Sugar Delirium Blog: Beverages

[Islander]

Everyone knows that soda is packed with sugar. We stacked up the sugar in some average sized bottles, plus 7-Eleven's super-sized line of Gulp beverages.

* You'll notice that if you do the math on many of these, the total caloric value is lower than the calories that should be in the sugar alone, if sugar has 4 calories per gram. We don't know if they used "low calorie" sugar; we just used the data on the nutrition label, and assumed that sugar accounted for 100% of the calories. This was common for beverages but not other products.

See the visuals here: http://www.sugarstacks.com/beverages.htm
You might want to check out some of their other comparisons while you're there!

[mellowsong]

Very interesting: I have to wonder if they are fudging because of HFCS. Since fructose doesn't metabolize to a sugar for energy but rather to triglycerides, wonder if they are not counting the fructose calories?

[Reesacat]

Those visuals were frightening. They used real sugar cubes, but since most of the sugar is fructose which at the very least is double the harm of regular sugar the impact on health is even more devastating.

[Reesacat]

Good point, Mellow about the fructose calories.

[Islander]

Did you see the note from one brand about how they had removed HFCS from their product? They were rather put out at the stats!

[mellowsong]

Did you see the note from one brand about how they had removed HFCS from their product? They were rather put out at the stats!
Yeah, it was kinda funny!

[Samurai]

Since fructose doesn't metabolize to a sugar for energy but rather to triglycerides, wonder if they are not counting the fructose calories?
Do you have a source for this? I didn't know that hfcs provides absolutely no energy.

[mellowsong]

Do you have a source for this? I didn't know that hfcs provides absolutely no energy. I was talking about the FRUCTOSE component of HFCS. The glucose component does provide energy. Glucose is used by the body immediately for energy or stored in the liver as glycogen. When the body is overloaded with glucose, it too, can be stored as triglycerides. What I was saying is that fructose isn't available for immediate energy in the form of sugar. The body's cells can only use glucose. If the body gets around to burning fat, then in the long run fructose does provide energy. It used to be recommended for diabetics because it doesn't spike blood sugar until the pathway to triglycerides was realized.

[Islander]

Mellow, that raises another question for me. If fructose isn't used for energy, what IS it used for? It can't be useless since fruit has so many benefits. Must be good for something.

[mellowsong]

Mellow, that raises another question for me. If fructose isn't used for energy, what IS it used for? It can't be useless since fruit has so many benefits. Must be good for something. Fructose goes through the liver where it is converted to triglycerides and stored as fat. For most people, that's NOT good. For our hunter/gatherer ancestors it was necessary because the fat stores allowed them to survive sparse food in the winter. Small amounts, such as found in fruit and moderate use of honey, are not harmful. It is the over-consumption of concentrated fructose that causes problems.

[Islander]

Fructose goes through the liver where it is converted to triglycerides and stored as fat. For most people, that's NOT good. For our hunter/gatherer ancestors it was necessary because the fat stores allowed them to survive sparse food in the winter. Small amounts, such as found in fruit and moderate use of honey, are not harmful. It is the over-consumption of concentrated fructose that causes problems.


Thank you. I wish a certain website would say it so concisely. He does recommend a maximum of 25 grams a day, less if you may be at risk for metabolic syndrome etc. The 25 grams is about the equivalent of 3-4 fruits, depending on which ones you choose.