• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

New research exposes health risks of fructose, sugary drinks

Status
Not open for further replies.

ItIsOkBro

Member
Look on the label. Is the second ingredient sugar or high fructose corn syrup?

ProTip: ingredient labeling lists the ingredients in descending quantity.

When I drink juice, I always cut it with water at least 50/50. I can't drink straight juice anymore; much too sweet.

The label on this orange juice I'm drinking has 1 ingredient on the label, "orange juice"
 
Still boggles my mind when people say that they'd rather drink regular pop over diet because they're not sure aspartame is safe. Maybe studies like this will convince them that, hey.... Maybe switch to diet, or even just drink water if you're that worried.

I was going to say Midwesterner detected because of the usage of 'pop', but then saw the tag. Does Canada call it 'pop' too? Also yeah, the fear surrounding aspartame amazes me. I stopped for a bite of fast food about a year ago and this obese mother denied her obese children diet soda because "it punches holes in yer brains". So she got them normal soda instead.
 

andymcc

Banned
Looks like I'm going to have to go cold turkey.

For some crazy reason, I had it in my mind that cane sugar wasn't as bad. I'm now wondering why I ever thought such a thing.

it's clever branding along the same shit along lots of "organic" or "non-gmo" labeling. it's deception for consumers to automatically assume something is healthier without researching.
 
it's clever branding along the same shit along lots of "organic" or "non-gmo" labeling. it's deception for consumers to automatically assume something is healthier without researching.

Ah fuck, I always thought I was too on the ball and savvy to get played by that nonsense.

Damn they got me good. I'll have one last drink and that's it for me. Plain old water from tomorrow.
 

Bronx-Man

Banned
Went a few months drinking nothing but water so I could shed some pounds off my gut, I tried a Dr. Pepper the other day and it made me want to almost vomit.

Looking back, I can't even imagine why I was obsessed with sweets and junk as a kid. They just taste awful to me now.
 

The Lamp

Member
it's clever branding along the same shit along lots of "organic" or "non-gmo" labeling. it's deception for consumers to automatically assume something is healthier without researching.

It actually goes the other way. Customer/marketing reserch shows that the uneducated and nutritionally ignorant public doesn't want to buy soda with aspartame or HCFS because they somehow think unnatural = unhealthy, but they will totally buy anything with natural sugar or cane sugar in it (despite it being more expensive because corn is subsidized in the U.S., and sugar cane is still bad for you) because they think natural = healthy. So food companies are replacing their ingredients with cane sugar at the higher cost and selling it to people because it is what people want, as you just saw from that poster, thinking it's the healthy alternative when it's not. Customers demand non-GMO, organic, real sugar, etc bullshit because they're ignorant.

It's not food companies' jobs to educate the public. That's the education system + FDA's job, and it's doing a shitty job at it. If food companies even tried to educate the public, no one would trust them because they are the food companies. The food companies just capitalize on what the customers demand from their food, that is their only ability (they cannot make something that the market does not want or it will not sell, companies follow trends), and that leads to this nonsense cycle where food companies make products that appear healthy but aren't really healthy for people who want products that appear healthy but aren't really healthy.
 

Shanlei91

Sonic handles my blue balls
Went a few months drinking nothing but water so I could shed some pounds off my gut, I tried a Dr. Pepper the other day and it made me want to almost vomit.

Looking back, I can't even imagine why I was obsessed with sweets and junk as a kid. They just taste awful to me now.

It's funny, growing up my parents had more coke in the fridge than water. I started drinking only water about 10 years ago and visited them this weekend. They only had coke, had a sip and it felt like acid running through my body. Oddly enough, booze does not have this effect on me.
 

Griss

Member
Went a few months drinking nothing but water so I could shed some pounds off my gut, I tried a Dr. Pepper the other day and it made me want to almost vomit.

Looking back, I can't even imagine why I was obsessed with sweets and junk as a kid. They just taste awful to me now.

I wish I was you. I've been drinking 6 cans of coke every day since I was 12. Never gets old, and the longer I try to quit for the better it tastes. It's cost me so much in dental fees it's amazing, at least 20k. And on top of that weight issues, possible diabetes... fuck, it's terrible.

Yet I wake up in the middle of the night and need one. If I don't have any, I'll get in the car and drive as far as it takes to get one, then I can sleep again. It's probably an addiction at this point.

I'm not going to live past 50, am I? :(
 

andymcc

Banned
It actually goes the other way. Customer/marketing reserch shows that the uneducated and nutritionally ignorant public doesn't want to buy soda with aspartame or HCFS because they somehow think unnatural = unhealthy, but they will totally buy anything with natural sugar or cane sugar in it (despite it being more expensive because corn is subsidized in the U.S., and sugar cane is still bad for you) because they think natural = healthy. So food companies are replacing their ingredients with cane sugar at the higher cost and selling it to people because it is what people want, as you just saw from that poster, thinking it's the healthy alternative when it's not.

It's not food companies' jobs to educate the public. That's the education system + FDA's job, and it's doing a shitty job at it. If food companies even tried to educate the public, no one would trust them because they are the food companies. The food companies just capitalize on what the customers demand from their food, and that leads to this nonsense cycle where food companies make products that appear healthy but aren't really healthy for people who want products that appear healthy but aren't really healthy.

i thought that's what i said? consumers assume those ingredients are healthier w/o knowing the science.

as long as the education system and FDA keep getting those food and beverage lobbying dollars... well...
 
Went a few months drinking nothing but water so I could shed some pounds off my gut, I tried a Dr. Pepper the other day and it made me want to almost vomit.

Looking back, I can't even imagine why I was obsessed with sweets and junk as a kid. They just taste awful to me now.

I felt the same way after quitting soda for 2 years. I can manage a glass every now and then with a meal, but if I don't have any food with just like a can of soda then I get this heavy nauseating feeling in my stomach.
 

gutshot

Member
Went a few months drinking nothing but water so I could shed some pounds off my gut, I tried a Dr. Pepper the other day and it made me want to almost vomit.

Looking back, I can't even imagine why I was obsessed with sweets and junk as a kid. They just taste awful to me now.

I call bullshit on this. I've done soda and fast food fasts before and every time I try it again after a long time of not having it, that shit still tastes just as delicious.
 

xsarien

daedsiluap
Giving up typical soft drinks is easy depending on how reliant you've become on the caffeine. For me in particular, I drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day, so it wasn't even an issue.

But I really recommend buying a Sodastream. The trick is to pass on their pre-packaged syrups and just use, like, half a shot glass of 100% juice per bottle. There's still measurable amounts of (naturally-present) sugar in the final product, but it's probably a hell of a lot healthier than anything you'll find in the soda aisle.

That...and water. Just a glass of water. It's my usual go-to.
 

Bronx-Man

Banned
I wish I was you. I've been drinking 6 cans of coke every day since I was 12. Never gets old, and the longer I try to quit for the better it tastes. It's cost me so much in dental fees it's amazing, at least 20k. And on top of that weight issues, possible diabetes... fuck, it's terrible.

Yet I wake up in the middle of the night and need one. If I don't have any, I'll get in the car and drive as far as it takes to get one, then I can sleep again. It's probably an addiction at this point.

I'm not going to live past 50, am I? :(

Try to limit yourself to just 1-2 cans a day, see where you go from there.

I call bullshit on this. I've done soda and fast food fasts before and every time I try it again after a long time of not having it, that shit still tastes just as delicious.

Guess I've just gotten used to gluten-free tofu & artisanal kale.
 
You could be TOFI (Thin on the outside, fat on the inside), where if they do a bodyscan, it will show that all the fat has deposited on your organs like your liver, which is even unhealthier than having a bit of chub around your skin. You wouldn't be able to tell just by weighing yourself.

That's pretty scary since I've never heard of that condition before! I've had the same weight for years, so I guess I'd never be able to tell if that was even happening!
 

Zing

Banned
why can't people just drink water. if you have to have your sugary drinks, make it a once in a while thing... i have a regular coke maybe once every two weeks or so.
I am also a little confound as to how people drink pop and juice as a "drink", replacing water. A good rule of thumb is to treat water as a drink, and treat anything else as dessert.

I call bullshit on this. I've done soda and fast food fasts before and every time I try it again after a long time of not having it, that shit still tastes just as delicious.
Define "long time". A week? A month?

In my most recent attempt to drink pop, I had 1/4 can of ginger ale before I felt ill. This is most certainly not "bullshit".

I am the guy who used to drink 2 litres of pop a day.
 

Blader

Member
Went a few months drinking nothing but water so I could shed some pounds off my gut, I tried a Dr. Pepper the other day and it made me want to almost vomit.

Looking back, I can't even imagine why I was obsessed with sweets and junk as a kid. They just taste awful to me now.

I'm starting to lean this way too. I used to be a huge soda fiend, and to some degree still am -- I've managed to cut back to no more than 1 can a day (and sometimes not at all), which might be laughable to some but is progress all the same, haha. But lately it sometimes doesn't taste as good, or I have a hard time finishing it or just don't finish it at all. As I start drinking less soda and more water, I think my body is slowly but surely weaning me off it.
 
I am also a little confound as to how people drink pop and juice as a "drink", replacing water. A good rule of thumb is to treat water as a drink, and treat anything else as dessert.

Because water doesn't go very well with my medium fries and 2 double cheese burgers.
 

daniels

Member
Again sugar itself is the small problem yeah it produces also fructose but to add fructose again is the BIG problem.
Fructose is cheaper than real sucrose so they add !pure! as sugar substitute in many things BUT fructose its basically alcohol without the buzz and headache which means you don't even know you poison yourself...
Still the majority of health problems you get from alcohol and fructose are almost one and the same.
Here a bit complicated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
If you want it more easy layman watch the sugar movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uaWekLrilY
 

genjiZERO

Member
Looks like I'm going to have to go cold turkey.

For some crazy reason, I had it in my mind that cane sugar wasn't as bad. I'm now wondering why I ever thought such a thing.

Cane sugar feels like it should be better because it's not controlled by a giant evil industry. It also tastes better. Cane Coke is noticeably better than HFCS Coke. But sucrose literally contains fructose so in the end it's the same thing.

There's no need to go cold turkey though. Moderation.

edit:

HFCS is a syrup composed of fructose and glucose

Sucrose is a molecule made from fructose and glucose molecules
 
Sugary food is very different than sugary drinks. One goes through a process of breaking down food stuff, which staves off hunger while provide more nutrients. Drinking sugary drinks is simply trolling your brain and body into thinking you're actually eating something.
 

Theandrin

Member
I cut all soda from my diet a little over a month ago. Those first few day were hard as I was craving it badly! Now though, I tried drinking a Coke a few days ago and I couldn't stomach the taste.

I've moved towards using water enhancers like those little Kool-Aid ones. While I'm sure there is still bad stuff in them, there are no calories or sugar. I feel this is a good middle ground.
 

DarkKyo

Member
I stopped consuming so much sugar years ago. The most HFCS I consume now is probably in ketchup or something. For drinks it's all water, seltzer, and coffee(with no added sugar) for me now.
 
Cane sugar feels like it should be better because it's not controlled by a giant evil industry. It also tastes better. Cane Coke is noticeably better than HFC Coke. But sucrose literally contains fructose so in the end it's the same thing.

There's no need to go cold turkey though. Moderation.

Honestly, that's probably why I thought so.

And I've been having one every single day for nearly three months. I think I should break the habit and then maybe turn it into a treat after a couple of months.
 

captive

Joe Six-Pack: posting for the common man
The occasional alcoholic drink or whatever won't kill you, but drinking juice or soda every day is awful. People would be hella healthier if they replaced all instances of the sugary shit with water.

Drink water exclusively. Otherwise unsweetened coffee or Tea.

sounds fucking boring, especially if coffee and tea are pretty gross to me.


Moderation people. Everything in moderation. Alcohol bad in mass quantities, sugery drinks bad in mass quantities. One or less of those a day isn't going to make you gain 40lbs.

And even the article says the problem is in part because people don't eat less when they drink a sugery drink.
 

Air

Banned
Water for the win. Though I'll gladly indulge in about a cup of oj or apple juice once in a while.
 

StoneFox

Member
I tried to quit soda a few months back and lasted about two and a half weeks (with painful caffeine withdrawals) before slowly getting into the habit again. I think I enjoy the taste of some sodas too much to give them up forever... I went from cold turkey, to one can a week, to two, to everyday again...
 
Will HFCS cause reactions for people with corn alergies?

Allergies are generally caused by the human body's reaction to proteins. HFCS is basically just sugar (aka, a carbohydrate, not a protein) with a few trace minerals. People with a corn allergy shouldn't have an allergic reaction to HFCS.
 

BajiBoxer

Banned
Drinking unsweetened coffee right now from Panera. It's disgusting, but gives me a bit extra kick for waking up. There's a couple coffees I like unsweetened, and tea is usually tollerable. Mostly I stick with water, but I tend to break down when hanging out with friends.
 

daniels

Member
Thing is if you want to life 100% healthy you basically can only eat nuts, beans, some greens (not even all), water, tea and coffee all without sugar obviously... that's it nothing else no fruits at all, no meat at all yes even white meat... for the rest of your life.
lol the next best thing is moderation :) which works also.
 

BajiBoxer

Banned
Allergies are generally caused by the human body's reaction to proteins. HFCS is basically just sugar (aka, a carbohydrate, not a protein) with a few trace minerals. People with a corn allergy shouldn't have an allergic reaction to HFCS.
Thanks. I figured it shouldn't, it's about same as regular suger with slightly more fructose content from what I understand, but I don't know shit about alergies.
 

A Fish Aficionado

I am going to make it through this year if it kills me
I'm glad we're getting a more nuanced discussion.

I really like David Katz from Yale take on this.

Perils of a Sugar-Coated Scapegoat

I am convinced a fixation on sugar (or fructose) as poison will result in net harm to public health -- and quite possibly a lot of it. I am equally convinced that process has already begun.

This is not because we don't consume a large excess of sugar; we do. It's not because that large excess doesn't contribute mightily to our prevailing public health ills; it does. It's not because there are no metabolic differences between fructose and sucrose; there are some, although I don't think they matter all that much in the real world. And it's not because I own stock in Sugar Smacks, or because the sugar cartel is holding my first-born hostage; I don't, and they aren't.

It's because when the truth gets too hyped-up and too dumbed-down, it ceases to be the truth. It turns, instead, into propaganda -- or at least fodder for the flames of propaganda. And the food industry will be only too happy to stoke those flames, as history has shown us.
 
I cut out almost all soda years ago. Now my household tends to go through 1-2 24-packs of water per week due to it being the only thing we really drink.

Of course I still like to pick up a bottle of ginger ale once a month or so.
 

kamakazi5

Member
What about cane sugar?

As bad? I've become a little addicted to a drink that uses cane sugar and I'm wondering if I'm going to die.

It's no different but as long as you drink it sparingly you'll be fine. By the way people talk on the internet you think that drinking a soda once a month is going to end your life. I drink a single soda 4-5 times per week but other than that I only drink water.
 

M52B28

Banned
I call bullshit on this. I've done soda and fast food fasts before and every time I try it again after a long time of not having it, that shit still tastes just as delicious.
Different people, different reactions.

After mostly cutting sugary drinks out of my weekly diet, I can't help but notice how sweet things are as compared to before. I can't really bring myself to drink orange juice or fruit drinks without having to water it down.

Soda just bombs my taste buds and gives me a headache now. The only carborated beverage I touch is sparkling water. Shame I keep drinking juices when they're around.

I've dropped a massive amount of weight by cutting sugars from my weekly diet.

Avoiding sugary food is hard in general. I've come to notice that some foods have an unnecessary amount of sugar in them. Like peanutbutter and preserveratives. I've had home made peanut butter and preserveratives and they were no where as sweet as store bought brands. I guess it's to preserve, but still, I'd take some items with shorter shelf life if that meant that they have less sugar and sodium.
 

Nocebo

Member
Went a few months drinking nothing but water so I could shed some pounds off my gut, I tried a Dr. Pepper the other day and it made me want to almost vomit.

Looking back, I can't even imagine why I was obsessed with sweets and junk as a kid. They just taste awful to me now.
Same here. I've been on water for years and the thought of drinking sodas just seems horrible to me now. It's such an easy way to live a bit healthier too.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom