Sugary Goodness – Part 5 of 7

July 20th, 2009, by

Honey

OK, I’ll stick to “natural”

I have heard a lot of people refer to honey, especially raw honey, as healthy because it is natural. This kind of justification will keep you sick and fat though. Just because something is found in nature doesn’t mean it is healthy for human consumption. Honey actually contains the same ratio of fructose as HFCS-55 and will therefore wreak just as much havoc on your body. Makes one wonder how honey has seemingly escaped the same public wrath as HFCS.

Another touted sweetener in the “health food” circles is agave nectar. Unlike honey, agave nectar is not truly raw due to the extraction process requiring heat. The amount of fructose found in agave nectars various greatly from 56-92%, putting it somewhere between HFCS-55 and HFCS-90.

Finally, there is evaporated cane juice. Many consider it a healthier alternative to table sugar because it does not suffer the same lengths of processing that table sugar does. The fructose content here also varies, but only from about 42.5-47.5%.
The point I am trying to make is that your body doesn’t know the difference at the cellular level between table sugar, HFCS-55, honey, etc. It all has almost identical ratios of glucose and fructose which will result in the internal damages we already discussed.

Stay tuned for part 6 where we will discuss artificial sweeteners.

Category: Nutrition

7 Responses to "Sugary Goodness – Part 5 of 7"

  • Mark R.
    July 20, 2009, 8:03 am

    I'm hoping part 7 has some good news i.e. something we can all actually eat and enjoy without worrying about death, heart disease, arthritis, gout, and all the other wonderful things that result from the great tasting sweets we eat. Throw us a bone here man...

  • Bill
    July 20, 2009, 8:27 am

    Mark - Let fat become the new sugar :) The other day I was reading an article that mentioned that cats don't have the ability to taste sweet carbohydrates. Wish I could acquire that trait somehow.

  • Mark R.
    July 20, 2009, 12:47 pm

    Hey I love fat as much as the next guy, but at some point aren't you worried about ketosis, I know opinions vary about how much carbs the average person actually needs, but we don't want to be converting fat into glucose do we? Not to mention a lot of you Cross fit nazi's would probably fall into the category of highly active/athletic so are we to just supplement more fat intake?

  • Bill
    July 21, 2009, 10:28 pm

    Mark - Diabetics are the only ones who need to fear ketosis. In the rest of us, using ketone bodies as fuel is actually preferred by most of our organs. The tiny amount of glucose that the body needs to thrive is easily produced by the liver each day. Carbohydrates and proteins can both be converted to glucose, but fat cannot. Instead, fat is converted to ketone bodies for energy. I don't know if I understand your last question, but yes, active lifestyles will require increased fat intake to fuel activities. For example, if using a general Paleo diet, one would keep fat intake lower while they lean out and once they achieve their desired level of leanness they would increase the fat intake until they stopped losing body weight. This would be the point where they are consuming enough to fuel their activities. Let me know if this all makes sense.

  • Garth
    July 23, 2009, 7:07 am

    Eating Paleo rocks! I can seriously eat as much as I want that doesn't include grains, sugar or dairy and I'm leaner than ever. I eat bags of nuts, huge salads and tons of meat in copious quantities with no fat gain. Audra can attest to my diet. I think it disturbs her at times :)
    More importantly, I feel great! I'm making huge gains in strength and endurance. I feel bad for those around me that have yet to see the light and continue to struggle with their weight, body fat percentages and overall health and fitness. Do yourself a favor and STOP EATING GRAINS!

  • Jennie Yundt
    July 29, 2009, 5:49 pm

    Mark, I'm glad you post to comments here...it keeps Bill on his toes. I was just bragging about my new paleo cookie recipe, and these awesome all natural girl scout cookies that I'm going to attempt to make. :-)