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I predict in the coming years we'll start referring to fructose as "bad sugar" and glucose/dextrose as "good sugar". Sucrose, being a 50/50 compound of the two

I predict in the coming years we'll start referring to fructose as "bad sugar" and glucose/dextrose as "good sugar". Sucrose, being a 50/50 compound of the two, thus inherits "bad sugar" from the fructose produced during digestion. HFCS actually ranges from 29-55% fructose vs. glucose/dextrose (the highest being available in CocaCola freestyle soda machines), and can be better or worse than sucrose, but is generally equivalently bad. Since dextrose is basically incompatible with acidic beverages and solidified candies, we're not likely to see fructose going away, either as a direct ingredient or as a metabolite. If natural concentrated sweetener is considered, attempts to replace sucrose and fructose with dextrose-only sources like plain old corn syrup (POCS), rice syrup, and honey, might achieve some fascinating health benefits. Is it possible that we're fat only because we're eating the wrong kind of sugars?

aaron695 9y ago
Glucose tastes awful so I wouldn't call it a good sugar.
resf 9y ago
> Is it possible that we're fat only because we're eating the wrong kind of sugars? Nope, we are fat because there are many cheap sources of calories, particularly deep fried foods.
- wutbrodo 9y ago
  The objections to this oversimplified reasoning usually point to the fact that, among other things, there's a documented rise in obesity among animals as well, across a variety of situations (feral rats, lab primates, domestic pets). Lab primates aren't eating out more or getting less PE in schools, which suggests the possibility of an environmental factor[1]. > particularly deep fried foods. This is a very early-1990s understanding of nutrition. The low-fat recommendations pushed by the USDA and followed to a large degree by American consumers didn't do anything to halt the obesity rise, because excess dietary fat isn't nearly as bad for you as excess processed carbs/sugar. [1] https://www.livescience.com/10277-obesity-rise-animals.html https://www.livescience.com/10277-obesity-rise-animals.html

aaron695 9y ago

Glucose tastes awful so I wouldn't call it a good sugar.

resf 9y ago

> Is it possible that we're fat only because we're eating the wrong kind of sugars? Nope, we are fat because there are many cheap sources of calories, particularly deep fried foods.

wutbrodo 9y ago
The objections to this oversimplified reasoning usually point to the fact that, among other things, there's a documented rise in obesity among animals as well, across a variety of situations (feral rats, lab primates, domestic pets). Lab primates aren't eating out more or getting less PE in schools, which suggests the possibility of an environmental factor[1]. > particularly deep fried foods. This is a very early-1990s understanding of nutrition. The low-fat recommendations pushed by the USDA and followed to a large degree by American consumers didn't do anything to halt the obesity rise, because excess dietary fat isn't nearly as bad for you as excess processed carbs/sugar. [1] https://www.livescience.com/10277-obesity-rise-animals.html https://www.livescience.com/10277-obesity-rise-animals.html