Outrageous Oatmeal Cookie Photo: Starbucks

Starbucks' full line of "real food" hit the stores nationwide today -- although you may have already seen many of these products rolled out in recent months. All foods are now free of artificial trans fats, dyes, flavors and high-fructose corn syrup. Good news right? Sure, but a cookie is still a cookie.

There is debate and a lot of misunderstanding about whether HFCS is worse than sugar, and the scientific jury is still out. But the verdict from a recent tasting is that real flavors and slightly more wholesome ingredients make for better treats.

The Banana Walnut Bread swapped banana flavoring for the real fruit. But with 480 calories, it's not much of a waistline improvement on Starbucks' old banana bread. More than one AOL Health Editor commented on the flavor of the sample slice. "It tastes like real bananas!" one editor exclaimed. "It's surprisingly good." Even so, the bread, like many of the cookies, is still quite large. It should be an occasional indulgence and not a staple.

That brings me to the Outrageous Oatmeal Cookie. Topped with a generous quarter-cup of various dried fruits, it is delicious. It offers three full grams of fiber, but also 370 calories and 14 grams of fat. Again, the wholesome ingredients are a step up, but the nature of the treat is no different.

Print ads and commercials trying to dispel the public's negative beliefs about high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) have been popping up all over the place in recent months. It's no wonder those who stand to profit from HFCS feel the need to defend it; many manufacturers are starting to create HFCS-free foods to give consumers a choice.

Pepsi will soon be hopping on board the HFCS-free bandwagon. Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback are old-school versions of the popular sodas -- instead of HFCS, they're sweetened with sugar. It's sweet to have choices, isn't it?

Of course sugar doesn't do your hips any favors, either. So, you'd think weight-conscious consumers would be totally on board with artificial sweeteners. Surprisingly, only about 15 percent of Americans opt for artificially sweetened products.

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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If you think high fructose corn syrup is evil, then you might want to think the same about plain old sugar and honey.

According to a report from the American Medical Association, the sweetener commonly found in items such as soft drinks is no more to blame for obesity than sugar or other sweeteners, honey included. The AMA is so convinced it doesn't see a need to place warning labels on products containing the stuff.

No need to throw caution to the wind and start chowing down on foods and drinks containing high fructose corn syrup -- the AMA still recommends we limit the amount of all added caloric sweeteners to no more than 32 grams of sugar daily (based on a 2,000 calorie diet).

Think about this: Obesity rates have soared in recent decades. So has the use of high fructose corn syrup. Think there's a connection or just a coincidence?

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Today I had more than bills in my mailbox. When I opened it up, there was a little treat waiting for me. A free cookie, courtesy of Kashi. I love Kashi cereals, so when I saw a commercial for free samples of their cookies, I thought I would give it a try. The sample was an Oatmeal Dark Chocolate cookie, and it was totally yummy.

More importantly, it's packed with nutrition. The main ingredient is a blend of seven whole grains (hard red winter wheat, oats, rye, triticale, barley, long grain brown rice, and buckwheat). It also has sesame seeds and, of course, tasty dark chocolate. Even though it's all natural and contains lots of good ingredients, it is still a cookie -- it has 130 calories and five grams of fat (1.5 is saturated). It also has eight grams of sugar, but thankfully none of it is from high-fructose corn syrup. Honey and and brown rice syrup are used for sweeteners.

The cookies are also available in Happy Trail Mix (cranberry, raisin, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and shredded coconut) and Oatmeal Raisin Flax flavors. Go ahead. Steal a cookie from the cookie jar and see what you think.

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While the area I live in may have made my exposure to this fruit a little slower than it was for most people, it's still a relatively new addition to the regular fruits and veggies on grocery store shelves. In a short span of time the bizarre-looking pomegranate has moved from exotic to mainstream.

The world of nutrition has its trends just like anything else, and pomegranates certainly had their day (or couple of years) in the sun. Pomegranates have been linked to health benefits for erectile dysfunction, cancer risk reduction, lung health, and other issues. And they certainly are good for you... not to mention tasty. (Though pomegranate juice can negatively interact with certain medications (such as some blood pressure meds), so check with your doctor.)

But when a food item becomes trendy, there is a bit of a halo effect; anything that has that item listed on the package automatically seems healthier and better for you. Health by association, if you will.