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High-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain than sugar (2010)

princeton.edu

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Re: High-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain than sugar (2010)

#121

Post by mchusma »

I try to beat on this drum whenever I see people jump to conclusions, in studies, on the media, or on Hacker News, based off one study. The possibility for one study to be screwed up is so enormously high nobody should ever take one at face value.

To date, most studies that review the concept of "some foods make you fatter than others" vs "calories in vs calories out" consistently weigh in favor of "calories in vs calories out".

I always find www.sciencebasedmedicine.org to be a great resource for this. Also, the podcast Skeptics Guide to the Universe is really fun, and they talk about things like this all the time.

Re: High-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain than sugar (2010)

#122

Post by kyllo »

nawitus wrote: post #117
kyllo wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, if corn were not subsidized, corn syrup would probably not be wholly replaced with cane sugar, as cane sugar is much more expensive, a lot of it is imported, and it can't really be grown productively in most of the US--inside the US it's really only grown in Florida, Texas, and Hawaii. The 89 million acres[1] of corn harvested in the US would be partly replaced by some other starchy crop x, and high fructose c…

>The root problem is really the fact that we as a nation eat too much food, It appears that people used to eat more food in the past. At least for Finland, modern Finns eat 40% less calories than they used to 100 years ago. The reason is that agriculture work demands a lot of calories.

But were Finns eating too much food 100 years ago? Probably not, considering their daily caloric expenditure at the time.

"Too much food" is of course relative to how much food your body needs, given how physically active you are.

But, I suspect that Americans on average both get less exercise and consume more calories than they did 100 years ago.

Re: High-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain than sugar (2010)

#123

Post by cpncrunch »

cpncrunch wrote: post #111
Khelavaster wrote: post #85

Where's the rampant fact-checking and criticism of major dietary studies I usually see on HN? Could this have anything to do with bias against high-fructose corn syrup, which is chemically almost identical to honey? The LA Times reported on the study in depth, and there are some serious deficiencies. > "After eight weeks, three groups of rats weighed essentially the same – the chow-only rats (462 grams on average), t…

People just like to have a scapegoat for their health problems: MSG, gluten, GMO, etc. Better to blame the big bad corporation for making you fat than the fact that you like to eat lots of sugary shit and don't do any exercise.

Downvote LOL.

Re: High-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain than sugar (2010)

#124

Post by acchow »

specialist wrote: post #114
__--__ wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saying sugar is healthier than HFCS is sort of like saying morphine is healthier than heroin. It may technically be true, but both will kill you eventually. That said, I agree that if the cost of sugar and HFCS were higher, it would no longer be cost effective to put it in bread. I think everyone can agree that HFCS and sugar probably shouldn't be in bread.

I'm not a biologist, related from Lustig's video, probably incorrectly: fructose + glucose = sucrose. Body needs glucose. Fructose goes straight to liver, metabolized like alcohol, a bunch of bad stuff happens. Reason fruits are better than fruit juice is the fiber blocks the fructose from being metabolized, letting the needed glucose through. Eating straight refined sugar is probably almost as bad as HFCS. But other…

> Reason fruits are better than fruit juice is the fiber blocks the fructose from being metabolized, letting the needed glucose through.

Can we get a source on this? I'm very curious, because I eat a ton of fruit with a lot of fructose every day and this Lustig video has gotten me worried.

Re: High-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain than sugar (2010)

#125

Post by donaldc »

justin66 wrote: post #29
randomdata wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is not exactly solved, because it is not clear what the farmers should grow in the place of corn. As a grain farmer operating in a country that does not have subsidies, we still end up growing corn, even if it results in a loss. Bankers prefer to see a loss than to leave the land lay fallow, and there are not many famers who can operate against banker's wishes in such a capital intensive business. You can…

> The problem is not exactly solved, because it is not clear what the farmers should grow in the place of corn. It's quite possible they should stop being farmers and that the nation should farm out (get it?) much of its agriculture to the developing world. This is certainly what "the market" dictates and something which government spends a lot of money working to prevent.

It's quite possible they should stop being farmers and that the nation should farm out (get it?) much of its agriculture to the developing world.

A fundamental reason countries that can afford it have agricultural subsidies is that a little overproduction ensures food security. If you outsource your food production to another country, and there's a worldwide food shortage, that country can demand almost anything from you and get it, because otherwise some of your people starve.

Re: High-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain than sugar (2010)

#126

Post by ianqueue »

ianqueue wrote: post #24

Not to mention it's GMO corn being used! You might as well poke holes in the lining of your stomach.

Funny how I get -2 because people are to lazy to look things up on their own...

I've also noticed people feel threatened when you talk about their food.

[http://www.unionccs.net/images/library/file/Agricultura_y_al...] [http://geneticroulettemovie.com/]

There are a lot more...

Wake up people, they care about making money not your health!

Re: High-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain than sugar (2010)

#127

Post by Terretta »

cmpxchg8 wrote: post #116
Terretta wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Encourage your supermarket to carry Pepsi Throwback alongside their real Pepsi.

Or you could just drink water which is way healthier.

You could, except that water doesn't provide caffeine and real sugar, so presumably one is having a cola for its energy boost rather than its health.

Re: High-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain than sugar (2010)

#128

Post by tomphoolery »

greenyoda wrote: post #54
tomphoolery wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm no expert on this, but it seems like they were studying the problem in the wrong way. Instead of considering HFCS as a food, and measuring how it works on your body, why not consider HFCS as a drug, and measure how it works on your brain? I think the HFCS->obesity issue has a lot more to do with the way sugar affects our brains. I think HFCS is detrimental to human survival because it has encouraged us to get all…

" Instead of considering HFCS as a food, and measuring how it works on your body, why not consider HFCS as a drug, and measure how it works on your brain? " That does seem to be the major focus of this lab: Bart Hoebel is a psychology professor "who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction".

You're right, this was just research and wasn't attempting to explain the "why", just the "what happens".
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