Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life.

Fructose-sweetened dessert Photo: dizznbonn, Flickr

Unless you've been away from television, newspapers and computers for the last couple of years, you've probably heard that high-fructose corn syrup is bad news. Well, it is.

But it's not just high-fructose corn syrup -- it's fructose as an added sweetener (in any form), and the problem is not just that it contributes to weight gain (which it does, by the way).

Back in 1977, average daily consumption of fructose was about 37 grams per person per day. Recent surveys show that it's up to 54.7 grams, or about 10 percent of total caloric intake. And for teenagers -- who consume a ton of soda -- fructose intake averages a whopping 72.8 grams, the equivalent of 18 spoonfuls of the stuff every single day.

Why should we care?

Does the type of sugar you eat matter? Or is sugar just sugar? Experts looking into these questions are thinking there is one sugar that might make you fatter than others.

Fructose is the one, and it's thought that this sweet stuff dramatically enhances ipogenesis, the process by which the body converts sugar into fat. Check out this scary fact: In one study, people who consumed a fructose-filled breakfast drink produced double the body fat in the four-hour period that followed. Yikes. Those who drank a glucose-only beverage fared much better.

Want to steer clear of fructose? Then step away from the fruit juice and most processed foods, because many of them contain it in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which happens to be a major source of excess calories.

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Not all sugars are created equal, and new research shows that eating a certain type of sweet stuff can make you gain weight at an alarming weight. We're talking about Fructose, not to be confused with naturally-occurring glucose. According to the New York Times, regular sugar is normally processed by the liver, which acts as a sort of 'traffic cop' and directs the sugar where to go. But fructose by-passes the liver and heads straight to your hips in the form of unhealthy fat.

I know what you're wondering: Why would anyone eat fructose? The answer is simple -- it's everywhere. It's cheaper than sugar, so many food manufacturers use it. It's your responsibility to read the labels and make sure you're avoiding this tasty poison.

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No, organic soda is not the way to go. The only way to go when it comes to soda is to skip it altogether.

Organic soda, like all soda, contains zero nutrients -- and a bigger price tag. A six-pack of the organic stuff will cost you about $5, and yes, it's made without high fructose syrup (clearly, a bonus) but each can contains 120 calories -- that's 20 more than a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola Classic.

Cutting back on nutritionally-void foods and drinks is the best way to go, says Prevention magazine. So ditch the soda and any other organic junk food that temps your taste buds. These items might be better for the planet, but they aren't any better for you.

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January's Men's Journal magazine serves up some definite corny news, informing readers that in the same way Morgan Spurlock opened our eyes with his documentary Super Size Me, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis take us to the cornfields of Iowa to school us on our strange and unhealthy dependence on corn.

Directed by a guy named Aaron Wolf, the new documentary King Corn will apparently convince us that nearly everything we eat is corn. Our livestock feeds on it, our soda is sweetened by it, our food is deep-fried in it, and even the medication NyQuil contains it. Why is this newsworthy? Because corn is likely the root cause of America's obesity epidemic.

Cheney and Ellis, both 24, don't just passively study and report on this whole corn issue. They live it. Leaving their suburban Boston homes, the pair spends a year growing their very own acre of corn. The first thing they learn: It's a cheap and nutritionless kernel that dominates America's corn belt and thus, everything we put in our bodies. They tell us that we overproduce corn, force feed it to our cows instead of allowing them to graze, and make high-fructose corn syrup in crazy quantities. They also interview a New York cab driver suffering from Type II diabetes, a man who happened to drop 100 pounds by giving up corn-sweetened soda.

"This documentary is enough to leave you distrustful of everything on your plate," says the Boston Globe. For a sneak peek at the movie that will challenge your trust, take a peek at the King Corn trailer, located right here.

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Are you a fruit juice fan? It's an easy way to get a dose of fresh fruit every day without juicing your own fruits. However, the brand and type of fruit juice you choose makes a world of difference on the health benefits you'll see.

Pasteurized juices and ones made from mostly refined sugar can be nutritionally worthless, even when they taste good. Finding juices that are gently or non-pasteurized (which is very difficult to do) are your best bet outside of juicing your own organic fruits.

How about those fruit and vegetable juices that combine those all-important veggies with fruits that can mask the taste? Kagome is a great choice if you've haven't tried it (the purple blend is delicious). There are other choices as well, from the V8 brand (owned by Campbell's Soup) and others. Choose one that is great for you with a great taste.

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I'm flipping through the October 1, 2007 issue of Family Circle magazine -- yes, I'm a month behind -- and I keep stumbling upon diet and exercise tips that are really quite interesting. Seems only fair I'd share with you these random tidbits about dogs, sleep, and food cravings. So here goes:

• Walking your dog for 20 minutes five times per week for one year led to an average weight loss of 14 pounds for those who were part of a recent study. If you don't have your own pooch, consider volunteering to walk dogs at a local animal shelter.

• If you skimp on your sleep, you're more likely to eat fast food. Why? Probably because feeling tired makes cooking a healthy dinner seem like a lot of hard work. Swinging through the drive-through or plopping down in that booth at McDonald's is so much easier.

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How much do you know about sugar? I consider myself somewhat of an expert in the field of eating sugar (particularly in chocolate form) but admittedly, I don't know that much about it.

What we know as sugar is actually comprised of two sweeteners: Glucose and Fructose. Glucose is the fuel that your body runs on, so in a way, it's good for you. Fructose, on the other hand, is the dark side of sugar, so to speak. As WebMD points out, in a study using volunteers, half of which consumed Glucose-sweetened drinks and half of which consumed fructose-sweetened drinks, the Fructose drinkers were shown to be at greater risk for heart disease than the glucose-drinkers. However, people in both groups gained about the same amount of weight, so it goes to show that any sort of sugar is bad for those trying to lose weight.

I wonder -- can you purchase glucose-only sugars? Or does it always come with Fructose?

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For those who don't know, Dr. David Katz is a medical correspondent for ABC news and in addition has shared his thoughts on healthy living in 9 books. So, chances are, he knows what he's talking about and after reading this, I would have to agree. His suggestions for living a healthy life make a lot of sense, and I think everyone would be doing themselves a favor by following them. Here's what he suggests:

-Buy organic, locally-produced food when able
-Read the labels. This includes both the nutrition facts and the ingredients. If it has too many unpronounceable ingredients, it's best to skip it.
-Avoid Hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup
-The more fiber, the better
-Don't be fooled by lofty promises on the front of the package

What's your take on these suggestions?

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