Fructose corn syrup ( SPLIT from - Pizza - 'nuff said )

yeah, just the artificial sugar... sucrose (corn syrup), aspartame, splenda, and other processed corn products, like corn cellulose. the reason I've stopped consuming them is, for one, because the body can't digest them. so there's no real point anyway. and secondly, they're all highly addictive, mood-altering substances. it was like the first time I tried to go two days without any sugar, and that included the sugar found in white bread, cereal, any of those ramen noodles type thingies, and almost ever form of medicine you can put in your mouth, etc., I got really bad withdrawel. I didn't realize sugar is in practically everything. the part of my brain that deals with stress must've shrunk or something, because as soon as I stopped drugging it, it became impossible to deal with even a small amount of stress.

anyway, I think this might surprise you, but the worst part of a pizza is actually the crust, because it's made from enriched flour, which contains corn syrup solids. I'm telling you, man, it's in everything. just trying not to consume any sugar means all the "de-sugarized" food you buy will probably cost about three times as much as the regular stuff. one of those amy's frozen pizzas alone is like $7.99. I'm a minimum wage kid, so it's a real bitch trying to keep healthy.

Motokid said:

I can understand somebody cutting manufactured, processed sugar out, but are you also talking about the natural sugars you get from fruits and such?

Is the problem with pizza the sugars in the sauce from the tomatoes or added sugars? I make my own pizza quite often and the only sugar I might add is to cut the acid in the tomato sause depending on the quality of tomatoes I can use at the time. But quite often I don't add any processed sugar at all.

From your research where's the glut of the sugar in pizza?

Click to expand...

According to the mag Men's Health, there's a correlation between when food manufacturers started using high fructose corn syrup and steep increases in obesity and diabetes rates. Also, there's a correlation between those things and the introduction of the supersized fastfood meal. Listen to the bobber. It's everywhere. Things like bread and past break down into sugar very quickly in your stomach. Well, it actually starts with the amylase in your saliva, but whatever.

Bobby, I'm right there with you. When I'm stressed, I want food, and not good food. I want bready food and sweet food. Blood sugar is more than sex magic. I fully believe it's addictive because I'm an addict. If I eat some cake, I become this ball of energy, laughing, talking nonstop. Then I crash a while later. Sugar is like crack.

What can we do if it is in everything?!

SillyWabbit said:

What can we do if it is in everything?!

Click to expand...

From my understanding, the only thing that doesn't contain processed sugar is soylent green.

Seriously though. Vegetables. Whole grains (oatmeal). Fruits contain sugar, but not processed sugar. There are several different kinds of sugars. Some are more readily stored as fat and some are more readily put into your bloodstream. Anyway, the foods that don't contain processed sugars are not at fastfood places or vending machines, which makes them inconvenient. That means planning meals and such.

BTW, Bobby doesn't use sweeteners such as splenda, but I use Splenda (sucrase, chlorinated sucrose) even though there are very few studies on it. Maybe I shouldn't. Time will tell.

the thing I don't get about splenda is, it's advertised as being made from sugar, so, in a sense, that would make it "processed" processed sugar.

I just checked my bread and found it has no fructose in it! At least it's not in the bread here in the UK yet.

This is just another example of companies putting profit over health. It will be interesting to see what happens when somebody sues over this.

Well, don't forget the other side. Manufacturers started using corn syrup because it made food processing easier and cheaper. So, now more food is made, and it's sold more affordably. I don't think you can blame the guys who made corn syrup. Now, it's become an industry standard, and it's going to take a while for the industry to find a replacement. I believe that a replacement for corn syrup is coming because the life expectancy in the US is about to start dropping due to diabetes and heart disease, so something's got to give.

Here's the crazy thought I had about the situation. Lots of third world people die because they have nothing to eat. First world people have plenty to eat, but what they're eating is killing them and making them sick. Kinda sounds like a damned if you do, damned if you don't type situation. We have the power to make lots of affordable calorie dense food (like pizza, to stay on topic), so that everyone should be able to eat, but the food is killing us.

Moto, sorry about the hijacking.

I split the thread.

Your pizza thread is safe from us Moto

I do blame the companies. I blame them for two reasons. Firstly, they must be aware that their products are harmful to people's health. Secondly, these companies make billions in profits. If they used something cheaper they would still make more than enough. I feel it's pure and simple greed. It's money over peoples health.

There is one more point I would like to make here.

I really feel a lot of people have been brainwashed to believe that modern food is quick, cheap and healthy. It isn't.

One of my hobbies/interests is cooking. I can cook a good meal, cheap, and quickly. I don't need to resort to fructose in my cooking and other junk. I eat plenty of vegetables and don't use much salt or sugar. Fast food and supermarket convenience food is loaded with salt, sugar, and chemicals.

If I buy frozen ready meals then my shopping bill is much higher than if I cook for myself! I hope that as horrors such as fructose and other junk make people more and more aware they will start cooking for themselves. You can make really tasty food, quickly, and it's good for you too!

have any of you guys heard of the raw diet?

bobbyburns said:

have any of you guys heard of the raw diet?

Click to expand...

I have. I can't do it due to time constraints - having to always hunt down fresh organic produce is (unfortunately) too time consuming for me. Plus, preparation only adds to it.

There is a restaurant in Chicago that is raw food only - I treat myself to it every few months. She makes pate with almonds (which is absolutely yummy) and, as you may know, everything is served at room temperature.

It takes a real creative (and patient) person to do the raw diet. Juicing would be your best friend, alongside the farmer's market.

(It's also a vegan diet, free of all flesh and animal products, i.e. dairy, eggs, etc.)

Check out the menu - the place is called Karyn's ...

bobbyburns said:

have any of you guys heard of the raw diet?

Click to expand...

Yup, its what we feed to the dogs

Personally, I'll stick to my diet of sugar and then bitch when all my teeth fall out and my weight balloons, thank you very much

Phil

Remember the Olde Coke?

Sort of off-topic -

Original Coca-Cola was made with three types of sugar (I used to know which three but I have forgotten now). Coke Classic is only made with two types. That is why Coke Classic is a poor substitute for the original formula.

I do not know when they stopped putting cocaine in it, but I would not have drunk it with that in it anyway. I sure remember when Coke tasted great though.

Open Note to the Coca-Cola People: Return to the original formula, you FOOLS.

bobbyburns said:

have any of you guys heard of the raw diet?

Click to expand...

What's raw diet?

I should win an award for being vague...

Here's a definition I pulled from here because they say it more succinctly than I would.

The raw diet, as its name implies, is based on consuming unprocessed, preferably organic, whole plant-based foods, at least 75 per cent of which should be uncooked. It consists of:
• fresh fruits and vegetables
• nuts
• seeds
• beans
• grains
• legumes
• dried fruits
• seaweeds
• sun-dried fruits
• other organic or natural foods which have not been processed
• freshly made fruit and vegetable juices
• purified water (not tap)
• milk from a young coconut

Raw and living foods are believed to contain essential food enzymes (living foods contain a higher enzyme content than cooked foods). The cooking process (i.e., heating foods above 116°F) is thought to destroy food enzymes.

People who follow the raw diet use particular techniques to prepare foods. These include sprouting seeds, grains and beans; soaking nuts and dried fruits; and juicing fruits and vegetables. The only cooking that is allowed is via a dehydrator. This piece of equipment blows hot air through the food but never reaches a temperature higher than 116°F.

Other techniques needed to prepare raw food are blending, juicing and chopping.

I don't do it because I'm a lazy vegan who eats the $7.99 Amy's cheeseless pizzas. But, like I said before, it's a real treat.

Last time I went to Karyn's, I ate the ravioli, which was to die for. The flavors far surpass the pasta that I would get at a Maggiano's or other Italian restaurant. I wish I knew how she made it; my best guess would be thin strips of some veggie, maybe squash.

SillyWabbit said:

I split the thread.

Your pizza thread is safe from us Moto

I do blame the companies. I blame them for two reasons. Firstly, they must be aware that their products are harmful to people's health. Secondly, these companies make billions in profits. If they used something cheaper they would still make more than enough. I feel it's pure and simple greed. It's money over peoples health.

There is one more point I would like to make here.

I really feel a lot of people have been brainwashed to believe that modern food is quick, cheap and healthy. It isn't.

One of my hobbies/interests is cooking. I can cook a good meal, cheap, and quickly. I don't need to resort to fructose in my cooking and other junk. I eat plenty of vegetables and don't use much salt or sugar. Fast food and supermarket convenience food is loaded with salt, sugar, and chemicals.

If I buy frozen ready meals then my shopping bill is much higher than if I cook for myself! I hope that as horrors such as fructose and other junk make people more and more aware they will start cooking for themselves. You can make really tasty food, quickly, and it's good for you too!

Click to expand...

You've got to remember, Wabbit, that a CEO can be held legally responsible if he makes a decision that he knows will negatively affect profits. That's right. He faces jail time, well, here in the US anyway. There's a good incentive not to change your ways. The solid evidence is really already there that corn syrup is harmful, but it's going to be a few years before the industry will be held responsible for it, if ever. I know here in the US (hell, I saw it has spread to Europe too) weight gain and health are such a problem that they're going to have to change their ways. Everything comes in a "light" or "fat free" version as it is, so the industry already understands that people are worried about what they eat.

You're going to have to share these good, quick meals you make. Are we talking raw vegetables? From my experience, old fashion meals take 30 min to an hour to make, and now days, both parents work and the kids are constantly going to some sort of function, and there's less and less time to prepare meals. You have to become very organized and hold a schedule, and I would venture to say that most people aren't that good at it. I'm guilty of it. Anyway, share some recipes. I work a lot, and all I usually take with me are protein shakes, protein bars, rice, chicken or vegetables. If you have some high protein ideas or at least some really good veggy ideas that's be great.

Here's my idea of cooking. Two frozen chicken breast in the microwave for 5 minutes, can of green beans in the microwave for 2 minutes, water and rice in a pot for 10 minutes, and a little water and broccoli in a pot (steaming affect). Everything else is a protein bar, microwaveable frozen meals, stew from a can, or dine out. Don't get me wrong; I don't eat out constantly. When I'm eating "right", I'll eat the hell out of chicken, green beans, rice and ultra lean pockets, which means I'm "cooking" a lot. Sad. I know.

bobbyburns said:

yeah, just the artificial sugar... sucrose (corn syrup), aspartame, splenda, and other processed corn products, like corn cellulose. the reason I've stopped consuming them is, for one, because the body can't digest them.

Click to expand...

Sidebar, have you tried using the herb stevia as a sweetener? It can be a bit pricey, but it's all natural and noncaloric. When I was on a tea binge, I used it - highly recommended.

Yeah, Bobby, I had heard of the raw diet. Thanks for the rundown Krys. Your post raps up what I'd heard about it. I also knew a guy that lost a lot of weight and gained a lot strength while on the "Adam and Eve Diet", which only allowed things that Adam and Eve would've eaten in the Garden of Eden. It just so happens that it's very similar in content to the raw diet. He ate a crap load of almonds, which are slightly high in arsenic. I'm surprised he didn't have headaches. More than anything, I think there were two factors that made his diet a success: portion control and lack of processed sugar. Even when I succeed at cutting down my sugar intake, I still have trouble with portion control. I'm just an eating machine.

Krys said:

it's all natural

Click to expand...

Be wary of the words "all natural." Your urine is all natural.

is honey bad? what about molasses? maple syrup? are there any natural sweeteners that are ok, in moderation?

I would say that they're okay in moderation. I assume honey would qualify as unprocessed sugar? One shouldn't cut out sugar totally, as I'm sure has been noted here. Fructose and other fruit-derived sugars are in fresh fruits, and it's very important that we eat them. If you use sugar it is better to use brown, unprocessed sugar, and to use it in moderation. The more the body has to work to break down a product, the more energy the body uses and the more sustained the blood glucose levels (that is my understanding, feel free to correct me).

I've read in a number of sources that apple sauce is a good substitute for sugar... I'm just not sure what apple sauce is! Anyone care to clarify? I assume it's derived from real apples as opposed to being created from sugar.