PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME

[David Koot]

Not all sugars are equal. Refined sugar cane, sugar beets and honey are the best BUT in small quantities. High fructose corn syrup is the worse. Sugars contained in fruit are in another class because they are not refined and come integral with fiber and nutrients.

Cane sugar is a disaccharide. The molecule is a basic carbon chain with H and O atoms attached. It is very quickly broken down and digested. Big impact on blood sugar. Maple syrup, molasses, pineapple juice all are disaccharides.

Fruit sugar is a hexose. Strong molecular bonds, takes longer to break it down, impact on blood sugar is not as strong. Honey is a hexose.

As for refined sugars, best to stay away. And best to not use cane sugar or molasses, etc.

Agave is a good sweetener to use, by the way.

Dave

[Dr. Shane]

Many of us simply have to eat the food available in the supermarket. Often times it becomes an issue of choosing the least harmful. Sucrose, or table sugar, in small quantities isn't going harm a healthy person. In fact, many healthy foods have a little sucrose added to sweeten them up a bit. The problem is that many people abuse sugar like alcoholics abuse alcohol. Adventists, as a group, tend to use more sugar than is healthy. Just check out a potluck dinner for confirmation.

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as been used a lot because it has been so cheap. Now that ethanol is driving up the price of corn that may change.