everything you need to Know About sugar PART 2 of 2 By Lindsey Emery (Shape.com)
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xperts answered all of your questions What Is the Difference Between high-Fructose Corn Syrup (hFCS) and Regular Sugar? Is sweeteners, and every other type of hFCS Really That Bad? Table sugar—a.k.a. sugar so you can live a sweet and sucrose—is composed of 50 percent fructose healthy life. and 50 percent glucose. HFCS is derived from corn and also contains fructose and We’re inundated with sugar everywhere glucose; sometimes it has more fructose than we turn—both in the news, telling us to cut sugar does and sometimes it has less, Richard back on how much we at, and in so many Johnson says. “High-fructose corn syrup is at of the foods and drinks we consume daily. its worst in soft drinks, when it’s composed of And this sugar paradox certainly isn’t sweet, close to 55 to 65 percent fructose,” he adds. as it leaves us uncertain about how to satisfy “However, in other products like bread, it actually contains less fructose than table are safe, and what the heck you can actually sugar does.” eat. Instead of tossing in the towel on healthy living—or, worse, turning to cookies to relieve your stress—straighten out the facts about in HFCS, as it is a higher dose of fructose than all types of sugar so you can treat your body most other types. And the introduction of (and your sweet tooth) right. high-fructose corn syrup coincides with the increasing rate of obesity, Richard Johnson Is It Better to use honey, Maple Syrup, and adds. other “Natural” Sweeteners Rather Than Regular Sugar? No. “They are all simple sugars that contribute to excess calories, Sweeteners Like Aspartame, Sucralose, and and your body reacts to them in the same Saccharin? “I think the verdict is still out on all way,” McManus says. “Whatever the form, of these substitutes,” McManus says. The FDA each is very easily digested and absorbed considers aspartame (marketed under the into your blood stream, and when done in names Equal, Nutrasweet, and Sugar Twin), excess this can create an insulin resistance and potentially put you at risk for developing Low) to be “generally regarded as safe” or diabetes.” GRAS, and has established an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for each. ADI is based on Issue 32|June 2014 61