Food #2

What is high-fructose corn syrup and why is it supposedly bad for you? 

It's syrup made from corn starch, made up of mostly glucose, that has been through an "enzymatic" process to turn the glucose into fructose. The fructose is then mixed with 100% glucose until it reaches desired sweetness. It's commonly used in processed foods to replace sugar. 

Corn Syrups have become more popular because they are cheaper to transport and easier to mix with products b/c it's a liquid.

As far as health concerns? The results are inconclusive, but some studies suggest that high-fructose corn syrup contributes to obesity as well as other diseases:

"In a 2007 study, rats were fed a diet high in fat and HFCS and kept them relatively sedentary for 16 weeks in an attempt to emulate the diet and lifestyle of many Americans. The rats were not forced to eat, but were able to eat as much as they wanted; they consumed a large amount of food, suggesting that fructose suppresses the sensation of fullness. Within four weeks, the rats showed early signs of fatty liver disease and type II diabetes."

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_syrup

How evil are HMO's?

In class we've been discussing how HMO's and the health care system in the U.S. is flawed. We have also watched SICKO and interviewed people about their feelings on U.S. health care. While I agree that the system is majorly flawed and leaves out care to those who need it the most - the poor and impoverished, my own dealings with privately funded insurance companies have actually been quite enjoyable...eer at least not as terrible as Michael Moore seems to make it out.

I am covered by the health care company Signa, provided to me through my dad's company. I have coverage for anything that I need. They pay for dentist visits, eye examinations and 1 pair of eyeglasses a year, along with any sort of emergency or medical coverage necessary. Not only that but the co-pays are low and most of my prescriptions are payed for. I have been under Signa's care for most of my life, and as an accident prone little kid, had to take many trips to the emergency room, where I was treated well and (most of the time) quickly. I've found that I feel safe with Signa and there is never a second guess when going to the doctor's of "How much will this cost me? Can we afford this?" The only thing I regret about Signa is that my first pediatrician who I had seen for most of my life changed his policy a couple years ago and no longer accepted Signa patients, so I was transferred to another pediatrician who, I personally think is a bad doctor with no bedside manner and they wouldn't let me switch to someone else. While I was upset that I had a new doctor I didn't particularly like, I also have to take into consideration that my visits are being paid FOR me and sometimes you have to take the good with the bad....

My mom has Medicare, provided by the government. I'm not sure about all of their policies but so far she says that she likes Medicare and they provide good doctors, low co-pays and pays for all her prescriptions.

I agree with a lot of points that Michale Moore's documentray SICKO makes, and also with a lot of things that you have pointed out in class, but I also think that a lot of it is one-sided.

Chair Analysis - Poverty in Review

In class when we did the musical chair activity. I think it was to prove the point that in general, whether you're rich or poor, is based primarily on chance and not how hard you "try." The game of musical chairs focuses on the success of an individual without regard to any sort of strategy and is based purely on luck. I think in many ways this game can represent the United State's system of free trade and capitalism.

To start, the game and capitalism are similar, primarily on the fact that whether you "win" or "lose" is mostly chance based. I say mostly because some people DID seem to work harder to stay in the game, by pushing other people out of the way or trying to never be in between a chair by taking wide steps; but even with the extra effort it didn't seem to make much of an impact on who stayed in the game. This is the same way with the free trade market in the U.S. because usually those who are born to poorer, working class families tend to stay in their social "class." While those who are born to wealthy families stay wealthy, inheriting their parents fortunes along with the companies to continue the cycle of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.





Fight the power (: