6 ms·
What I don’t understand about these articles is the focus on HFCS: as I understand it, honey contains the same or more fructose per unit as HFCS, but these arti
by fiddlerwoaroof 5y ago
What I don’t understand about these articles is the focus on HFCS: as I understand it, honey contains the same or more fructose per unit as HFCS, but these articles never seem to address whether we observe the same effects with it.
- gumby 5y agoHFCS is common in the American diet; honey much less so.
- fiddlerwoaroof 5y agoThe reason I find this sort of study annoying is that it can make it seem that sourcing food that replaces HFCS with honey or table sugar (e.g. Mexican Coke instead of American Coke) will make us healthier. But, in fact, it would be better to just reduce the amount of HFCS in the recipes and get used to food not being as sweet.
- chapium 5y agoI just settle on Cola being a dessert and should be consumed as infrequently as ice cream, and not as a daily vice.
- TylerE 5y agoPer capita consumption of HFCS = 38lbs. ..... of honey = ~1lb (and that seems high to me, personally)
- fiddlerwoaroof 5y agoMy point is this: if our takeaway from this is “replace the HFCS in our food with honey/agave nectar/table sugar”, we won’t actually solve the problem of reducing fructose consumption. What has to happen is a general reduction of the total amount of added sugars. Whether this means just using less HFCS or using less of an alternate sugar source is relatively unimportant.
- hack-news 5y agoUnrefined foods have qualities that make you slow down on eating. Fiber is one of these, which honey doesn't have, but I'd imagine there might be something else in there... all I know is that moderately-active people can eat as much fruit as they want alongside whatever their protein source is.
- caeril 5y agoMarket forces would solve that problem very quickly, considering that HFCS costs $0.26 per pound, versus cheap clover honey at ~$5.00 per pound. A corn syrup free world would drive the price of nearly every fructose-laden food at least 5x higher, if not much more.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- maxerickson 5y agoCane sugar is similar in price to HFCS.
- draw_down 5y agoThey used it in the experiment. Not everybody is an evil henchman out to stick it to the Coca Cola corporation.
- beowulfey 5y agoI would say honey vs HFCS is similar. A big reason why HFCS is no good is the raw fructose is easily absorbed (as mentioned) whereas sucrose is a dissacharide that must be broken down (which does not happen as quickly). The big difference in HFCS vs honey is the quantity that we are exposed to in processed foods. If they replaced all HFCS with honey, I can't imagine it would be very different. HFCS: 55% fructose, 45% glucose Sucrose: 50% fructose, 50% glucose Honey: 50% fructose, 40% glucose, 10% maltose (dissacharide of two glucose molecules).
- richcollins 5y agoThere are hunter gatherers (hadza, ache, pygmies) that eat substantial amounts of honey without becoming overweight.
- basilgohar 5y agoIf you don't get it, it's in their names – they spend their time hunting and gathering, not sitting around watching TV or on a computer. The extra nutrient absorption may benefit them in that case, as opposed to in a more sedentary/modern lifestyle.
- crazygringo 5y agoThat's not even remotely proven, so please don't present it as fact when it's not. And your snark of "if you don't get it" is absolutely uncalled for here on HN. It's not appropriate.
- meragrin_ 5y ago> That's not even remotely proven What is not proven? That people gain weight when they consume more calories than they burn? That hunter/gatherers burn more calories than people sitting at a desk most of the day? That extra nutrient absorption might help active people?
- floatingatoll 5y ago> burn more calories than https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0040503 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal... “average daily energy expenditure of traditional Hadza foragers was no different than that of Westerners after controlling for body size”
- olau 5y agoThat's an interesting study, thanks!
- maxerickson 5y agoSucrose is rapidly converted into glucose+fructose also.
- floatingatoll 5y agoThe general health limit for sugar for a person is approximately one small can of Coke per day or less, with no other added sugar anywhere your diet at all. That’s two or three tablespoons of honey or HFCS. Replacing HFCS with honey is probably technically better for you, but chances are, if you’re an American, your consumption is probably way beyond that limit, and changing out HFCS for honey or sugar won’t make anywhere near enough of a difference to matter. Avoiding HFCS is good practice for avoiding sugar, but ultimately you should just focus on limiting added sugar at this point and not worry so much about what kind it is. (Especially if you live in America, where the bread on a Subway footlong sandwich has a third of your daily sugar limit in it.) ps. Fruit juice should be considered water with added sugar, for the purposes of avoiding sugar. Whole fruit is fine enough, since your body knows how to handle overeating fruit.
- rubicon33 5y ago> The general health limit for sugar for a person is approximately one small can of Coke per day or less What about if you are, like most people are, also eating carbohydrates? How does the quantity of carbs being consumed affect this limit of sugar?
- floatingatoll 5y agoIf you’re asking “can I have more sugar if I eat less bread?”, no, that’s not really how this works. Eat more whole fruit instead. ed: If you're asking "do I have to stop eating carbs", they're releasing these guidelines for normal people on a normal diet that includes carbs. If, instead, you eat an American diet, solve the sugar problem first and worry about the rest once you're past the withdrawal symptoms. You'll have to change your diet enough to avoid the sugar anyways and no point in making that extra-difficult.
- sfblah 5y agoWhat are the withdrawal symptoms?
- 5y ago