Beware of high fructose corn syrup in that food or drink
Are you concerned about the use of high fructose corn syrup in your food? Could the sweetener be a major contributor to obesity trends in the United States?
High fructose corn syrup dangers are for real. Studies show a growing connection between this additive and a wide range of health problems.
You probably know it’s a highly processed sweetener made from corn, whose production process is chemical-laden and much more complicated than that of sucrose from cane sugar.
It’s a winner for the commercial food business because it’s cheap. It tastes sweet like sucrose from cane sugar, blends well into foods, is easy to transport and has a long shelf life.
But new research shows high fructose corn syrup should win a different prize: the sweetener most likely to make you fat.
Why High Fructose Corn Syrup Makes You Fat
Recently, a Princeton University research team reported that long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup leads to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, along with a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides.
No big surprise, right? But they also discovered high fructose corn syrup was the only substance tested – including regular sugar and high fat diets – that caused their subjects to gain weight 100% of the time.
And we’re not talking a trifling amount either… those subjects who ate a diet rich in high fructose corn syrup gained 48% more weight than those sticking to a normal diet!
Food companies like to say high fructose corn syrup is just another natural sweetener. Yet subtle but important changes during the manufacturing process make high fructose corn syrup a sumo wrestler’s dream – and a nightmare for anyone trying to get or keep a slim waistline.
When you consume food and drinks made with regular old-fashioned cane sugar or beet sugar you get a true natural form sweetener made of a perfectly balanced 50/50 match of fructose and glucose. This means every fructose molecule is bound to a glucose molecule and must go through an extra metabolic step before it becomes fuel for your body.
High fructose corn syrup on the other hand has more fructose (that’s why it’s called “HIGH fructose”). Roughly 55% of high fructose corn syrup is fructose and 42% is glucose. The rest of it is made of larger sugar molecules called higher saccharides.
Now guess what happens thanks to this sugar molecule imbalance. Those extra fructose molecules go straight to your gut and to be stored as extra fat.
How to Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup Dangers
Obesity in the United States has soared since high fructose corn syrup was introduced 40 years ago. In 1970, only 15% of the American population was obese. That has more than doubled to 33% of American adults today.
Obesity is a growing problem (no pun intended)… but that’s only the start of high fructose corn syrup dangers. Additional risks you face when consuming high fructose corn syrup include:
- Type-2 Diabetes
- Hypertension
- High Cholesterol
- Heart Disease
- Liver Damage
- Mercury Exposure
High fructose corn syrup can be found in everything from fruit juice, soda, and cereal, to barbecue sauce, ketchup, and mayonnaise. You can find it in chips, ice cream, yogurt, bread, jam, and frozen dinners as well. It’s the most common added sweetener in processed foods and beverages.
The American Heart Association says women should consume no more than 100 calories a day from added sweeteners from any source. Men should consume no more than 150.
Here are some tips to help curb your consumption of added sweeteners, including dangerous high fructose corn syrup:
- Avoid sugary fruit juices and sodas.
- Drink water and other unsweetened beverages.
- Skip sugary, frosted breakfast cereals.
- Cut back on processed and packaged foods including microwaveable meals.
- Snack on vegetables and fruit. Low-fat cheese, whole-grain crackers and low-fat, low-calorie yogurt are also good choices.
- Avoid candy, pastries, cakes, and cookies.
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References
Parker H. A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain. News at Princeton. 2010 Mar 22.
Nelson J.K., What are the health concerns about high-fructose corn syrup?, mayoclinic.com, 2010 Oct.
Group E. 5 Health Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup. Global Healing Center. 2010 Aug 7.
Good to see some sense is beginning to percolate through the web of falsities that go under the banner of a ‘Good Diet’
However ALL fructose is bad, HFCS is just more extreme. Even fruit juices, apple, orange etc are mostly pure fructose. Ordinary sugar is bad because of it’s fructose content, abt 50%. It’s all taken in without adequate fibre.
One has to avoid All sweetened drinks. In today’s NYT there is an article showing Pepsi and Coke are concerned because consumption of their mainstay drinks are declining.
The other mainstay of our so called good diet is polyunsaturated oils. These also need to be avoided.
Use saturated oils/fats instead. Plenty of proper studies show diets high in saturated and monounsaturated fats protect from CVD.
We only have an epidemic of diabetes, CVD and obesity since we changed our diet to include excessive consumption of these “poisons”. We didn’t evolve with them so now they play havoc with our health.
Hmmm! Has got me checking labels: product labels here just give sugar %age but not the type of.
Thanks,
Must check some out.
5/24/12
YOUR ARTICLE ON “1 SWEETENER SUPERCHARGES GETTING FAT”.
YOU DID NOT GO FARE ENOUGH- WHAT ARE THE SAFE SWEETENERS AVAILABLE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JAMES INGLES
Thank you for this excellent article, but I was surprised to see at the end a recommendation for “low-fat” dairy. It is a well know fact today that obesity and cholesterol problems come from an over-consumption of carbs and NOT fats. On the contrary, dairy should be taken with its natural fat as nature has created it – this actually improves health and not otherwise. Besdies, all those artificial “low-fat” dairies include lots of chemicals and additives to try and compensate for the poor taste and nutrition it provides – and HFCS as well…….
What about XYLITOL- made from CORN – supposed to be the healthy alternative to cane sugar with 75% less carbs . . ?
Jesse, I love this stuff. Always informative. I also read the HFCS actually releases deposits into our brains (sort of like candied sugar) that causes MAJOR inflammation and leads to massive memory issues. This stuff should be BANNED from consumption as far as I am concerned.
I agree with James Ingles too, a follow up article (or two) on what other sweeteners are harmful and which are safer for us would be fantastic. 😀
Most of us know about Stevia and/or Agave Syrup – which are certainly better but how MUCH better? I am not even sure.
I’ve been using Honey in my coffee. to cut down on Sugar intake, And Drinking Mostly water, never soda, But sometimes I drink Pomegranate and Blueberry juice to fight inflation. Should I stop drinking the Juice? I buy the ones that List 100% Juice ?
To me Juices in general are empty calories, for me I eat the as a whole food, verses drinking the juice that is heat treated and who knows what else before it goes into the bottle or can…
Honey in coffee I will have to try that…
Steve