HFCS

Okay, so we all have heard that high fructose corn syrup is bad for us.... but what about crystalline fructose? I read somewhere that its virtually the same thing or even worse, that it may contain higher levels of fructose!? I found this out because its a sweetener in the "glaceau vitamin waters"-- and I looove the green tea one... but now I'm a little concerned cause I drink at least 1-2 bottles of it a week, and its number three on the list after water... Also... can anyone explain to me whyyy high fructose corn syrup is so bad anyways?

 And yes, I DID google it, but I never trust everything I read on the internet, and every site I read, it said something different! I don't know what to believe!!

There are plenty of studies running around but briefly:

HFCS short-circuits glucose metabolism so you get double whammies in your body. Sucrose contains both glucose and fructose.  When you ingest HFCS the fructose is readily absorbed. Glucose is used by every cell in the body while fructose is only metabolized in the liver. Because of this, the pancreas does not secrete (enough) insulin in response to the sugars which throws everything out of whack. Fructose is also easier to metabolize to fat.

What about fructose in fruits, then? When you consume whole fruit, the fructose absorption is moderated by the fiber.

Crystalline fructose sounds healthier the high fructose corn syrup. 

Yet by the sugar associations admission,  it is produced by "allowing the fructose to crystallize from a fructose-enriched corn syrup."  Fructose enriched?  Its got more fructose then HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) yet it sounds as innocent as natural fructose found in fruit   

 The glory of marketing. How can we make this highly processed, totally unhrealthy thing sound natural and appealing?

I get the sense that there is a lot of conflicting data out there about HFCS...one study shows it's bad for you while another says that it's no worse for you than sugar.    Here's an interesting article on the myths of HFCS: http://washingtontimes.com/article/20080103/C OMMENTARY/599200147
I tend to think it's best to not stress so much about what kind of sugar you are consuming as how much.

Crystalline Fructose contains 99.5% minimum of fructose, an even higher percentage of fructose than what makes up HFCS. Other ingredients are arsenic, heavy metals, lead, and chloride.

Bummer because I'm drinking deluge water right now, and crystalline fructose is the second ingredient. So much for my new favorite morning drink.