What Single Ingredient is Worse than Sugar?

If you are trying to shed a few pounds, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) might be the single worst ingredient you can put into your body. Not only does HFCS keep you from losing weight, but it actuallyincreases the amount of fat cells that you produce! Even worse, this little ingredient is found in almost all soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit drinks, “health” bars, and many different sweet treats. Last month, PepsiCo ditched the controversial sweetener in Gatorade and more soda manufacturers are experimenting with the idea of removing HFCS from their products altogether. You will start seeing “made with real sugar” products hit the shelves soon such as: Dr. Pepper Heritage, Pepsi Throwback, and Mountain Dew Throwback. These products are being manufactured as the forecast for HFCS is becoming worse.

During a March research study at Princeton, one set of rats were given high-fructose corn syrup and another set of rats were given table sugar; guess what they found? The rats given HFCS gained a lot more fat than their counterparts! In fact, whenever researchers want to learn more about diabetes they induce a pre-diabetic state in rats by giving them…you guessed it: HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.

Real sugar—a better solution?

Elizabeth Abbot, author of Sugar: A Bittersweet History, says “The debate about which one is better for you (HFCS or sugar) is a false debate, because neither of them is good for you. By having cane sugar, you’re not doing yourself a great big favor. Not so much sugar is what we should be striving for.”

Sugar decreases the function of your immune system almost immediately. Keeping sugar out of your diet will help you burn fat, help your body regulate insulin levels and will do wonders for your immune system.

If you have a sweet tooth, stevia is your new best friend. Stevia is a no calorie, natural sweetener from the stevia plant. It’s also a great option for diabetics too, as it will not spike your blood sugar levels.  If you don’t have any stevia in your house, you can use small amounts of agave nectar or raw honey until you are able to purchase stevia.

HFCS may be bad, but it’s not half the problem when it comes to artificial sweeteners. I’m going to talk about one of the biggest sweet deceptions of the decade as my next topic. (Hint: Avoid the little pink, yellow and blue sweetener packets!)

Action Steps:

1. Skip the sodas! If you are a drink soda, ask yourself this question: “why do I drink sodas?” If your answer has anything to do with cravings, energy or you feel like you “must have it”, that is the addictive nature of HFCS talking and you need to begin a process of permanently removing all soda from your diet.
2. If you absolutely need a sweetener in your drink, use Stevia instead. Avoid the little pink, yellow and blue sweetener packets too!
3. Check the ingredient list on all packaged materials. HFCS is in many common foods you may think are “healthy”.