns excess fructose into fats-triglycerides. When you incorporate these fats into our bodies cells (the cell membranes) triglycerides cause these cells to be insulin resistant. This is the reason that high fructose corn syrup leads to diabetes. Fructose is linked to significant increases of both cholesterol and triglycerides. And remember-fructose, like sucrose-is a highly refined processed sugar devoid of any nutrition.

Maltose

Maltose, also known as malt sugar, is half as sweet as sucrose (table sugar). It is produced from starch (barley, wheat, rice or other grains). It has been produced in China since 200 B.C. We use it in making beer and as an additive to some processed foods.

In our bodies, maltose is formed as the first step in digestion of starchy foods. It is then broken down into glucose.

Lactose

Lactose is the sugar found naturally in milk.

Date Sugar

Date sugar is 100% dehydrated dates ground into small pieces. It is a whole food, high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Date sugar can be substituted for granulated sugar or brown sugar cup for cup, but it does not dissolve in liquids. Most alternative health practitioners consider Date Sugar to be a healthy sugar alternative.

Sugar Alcohols or Polyols

Maltitol, maltitol syrup, sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, lactitol, lakanto, erythritol, and isomalt are examples of sugar alcohols. They occur naturally in plants but are usually manufactured from sugars and starches. Sugar alcohols have fewer calories than sugars because they are not completely absorbed by the body. They can ferment in the intestines and cause gas, bloating, and diarrhea.

Information on Xylitol from Natural News:

Health Claims

It is obvious to me, as it might be to you, that xylitol, in addition to killing bacteria, will probably kill just about anything. This clearly explains why it is only recommended to be used in small doses. Yet if you go to a health food store, you will see larger sized bags of xylitol on the shelf, promoting its many health uses.

Health Concerns

In lab tests, xylitol will kill a rat 50% of the time in a dosage of 16.5 grams of xylitol for every 1000 grams of rat. Medium rats weigh 100-120 grams, or say .25 pounds. That means, to kill a 100-gram rat, you need only to get the rat to consume, 1.65 grams of xylitol.

A typical xylitol piece of gum contains .7 – 1 gram of xylitol. About half the amount needed to kill a rat. I read of a study stating that humans consumed up to 400 grams of xylitol per day without any ill health effects. I find that hard to believe that such a study is accurate in comparison to the lab tests done as indicated on the material safety data sheets. If 1.65 grams can kill a rat, consuming 400 grams would be highly toxic to humans.

Glycemic Index

When carbohydrates are digested, glucose is released into the bloodstream. The glycemic index is a comparative measurement of the amount of glucose released by a particular food over a two to three-hour period.

Foods that rapidly release glucose rate high on the glycemic index (GI). Foods that slowly release glucose are low on the glycemic index. Mixing high and low GI foods can result in a moderate glucose release.

But the GI rating alone does not give you all of the information you need to determine a food’s effect on your blood sugar. It only tells you how quickly the carbs in a food should turn into sugar in your blood. The glycemic load or GL tells you how much of that carb the food contains. And of course the amount you eat of that particular food is also a huge factor in the rise of your blood sugar.

Foods ranked low on the GI scale release glucose slowly and steadily without a sudden spike of glucose in the blood.  A spike in glucose results in a large insulin release, which is more likely to store glucose as fat rather than use it as fuel. Plus a high release of insulin often results in a rapid drop in blood sugar, causing hunger. So you eat candy. Your blood sugar spikes. Insulin is released. Your blood sugar drops. You eat more candy. The sugar rollercoaster ride begins.

It is important to remember that the GI scale is simply a comparative scale; it compares one food’s blood glucose response to another. There are many other factors to consider when choosing your food. Start with the basic question. Is this food dense with nutrients?

The Best Sugars

When baking, or for coffee and teas, honey would not be used since the heat destroys the natural benefits. Stevia does not bake well and it has a funny aftertaste to most people, but we love it in lemonade and cranberry juice, as well as many teas. If forced to a favorite, sugar cane juice, maple syrup, and coconut palm sugar are our top choices when used sparingly. While we are not a fan of agave, sugar alcohols, or using very much of any refined sugars, a mix of them can be a healthier choice for baking and other recipes that call for sweeteners. Using a little bit of agave, some lactitol, some stevia, and sugar cane juice or coconut palm sugar can be a great way to lessen the adverse effects of any one type of surer while still getting a very nice, well-rounded sweet taste.

Sugars & Substitutes with their Glycemic Index & Load

Glycemic indexes and loads are an average based on a wide variety of sources that base their findings on a glucose scale. These figures are estimates. The accurate glycemic index and the glycemic load for each individual person varies depending on many factors including body composition and other foods that are being digested at the same time.

If you know of some good glycemic load resources for sweeteners please leave us a comment, as they are lacking on the internet. If you want to see other sugars on this list, comment for that as well, we’ll get them added. 

Be sure to look at the recommended reading below.

Sweeteners
Index/Load
Information
Artificial Sweeteners
N/A
Never a Healthy Sugar Alternative

All artificial chemical sweeteners are toxic and can indirectly lead to weight gain, the very reason many people consume them. They should be avoided. In fact, given a choice between high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners, we recommend high fructose corn syrup by far (though it’s essentially asking if you should consume poison or worse poison).

Stevia
0/0
Best Healthy Sugar Alternative

Though it is 200-300 times sweeter than table sugar, stevia is not a sugar. Unlike other popular sweeteners, it has a glycemic index rating of less than 1 and therefore does not feed candida (yeast) or cause any of the numerous other problems associated with sugar consumption. Read more about stevia here on OLM. Please note that Stevia and Truvia are not the same thing. Truvia is an artificial sweetener.

Date Sugar and Dried Dates
103/40
Many health advocates use dates as there sweetener but others point to the very high glycemic index and load at reason to stay away from dates.
Xylitol
7/9
Xylitol is a natural sugar alcohol sweetener found in the fibers of fruits and vegetables which can cause bloating, diarrhea, and flatulence with initial consumption. It’s said to be safe for pregnant women, and is said to possibly treat ear infections, osteoporosis, respiratory infections, candida, and is it even helps fight cavities. In fact, in Finland, virtually all chewing gum is sweetened with xylitol. Likely to Contain GMOs
Agave Nectar
10-30/
1-10
A sweet syrup made from the Blue Agave plant, Agave Nectar is obtained by the extraction and purification of “sap” from the agave plant, which is broken down by natural enzymes into the monosaccharides (simple sugars): mainly fructose (70-75%) and dextrose (20-26%). Read more about agave nectar at OLM. May to Contain GMOs (due to many brands mixing with HFCS)
Fructose
10-19/
0
Though fructose has a low glycemic index rating, fructose consumption should be limited. Fructose is linked to heart disease as it raises triglycerides and cholesterol. It is devoid of nutrition.
Brown Rice Syrup
25 -65?/
?
It is not recommended for diabetics, since its sweetness comes from maltose which is known to cause spikes in blood sugar. The range on the glycemic index for this sweetener is not due to a range found within different brands or sources. There is considerable debate as to what the glycemic index is on this sweetener, and a GI rating of 25 while most often reported by manufactures of the syrup seems far-fetched and unlikely. Little research has been done and a wide range of GIs have been reported. We could not find the glycemic load anywhere. May contain arsenic
Raw Honey
25-50/
15-30
A Healthy Sugar Alternative in moderation, but…

With antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, carbohydrates, and phytonutrients, raw, unprocessed honey is considered a superfood by many alternative health care practitioners and a remedy for many health ailments. Choose your honey wisely. Different honeys have different glycemic indexes. There is nothing beneficial about processed honey. Honey does not retain its healthy properties when cooked, this includes being used in hot coffee or tea. Read more about honey.

Coconut Palm Sugar
35/1
Originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm , the date palm or sugar date palm (Phoenix sylvestris). It’s also made from the sap of coconut palms. With a relatively low glycemic index, Coconut palm sugar is the new rage among health nuts. It’s often called “coconut nectar sugar” or “coconut sugar”. Note that some coconut palm sugar is mixed with cane sugar, and the brands that do this should be avoided.
Apple Juice
40/10
Fresh has its health benefits but it still a concentrated and refined sugar. We recommend eating fresh raw whole apples and if you want to juice apples we recommend granny smiths. Concentrated apple juice (sometimes used as a sweetener) is a very concentrated refined sugar like white table sugar and should be avoided.
Barley Malt Syrup
42/?
Barley malt syrup is considered to be one of the healthiest sweeteners in the natural food industry. Barley malt is made by soaking and sprouting barley to make malt, then combining it with more barley and cooking this mixture until the starch is converted to sugar. The mash is then strained and cooked down to syrup or dried into powder.
 Amazake
43/?
This is an ancient, Oriental whole grain sweetener made from cultured brown rice. It has a thick, pudding-like consistency. It’s not easy to find in the U.S., but it is a great alternative to refined table sugar.
Sugar Cane Juice
43/?
Healthy Sugar Alternative in moderation
Sugar cane juice has many nutrients and other beneficial properties and is said by some health practitioners to be almost as medicinal as raw honey.
Organic Sugar
60-65/?
Organic sugar comes from sugar cane grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides. It is usually darker than traditional white sugar because it contains some molasses. (It has usually been processed to the degree, or close to it, as regular white sugar is processed).
Maple Syrup
54/?
Maple syrup is made by boiling sap collected from natural growth maple trees during March & April. It is refined sap and is therefore processed.  It has a high glycemic index, and though it is much more nutritious then refined table sugar and high fructose corn syrup, there are better choices.
Evaporated Cane Juice
55/?
Evaporated cane juice is often considered unrefined sugar, but juicing is a refining process, and evaporating refines further. Though better than turbinado, cane juice (unevaporated) is a better choice as a sweetener.
Black Strap Molasses
55/?
White refined table sugar is sugar cane with all the nutrition taken out. Black strap molasses is all of that nutrition that was taken away. A quality organic (must be organic!) molasses provides iron, calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, and is alkalizing to the body.
Turbinado
65/?
Turbinado sugar is partially processed sugar, also called raw sugar.
Raw Sugar
Raw sugar
65/?
Raw sugar is not actually raw sugar. It is processed, though not as refined as common white table sugar. Therefore, given a choice between raw and white, choose raw. There are many different variations of raw sugar with many different names depending on how refined it is. May contain GMOs
Cola (and most other sodas)
70/?
Though cola has a lower GI ranking then some might expect, there are many other reasons to avoid cola, or any type of soda. There is nothing beneficial to the human body inside a can of soda (not to mention we should avoid drinking out of aluminum cans!).
Corn Syrup
75/?
Corn syrup has very little nutrition and should be avoided. Usually Contains GMOs
Refined, Pasteurized Honey
40-75/
10-22
The nutrition is gone, and there is often high fructose corn syrup added to processed honey. Refined pasteurized honey is no better than white table sugar. Often mixed with HFCS (without notifying consumer), so may contain GMOs
Refined Table Sugar
65/7
Conventionally grown, chemically processed, and striped of all beneficial properties, many health advocates believe that refined sugar is one of the two leading causes (high fructose corn syrup is the other) of nearly every health ailment known to man (or woman or child). Not only does it have a high GI ranking, but it also is extremely acidic to the body causing calcium and other mineral depletion from bones and organs (sugar is alkaline but has a very acidic effect on the body). May contain GMOs
High Fructose Corn Syrup
60-87/?
Many health advocates believe that high fructose corn syrup and refined sugar are the two biggest contributors to health ailments in our society. High fructose corn syrup is a combination of sucrose and fructose. Contains GMOs
Glucose (AKA Dextrose)
100/?
White bread was the benchmark, but for consistency glucose now holds the rating at 100. Usually Contains GMOs
Maltodextrin
150/?
Foods that have maltodextrin often say “Low Sugar” or “Complex Carbohydrate”, but this sweetener should be avoided!  Usually Contains GMOs

Please note that the glycemic index numbers here are estimates. There are many variables that help determine how quickly a sugar is absorbed. These numbers represent an average of many different respected studies. In addition, it is very important to note that the glycemic index and the glycemic load do not define what is a healthy sugar and what is an unhealthy sugar. There are many other variables.

If you’ve been eating too much sugar (and this includes those known as “healthier sugars,” check out How to Kill Candida and Balance the Inner Ecosystem. For a better understanding of how sugar interacts with the body, check out Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases.

Recommended Reading: