Folks, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck - right?

It seems that lots of folks have a real hard time understanding that no matter what it is called, sugar is sugar.

Ron, who asked about what diet to try in a recent letter to us, tapped back in to say that he is going to try to give up the sugars - Bravo! - by using a drink product that contains maltodextrin! Huh? Read on…

Hey Doc, I started tryin’ to break the sugar habit. And taking BHip. and it has  Maltodextrin, Is is safe…?  BHip is mixed with water and taste great, Better than sodas . What ya think?

Hey Ron,

What part of "For a healthful quick energy drink check out Zip-Fizz." were you having trouble with?

Here is the comparison:	bHip	ZipFiz
Sugars	2 gm	0 gm
Calories	24	10
Carbohydrates	6	2

Ron,  maltodextrin is just another name for sugar! Maltodextrin is a sweetener made from starches: potato, corn, rice, wheat - it doesn’t matter. It has exactly the same amount of carbohydrates per 1 tsp serving, 5, and calories per serving, 19, as sugar does.

As far as the body is concerned, sugar is sugar is sugar - cane juice, corn syrup, fructose, glucose, maltose, cane sugar, beet sugar, maple syrup, honey - they are all sugar! Even if you call them "all natural" or "organic" they are still sugar!

You are right - anything is better than sodas - but this product still contains sugar!

Hope this clears up the difference between sugar and sugar and sugar for you!

Cheers,
Nurse Mark