High-fructose corn syrup may be killing you!
Today, I won't be telling you about any new or wonderful supplement you should consider taking. Instead, I'm going tell you about something you should stop taking.
Fat, calories, sodium & carbs aren't the ONLY things that lead to obesity
Most food manufacturers are savvy enough to make sure that the four important reference points on their labels are enough to convince you that their food is healthful. These reference points are the product's calorie content and the grams of fat, sodium and carbohydrates. If the product doesn't have hydrogenated oils, that's an added bonus for the company (with a prominent announcement on the label!). I suggest that you also see if there's high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in it.
Even if you don't eat sweets, you'll find HFCS in condiments, cereals, desserts, snack foods, salad dressings, frozen dinners, prepared vegetables dishes, almost all fast foods and other foods too numerous to list here. If you stick to diet foods and think you're getting off scott-free, you'll be surprised to find out that HFCS is frequently found in low-cal, sugar-free and other dietetic foods.
We're drowning in a tidal wave of high-fructose corn syrup!
HFCS is also in beverages, and that is probably the largest part of our consumption. With the exception of a few small manufacturers, the soda industry switched from sugar to HFCS during the last half of the 20th century. It's during this period that we started getting fatter and the diabetes epidemic started to spread rapidly. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the "consumption of HFCS increased over 1000% [from 1970 to 1990], far exceeding the changes in intake of any other food or food group."
Worse than sugar, it's almost like a food cult
HFCS generates changes in your body not normally found when you eat sucrose (table sugar). For one thing, high-fructose corn syrup gets converted to fat in your liver. If your liver is layered with fat, which seriously compromises the organ, you will find it hard to lose weight. A fatty liver can cause many other health issues, which I'll address in a future blog.
When you eat table sugar, your pancreas produces insulin to counter it. When you eat HFCS, your body doesn't have the correct insulin response. The Clinical Biochemistry Division of the Hospital for Sick Children at the University of Toronto states that HFCS "perturbs glucose metabolism and glucose uptake pathways," leading to insulin-resistance and possibly diabetes. With an improper insulin response, your body doesn't have the right amount of circulating leptin, a substance that helps regulate normal body weight and appetite. HFCS is telling your body it's hungry and that you haven't had enough to eat or drink. Your metabolism is being brainwashed!
HFCS can lead to gout
Fructose (including high-fructose corn syrup) increases uric acid, a by-product of metabolism, and high levels can lead to gout.
Gout used to be an illness of the rich and famous. Not anymore. It's a painful disease caused by too much uric acid. When uric acid accumulates in the body, usually the joints (often the big toe), the associated pain is excruciating. The slightest pressure or even a mild breeze can cause agony. The number of people who are limping, having foot pain or suffering a variety of joint disorders may actually be suffering from gout.
HFCS may also be related to kidney disorders & high blood pressure
High-fructose corn syrup affects the body in ways that we're just now discovering. In rodent tests, researchers in the Department of Nutrition at the University of California (Davis) found that HFCS also increases triglycerides. The accumulation of uric acid also causes high blood pressure, so we're back to the HFCS-induced uric acid increase. Your kidneys remove excess uric acid. If you have too much uric acid, your kidneys may not be up to the extra load. That might explain why kidney disorders are also on the rise, and high-fructose corn syrup, through the increase of uric acid, may be the culprit.
Avoidance is the only sane answer
Stop eating and drinking anything that contains high-fructose corn syrup! It's that simple.
Start reading labels. Prepare only fresh vegetables and meat. Everything you need for a healthy and satisfying diet requires virtually no manufacturing process. You won't have to worry about what's been added to your food - because you're in charge!
The food industry and the manufacturers of HFCS are greasing political palms with so much cash that it would be political suicide to fight the industry. So, it's up to you and me. Our lives depend on it!
Additional sources:
Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Apr;79(4):537-43
Nutr Metab (Lond). 2005 Feb 21;2(1):5
Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Apr;79(4):537-43
Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2005 Oct 18
Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2005 Jun;7(3):235-41
Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Nov;76(5):911-22
J Am Soc Nephrol. 2002 Dec;13(12):2888-97
* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.
Fat, calories, sodium & carbs aren't the ONLY things that lead to obesity
Most food manufacturers are savvy enough to make sure that the four important reference points on their labels are enough to convince you that their food is healthful. These reference points are the product's calorie content and the grams of fat, sodium and carbohydrates. If the product doesn't have hydrogenated oils, that's an added bonus for the company (with a prominent announcement on the label!). I suggest that you also see if there's high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in it.
Even if you don't eat sweets, you'll find HFCS in condiments, cereals, desserts, snack foods, salad dressings, frozen dinners, prepared vegetables dishes, almost all fast foods and other foods too numerous to list here. If you stick to diet foods and think you're getting off scott-free, you'll be surprised to find out that HFCS is frequently found in low-cal, sugar-free and other dietetic foods.
We're drowning in a tidal wave of high-fructose corn syrup!
HFCS is also in beverages, and that is probably the largest part of our consumption. With the exception of a few small manufacturers, the soda industry switched from sugar to HFCS during the last half of the 20th century. It's during this period that we started getting fatter and the diabetes epidemic started to spread rapidly. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the "consumption of HFCS increased over 1000% [from 1970 to 1990], far exceeding the changes in intake of any other food or food group."
Worse than sugar, it's almost like a food cult
HFCS generates changes in your body not normally found when you eat sucrose (table sugar). For one thing, high-fructose corn syrup gets converted to fat in your liver. If your liver is layered with fat, which seriously compromises the organ, you will find it hard to lose weight. A fatty liver can cause many other health issues, which I'll address in a future blog.
When you eat table sugar, your pancreas produces insulin to counter it. When you eat HFCS, your body doesn't have the correct insulin response. The Clinical Biochemistry Division of the Hospital for Sick Children at the University of Toronto states that HFCS "perturbs glucose metabolism and glucose uptake pathways," leading to insulin-resistance and possibly diabetes. With an improper insulin response, your body doesn't have the right amount of circulating leptin, a substance that helps regulate normal body weight and appetite. HFCS is telling your body it's hungry and that you haven't had enough to eat or drink. Your metabolism is being brainwashed!
HFCS can lead to gout
Fructose (including high-fructose corn syrup) increases uric acid, a by-product of metabolism, and high levels can lead to gout.
Gout used to be an illness of the rich and famous. Not anymore. It's a painful disease caused by too much uric acid. When uric acid accumulates in the body, usually the joints (often the big toe), the associated pain is excruciating. The slightest pressure or even a mild breeze can cause agony. The number of people who are limping, having foot pain or suffering a variety of joint disorders may actually be suffering from gout.
HFCS may also be related to kidney disorders & high blood pressure
High-fructose corn syrup affects the body in ways that we're just now discovering. In rodent tests, researchers in the Department of Nutrition at the University of California (Davis) found that HFCS also increases triglycerides. The accumulation of uric acid also causes high blood pressure, so we're back to the HFCS-induced uric acid increase. Your kidneys remove excess uric acid. If you have too much uric acid, your kidneys may not be up to the extra load. That might explain why kidney disorders are also on the rise, and high-fructose corn syrup, through the increase of uric acid, may be the culprit.
Avoidance is the only sane answer
Stop eating and drinking anything that contains high-fructose corn syrup! It's that simple.
Start reading labels. Prepare only fresh vegetables and meat. Everything you need for a healthy and satisfying diet requires virtually no manufacturing process. You won't have to worry about what's been added to your food - because you're in charge!
The food industry and the manufacturers of HFCS are greasing political palms with so much cash that it would be political suicide to fight the industry. So, it's up to you and me. Our lives depend on it!
Additional sources:
Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Apr;79(4):537-43
Nutr Metab (Lond). 2005 Feb 21;2(1):5
Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Apr;79(4):537-43
Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2005 Oct 18
Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2005 Jun;7(3):235-41
Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Nov;76(5):911-22
J Am Soc Nephrol. 2002 Dec;13(12):2888-97
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.
posted by Edith Gaylord | 5:30 AM
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