No more HFCS in Rice Krispies!!

[jrmasm]

I love HFCS.

I would bathe it in.

If it was a man, I'd marry it.

You can't make Golden Grahams S'Mores without it.

 

[shortbun]

So because you believe that HFCS is bad for your son and blame his behavior problems on it, I can't have it? That just doesn't seem right. If I think a food is bad for me or my child, I avoid it. Lots of things don't have HFCS already.

And your husband is obviously a one of a kind diabetic. I think for most of us HFCS works jus tlike any other carb.

Don't worry. There is still plenty of HFCS out there for you. Me, I'm going to get some Rice Krispies, free of the artificial sweetner, and make some treats!!! We try not to use HFCS around here. We buy Coke from Costco because they carry the Mexican without HFCS. I am a diabetic and it makes a difference for me too. I can not use any man made sweetner without some bad response. Stevia is ok, I buy Whole Foods soda sometimes because they have some sweetened with stevia. It's natural also.

 

[PatsMom]

Don't worry. There is still plenty of HFCS out there for you. Me, I'm going to get some Rice Krispies, free of the artificial sweetner, and make some treats!!! We try not to use HFCS around here. We buy Coke from Costco because they carry the Mexican without HFCS. I am a diabetic and it makes a difference for me too. I can not use any man made sweetner without some bad response. Stevia is ok, I buy Whole Foods soda sometimes because they have some sweetened with stevia. It's natural also.

But the Mexican has cane sugar I believe. Both are equally bad - no nutritional value. And they count as carbs. I personally never, ever drink soda that has any calories, I am drinking a Diet 7-Up right now that I have no idea what the flavoring is. It has zero calories and zero carbs.

I don't know why you think corn sugar is an artifical sweetener - it is made from corn. Just like Stevia is made from a plant and cane sugar is made from a plant.

As a diabetic, I think man made sweeteners with no carbs are awesome. I use Equal, Splenda, Truvia, whatever is on sale.

I just don't buy into the paranoia that says corn sugar is bad - to me it is just like any other food product. I count the carbs if it happens to be in a food. And I think that going to a more expensive sweetener is going to drive up grocery prices since one reason they used HFCS in the first place was cost.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Don't worry. There is still plenty of HFCS out there for you. Me, I'm going to get some Rice Krispies, free of the artificial sweetner, and make some treats!!! We try not to use HFCS around here. We buy Coke from Costco because they carry the Mexican without HFCS. I am a diabetic and it makes a difference for me too. I can not use any man made sweetner without some bad response. Stevia is ok, I buy Whole Foods soda sometimes because they have some sweetened with stevia. It's natural also.

Mexican Coca Cola? Is the can different or is it in the ethnic food area, or is it just manufactured in Mexico?

 

[Deb in IA]

I thought "Mexican coke" was something else . . .

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I thought "Mexican coke" was something else . . .

Haha I thought that too, I made sure to phrase my last inquiry as to not confuse the two! lol

 

[PatsMom]

Mexican Coca Cola? Is the can different or is it in the ethnic food area, or is it just manufactured in Mexico?

The bottle would be in Spanish. The only difference is that most Mexican bottlers use cane sugar probably because it is cheaper and more available in their area.

Coke in other countries does sometimes taste different. In France, Diet Coke is called Coca Cola Light. I'm not sure what it was sweetened with but it definitely tasted different than Diet Coke in the US. One theory amongs our tour group was that it still contained cyclamates because they were never banned in most of the world.

You can order Mexican Coca Cola from Amazon.com.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

The bottle would be in Spanish. The only difference is that most Mexican bottlers use cane sugar probably because it is cheaper and more available in their area.

Coke in other countries does sometimes taste different. In France, Diet Coke is called Coca Cola Light. I'm not sure what it was sweetened with but it definitely tasted different than Diet Coke in the US. One theory amongs our tour group was that it still contained cyclamates because they were never banned in most of the world.

You can order Mexican Coca Cola from Amazon.com.

I remember the Coke in France tasting different, come to think of it.

I'll read my soda packaging in Spanish, that works for me! lol. I've been thinking of joining a warehouse club lately, maybe it'll be costco.
Thanks!

 

[mefordis]

I LOVE RK treats but hate the packaged ones. They are so easy to make! RK cereal, butter and marshmallows.

 

[mefordis]

REal sugar allows the carbonation to be maintained. HFCS dilutes it somehow. That is why our soda had more of a snap to it when we were younger, now it tastes flatter and sweeter. To me, at least.

I remember the Coke in France tasting different, come to think of it.

I'll read my soda packaging in Spanish, that works for me! lol. I've been thinking of joining a warehouse club lately, maybe it'll be costco.
Thanks!

 

[LiberalPrincess]

Many of the Mexican bottling plants are using HFCS as well. It has become cheaper than sugar in many cases. A great article about Mexican coke from Wired. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/the-taste-of-coke-is-all-in-your-head/

Also, an interesting site which talks about many of the myths surrounding sugar and HFCS. http://masterofpublichealth.org/2010/top-20-myths-facts-about-high-fructose-corn-syrup/

 

[PatsMom]

REal sugar allows the carbonation to be maintained. HFCS dilutes it somehow. That is why our soda had more of a snap to it when we were younger, now it tastes flatter and sweeter. To me, at least.

That I would tend to believe. Although it certainly isn't a health hazard! But one reason I like diet soda (besides being diabetic) is that it is snappier than sweetened.

 

[mefordis]

That I would tend to believe. Although it certainly isn't a health hazard! But one reason I like diet soda (besides being diabetic) is that it is snappier than sweetened.

For me it's mostly about taste. Godiva puts HFCS in their Gems chocolates and immediately after trying one I was like, This is NOT Godiva! Too sweet!

 

[Geoff_M]

Many of the Mexican bottling plants are using HFCS as well. It has become cheaper than sugar in many cases. A great article about Mexican coke from Wired. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/the-taste-of-coke-is-all-in-your-head/

In addition, soon after bottling the sucrose in carbonated drinks (presumably due to the acidity) starts breaking down into.... fructose! (See Figure 5)

Also, an interesting site which talks about many of the myths surrounding sugar and HFCS. http://masterofpublichealth.org/2010/top-20-myths-facts-about-high-fructose-corn-syrup/

Here's another good read about the facts and myths of sugars from an MD who's in the process of finishing his PhD in molecular biology. His bottom line: It's the amount of sugars, not HFCS particularly, that's the cause of health problems!

One of the most interesting bits of info is this:

Sugar 101:

Before we can properly analyze these claims, we need to understand a bit about sugar. To begin with, what is sugar? To most people, sugar is the white granulated solid that they find in the sugar bowl. In reality, sugar is a much broader term. There are two general classes of sugars — aldose and ketose — and over twenty individual sugars (monosaccharides), if you limit yourself to only those found in nature. Of these, only a few play any significant role in human nutrition, primarily glucose, fructose and galactose (ribose, a sugar that forms the backbone of DNA and RNA, also plays a minor nutritional role).

Further complicating the issue, there are also sugars — disaccharides — that are compounds made of two monosaccharides covalently bound together. The most common of these is sucrose, a compound made by joining one molecule of glucose to one molecule of fructose. Sucrose is the sugar in the average sugar bowl. It is also the sugar in brown sugar, molasses, cane sugar, beet sugar and is the major component of maple syrup (and maple sugar). Another common disaccharide is lactose (milk sugar), which is a combination of glucose and galactose. Less commonly encountered is maltose, a combination of two molecules of glucose.

Starches, such as corn starch, are also sugar. They are made up of long interlinked chains (polymers, also known as polysaccharides) of individual sugars (usually glucose). Cellulose, the major component of paper and wood, is also a polymer of glucose (with different bond geometries). Insect and crustacean shells are made of a sugar polymer known as chitin (also a major component of fungal cell walls). We literally live in a world of sugar.

One final note about sugars — humans only absorb monosaccharides; no matter what form the sugar enters the digestive tract, it is only absorbed after it is broken down to its component monosaccharides (there are, as usual in biology, a few minor exceptions to this rule). There are a variety of enzymes — amylases, disaccharidases, etc. — that perform this function. Any disaccharide or polysaccharide that isn’t broken down (such as the raffinose and stachyose in beans and many other gas-causing foods) remains inside the gut, providing food for our gut bacteria.

 

[LiberalPrincess]

Here's another good read about the facts and myths of sugars from an MD who's in the process of finishing his PhD in molecular biology. His bottom line: It's the amount of sugars, not HFCS only! One of the most intestersting bits of info is this:

Great info. Although the phrase "gut bacteria" is making me gag a little!

 

[C.Ann]

In addition, soon after bottling the sucrose in carbonated drinks starts breaking down into.... fructose! (See Figure 5)

Here's another good read about the facts and myths of sugars from an MD who's in the process of finishing his PhD in molecular biology. His bottom line: It's the amount of sugars, not HFCS only! One of the most intestersting bits of info is this:

From your last source:

Honey, long touted as a “healthy” and “natural” alternative to evil HFCS, is also 50% fructose. Agave syrup (also called agave nectar), often promoted as a healthy alternative to HFCS (especially in diabetics), is very high in fructose, although there is some disagreement over how much fructose it contains. According to the USDA, the sugar in cooked agave is 87% fructose (due to breakdown of fructans — a starch-like polymer of fructose — in the plant when it is cooked) [6]. A wholesale supplier of agave syrup, however, lists the fructose as 70 — 75% of the total sugar in their syrup [13]. Either way, agave syrup is higher in fructose than any other natural sweetener (and any form of HFCS except HFCS 90).

Going to have to pass this info on to my sister - who thinks honey is much healthier..

Thanks for sharing..

 

[Geoff_M]

Great info. Although the phrase "gut bacteria" is making me gag a little!

Fun with anaerobic fermentation!!!

(I'm also been partial to the term "gut flora" instead!)

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I am not going to pretend to be a nutritionist or chemist. All I can give is my experience. As far as I am concerned, sweetener is sweetener. "Corn sugar" and "cane sugar" both have calories. While I do try to ascribe to the idea that eating raw food is better, that does't mean I won't eat processed food occasionally. And having lost a ton of weight, I do know that weight gain happens when you take in more calories than you burn. Regardless of where they come from.

I also know that coke from a glass bottle, Coke from a plastic 2 liter, Coke from a can, and Coke from a fountain all taste differently to me. I haven't tried HFCS Coke in a glass bottle vs. cane sugar Coke in a glass bottle to see if there is a difference. Although generally speaking I stay away from sugared soda to begin with. Empty calories and all that.

 

[Colleen27]

It certainly was cheaper once all the subsidies kicked in, it was actually twice as expensive to start with. Pepsi and Mountain Dew just ended a campaign of selling "throwback" versions of their soda with cane sugar. They're back to corn syrup now.

I don't think that's over; our stores still have a ton of it and it seems to sell pretty well. In fact, I just for the first time this past week saw that in addition to Pepsi and Mt Dew, they now have a Sierra Mist "natural" with cane sugar.

Faygo, for those in the Great Lakes region who know what it is, also makes a "classic" line sweetened with sugar and packaged in glass bottles. That stuff is heavenly, even better than Mexican Coke - redpop, the way it used to taste when I was a kid!

 

[JoiseyMom]

Be careful with TJs. They still have it in some of their things. I want to feel safe at TJs, but I don't.

And yep, that's what I was trying to say earlier, but you said it better.

Thanks...I spend lots of time reading labels, even in TJ's! If it says HFCS or partially hydrogenated (even trace amounts) it doesn't come into my home. My DS9 doesn't do well if he ingests HFCS at all!