Early this morning I had the perfect start for a Friday the 13th -- thanks to a befuddled coyote. This poor coyote was walking through the field behind my house when several rabbits came out of hiding on his left, a family of roadrunners on his right, and a few feet in front of him a prairie dog jumped up from his hole and barked. That poor coyote was spinning in circles trying to decide which way to run!
Dear Donndez – What the heck is fructose and why should I care whether it’s in my soda or not? -- Kevin T., Santa Rosa
Dear Kevin – Fructose is a type of sugar that comes from fruit and corn. Fruit gives you fiber, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and all kinds of good things. To get fructose, they process the fruit to get the sugar out and remove everything else. So it’s basically a very sweet chemical with no benefits, which your body absorbs faster than regular sugar because it “feels” like fruit, then causes an increased risk of diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, bad cholesterol levels, and liver disease.
Recent research also indicates that fructose leads to high blood pressure. High blood pressure can cause heart disease and increase your risk of having a stroke. It’s especially dangerous because it often has no warning signs or symptoms.
Fructose from corn is less expensive to produce, which makes it cheap for manufacturers to use, so they use a lot of it in processed foods and soda pop. Also, fructose actually interferes with your heart’s use of minerals like magnesium, copper and chromium, inhibits your immunity system, and leads to bone loss and anemia. Still think fructose is harmless?
Like most areas in life, you want to choose your poisons carefully. You may want to avoid fructose in everything but natural fruit, but it is still not as bad as artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners damage your health faster than fructose, so ideally avoid ALL sodas, even diet sodas.
Considering the fact that Texans are always trying to find ways of getting our water, New Mexico water must be some pretty good stuff! So replace all those soda and sweet drinks with some home-grown, pure, clean water.
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