Sugar vs. High Fructose Corn Syrup vs. Other Sweeteners
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Most of us have read the many articles about sugar vs. high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) vs. artificial sweeteners vs. natural sweeteners. I, personally have ready how HFCS is fine now as well as how it is horrible for you. I also have read the same about sugar & artificial sweeteners. I think we can all find a study or report that meets what we want to believe.
Saying that, I happen to be one that is not a fan of HFCS. I do try to not eat foods with that ingredient but I am not perfect & honestly, as healthy as I do eat most of the time, I don't fret over the few times I might eat something with HFCS in it because it is a minimal % of my total calories.
As for artificial sweeteners vs. natural ones, once again, I can find studies & reports that contradict one another. I would like to say that I am not an all natural sweetener type of gal because having tried some of them, my tummy just has not meshed well with them. I have not tried them all but the ones I have tried upset my stomach & caused some "uncomfortable" conditions. If any of you have had this problem but found a natural sweetener that does work, let me know!
I did read an interesting article form the Care2 site about HFCS and sugar. They are not fans of HFCS & also not sugar & explained the environmental concerns about harvesting sugar. You can read that article here: Sugar: The New Health Food?
After writing all this, my opinion is that you have to arm yourself with knowledge & do some of your own research. Like I said above, there are plenty of studies & reports that fly both ways. There are reports that point to artificial sweeteners causing cancer & those that say not. There are conflicting reports on HFCS & sugar as well as some of the natural sweeteners. Check out as much information as you can & make the decision that is right for you & that you feel comfortable with.
As for me, I do my best but I am not an absolute fanatic about this... at least not yet! I do my best but I am not perfect by any means!
Most of us have read the many articles about sugar vs. high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) vs. artificial sweeteners vs. natural sweeteners. I, personally have ready how HFCS is fine now as well as how it is horrible for you. I also have read the same about sugar & artificial sweeteners. I think we can all find a study or report that meets what we want to believe. Saying that, I happen to be one that is not a fan of HFCS. I do try to not eat foods with that ingredient but I am not perfect & honestly, as healthy as I do eat most of the time, I don't fret over the few times I might eat something with HFCS in it because it is a minimal % of my total calories.
As for artificial sweeteners vs. natural ones, once again, I can find studies & reports that contradict one another. I would like to say that I am not an all natural sweetener type of gal because having tried some of them, my tummy just has not meshed well with them. I have not tried them all but the ones I have tried upset my stomach & caused some "uncomfortable" conditions. If any of you have had this problem but found a natural sweetener that does work, let me know!
I did read an interesting article form the Care2 site about HFCS and sugar. They are not fans of HFCS & also not sugar & explained the environmental concerns about harvesting sugar. You can read that article here: Sugar: The New Health Food?
After writing all this, my opinion is that you have to arm yourself with knowledge & do some of your own research. Like I said above, there are plenty of studies & reports that fly both ways. There are reports that point to artificial sweeteners causing cancer & those that say not. There are conflicting reports on HFCS & sugar as well as some of the natural sweeteners. Check out as much information as you can & make the decision that is right for you & that you feel comfortable with.
As for me, I do my best but I am not an absolute fanatic about this... at least not yet! I do my best but I am not perfect by any means!
I'm not a fanatic either, but I do have to watch my intake due to being a type ii diabetic. As for anything else, it's all about moderation.
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Yup, being a diabetic forces one to watch things very closely. I am for moderation!
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I've just started paying attention to label to detect HFCS, but I will NOT eat anything with Splenda or Aspartame. If I pick up a package of something by mistake and then taste that it had that crap in it, I throw it out no matter how much I paid.
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I have trouble with some of the natural sweeteners. What do you use?
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