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Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society, Inc.
47 South Street, Rhinebeck, New York 12572 USA -
845-876-2626
Vegetarian - Vegan - Animal Rights - Health - Nutrition - Environment
The mission of the Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society, Inc. is to promote the vegetarian ethic in the Mid-Hudson (New York) region, educate the community and aid anyone in the pursuit of a totally vegetarian (vegan) cruelty-free and healthful lifestyle.
Newsletters - Winter 2008 Issue
Sneaky sweet
by George Eissman, RD
High fructose corn syrup was developed to put animal feed-grade corn to some use when meat demand dropped. It is subsidized, so is a cheap product. It is also sweeter than sugar, so less is needed in foods and beverages, making products containing it “doubly” less costly to produce.
Unfortunately, our bodies are not able to process large amounts of fructose into glucose very efficiently, so much of the HFCS that is consumed is converted directly into fat (triglyceride). Having high blood levels of this fat is a risk factor for heart disease.
The fact that much of the fructose does not become glucose causes the brain to become frustrated, since it can only burn glucose for fuel, not fructose or the fat it gets turned into. The brain has sensed the sweet sensation on the tongue, but doesn’t get its fuel, so it sends the message to increase the “appestat” (appetite control center) to try to get the “right” stuff into the body. People then feel “addicted” to sweets, as eating some triggers craving for more and more. The end result is obesity, high blood triglycerides, and other symptoms collectively called “Metabolic Syndrome.”
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