[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dreamtwister', '
')I've been warning about a major food crisis for YEARS now. It now appears that it may happen within the next 2 years.

Buckle up.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dreamtwister', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('steam_cannon', 'S')tuff about high fructose corn syrup

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'I')'ve watched canned peaches increase from about $1 for a 15-ounce can to about $1.39 just in the past year or so. People are grumbling but keep whipping out the ol' credit card. How long can the consumer---the economy---absorb this?

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('steam_cannon', 'I') was reviewing this study on how fructose in corn syrup is metabolized, verses other sugars. Corn syrup is mostly metabolized by the liver and drinking lots of it (like from sodas and food sweeteners) causes changes in the metabolism of fat in the liver, central obesity, and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism. Basically corn syrup is not good for humans. Because it has to be metabolized by the liver like alcohol, for simplicity you can imagine the effect of a glass of corn syrup soda as the same as drinking a glass of beer, both cause belly fat. So I say let cars or cows have the corn.

[smallpoxgirl]

Absolutely. Over intake of sugars is bad. To lower your blood sugar, the body produces insulin. Insulin signals your fat cells to take up that sugar, make it into fat, and store it away for future use. The more fat that is already stored in those fat cells, the more encouragement in the form of insulin they need to take up more. Eventually the pancreas gets exhausted from making so much insulin. It can't keep up and the blood sugar goes up. This is called type II diabetes. It use to be called "adult onset" diabetes, but in the era of Cheetos and x-box, we're starting to see it in 10 year old kids.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'H')oly leaping conclusions batman.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'A')bsolutely. Over intake of sugars is bad. To lower your blood sugar, the body produces insulin. Insulin signals your fat cells to take up that sugar, make it into fat, and store it away for future use.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'F')ructose is also sweeter than sucrose, so you get more sweetness for fewer calories.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('steam_cannon', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'H')oly leaping conclusions batman.

[steam_cannon]

Cows, Hogs and Corn Fed Girls! Oh my!

A better use of fructose might be to fatten up farm animals more quickly. Ironically in the South insensitive people would refer to a fat woman as being "Corn Fed" or "A Corn Fed Girl". This is probably due to farmers experience that corn fed animals gain more weight per calorie then on other feeds.

That brings to mind some interesting possibilities. If a farmer wanted to make a feed using cheap oats but still have their hogs or cows gain weight, the farmer might be able to simply add corn syrup to the feed and induce the same metabolic syndrome as seen in excess fructose intake in these animal studies.

That would make a good product. It might be possible to supplement a small amount of corn syrup to oat feed and have it perform similarly as corn feed for growing hogs... A fraction of the sugar in normal corn feed might be enough and if so it would make a cost effective combination. Also it may be that only occasional dosing of corn syrup or corn feed would be sufficient to induce this metabolic syndrome. Well, those might be some ways farmers could use less corn but achieve the same results.

Mmmm corn!

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('steam_cannon', 'T')he implications of this study are that fructose-containing beverages cause resistance to insulin more so then other sugars. diabetesincontrol.com has a good article on this.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'S')ucrose, by the way, gets broken down in the intestines into glucose and fructose.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'Y')ou want to rejoin us on earth for a minute?

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'A')bsolutely. Over intake of sugars is bad. To lower your blood sugar, the body produces insulin. Insulin signals your fat cells to take up that sugar, make it into fat, and store it away for future use. The more fat that is already stored in those fat cells, the more encouragement in the form of insulin they need to take up more. Eventually the pancreas gets exhausted from making so much insulin. It can't keep up and the blood sugar goes up. This is called type II diabetes. It use to be called "adult onset" diabetes, but in the era of Cheetos and x-box, we're starting to see it in 10 year old kids.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('steam_cannon', 'I') was reviewing this study on how fructose in corn syrup is metabolized, verses other sugars. Corn syrup is mostly metabolized by the liver and drinking lots of it (like from sodas and food sweeteners) causes changes in the metabolism of fat in the liver, central obesity, and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism. Basically corn syrup is not good for humans. Because it has to be metabolized by the liver like alcohol, for simplicity you can imagine the effect of a glass of corn syrup soda as the same as drinking a glass of beer, both cause belly fat. So I say let cars or cows have the corn.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', '
')I have given up alcohol.

[steam_cannon]

"High-fructose corn syrup...
...climbed from zero consumption in 1966 to 62.6 pounds per person in 2001." (Per year)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dy ... ge=printer

[gg3]

About milk:

I haven't seen a significant price increase, but it may be that I'm not paying close attention yet.

The milk I drink is from Clover Stornetta Dairies in Northern CA; they have had a company-wide ban on bovine growth hormone since day one; are generally rated high for clean conditions, humane treatment of herds, and so on. I drive by one of their operations when I go to Mendocino County and what I see is just cows grazing in a great big field on the side of a hill, the way things were 30 - 40 years ago. And the milk really does taste better than generic milk.


About corn syrup in foods:

I like my sweets. Chocolate this, pastries that, baked goods the other thing, and of course nothing beats ice cream on a hot day. Something I've noticed more and more over the past 25 years: After a few days, the icing on pastries and baked goods starts to turn into a clear sticky liquid that makes the stuff get slightly soggy and unappetizing. There are exceptions, such as anything from a real bakery, or higher-end factory products such as Entenman's. But what I suspect is going on here is that corn syrup is being used as a substitute for ordinary sugar, and it's mixed with various things to keep it in a solid form, but after a few days it just goes back to being a liquid. Anyone here know anything about this?


How fructose or corn sweeteners screw up your taste buds:

If the first bite is "very very sweet," it interferes with the homeostatic set-points in your sense of taste. Thus your thresholds rise, in much the same manner as your sense of hearing adjusts to a conversation in a noisy environment. Quickly the sense of "very sweet" is recalibrated back to "ordinary sweet," and the sweetness of other ingredients comes in below the threshold. Thus the entire item tastes less sweet than otherwise.

The most obvious way you can demonstrate this to yourself is: Get hold of some very sweet oranges. Buy a roll of Sweet Tarts candy. First eat a few slices of an orange. Then eat two or three of the orange sweet tarts. Then eat a few more of the slices of real orange, and you will notice that they taste bland and even unappetizing. What's happened is that the intense sweet and sour characteristics of the Sweet Tarts have tweaked your sense of taste.

Now the interesting part is to wait a couple of hours and then have another orange. See how long it takes before your sense of taste readjusts back to normal baseline. Yes, it does take hours.

As for what to do with the rest of the Sweet Tarts: If you have a problem with raccoons in your trash bins, leave a few Sweet Tarts around. The raccoons will find them and eat them, and be unable to taste real food for a while. Might scare them off your trash bins.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', '
')I admit, I still drink coffee and am wondering if I should quit that. I'm wondering if there's some sort of cortisol/fat buildup thing going on with coffee.