Dude! Joe&#39;s Jottings, Mostly Junk

I rediscovered "sugar-coke" in the UK, where "HFCS" simply doesn't exist at all (except in what few products are actually imported from the states) and it just reinforced my commitment to avoiding coke (in america).

From:

Yeah, the big problem is just that the body processes it FAR faster than even just plain sugar. It's literally empty calories, moreso than sugar. Honey is actually a healthy sweetener, since the body has to work to process it.

Personally, I stopped drinking sodas two years ago. That's when I started dropping the weight. Even drinking juice and other "high calorie but nutritious" drinks have been better than drinking soda.

It's funny, as a kid, my parents didn't let me touch soda except on special occasions. I was never more than 5 lbs overweight. When I got to college I was drinking diet soda right and left, until I discovered that my body has some nasty little adverse reactions to nutrasweet (like my MS flaring up like nobody's business. When I stopped drinking diet, I stopped having severe issues). And then even when I was drinking lemonade, I was still slowly gaining weight, namely because I found that most of the lemonades out there also contain HFCS as their first ingredient. Two years ago, I stopped drinking anything but water, and then I started drinking LOTS of it.

And in two years I've dropped 40 lbs.

Hubby has started to catch on. ;)

But DAMN it's hard to avoid that crap... It really is...

From:

Oh, and if your friends want sugar soda, tell them to stock up at Passover. Any coca-cola related beverage (coke, sprite, barq's, etc) that has a YELLOW cap is specifically Kosher for Passover, which means it can't have any grain related products in it... so corn syrup is right out.

I don't even drink soda anymore, can't stand it anymore... But I'm glad to see that we can get the sugar based stuff SOMETIMES at least...

From:

said friends might want to stock up just for the sake of a decent home-bar. i've heard it said that after having a proper old-style "rum and coke" with sugar coke, people might never order one in a bar again...

From:

gargoylez

We do that! We've also noted that if you can find a Jewish neighborhood (not difficult in LA, but I don't know about VA), some stores will have it year-round. That stuff rocks.

From:

nvqrjaaajkss.livejournal.com

from my diet for 3 months now and Im FEELING amazingly better. Keep at it...it wasnt easy in the beginning but I have found an an amazing amount of other things that are HEALTHIER for me.

When I cant find natural bread somewhere...which will NOT taste sweet unless fruitjuice, honey, etc is added...I have fallen in love with this company:

http://www.bakersinnbreads.com/explore.html

And all I can say is Trader Joes and Whole Foods really do HELP with eating better. I also have been frequenting local farmer's markets, butchers (kosher are the best) and local health food markets. It really IS worth the extra effort and money...and once you incorporate the extra effort into your routine...it becomes second nature.

Next time I get lazy with eating...you may find me in the hospital with self inflicted wooden baseball bat injuries...how stupid I have been the past 7 years...which no doubt factored into me being sick all the time.

From:

nvqrjaaajkss.livejournal.com

I did some digging about the link I post above...and forgot to tell you...their breads have some HFCS in them but not much at all...and since I dont feel oogie when I eat the bread (which I do now IMMEDIATELY if I eat something high in HFCS or white sugar)...there cant be much in their bread.

From:

yeah, i know about that, and cyd's already been getting "white bread" off my list to start with. "honey-cracked wheat" is my bread of choice, if it exists. need to look at the ingredients list of that, but hopefully "honey" will come out in front of the chemical of evil.

its definitely addictive (to me) -- in spite of keeping my caffene levels relatively constant (through unsweetened tea and/or my usual coffee), i still had the "shakes" for the first 3 weeks after removing coke from the diet.

From:

nvqrjaaajkss.livejournal.com

Hmmm...Id love to go back in history to the Einstein who developed HFCS and have a "chat" with him/them.

Yeah...my body went NUTS the first couple of months I started slowly removing most processed foods from my diet...I still have something bad for me on a RARE occassion because there are simply some things I LIKE...and in return I take my punishment after consuming said EVIL!

I can only drink an ounce or two of coke (which I like with my steamed chinese food)and even then my body beats me up for it.

From:

*nods again*

The whole addictive aspect of sugar is a whole 'nother pandora's box!

Good on you for kicking it!! That is no small thing!

From:

*blink*

Um.... so...... ok.....

I'm not challenging your choice here, but it took me off-guard. What brought this on? I think i missed something!

BRAVO for healthier diets! But clue me in? I must have missed a turn back there.

From:

Over the last 2 years, I've lost about 40 lbs, namely because I stopped drinking soda, which is the worst offender in the HFCS issue.

Guess who caught on? :)

Thing is, we got kind of caught off guard in Wales... They don't HAVE HFCS... Their sodas are made with regular sugar or glucose syrup, and/or with the chemical sweeteners like saccharin and nutrasweet. He got a good taste of what used to be REAL coke, before they put in the "new" coke, and eventually went back to what was supposed to be "classic" coke, but was really the original coke made with HFCS...

But when he dropped off the sodas over here, he suddenly dropped 6 lbs.

THIS is one of the big reasons for obesity in this country, I swear.

However, someone's been making better choices ever since the lack of HFCS smacked him in the face... And has been scrutinizing it ever since.

I'm proud of him, I really am... *smile*

From:

Ok, i knew about *your* simple dietary adjustment, and your success. YAY!!! I guess i missed the moment when he himself converted. *chuckle*

*goes and gets a can of TAB*

Yeah, as i thought. It's not in TAB.

What occurs to me is this: when the label says "This product contains XX number of calories", are those calories *higher* with HFCS? Or are they equal, but the calories cost you more?

To clarify, the coke made with sugar vs the coke made with HFCS.... which lists the calories as higher?

Hey Joe, can you request some alternative snacks be provided??

From:

I don't know which one lists calories as higher... HOWEVER, the high fructose corn syrup is more easily absorbed by the system... From what I understand (I am not a doctor or a nutritionist), it's the same number of "official" calories... But the number of calories in food isn't indicative of the body absorption ratio if I'm not mistaken...

Of course, I could be mistaken... ;)

From:

*nods thoughtfully*

No, that's kind of what i was looking for. It sounds like the calorie listing on packaging may be deceptive, since, if i'm getting this right, your body responds differently when it gets SUGAR calories to when it gets HFCS calories. Yes?

From:

Yes.

The best sugars for you are actually honey and molasses... The body has to work to process them, thereby burning more calories than it takes to absorb (like celery taking more calories to break down than it actually gets absorbed). White sugar is already processed and refined, and therefore is easier for the body to absorb than honey or molasses. HFCS is already FAR more processed than even sugar is, and therefore the body doesn't really have to work to break it down at all.

Empty calories. The body doesn't have to work to break it down. Celery has calories (admittedly few, but some). However you actually burn more calories to process it than it contains.

Three quarters of what we eat out there is processed. The same reason that honey and molasses are better for you than sugar and corn syrup is the reason why whole grain bread is better for you than processed whole wheat bread, which is better for you than bleached white bread. The body has to work less to process the bleached white bread. It has to work a whole lot harder on the whole grains, therefore it's actually healthier for you.

In terms of the amount of work involved, think of it like honey being like taking the stairs up a tall building, sugar as taking the escalator and possibly stepping up a stair or two on the escalator, and HFCS as taking the elevator. All three take you to the same place, but you get a whole lot more exercise out of the first than out of the last.

From:

I knew this about honey and molasses, from my own research when i was so ill. SUGAR is an immune system depressor. Unfortunately, i can't *stand* what honey does to most things. *shudder* I tried, really i did! *L*

But wait, you're equating "healthy" with caloric results. Whole grain breads may be better in terms of weight maintenance or loss, but the main benefit of those breads is not about calories at all. It's about nutrition.

The whole thing is very tricky, and there are always new things being discovered. The humor i find is that so many of these new discoveries were known to the ancients. *L*

From:

Whole grain breads may be better in terms of weight maintenance or loss, but the main benefit of those breads is not about calories at all. It's about nutrition.

I know that... :) Fiber, nutrients... the bleached white stuff bleaches all the nutrition out of it, and whole grains have more fiber than processed crap. But I was using one portion of it as an example.

Joe adores honey. We came back from Wales with three or four more bottles of honey he hadn't had before... :) At least when he sweetens his tea and coffee (IF he sweetens his tea), he does it with honey...

The healthy isn't just the caloric results, but also how much work the body does on it. Like exercising your insides. Give it stuff it doesn't need to work on, and your body gets lazy. Give it stuff that it has to work on, and it's healthier because it's exercising itself. The body needs exercise inside and out you know. ;)

Kind of like the immune system. You won't do a kid any favors if you sanitize his world... Because if his body doesn't get used to handling the tough stuff in small doses, it won't be able to handle it in large doses... Personally, I think that's true in anything from viruses to emotional health to external health to internal health.

The sugar thing is just one example of it. :)

From:

cyberkender.livejournal.com

Yah, calories are calories because of how they're measured: 1 calorie is the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1 cubic centimeter of water, 1 degree C. Doesn't seem right, compared to the calories everyone counts, right? Well, that's because food is actually measured in KILOcalories. They just drop he Kilo- because it makes the number smaller.

Oh, and how to measure how many calories a food item has: You burn it and measure the heat given off. It's amazing how long a Twinkie continues to burn in a 1650 degree kiln...

From:

HFCS won't be in any non-diet drink. the closest is in the "low carb" C2 from Coke, which is their "new coke" formula of 1985 brought back from the dead with a 50-50 split of HFCS and Aspertame (nutrisweet).

One thing about the "positive spin" that the HFCS "industry" publishes is that table sugar is "60-40" glucose/fructose, compared with 50-50 in HFCS (which was named that only because of the added fructose, not because it was all THAT much higher than natural corn syrup (not that that's terribly natural as such, either)). So HFCS shouldn't be seen as being all that different from that which its replaced.

What they DON'T say is that the sugar that used to go in those products was not "table sugar" at all, but a rawer sugar more closely straight from the cane, which has a much higher glucose level than what results from the processing and bleaching to create white sugar.

as for alternate snacks? well they do provide a nuts-and-raisins only trail mix (only 80 cal, no added sweeteners or salts), but that's about it. i'm not worried in and of itself. however, the irony of providing such snacks in the midst of a "we're concerned about your health" program (with water bottles and pedometers and free health scans) still gets to me. :)

From:

vvalkyri.livejournal.com

If I recall, Fat Land puts a bead on HFCS and Partially Hydrogenated Palm Oil, yes.

Concept of excess corn going into the food supply, just like pre-prohibition it had all gone into whiskey.

From:

eac.livejournal.com

Add most commercial ice cream to this list.

(I've obviously become an appalling Californian, because I looked at that list and thought: "right, so don't BUY those processed foods.")

From:

Actually, he's stopped getting most of them. Condiments are the biggest exception. He has gone out of his way now to make sure the store next door carries non-sweetened iced tea (do you have any idea how difficult it is to get non-sweet-tea around here?), he's been only going to restaurants that have unsweetened tea, he's been trying to avoid anything with HFCS...

But as you can see, it isn't easy.

From:

eac.livejournal.com

Are you and Joe still in Sterling? I suppose I'd never given it any thought. Years ago, in Fairfax, there always seemed to be unsweetened tea and there always is in San Francisco.

And yea, I agree that condiments are difficult.

(A close friend of mine is dangerously allergic to corn and corn syrup. That's led me to try not to buy the stuff - both because I know it's evil, and because I want to be able to feed her without difficulty.)

From:

yeah, we're still in the general "hood" of northern va (sterling). :)

it runs about 50/50 nowadays. the burger kings all have nestea's "raspberry" flavored stuff on fountain (loaded with HFCS). mcdonalds have real tea, but of course everything else is HFCS loaded, including (allegedly) their french fries.

safeway has every style of Lipton bottled tea *except* unsweetened. i haven't tried giant or wegmans yet (i've been busy; grocery shopping's hardly been high on the priority list).

the real hassle is that aside from a rather nice only-slightly-sweetened organic tea (34 cal / bottle, sugar only), there's nothing in the convenience store in my building. rather tedious, really. especially annoying is that they sell out of the stuff. no matter what, to get unsweetened tea i have to leave the building.

it seems like such a simple thing, unsweetened tea...

From:

thatwasjen

Four-word ingredients = poison. I'm trying to stop consuming anything with high-fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated soybean/vegetable oil, and it's damn hard to find things that don't have one or both of those ingredients. Because I cannot afford to do all my grocery shopping at Whole Foods.
I empathize with your fight.

From:

javasaurus.livejournal.com

Regarding ingredient labels:
Alcoholic beverages are not regulated as foods: they fall in between the FDA and the Treasury Dept. (which regulates alcohol, tobacco, and firearms for some bizarre reason). That always means that regulations get screwy. Further, different states have different labeling regulations.

From this washington post article:
The FDA can weigh in on few labeling cases, the group said, and the alcohol bureau has no expertise in diet or nutrition.

FDA spokeswoman Laura Alvey said the FDA requires labels on anything containing less than 7 percent alcohol by volume, except malt beverages.

The alcohol bureau did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Jeff Becker, president of the Beer Institute, a trade association, said the group is analyzing the proposal, but he noted: "Beer labeling has been regulated for decades by a balance of federal and state interests and authorities."

From:

it probably goes back to enforcement during prohibition. the regulation then was because they were illegal. later, when repealed, ATF continued to manage it for tax reasons. all of those items are heavily taxed, whereas food is generally under fewer taxes or even no tax at all in most states (restaurants not withstanding).

if it means money, you can be damned sure that an armed power will be around to enforce it. if its just a matter of safety, then they can just sic the lawyers and be done with it.

priorities, you know.

From:

dacuteturtle.livejournal.com

When Jen moved in, she pushed us to the organic markets and farmer's markets. It costs a little more, but as we don't buy junk food anyway, the price isn't much different. We visit the Kensington or Bethesda farmer's markets, shop at My Organic Market on Nicholson, or Berducci's on Old Georgetown Road for organic meat. Both Jen and I cook, so most dinners are from raw ingredients. When I remember, I visit Great Harvest for fresh bread. Look for one near you.

I was already avoiding refined foods, mostly due to unexplained migraines. I figured, I didn't know what caused the headaches, so I mind as well buy organic and just avoid everything.

Another thing that got me to avoid HFCS was tasting REAL sugar. Stuff that actually contains sugar tastes better. Really. Try a rum-and-coke with a sugar-based coke. That's ONE GOOD DRINK. Alcohol just reacts better with sugar than HFCS.

From: