Hello all! I just got this in my personal e-mail and thought I would share. I am a soda drinker, and I am struggling with stopping. ____________________________________________
- One thing I've not talked you about yet is high fructose corn syrup. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is scary stuff and something to be avoided. Why? I knew you'd want to know! The consumption of HFCS has been indicted for the growing obesity problem in American and in the world. One reason is the increase of the use of HFCSâit's cheap. Not only is it a concentrated sugar, it is also a preservative! And if that isn't enough, HFCS is thought to be more readily converted to fat by your liver than straight sugar. YIKES! Your body processes HFCS differently than straight sugar. HFCS blocks leptin, a naturally secreted chemical in your body, which regulates appetite. If your leptin ain't working, your appetite can veer out of control. There is a definite link between the consumption of HFCS, high cholesterol and diabetes when animal studies were conducted. The jury is still out on how it affects humans, but in my humble opinion, I think it's a smart bet to avoid HFCS anyway. The biggest culprits of HFCS are soft drinks, fruity flavored beverages and processed foodsâall high in calories, low on nutrients. The second ingredient in a soda pop after carbonated water is HFCS.
- So let's say you fill up your gas tank at the local 7-11 and while you're paying, you get yourself a little something to put in your own tank--a Super Gulp thing (64 ounces of cola). After it's all gone and you're chewing on the ice, you find you're hungry. You may have had enough calories to guzzle (that'll be 840 calories to be exact), but you sure didn't get one nutrient. Your body is starving for REAL food, the kind that will help it function, think and perform for you. You can't do that on empty calories. How do you avoid HFCS? Glad you askedâhere you go, 1, 2, 3 easy things to do:
- *Read food labelsâ¦HFCS will be clearly marked on the ingredient list. The closer to the top of the list of ingredients, the more that's in there.
- *Eat cleaner. I promise you, you will not find HFCS in fresh fruits and vegetables!
- *Replace the soda with water. Again, I repeat: REPLACE THE SODA WITH WATER. Not only is the HFCS horrible, you don't want artificial sugars and the bone eating affects of the phosphates in soda, either.
