Law&Order and BostonLegal both having shows involving obesity, diabetes

[BrklynLiberal]

and the epidemic of both in US today.


I did not know that High Fructose Corn syrup turns off the part of the brain that tells us we are full and should stop eating.:wow:

[AlCzervik]

1. for real? Corn syrup does that?

[Wickerman]

2. Boston Legal had the best line of the evening

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1087357

[BrklynLiberal]

6. Great show!!!

[FloridaPat]

3. Same here. I did hear that a lot to most food contains MSG which

makes you want to keep eating. Will have to look up that corn syrup thing. Scary.

[Kajsa]

4. I knew high fructose corn syrup

was very bad, I just didn't know it could
turn off the "we're full" gauge!

I avoid buying it-read labels, it's in a lot of food items!

Boston Legal is one of the best shows on TV.


FloridaPat- neat avatar! :)

[DURHAM D]

5. The corn lobby is bigger than the sugar lobby. n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

7. Leptin is what was mentioned on Boston Legal

Both insulin and leptin act as signals to the brain to turn down the appetite and control body weight. And in another metabolic twist, Havel's research shows that fructose does not appear to suppress the production of ghrelin, a hormone that increases hunger and appetite.

"Because fructose in isolation doesn't activate the hormones that regulate body weight as do other types of carbohydrate composed of glucose, consuming a diet high in fructose could lead to taking in more calories and, over time, to weight gain," he says.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/18/FDGS24VKMH1.DTL

[Broken_Hero]

8. Yeah,

I watched BL and watched bits and pieces of SVU during BL commericials. I was surprised that both shows focused on diabetis/obesity/companies that make the snack foods/soda that are packed full of high fructose corn syrup. From what I understand of HFCS, is that it doesn't digest like proper sugar, and causes your pancreas to fail. I also understand, that HFCS is also used widely, because it is cheaper to produce, than regular sugar, from cane...

My father in law, and I have gotten into quite a few debates over this issue, and its weird, that both BL and SVU had shows that had simliar themes...

[BrklynLiberal]

9. kick

[gauguin57]

10. The new book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" talks about this problem with corn .

I've started reading the book "The Omnivore's Dilemma," by "journalist/philosopher" Michael Pollan. One of the topics it discusses is how this country produces an overabundance of corn, partly because corn growing is subsidized to such a great degree by the government. All that corn has to go somewhere -- and a lot of it goes into our products as fillers and high-fructose corn syrup. Hence, a fatter America.

On NPR's "Fresh Air," Pollan suggested that, if the U.S. were to subsidize carrot growers instead, we might not be facing our current obesity-fueled health crisis.

Here's the description of Pollan's book from Powell's site:

http://www.powells.com/biblio/18-1594200823-0

[BrklynLiberal]

11. Thanks. Great reference.