High Fructose Corn Syrup: Killer Sweetness

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Processed food ISN'T GOOD FOR YOU.  Even some who eat it realize this.  Lean Cuisine, Ramen, TV dinners, powdered donuts, whatever name it goes by, it's packed with chemicals, sugar, salt, and other nasty things that'll get you heavy quite quickly.  The devil is in the ingredients, and there are a few that can cause some real damage to your body.  The one I am particularly wary of these days is High Fructose Corn Syrup, or HFCS for short.  It's a sweetening agent used in more foods than you or I could think of off the tops of our heads.  It's EVERYWHERE!  And the more processed a food is, the more likely that it contains this devilish little chemical.  But what exactly is this stuff, and why is it so bad?

HFCS, as stated above, is a sweetening agent.  More specifically, it's a replacement for sucrose, or natural sugar.  It achieves the same sort of taste as sucrose, making foods sweet and yummy without needing overly huge amounts of the stuff.  But why do companies use it, when they could just use sucrose instead?  Well, what do most large scale corporations want to cut down on drastically at every little twist and turn in their manufacturing, shipping, and marketing processes?  Hmmmm...COST perhaps?  Guess what!  Sucrose gets really expensive here in the US because of all the import costs associated with it.  HFCS is by far the cheaper option, and therefore is used in thousands of places instead of sucrose.  And in all honesty, although I'm not big on sugar, pure sucrose is far healthier than this stuff is.

It's interesting too, because in general sucrose and HFCS aren't that far off from each other chemically.  They are both composed of two different sugars, glucose and fructose.  Sucrose is 50-50 glucose and fructose, where as HFCS is 58% fructose and 42% glucose.  Surprisingly though this seemingly insignificant percentage of difference adds up big time.  Here's a quote from Livestrong.com about an animal test confirming what we've all been considering:  

"For a long time, researchers debated whether high fructose corn syrup was different from other sweeteners in its effects on human health. To test this assertion, a group of researchers from Princeton University fed rats a diet high in HFCS. They published their results in a 2010 issue of the journal "Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior." In the study, the HFCS caused abnormal increases of body fat, especially in the abdomen, and circulating levels of triglycerides in the blood. 

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/546302-high-fructose-corn-syrup-hardening-of-the-arteries/#ixzz1dmS7BHRR"

This extra body fat is caused by the larger percentage of fructose in the chemical, which can only be processed by the liver.  In fact, the fructose in HFCS can bypass the digestive process that normally breaks down other, similar sugars, and goes straight to the liver.  This is because unlike in sucrose, where fructose and glucose are bonded together, in HFCS they are free from each other and therefore can be readily absorbed into the bloodstream with no digestion needed.  The fructose gets processed into triglycerides, which in layman's terms means they accumulate as fat.  The more fructose, in this case, the more fat.  If you weren't convinced by an animal study (which I rarely am, considering rats and humans are very different creatures), here's another study that was done on humans, from alternet.org:  

"In a study conducted by University of California researchers, 16 volunteers were given a strictly controlled diet including very high levels of fructose. Another group was given the same diet but with high levels of glucose (regular sugar) replacing the fructose. Over 10 weeks, the volunteers that were given fructose produced new fat cells around their heart, liver and other digestive organs. They also showed signs of food-processing abnormalities linked to diabetes and heart disease. The control group of volunteers on the same diet, but with glucose sugar replacing fructose, did not have these problems."

Such fast changes in ten weeks?  WOW!

  Here are a few more reasons why you should try to avoid HFCS whenever possible:

Hardening of the arteries:  Because of the excess triglycerides HFCS helps to produce, your artery walls can begin to harden from excess fat.  This can lead to heart disease, something you DO NOT WANT in older (or younger) age.  

Obesity:  As is evidenced by what has already been said so far, HFCS is one of the largest links to obesity out there in modern society.  The evidence keeps pouring in that those who consume more food and drink containing HFCS have much larger risks of becoming obese.  In fact as HFCS was introduced into mainstream processed foods back in the 70's, its increased usage has almost exactly mirrored the increase in obese individuals.  Because the unbonded fructose in HFCS is almost immediately absorbed into the bloodstream (with no other digestive processes), it's easy to see why it can cause so much fat gain so quickly.  

Keeps You Hungry:  HFCS plays another role in weight gain, this one much more devious, as you might not even know it's happening.  Our body has a few well designed "full" triggers in it that help us to realize when we've eaten enough for our metabolic needs.  One such trigger is called ghrelin, an enzyme secreted by the stomach to cause hunger.  In normal food consumption, ghrelin is eventually neutralized or "shut off" in order to let us know that we're full.  However HFCS does not deactivate ghrelin, and therefore can prevent us from knowing when we've eaten enough.  That's not good, especially on a diet.  

Other health effects related to HFCS include: Pancreatic cancer, kidney stones, and hair loss.  It's not something you want to consume much of, that's for sure.

Here's a final word of warning.  HFCS can hide in foods you might not expect, and may be doing more damage than you think.  Here's a few foods that contain HFCS that may have slipped under your radar:

Bread:  Many breads, even the 100% whole wheat variations, contain HFCS.  These slices can sabotage your otherwise healthy sandwhich.  The solution?  Spend a little extra time in the grocery store and read the ingredients on a few different brands.  Some are made with NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS, and these are the brands you should buy.  Trust me, that little extra time will help bigtime.

Canned/Bottled Drinks:  Yup, you guessed it.  Soda, and other main stream energy drinks usually have HFCS in their ingredients.  They'll pull you in with flashy colors and claims of electrolyte replenishment, but believe me they won't do you much good.  Again, read the ingredients, and choose wisely.  Usually nothing beats good ol' water.  

Cereal:  Even your breakfast may be sabotaged!  Many Kelloggs products contain HFCS, including Raisin Bran and Rice Krispies, two very famous breakfast cereals.  However many bran-flake variations include HFCS as well, so don't think you're off the hook just because you're getting high fiber.  READ THE INGREDIENTS!!!

Crackers:  Nabisco Wheat Thins contain a good amount of HFCS, which is unforunate because I love the things.  Watch your consumption of little appetizer type foods, as they can usually add up quickly, and if they contain the bad stuff then you're in for some trouble with your diet.  I'll just keep saying it I guess, to hammer it through your head.  Read....the...ingredients......PLEASE.  

Sauces/Salad Dresssings:  Last but not least, many popular sauces contain HFCS, including A1 steak sauce.    Also, salad dressings are quite famous for large amounts of HFCS, another reason to keep your salad dry (read my healthy salad article here:  ).  And you know what I'm going to say next.  In fact, I'm not even going to say it.  Just do it.  Please.  

Here's a list of many, many, MANY foods that contain HFCS.  The list is by no means complete, but gives a good idea of how this artificial sweetener has infiltrated our diets:  http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/06/09/foods_and_products_containing_high_fruct

Bottom Line:  HFCS might be hard to remove from your diet completely.  That's ok, because accepting it's there and making an effort to avoid it will make a HUGE difference.  Just try to get a good majority of it out of your mouth, and I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised by the difference.  You'll have done your body a world of good.  

READ THE INGREDIENTS....and good luck!!!!

A few references:  

http://www.alternet.org/story/144816/high_fructose_corn_syrup_proven_to_cause_human_obesity

http://www.livestrong.com/high-fructose-corn-syrup/

http://www.ajcn.org/content/79/4/537.full

http://www.healthybrainforlife.com/articles/healthy-food/high-fructose-corn-syrup-a-sweetner-to-avoid

Veggies: Go Frozen, Not Canned

To me, this one seems like a no-brainer.  Frozen vegetables are vastly more healthy and far more delicious than their canned counterpart.  But to some, this may be a foreign concept.  Why take up valuable freezer space when you can leave a can on the shelf and still get all the nutrients from those greens?  Well I'll tell you quickly why going frozen might be one of the best decisions you make when it comes to your diet.

Frozen vegetables actually rival fresh vegetables in overall nutritional value.  This may seem pretty hard to believe considering they're...well...frozen.  And last I knew, not much good natural plant matter can survive in ice.  But then again, what do I know?  It turns out that frozen vegetables are picked and packed at their peak of ripeness, when almost all of the nutrients you'll be consuming have fully developed inside the vegetable itself. Contrast this with fresh veggies which, while still extremely good for you, are picked at a time before they are fully ripe in order to make sure that they aren't spoiled by the time they hit supermarket shelves.  This means the nutrients in fresh vegetables usually haven't fully developed, and you aren't getting quite the quantity.

The first step in creating a bag of frozen vegetables is to blast fresh veggies with steam to kill any sort of enzymes and bacteria that might cause your food to spoil. This super heated steam will inevitably remove a small portion of the nutritional value, mostly water soluble vitamins like B and C, but not 100%.  The veggies are then flash frozen, and the remaining nutrients are then completely locked in.  Yes, that's right, they're locked up tight inside those frozen delicacies, ready to help your body whenever you decide to cook them up.  No extra preservatives are needed, the ice does all the work at keeping bacteria at bay.  Perfect, right?

Canned vegetables, while obviously better than no vegetables at all, are much less nutritious in the long run.  Despite their convenience, they're usually packed with preservatives like salt and sugar to help keep bacteria from running rampant.  To compare, a package of frozen peas has almost no sodium, usually between 0-50 mg per serving.  A package of canned peas though can have up to 400 mg of sodium.  That's a BIG difference.

To decrease the sodium content of canned vegetables, I suggest placing them in a strainer or colendar and rinsing them before eating in order to remove a lot of the salts and added sugars.

In my opinion though, frozen vegetables are not only more nutritious, but have a much "fresher," more delicious taste to them.  Canned veggies are usually slightly tainted by the preservatives used and will never quite have that "fresh from the field" taste.  This is just a personal opinion though, the nutritional comparison still stands alone.

So the bottom line:  If you want to maximize the health benefits from your vegetables, go frozen.  Though don't throw out your canned veggies, because they have plenty of nutritional value in them as well.  Again, either option is MUCH better than having none at all in your diet.

Steam them nightly, and enjoy them fully.  Good Luck!

Measure Twice, Eat Once

I can't tell you how frustrating it is to stand in line come dinner time, and watch my friends carelessly load up their plates with mountains of food.  Upon sitting down with me, and seeing my disappointed expression, they immediately jump into a stiff defense "hey man, grilled chicken is healthy!  You've even written about it!"

Yeah, grilled chicken is great for you.  That doesn't mean you need four 8 oz pieces.

Today we live in a world where portion sizes have really gone out of control.  At any restaurant with even a small menu you'd be able to purchase a steak twice as large as you'd optimally want for health purposes.  Fries come in super large, extra super large, and ginormously fantastically extra super  large.  And even then I still see people walk out with not one, but two boxes of them.  And they're not even the main meal!!!  And don't even get me started on soft drinks.  Have you seen the size of even a medium fountain drink?   HOLY MOLY!!!

I can't stress enough that if you want to eat healthy, the actual foods you consume are only half the story.  The truth is that if you eat too much of ANY food, even if it's healthy, it's not that healthy anymore, and it certainly will NOT help you lean out.  You need to measure how much you're eating!  Make an honest effort to determine how many servings you're having, and take just a little time out of your day to make the calorie calculations based on the amount of food you're having.  Here are a few tools that everyone should have, and use, on a regular basis:

Various Measuring Cups (You can get a whole set on a ring from walmart, from 1 cup down to 1/4 cup.)

Tablespoon and Teaspoon set (usually these sets go from 1 tablespoon down to an eighth of a teaspoon.)

Liquid measuring cup (usually these have multiple units on them, such as ounces and milliliters.)

Digital scale (that measures in ounces and grams.  Don't be afraid, these things can go for less than 20$ )

Again I can't emphasize the importance of these tools when it comes to diet.  If you don't own at least a few of these, you really don't take your diet as seriously as you could.  

But it can be a little confusing to look at nutritional labels and understand what the units mean, and which measuring device they refer to.  So here's a quick guide:

Tbsp- tablespoon.  Use the tablespoon set, no brainer.
Tsp-Teaspoon.  Teaspoon set.
oz- ounce.  A unit of weight.  Use the scale, or if it's on a liquid container, use your liquid measuring cup.
Cup- I assume you know this one.
ml-milliliter, a unit of volume.  Again, use the liquid measuring cup.
g- Gram, a unit of mass, but in your case it's applied as weight.  Use your scale.
Scoop- This one will only be displayed if your product has a scoop in it.  Variations may be "rounded     scoop" or "heaping scoop," which mean the amount of product should be mounded at the top slightly.

Once you understand serving sizes, it will be much easier to keep track of calories.  In fact serving sizes, in my opinion, are the last piece of the puzzle.  They will make sure that if the recipe is as it says on the label, and you eat how much they say to on the label, then you'll have consumed the exact number of calories that the label states.  It's that easy!  It's quite simple to modify your calorie intake as well, and still know exactly the final number you're getting.  If you eat two servings, multiply the calories by two.  If you eat one and a half, multiply by 1.5.  If you eat one quarter of the serving size, either divide by four or multiply by .25.  It's so simple, and the math will keep that brain sharp.

I can already hear the complaints though: "Measuring takes too long! I don't have time to portion out everything!"  First of all, that's bologna.  Make some time to do it, at least once.  It'll save you a ton of diet problems in the future.  Secondly, YOU DON'T HAVE TO MEASURE EVERY TIME WITH EVERY FOOD.  If you eat cereal every morning, take one morning and measure out the serving size proclaimed by the nutritional label, and see how it looks in your bowl.  Take note.  Shake it around a little, then take note again.  Then measure out a cup of milk (or go in smaller intervals until you get the amount you want) and see if you can get it to your liking.  Take note again!  Calculate the calories, and commit it to memory.  Because you have cereal every single morning, you should be able to eyeball it pretty easily after measuring a couple times.  And guess what?  This method can be applied to many foods that you consume regularly.

But if you're at all unsure, MEASURE IT.  I can't stress that enough.  Just measure it, you'll feel better in the end, and more than likely you'll be more successful for your diet.

So don't be that person that loads their plate up obliviously with grilled chicken and a mound of mashed sweet potatoes.  Both those foods are GREAT in moderation, but killers in excess.  Measuring isn't hard, and it really differentiates a nooby dieter from a seasoned vet.  Know not only what you're eating, but exactly how much.

Measure twice, eat once, and keep on track.  Good Luck!

Greek Yogurt vs. Regular Yogurt

Greek Yogurt has become much more popular these days, shoving its way onto the most visible of grocery shelves and obviously getting cozy in your fridge as well.  But what exactly is this stuff?  Why's it so "Greek"?  Most people have been eating regular yogurt for years, and it may represent a staple in their diet.  Many are wondering how this new, alternative yogurt might fit into their diet, and does it really live up to all the health claims?  Let's find out.  Here's how Greek yogurt compares to the traditional stuff, in a nutshell of course.

First of all, what is Greek yogurt?  Well, it doesn't start out any differently than regular yogurt.  It's made by fermenting milk with bacteria cultures (hey, you wanted to know).  Greek yogurt, unlike regular yogurt, is then strained to remove the liquid whey and much of the sugary lactose.  This makes Greek yogurt much thicker, with a more cheese-like texture.  Because so much is strained off the final product, it takes much more milk initially to create the same amount of yogurt.  That's why Greek yogurt is usually so expensive.

But how does this process make Greek yogurt the supposedly healthier option?  Well, here's the deal.  When they strain off all the bad stuff, they make the good stuff have much greater density in the final product.  That means you get way more protein, and far more vitamins and minerals from Greek yogurt than you would from its traditional counterpart.  Because the whey and lactose is strained off, you get a lot fewer carbs as well, perfect for someone on a low carb diet.  Let's compare numbers, shall we?

Protein:  In 6oz of non-fat Greek yogurt, you get a whopping 18 grams of dense, usable protein.  WOW!!!  I love Greek yogurt for its protein content, and it's a food I definitely come back for a post workout snack.  In normal yogurt, you get about 10 grams per 6oz.  That's just about half.  It's still not a bad figure, but can't quite hold a candle to the protein density in the Greek.

Calories:  6 oz of non-fat Greek yogurt contains 100 calories.  Definitely not bad, considering 6 oz is a normal container size you might buy at your local grocery store.  6 oz of plain, non fat yogurt is about the same, at 96 calories for 6 oz.  Not a huge difference, but again, I like foods with great nutritional density for their calorie figures, and Greek yogurt definitely wins in that category.

Carbohydrates:  Again, we'll use our 6 oz figure here for both yogurts.  In Greek, you get about 7 grams.  In regular?  12 grams.  That's a big difference, Greek yogurt representing about half the carbs you'd get in the same amount of plain, regular yogurt.  All those carbs in both yogurts are sugar carbs (lactose), so the more you can decrease that figure, the better off you'll be.

Fat:  Here we have to change our test subjects slightly, considering I've been using non-fat varieties of each yogurt for the nutritional facts.  We'll switch to full fat for each in order to really compare.  In 6 oz of regular, plain, whole yogurt, you consume about 5.4 grams of fat total, 3.6 grams of which is saturated fat.  That's a pretty low figure, for a whole food.  In 6 oz of whole Greek yogurt, you get about 17 grams of fat, 11 grams of which are saturated.  This I believe is Greek yogurt's main downfall.  Because it is much more dense, you're getting a LOT more of that milkfat per serving size.  I'd definitely suggest limiting intake of full fat Greek yogurt, however, as I've said many times before, this fat is not inherently bad for you.  Your body does need both saturated and unsaturated fats. You just want to watch your overall daily consumption of each.

Sodium:  Much of the salt is strained off of Greek yogurt in the creation process, and therefore you'll get a lot less per serving.  This is another huge benefit for Greek yogurt, as modern foods generally are packed with sodium, and your daily dosage of it can add up quite quickly.  It's great to have a low sodium snack you can always go back to.  You get 12 mg of sodium per ounce of Greek yogurt, and 22 mg per ounce of regular (both plain and fat free.)  Another number that's nearly double, and another reason to try Greek ASAP.

Vitamins/Minerals:  You're getting a good heaping of these in each variation of yogurt.  In Greek, as with most things mentioned, your dosage is a little more-so just because of the density.  If you have more of the raw materials in the final product, then obviously you'll get more of the nutrients.  In both Greek and regular yogurt, you get a large serving of calcium, vitamin B2, and vitamin D.

So, the bottom line?  I'd wholeheartedly recommend Greek yogurt as a staple in a healthy diet.  It's packed with tons of nutritional benefit, and it's such an amazing protein source.  The texture is nice and creamy, the flavor isn't too sweet, and it provides a refreshing alternative to the same old yogurt that's been sitting in your fridge forever.  Try it as a snack, try it in a few recipes, or do both!  Whatever floats your boat, or should I say trireme?  (Greek humor...If you got it, I'm impressed.) 


Have a spoonful, or two.  Good Luck!