Give me some sugar, baby! I like to get my sweetness the super-all-natural way -by someone I love, showing me some love. Added and especially fake "sugars" give me the creeps. I was just reading a (rather lengthy ) blogpost discussing fructose, glucose, high-fructose, etc. etc. I am going to distill it down to a over-simplified sentence of two. Too much fructose seems to raise triglyceride levels, and can cause symptoms like (or actual) fatty liver disease, among other things. Or as this author on The Modern Forager put it, "The body works very hard to keep blood glucose in a narrow range, through careful administration of insulin. Too high and all kinds of damage can be done, too low and all kinds of death can occur." My body works hard enough as it is, I don't need to stress it out any more than necessary.
The post shows a nice comparison of fructose levels in fruits (though high by percentage, not by actual numbers) versus your added "fructose". Even you healthy fair-trade all-natural organic cookies with evaporated cane syrup are probably going to realistically get a "thumbs-down" on this one. Is it worth it?
A healthy liver (and a healthy body) will operate more efficiently with the right fuels. Avoid processed foods and especially high fructose corn-syrup. Please. Find your sweetness from natural fruits or give someone you love a hug, or your dog, or a (willing) stranger if you are the type of person who can get away with that sort of thing. Other "sweetener" alternatives that are worth considering are stevia and xylitol, both of which are in the Whole Foods supplement section, and are becoming more commonly added to your "all-natural" food products and protein supplements.
Take care!
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