In his book, Why We Get Fat, Gary Taubes discusses the uniquely fattening properties of sugars, especially high fructose corn syrup. I am discovering that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is in a lot of products: regular soda pop, bread, ketchup, Nyquil (and other cough medicines), doggie treats for my carnivore buddy, Titan (I have stopped buying these for him), Slim Jim beef sticks, not to mention pretty much anything that is sweet. It is so ubiquitous that it is actually rather hard to avoid. I have started reading labels very closely. It even pops up in places I totally don't expect. Just the other day, I was reading the label on diet Sunkist orange soda, and there it was (the "diet" Sunkist Orange Soda is actually quite caloric). And I was quite surprised to see it in medicines and cough syrups. If you are going to cut out carbs from your diet, HFCS should be one of the first to go.
Why is HFCS a problem? It has been linked to obesity, it fuels the growth of cancerous cells, and it exacerbates type II diabetes by aiding fat deposition and preventing you from feeling full, among other things.
So wait--are you putting Titan on a low carb diet too? He doesn't need to lose weight!
ReplyDeleteOur ketchup says no high fructose corn syrup on it. You should buy that kind. :)
No more high carb treats for Titan. But to compensate, I now share my steaks with him. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe discovered the low carb ketchup and bought a bottle. Shrimp without cocktail sauce is not worth eating, and you make cocktail sauce with ketchup. So I am happy once again.