Healthy Diets for children.

On Feb 29, 7:48 am, enigma wrote:
Beliavsky wrote
ups.com:



On Feb 28, 10:57 pm, Dom
wrote:
What are the latest recomendations for diet for children.
I remember a few years back the "Healthy Eating Pyramid".
Has this been replaced with the healthy plate or
something? I'm particurlarly interested in what
percentage of daily calorie intake should come from simple
sugars.

My mother in law thinks that the kids need sugar in thier
diet, and I'm concerned that she gives them too much.

I have never heard of that. People do need to get enough
calories, but consuming lots of sugar is almost never the
best way to do that.

Regarding the general subject of healthy diets, I have
noticed in the grocery store that lots of foods are now
labeled as being free of trans fats, and I wonder how
important this is. New York City passed a law limiting
trans fats in 2006.

lack of "trans fats" is probably a fad buzzword.
yes, one should avoid hydrogenated fats (trans fats). one
should also avoid high fructose corn syrup & refined grains,
additives, stabilizers. chemical colorings & flavorings...
somehow i can't see Susie or Sam Average suddenly deciding to
stop buying prepackaged "convenience" foods & learning to
actually cook & bake. if i could i'd say "this is what *i*
do", but i have the inclination & the memory of real food to
start from.
lee
--
Last night while sitting in my chair
I pinged a host that wasn't there
It wasn't there again today
The host resolved to NSA.

Why is high fructose corn syrup worse than real sugar? I'm just
curious.

wrote:

Why is high fructose corn syrup worse than real sugar? I'm just
curious.

You can read about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) he
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fructose_corn_syrup

HFCS is said to increase the triglycerides in our blood, whichr is not
good for our hearts.

HFCS and regular sugar both are made of fructose and glucose. HFCS has
more fructose, but I don't think that makes a big difference.

Americans eat about twice as much sugar (HFCS + cane sugar) than
Europeans. I think it is this amount of sugar that is more harmful.

Jeff

On Feb 29, 10:36 am, Jeff wrote:
wrote:
Why is high fructose corn syrup worse than real sugar? I'm just
curious.

You can read about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) hehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fructose_corn_syrup

HFCS is said to increase the triglycerides in our blood, whichr is not
good for our hearts.

HFCS and regular sugar both are made of fructose and glucose. HFCS has
more fructose, but I don't think that makes a big difference.

Americans eat about twice as much sugar (HFCS + cane sugar) than
Europeans. I think it is this amount of sugar that is more harmful.

Jeff

I guess this is what I was wondering. If the amount of sugar consumed
is carefully monitored, does it matter if it's cane sugar or HFCS?

wrote:
=
I guess this is what I was wondering. If the amount of sugar consumed
is carefully monitored, does it matter if it's cane sugar or HFCS?

Some say it does. The hard core research is still a
bit murky, though, so there's no real definitive answer, but
there's enough research to raise a lot of questions.

Best wishes,
Ericka

wrote:
On Feb 29, 10:36 am, Jeff wrote:
wrote:
Why is high fructose corn syrup worse than real sugar? I'm just
curious.
You can read about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) hehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fructose_corn_syrup

HFCS is said to increase the triglycerides in our blood, whichr is not
good for our hearts.

HFCS and regular sugar both are made of fructose and glucose. HFCS has
more fructose, but I don't think that makes a big difference.

Americans eat about twice as much sugar (HFCS + cane sugar) than
Europeans. I think it is this amount of sugar that is more harmful.

Jeff

I guess this is what I was wondering. If the amount of sugar consumed
is carefully monitored, does it matter if it's cane sugar or HFCS?

It may make a little bit of difference, but not much as far as I can gather.

Jeff

wrote in

oups.com:

Why is high fructose corn syrup worse than real sugar? I'm
just curious.

all sugars (& artificial, chemical sweeteners) should be
eaten in moderation, but high fructose corn syrup causes a
chemical reaction that kills the signals from your brain that
you have had enough to eat.


lee
--
Last night while sitting in my chair
I pinged a host that wasn't there
It wasn't there again today
The host resolved to NSA.

enigma wrote:
wrote in

oups.com:

Why is high fructose corn syrup worse than real sugar? I'm
just curious.

all sugars (& artificial, chemical sweeteners) should be
eaten in moderation, but high fructose corn syrup causes a
chemical reaction that kills the signals from your brain that
you have had enough to eat.


lee

What chemical reaction?

And isn't it signals *to* brain that cause the brain to know that you
have had enough to eat?

Jeff

Jeff wrote in
news:tzZxj.7343$li.1876@trnddc06:

enigma wrote:
wrote in

egr oups.com:

Why is high fructose corn syrup worse than real sugar?
I'm just curious.

all sugars (& artificial, chemical sweeteners) should be
eaten in moderation, but high fructose corn syrup causes a
chemical reaction that kills the signals from your brain
that you have had enough to eat.


lee

What chemical reaction?

And isn't it signals *to* brain that cause the brain to
know that you have had enough to eat?

look. my mother just died & i have a allergy induced sinus
infection. i'm not at my most precise at the moment

here's a layperson abstraction of the issue:


High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is processed from hydrolyzed
corn starch (so it’s not completely natural) and contains a
high level of fructose (which is naturally occurring in fruits
and honey) and a simple sugar carbohydrate, just like sucrose.
It is about 75% sweeter than sucrose, less expensiv e than
sugar, and mixes well in many foods. Food manufacturers
(especially soda manufacturers) began using HFCS widely in the
early 1970s to save money, and it was thought of as a
revolutionary advance in food science because of its stability
and usefullness in a variety of foods.

According to the Corn Refiners Association, HFCS is made up
of about 50% fuctose and 50% dextrose, which they say is about
the same composition of table sugar or sucrose. HFCS 42
contains 42% fructose (This product is used primarily by food
processors of canned goods, baking and ice cream products) and
HFCS 55 contains 55% fructose (and is used primarily by the
soft drink industry).

While many reports show that Americans consumption of white
refined sugar has dropped over the past 20 years, it is mostly
a result of the switch by food companies to HFCS, which
according to USDA figures shows an increased consumption by
250% over the last 15 years. Estimates are that we consume
about 9% of our daily calories in the form of fructose.

So why is High Fructose Corn Syrup being blamed? The problem
appears to be the fructose not the corn syrup.

Corn syrup’s sugar is primarily glucose, which our body
burns as a source of immediate energy, is stored in muscles
and our liver for later use, and releases insulin.

Fructose, on the other hand, does not release or stimulate
insulin. Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps
to metabolize our foods by pushing carbohydrates into our
muscle cells to be used as energy, and allows carbohydrates to
be stores in our liver for later use. It also stimulates
production of another hormone, leptin, which helps to regulate
our storage of body fat and increases our metabolism when
needed. These two hormones keep our body fat regulated and
tells us, for all intent purposes, when we are satisfied and
sends the message to our brain to stop eating.

Researchers at the University of Michigan found that men who
consume very high levels of fructose elevated their
triglyceride level by 32 percent. As trygliceride enters our
blood stream, it makes our cells resistant to insulin, making
our body’s fat burning and storage system even more sluggish.

and here's a more scientific cite:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/79/4/537

the reason HFCS has been cheaper than sugar (& therefore more
popular with manufacturers) is the huge corn lobby has kept
artificially high tarifs on sugar imports, thereby keeping the
price of sugar high in the US.
in fact, if you read the corn lobby's site about HFCS, you'd
think it was a miracle product. it's pretty humorous, in a sad
way.
lee

--
Last night while sitting in my chair
I pinged a host that wasn't there
It wasn't there again today
The host resolved to NSA.

enigma wrote:
Jeff wrote in
news:tzZxj.7343$li.1876@trnddc06:

enigma wrote:
wrote in

egr oups.com:

Why is high fructose corn syrup worse than real sugar?
I'm just curious.
all sugars (& artificial, chemical sweeteners) should be
eaten in moderation, but high fructose corn syrup causes a
chemical reaction that kills the signals from your brain
that you have had enough to eat.


lee
What chemical reaction?

And isn't it signals *to* brain that cause the brain to
know that you have had enough to eat?

look. my mother just died & i have a allergy induced sinus
infection. i'm not at my most precise at the moment

I am sorry for your troubles, particularly your mom.

here's a layperson abstraction of the issue:


High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is processed from hydrolyzed
corn starch (so it’s not completely natural)

Sucrose (table sugar) is hydrolyzed in our digestive tract. So there is
no real difference.

What matters is the chemical structure, not how it got there. In other
words, it doesn't matter if it is natural or not. Artificial (synthetic)
vitamin C is just as good natural vitamin C

...

and here's a more scientific cite:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/79/4/537

the reason HFCS has been cheaper than sugar (& therefore more
popular with manufacturers) is the huge corn lobby has kept
artificially high tarifs on sugar imports, thereby keeping the
price of sugar high in the US.
in fact, if you read the corn lobby's site about HFCS, you'd
think it was a miracle product. it's pretty humorous, in a sad
way.
lee


That's true. And the reason why HFCS is so cheap is that it's not really
cheap: We (that is US taxpayers) subsidize the farmers who grow the corn.

I don't see that HFCS is much worse than cane sugar (it may be a little
worse). Rather, I see the large amount of added sugar (cane or HFCS) as
being very unhealthy.

Jeff

Jeff wrote:

What matters is the chemical structure, not how it got there. In other
words, it doesn't matter if it is natural or not. Artificial (synthetic)
vitamin C is just as good natural vitamin C

I don't agree. Chemical synthesis often requires heavy metals and other
toxic chemicals. Most of these are gone in the final product, but trace
amounts remain, as do intermediate or unwanted structures of sometimes
untested toxicity.
In addition, vitamins are not the only reason fresh fruit and vegetables
are good for you; they contain a lot of other compounds, not all of
which have been studied.
I'm a scientist and definitely do not believe that people should dismiss
all progress and go back to the stone age. But for food, as fresh and
natural as possible really is the best.

Karen