Michael Waldholz of the Wall Street Journal reports on the Science Magazine special primer on obesity: regardless of how many teaspoons of sugar are in a Coke, your personal weight loss solution may be biochemical for some and behavioral for others. Coca Cola is certainly not a weight loss solution, because liquid sugar in a bottle or can does not register as helping you feel full!
Contrast that with this nearly sugar-free Perfect Protein Whey, in chocolate or vanilla, with whey protein and whey isolate, in a protein drink mix– 20 grams of protein, 1.5 gram fat, 1 gram of sugar, 110 calories, thick and creamy.
Coke has, however, funded an Exercise is Medicine initiative, recently called into question because of its sponsorship…though exercise definitely is medicine, especially exercise outside.
Waldholz offers what more scientists are coming to—why high fructose corn syrup seems to be metabolized differently than sucrose or table sugar. HFCS is what’s in many sodas—the equivalent of 17 teaspoons of table sugar in a 20 ounce Coke (or Pepsi). The experts at SugarScience point out that soda and sugary drinks is different than sugar in fruit: they say “The sugar in one 12-oz soda is as much as in 1 orange + 16 strawberries + 2 plums.”
Here are some sugar facts he collected:
*Annual per capita consumption of sweeteners increased by 28 pounds, or 22%, from 1970 to 1995
*U.S. sweetener consumption increased to 22 million tons in 1999, from 14.2 million in 1980
*High fructose corn syrup consumption quadrupled to 9.2 million tons from 1980 to 1999
Waldholz is right—pediatric obesity is fueled with the kerosene of liquid candy. One way to fight that: nature therapy. Another way to fight that is with supplements that curve sugar addictions, such insinase.
“With so many calories coming from sugar , American kids are fighting an uphill battle each day against fat accumulation. No wonder the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer group, has named soda, aka “liquid candy,” public-health enemy No. 1. Would you rather have Perfect Protein Whey?
On top of it, some researchers say repeated exposures to high-fructose corn syrup may be especially dangerous. In a speech to the International Congress on Obesity last summer, George Bray, a recognized expert on weight gain, said high fructose corn syrup is a “ticking bomb” in our diet because it is more readily converted into fat than other sugars . Unlike other sugars , “fructose doesn’t trigger the release of insulin, which controls sugar consumption by telling the brain to send out a feeling of fullness.”
Looking for a natural way to stop craving sugar? Walking at least 20 minutes a day in nature should do the trick. My Nature Dose, a free ten day walking program, can be your guide. If walking is not your thing, read up on other nature activities which can help you curb your sugar intake.