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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
There is mixed data. HFCS belongs to a class of sugars known as "simple sugars", which are among the most damaging to the body's metabolism when consumed in large amounts. There is little evidence that it, specifically, is worse than sucrose; the main problem with the various corn syrup products is that they are used to hide the actual amount of sugar in a product by making it look like different ingredients.
For example, if you see a product that contains "Water, flour, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar, ..." you might not realize that sugar, inclusive, may actually be the second or first ingredient.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"If my memory serves correctly, the connection between artificial sweeteners, HFCS and diseases like obesity, pancreatic cancer and Type 2 diabetes is at least on its way to being debunked, or it's just overstated. The problem is just getting Americans to reduce their sugar consumption in general rather than worrying about the source of those sweeteners.
EDIT: This is one of the reasons why I tend to get a little indignant about people who go on about paleo, Atkins and other fad diets. They're so fixated on whether or not their chicken is free-range or whether or not their fruit is GMO free, and they have a right to do that. It's their money. It's just that most Americans do not meet the criteria for healthy eating, organic or not.
edited 18th Aug '15 12:55:34 PM by Aprilla
And the problem with artificial sweeteners is not that they are carcinogens directly, but that they trick the brain (via the taste mechanism) into expecting sugar. When the body tries to use the sugar it thought it ingested, it finds that there isn't any, so it generates cravings that may cause you to overeat in response.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"I wonder if this is the year Donald Trump will finally be elected for President...or just drops out at the usual time. I'm not backing the guy, but imagine what will happen if he's elected into office.
Answer no master, never the slave Carry your dreams down into the grave Every heart, like every soul, equal to breakI have a feeling that it wouldn't be the utter disaster that the comedians like to say it will, because Trump will find that political realities prevent him from getting many of the things he wants done. He will find it very hard to get Congress, even a fully Republican Congress, to go along with his agenda items, because he's basically told them all to fuck off during the primary and general election cycle.
While we could definitely kiss most progressive reforms goodbye for the next four years at a minimum, Trump's expressed economic positions are not disastrous; for example, he supports action on climate change, the greatest long-term threat to humanity that we know of. Certainly we would do worse with Bush, Rubio, Walker, etc. in the Oval Office.
The true disaster of a Trump presidency would be race and foreign relations. I think his campaign rhetoric has made that abundantly clear.
edited 18th Aug '15 1:07:58 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Atkins, there is a name I haven't heard in a while.
HFCS problem is that it is cheap, no different from sugar cane derivatives, except it competes with other cord derived foods, while at the same time driving down the price for junk food and sweets.
GMO and organic hardly have differences other than production (with the edge with the GMO) and the label (and organic being more expensive), when it comes to consumer tastes.
It is the combination of high calories diets and low physical activity that is driving people fat, with both of those impacting the poor the most, due to reasons.
As I said, the main reason why I lost weight even while eating mostly junk food in the US was because I had two jobs that required constant activity (and I'm really fond of walking long distances).
edited 18th Aug '15 1:09:27 PM by AngelusNox
Inter arma enim silent legesI drink diet soda an awful lot — probably too much, but I do it for caffeine as much as taste. That's what I tell myself, anyway. I can't stand coffee.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"![]()
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"he supports actions on climate change"
He also finds climate change to be a hoax
, so not really.
edited 18th Aug '15 1:13:07 PM by speedyboris
I doubt Trump would even be able to make good on his promise of kicking out all illegal immigrants. They are a cheap source of labor. Denying this cheap source of labor to companies is going to gain the enmity of plenty of corporations.
Fighting against Corporations is like fighting a land war in Asia. Trump would end up a captive in his own war. Wonder what McCain would think about that then.
There is also the fact that like it or not, plenty of immigrants do jobs other people don't. They get kicked out, the U.S will be forced to either pay for those services from the outside (which would be far from cheap) or ironically, laxen immigration reform like never before, since even less people would be willing to immigrate over there.
There will be hell toupée
It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes![]()
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Hmm, I thought that he supported climate regulations at one point. Must've pivoted to capture the Tea Party vote. /sigh
It's not his joke. Been around a while.
edited 18th Aug '15 1:15:10 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Sounds off-topic again, but there's a bigger picture behind sweetener and caffeine consumption in that our labor practices heavily influence what we eat and how we eat. Many Americans insist that they need some sort of sweetness to stay alert and peppy throughout the workday, and more and more research is showing that your body is better served with a consistent routine of 8 hours of sleep and regular exercise. Getting plenty of rest (i.e. not staring at glowing boxes for hours on end as soon as you get home) and regularly stimulating your body (i.e. cardio almost everyday) can and will reduce healthcare costs, energy costs note , transportation costs and so on. You spend enough time lifting weights, jogging and swimming, and you'll find that you can ween yourself off of sugar and caffeine much more easily because the body has strengthened itself to where it no longer needs that artificial kick note .
Between our bad diets, lack of physical activity and excessive work weeks, we are slowly working ourselves to death quite literally. Michelle Obama has made some headway with her school lunch reform, but the recess times are still too short. Physical play time isn't just important for the physical health benefits, but for the mental ones as well. Fit children tend to perform better academically than sedentary children, and considering these are the people who are going to vote and lead our nation in the foreseeable future, that's a significant factor to consider.
edited 18th Aug '15 1:26:30 PM by Aprilla
So the irony is that a big part of the "fat lazy American" stereotype is that many are that way because they're overworking.
The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.

HFCS is not worse than sugar save for the "Chemicals!!!!!!!" factor. It does contain more calories than sweeteners because these are generally designed with calorie reduction in mind.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman