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Sunday, October 16th, 2011 (11AM - 5PM)

Enjoy the beauty of Autumn in western New York State from the window of an authentic 80-year-old electric trolley car. A diesel locomotive with two cabooses will meet the trolley each day for the continuation to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. Trolleys depart every half-hour starting at 11:30, and no reservations are required.

September 10th, 2007

High Fructose Corn Syrup Vs. Pure Sugar – Is One Worse Than The Other?

Pic from The Economist

Last week I asked readers to submit any questions that they may have, and I got a good one from Vik. Vik asked “Is “high fructose corn syrup” worse (in whatever way) than sugar?“. Great question and one that I am sure many people have asked themselves!

From what I understand, high fructose corn syrup is a bunch of corn syrups that have undergone a process to increase their fructose content, thus making them sweeter. The reason you see it in everything from soda to cookies to energy bars is that real sugar can be expensive and it is much cheaper to use HFCS as a substitute. Plus it has a longer shelf life than sugar, making it even more attractive to food manufacturers.

In soda, it has been found that by using HFCS instead of pure sugar it can make the soda 10 times richer in harmful carbonyl compounds. According to one study, carbonyl compounds are elevated in people with diabetes and are blamed for causing diabetic complications such as foot ulcers and eye and nerve damage. Another study concluded that foods with increased fructose “produced significantly higher fasting plasma triacylglycerol values than did the glucose diet in men” and “if plasma triacylglycerols are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, then diets high in fructose may be undesirable”. Sounds good, right?

However, it’s not that sugar is good for us and HFCS is not. Both can be very damaging to our bodies, causing obesity, liver damage, heart disease, etc.. Pure sugar just happens to be a truly natural substance that has not been mixed in vats, chemically derived and played with, and used as cheap substitute in almost everything on the grocery store shelves. Everyone should limit the amount of sugar they ingest. But according to an article in SF Gate, “The body processes the fructose in high fructose corn syrup differently than it does old-fashioned cane or beet sugar, which in turn alters the way metabolic-regulating hormones function. It also forces the liver to kick more fat out into the bloodstream.” So, I guess HFCS is seen as much worse by a lot of nutritionists, but either way you look at it, ingesting as many empty calories as we all do from sugar is not good for anyone. Personally I try to stay away from the stuff. Sure, I do have the occasional Coke or whatever, but I do look at the labels of food before buying it and try to get stuff that does not have HFCS in it. It’s hard, but it can be done.

Oh, and don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that high fructose corn syrup is a “natural” substance. I know 7-Up was calling their drink “100% Natural”…but the fact is that HFCS is not natural at all because of the process it goes through to make it, along with the fact that it has at least one genetically modified enzyme in it. Don’t let the label on things tell you what is natural, you need to know the facts so you don’t fall for deceptive advertising!


From The Good Human    http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2007/09/10/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-pure-sugar-is-one-worse-than-the-other/

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Would you like to know what is happening at the Genesee Country Inn Bed and Breakfast?  Visit us at www.geneseecountryinn.com. Read about life at the Inn in Living the Dream in Mumford, New York at http://blog.geneseecountryinn.com. See you at the Inn!

The flowers are in bloom. The grass and woods are getting green and lush. Spring cleaning is underway. I love spring! Visit http://blog.geneseecountryinn.com for more stories and updates about life at the Inn.

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Summertime has finally arrived to Mumford and the Genesee Country Inn Bed and Breakfast. RJ has been busy painting the stucco on the Inn after after sanding and painting the front door a gorgeous rich red that just beckons guests to come in and enjoy the comfort and peacefullness of the Inn. We have enjoyed guests from Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, and Ontario, Canada. Our weekends are full of guests visiting the Genesee Country Village and Museum, Letchworth State Park, Niagara Falls, or family who still live in the area.

This past weekend, we hosted visitors who were involved in the Civil War Reenactments at the Genesee Country Village and Museum. I can actually say Lincoln slept here! Breakfast was memoriable with Confederate and Union soldiers sharing a suptuous breakfast of homemade granola, stuffed pancakes filled with homemade spiced strawberry preserves, an egg and ham stratta, with fresh fruit and freshly baked breads such as cranberry nut and blueberry muffin tea bread. They are so good with a hot mug of Finger Lakes Coffee.

The week continued with guests filling the Inn for summer getaways, romantic time alone, fishing on Spring Creek, or time to shop at the many antique shops. The days ended with fine dining at one of five local restaurants. Mumford is a quaint hamlet in the town of Wheatland that offers a Norman Rockwell lifestyle in rural New York. What a life! And it is mine!

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