Humanity is consuming far more sugar in their day-to-day diets (in any form, including HFCS) than in previous generations. Here's some more info that I found interesting:
http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/s...s-sugar-part-i
Humanity is consuming far more sugar in their day-to-day diets (in any form, including HFCS) than in previous generations. Here's some more info that I found interesting:
http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/s...s-sugar-part-i
But cane sugar is not fructose... it is Sucrose C12H22O11.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
-Kujako-
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
-Kujako-
If that's the case, how did people eat before we began using pesticides in the 20th century? Here's how it shakes out-
Step 1: As people shift from rural life to urban life, farmers have to feed more people. Methods are developed to increase efficiency.
Step 2: The rural -> urban shift in population is more or less complete, but industrialized agriculture doesn't stop looking for ways to produce more for less.
Step 3: In modern times, we're overproducing so much that (at least in the US) the government supplies billions of dollars in agricultural subsidies to control supply and ensure that prices don't fall below a point which is deemed profitable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricul...price_supports - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm_su...#United_States
As it turns out, organic farming methods yield about 20% less crop per acre, but do so with 50% less fertilizer and 97% less pesticide. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_produce#Yield)
In other words, we actually do NOT have to choose between having our food showered with pesticides, or having it "chewed on by bugs". We can have the best of both worlds, just like the entire human population did in the early 20th century and earlier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_fertilizer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compost
They don't simply slather poop on there and call it a day. The process is far more refined than that. Many organic fertilizers don't even contain "poop".
Even so, would you rather eat Roundup weed-killer or processed organic waste?
That's a tremendous exaggeration. The actual cost increase is in the 10%-40% range....and costs 10 times as much.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_produce#Economics)
It's also fair to speculate that they'll become more affordable over time as organics gain in popularity and more suppliers jump on the bandwagon.
It helps to realize that by the time it reaches your mouth, it has long since ceased to be anything resembling poop. I mean, the water on the Earth has been recycled many times over the course of billions of years. Next time you take a drink of water, you may well be drinking what was once Dinosaur urine.
Anyway, back on topic. I'm personally quite wary of HFCS, but science has yet to produce evidence that it's any more harmful than sucrose, ounce for ounce.
One thing to consider, though, is that the existence and use of HFCS likely makes sugary products more accessible/affordable and may contribute to health problems by sheer volume. More HFCS -> people consume more sweetened foods/drinks -> more health issues.
Its empty calories, it gives you no positive nutritional benefit.
For starters, because (well some of it) isn't processed. Nothing added, nothing taken out. Sugar is still in the end made from a grain, and because it is heavy in carbohydrates is restricts insulin production, and since carbs are easier to process than insulin, your body is going to go for the path of least resistance. A little sugar here and there won't really do much to you, but constant consumption of sugar slows down insulin production and as a result of you taking in more carbs than your body is able to burn, the end result is obesity. If you're highly active, your body will burn the carbs, but you will still lack the insulin. Thats the reason most runners have a very short lived career, seeing as how lack of insulin and overloading carbs leads to weakening the immune system and doesn't promote healthy muscle growth. Thats where Proteins and Omega3's come in.
As for HFCS, it's so goddamn genetically processed by the time it reaches the consumer, it really is nothing but pure genetically processed carbs.