Sugar: The Bitter Truth

[Paul Petersen]

I know, not exactly about running, but it pertains to what we put in our bodies. Basic premise: high-fructose corn syrup meets the requirements of being a poison. We eat a lot of this stuff in every year. Like, A LOT. Watch if you have time. I found it fascinating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

[allie]

very interesting. thanks for posting.

about bread - a perfect example of HFCS permeating products that we would never even consider to have excess sweeteners in them.  purchasing "wheat" bread is considered a healthy option for most shoppers. ever read the label? it is insane how many ingredients most of these products contain, HFCS in particular.

i teach introductory nutrition courses and the HFCS debate always comes up. it really is in everything. the first day of class i show a presentation entitled "name that food"...i show a listing of ingredients and they have to guess what product it is. the final slide is the "bonus product" that nobody can ever guess:

Water, corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut palm kernel), high fructose corn syrup, less than 2% of: sodium caseinate (from milk), natural and artificial flavors, xanthan and guar gums, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, beta carotene (color).

students guess things like gummy bears, red licorice, jello, etc.

the product is cool whip. yum.   

[Scott Ensign]

Paul and Allie, here is an interesting piece of trivia about high fructose corn syrup. It turns out it was my grandfather (on mother's side, his name was David Langlois) who invented and developed the enzymatic processes by which HFCS is made in the 1930s. He was an organic chemist/research scientist at Staley's in Decatur Illinois. Staleys was the major corn processing company at the time, I think they have now assimilated with Cargill or something. Anyway, his "sweetose" process, patented by Staleys is essentially the same process used today to make HFCS from corn. At the time it was a revolutionary way to get a cheap new source of sweet sugar from an abundant foodstock. Probably turned out to be too good, I agree the stuff is a major health hazard today, especially for those who don't exercise. But of course at the time the idea was just to get a new cheaper source of sugar than from sugar cane or beets. I believe my grandfather never earned much in the way of patent royalties,as Staleys owned his patent, but they took very good care of him, since the patent generated HUGE revenues for Staleys, allowing him to retire early and spend twenty years teaching chemistry part time in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh.

[Michelle Lowry]

My Kirkland whole wheat bread has no HFCS, it has brown sugar and cane sugar.  And it has 140 cal/slice (I am counting my cals).

[Sasha Pachev]

I actually never buy food without reading the labels unless it is fruit or vegetables. For a good reason, as illustrated in Allie's post.

Another tidbit on "Sasha Ruins US Economy". If I could replicate myself sufficiently, the job of the marketing departments of food companies would be reduced to printing a list of ingredients in large letters resulting in massive lay-offs.

[MarkP_]

That's a cool bit of trivia Scott.  Too bad you're grandfather didn't work out of his own lab or you and your family would be the SugarKings!

[Paul Petersen]

Even our Italian salad dressing has HFCS in it (along with a bunch of other garbage). I need to get back in the habit of just mixing some balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a jar, and calling it good. At least then I know where the ingredients came from. Ketchup and BBQ sauce can be equally bad. If you don't read labels, you'll get nickeled and dimed on condiments alone. Organic products generally has more "pure" ingredients (but not always), so that can be a good way to go as well, if you don't have time to make your own.

By the way, here's my favorite sports drink (since Gatorade is stock full of trash). 3 parts water, 1 part orange juice, and 1 packet of Emergen-C. The orange juice gives a little sugar, the Emergen-C has electrolytes and a big dose of vitamin C, which reduces chance of infection after a hard workout (when the immune system is down), and also may help muscle repair after a hard workout. It's cheap and easy (doesn't even require mixing, since Emergen-C just dissolves on its own).

[Maurine Lee]

There have been some interesting articles published today about the new AHA guidelines on sugar intake: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7016198979?Heart%20Association%20Releases%20New%20Sugar%20Guidelines

[Steve P]

Paul,

Are you able to drink that mix during races? I've read that fruit juices are great to drink during races but that they can be hard to stomach.

[Paul Petersen]

I haven't tried this in races, and have only used it for post-workout recovery. I generally don't take fluids other than water during long runs or shorter (less than marathon) races, unless it's very hot. But it seems that the acidity of orange juice could be a potential problem for some, so not recommended without "practice".

That said, in the past I've taken orange slices during marathons without problem, so I imagine that taking very diluted orange juice would be even more mild.

[Billy Broaddus]

There was an article recently that the blue dye in gatorade (and blue m&ms) seemed to have an effect on nerve cell regeneration in rats. Not to start a whole other debate, but I didn't realize that people considered Gatorade to contain problematic ingredients.

Fructose, which is the sweet sugar in fruits is typically a little harder on the stomach, but reactions vary and problably vary with the amount.

[Steve P]

Here's a summary of a study that just came out on this topic. Very interesting. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/

By the way, I think the soda that people drink so much without thinking is the biggest culprit in making them gain weight. As mentioned, HFCS is also often a main ingredient in sports drinks.

[Paul Petersen]

Good study, thanks. I've pretty much sworn off soda, and am coming to the same conclusion for sports drinks. These days I make my own sports drink, composed of orange juice + water + Emergen-C + Ultima. The only sugar is from the orange juice, and it's diluted in half by water. The other powders add Vit-C, Vit-B, and electrolytes, but no additional sugar.

[Joe]

Interesting article, thanks.  I wonder if there is any serious downside (running-wise) to HFCS if you're not concerned about becoming obese, which is the focus of the study.  I'm a 4-a-day habit coke drinker (good stuff, not diet crap) but I couldn't gain weight if I made it my mission in life.  I guess if we eliminated everything from our diets that had a negative study written about it, there would be nothing left.

[Jeffrey McClellan]

Paul, I find your own personal sports drink interesting as I have done something similar during the last 2 marathons that I have run.  My concoction looks nasty, but seems to work well for me.  It is: spinach + bananas + water + Emergen-C + evaporated cane juice (or turbinado sugar).  I add the sugar because at least personally I feel like I need a little something extra above and beyond what I get from the other ingredients to help fuel me adequately so that I can avoid a crash.