Next Venture

So I've decided I like this program enough to become a certified health coach. Any guinea pigs out there (no pun intended). Anyway, my first course talked about HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) & I had always wondered why it was rumored to be so bad so I did some research & was amazed how confused I was. And I thought I was pretty well informed as to food. Maybe I was just well informed as to where to go EAT food.

So the question to you is - Which is "healthier" for your body, glucose or fructose? Have your answer yet?

Well, they both are okay in moderate amounts - a peach has 1.5 g fructose / 2.0 glucose / 4.8 sucrose. But how our bodies break it down is what I found interesting:

"Glucose is metabolized in every cell in the body but all fructose must be metabolized in the liver. The livers of test animals fed large amounts of fructose develop fatty deposits and cirrhosis, similar to problems that develop in the livers of alcoholics.

Fructose is generally regarded as being 1.73 times sweeter than sucrose.

Fructose is absorbed primarily in the jejunum before metabolism in the liver. Fructose is converted to fatty acids by the liver at a greater rate than is glucose. When consumed in excess of dietary glucose, the liver cannot convert all of the excess fructose in the system and it may be malabsorbed. The portion that escapes conversion may be thrown out in the urine. Diarrhea can be a consequence. A study of 25 patients with functional bowel disease showed that pronounced gastrointestinal distress may be provoked by malabsorption of small amounts of fructose.

Fructose interacts with oral contraceptives and elevates insulin levels in women on "the pill."

In studies with rats, fructose consistently produces higher kidney calcium concentrations than glucose. Fructose generally induces greater urinary concentrations of phosphorus and magnesium and lowered urinary pH compared with glucose.

In humans, fructose feeding leads to mineral losses, especially higher fecal excretions of iron and magnesium, than did subjects fed sucrose. Iron, magnesium, calcium, and zinc balances tended to be more negative during the fructose-feeding period as compared to balances during the sucrose-feeding period.

Because it is metabolized by the liver, fructose does not cause the pancreas to release insulin the way it normally does. Fructose converts to fat more than any other sugar. This may be one of the reasons Americans continue to get fatter. Fructose raises serum triglycerides significantly. As a left-handed sugar, fructose digestion is very low. For complete internal conversion of fructose into glucose and acetates, it must rob ATP energy stores from the liver.

Not only does fructose have more damaging effects in the presence of copper deficiency, fructose also inhibits copper metabolism--another example of the sweeteners double-whammy effect. A deficiency in copper leads to bone fragility, anemia, defects of the connective tissue, arteries, and bone, infertility, heart arrhythmias, high cholesterol levels, heart attacks, and an inability to control blood sugar levels."

WOW - didn't know that. I always thought when reading labels that if it said fructose & not HFCS then it was the sugar from fruit & was healthier. But the truth is, all this fructose is overtaxing our livers, raising our triglycerides & depleting us of nutrition.