Blog Heap of Links for the day 7 April 2012

462 453 #440 What is wrong with them, to say something so reprehensible to a wonderful person like Jane? It's beneath contempt. It's just so hard to believe anyone could be so vile.
Posted by: Hummingbird at April 07, 2012 01:04 AM (R5yLq)

It is a glimpse into the nature of evil.

Mostly, evil is boring. It tries to shock, but falls into predictable patterns of behavior. It depends on good to create space for it to work. It contributes nothing but hate and bile, but wants nothing more that to be the focus.

Posted by: cthulhu at April 07, 2012 01:09 AM (kaalw)

Remember back in 2006 when the bumble bees started disappearing? Well, it seems we might have an answer. Mass Bee Colony Collapse Linked To High Fructose Corn Syrup. Yeah, that's right. High fructose syrup. -CDR M

So between being largely responsible for the diabetes epidemic and killing bees the progs still want to ban REAL SUGAR while allowing this crap, largely made with massive government farming subsidies, to be used in our food? -BlueFalcon in Boston

It was not a sugar ban per se, but ridiculous tariffs on imported sugar, to protect less than 100,000 producers in the U.S. It would not be a silver bullet, but allowing Haiti to export sugar to the States would sure relive a lot of economic pain in the country. -logprof

The specific breed of corn used to make HFCS is subsidized (to make food production cheaper) in addition to the protectionism of the US Sugar market.
Mind you if we had free market sugar there would be no financial incentive to produce HFCS or use it as a sugar substitute.

HFCS is utter crap on the dietary scale. Makes people crave even more sweets, without the satiation of real sugar, so everyone loads up on more calories and the rockets up glycemic index. Billions of dollars worth of healthcare would probably be saved from people not being overweight and suffering from diabetes from unconsciously overeating if HFCS wasn't replacing sugar in almost everything we eat.

Another big example of government intervention causing all sorts of unintended consequences. -BlueFalcon in Boston

High fructose corn syrup is real sugar. Same molecular composition, just a different ratio of isomers. The jury still seems to be out as to whether or not it is metabolized differently. -Y-not

203 #183, HFCS is the equivalent of highly processed sugar. It is more quickly absorbed into your blood stream than regular sugar. It's like comparing highly bleached white flour to whole grain flour. Anything overly processed is metabolized too quickly for our physiology to feel satiated and know how to use the calories. People wind up overeating processed foods with highly refined flours and sugars, compared to less refined flours sugars, because they still feel hungry even though they've consumed more calories than the less processed alternatives. -BlueFalcon in Boston

223 @203
I think you are over-reacting and misinformed. It's a mixture of glucose and fructose. I've read that there are some isomers that are produced during processing that may be metabolized differently, but the last time I check the scientific literature that was not proven.

But if you're afraid of it, don't eat it. -Y-not

275 #223, I'm stating all of this having spoken to a nutritionist and some sort of metabolic researcher at a Boston hospital. There's a big difference with how the body treats calories from refined vs. raw materials. Not all calories are as equal as was once though. It's not just how the body digest these things but the way the brain perceives what has been digested. It's part of the reason why some people keep storing large amounts of fat while their brains are telling to keep eating because their brains perceive the body as starving. -BlueFalcon in Boston