New Findings on Fructose

No fructose here.

The latest “new findings” regarding weight loss is that the sweetener, “fructose,” stops the “I’m full” mechanism from shutting off in the brain, so we overeat. And THIS is one of the causes of our obesity problem in the United States. I’m not buying it.

High fructose corn syrup is a sugar. Read labels, people. STOP BUYING FOOD WITH HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! And learn how many carbs you should eat everyday. AND CUT YOUR PORTION SIZES!

Corn is a starch already and you’re adding sugar (fructose) with some corn. If you read your labels on everything in your typical lunch or dinner that had high fructose corn syrup in it, you would more than likely find yourself eating a big plate of corn with a cup of sugar on it. Oh, that sounds yummy, right?

…and then there are the portions.

Just because a portion size is given on the side of a box, or in a recipe (which is where you should be getting more of your portion sizes from anyway – not off of PROCESSED FOOD BOXES!), does that mean you have to eat it? I had better have heard a ‘no.’

Portion sizes have gotten bigger in this country. Look at your plate in a restaurant. Now look at a plate in a French restaurant. The portion size in a French bistro is about ¼ of what a portion is the United States.

Yes, size does matter

To get fructose out of your diet, eat more vegetables. Eat less of the starchy ones than you do the others. Eat no more than two servings of fruit a day. One large banana can be considered two fruits, as would one large apple. Size matters, and that is something Americans typically don’t take into account.

Portion sizes have increased

Food companies HAVE INCREASED PORTION SIZES SO BE CAREFUL. Also, read the labels on your sports drinks if you indulge in those (I have a Revive Vitamin Water every once in a while because I eat tired of eating bananas and just need a quick potassium jolt.) The servings on those bottles changed, from TWO servings, to now ONE serving. Was it an effort to get you to buy more? Probably. But it’s also making you fatter in the process. A serving size of most drinks is one cup. That’s 8 oz., people. For fruit juice, it’s one-half cup, or 4 oz.

Watch your butt…. er, bottom

What it all comes down to is this: READ YOUR LABELS. Educate yourself. The food industry wants PROFITS. If you eat less, you BUY less. That doesn’t help their bottom line…. But it does make your bottom grow!