Key to good health: Keep it real
Q. Many thanks for your comments on high-fructose corn syrup. So often, I hear from my food-fadist friends that it is only slightly below rat poison with respect to health. I have read elsewhere that some commercial users of HFCS were originally motivated by the cost/sweetness relationship of the product, particularly with the tariff on imported sucrose and its effect on U.S. sugar prices. Finally, your reminder about striving for balance in our food consumption and its beneficial effect is refreshing and well stated.
J.F., Concord, Calif.
A. I have been following the topic for some time, waiting for the right question. The body is thrown off course when it is overloaded with sweets. When fructose is a player in a too-sweet diet, many biochemical shifts begin to occur.
A review article in the October 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at the potential role of sugar (fructose) in the epidemic of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. The paper suggests that high intakes of fructose are likely to be playing a role, and that certain subgroups, such as African-Americans, are particularly susceptible. The paper correctly points out, however, that there are also illnesses associated with ingesting too much salt and protein.
The issue is not so much that people should run away from high-fructose corn syrup. The issue is, where are they going to run? Bypassing fructose in favor of an artificial sweetener is not the answer. The way to get ahead of the game is to cast off as many sweetened processed foods as possible and get with the real.
Q. I read your columns on mixing fats but still have a question for you. I sometimes mix a small quantity of unsaturated fat - canola oil or something else - with butter for baking cookies, piecrusts, etc. Would I be inadvertently getting a "transfat" result in this simple home blend?
M.H., San Diego, Calif.
A. What you're doing isn't a problem. The trans fats of concern are formed through a multistage industrial process involving high pressure and specialized catalysts. It would be impossible to duplicate this in the kitchen.
Q. Please advise if the patches that one places on the bottom of the feet really work to help detoxify the body. Claims are that they improve circulation, combat fatigue, jump start metabolism and promote a better night's sleep. According to the literature, you place one on each foot every other night for 30 nights, then use about once every three weeks.
K.J., via e-mail
A. Using scientific evidence as the bench mark by which such claims are measured, these products are pure, unadulterated nonsense.
• Ed Blonz, Ph.D., is a nutrition scientist and the author of "Power Nutrition" and the "Your Personal Nutritionist" book series.