High Fructose Corn Syrup: Why the World's Most Popular Sweetener is
Enemy #1 to Your Health and Waistline
by SixWise.com
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/09/28/fructose.htm
Prior to 1996, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was virtually
non-existent in Americans' diets. When it came to sweeteners, the
number one version on the market was sucrose, or table sugar. But
that all changed after the invention of high-fructose corn syrup.
Made from corn starch through a complicated process, HFCS emerged as
a cheaper, significantly sweeter, easy to transport and easy to use
(especially in beverages, since it's a liquid) alternative to sugar.
Even supposedly "healthy" bottled teas and sports drinks are usually
sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup.
Today, sweeteners made from corn are the most widely used -- they
account for 55 percent of the sweetener market and bring in $4.5
billion in sales each year. And consumption continues to grow. In
2001, the average American consumed almost 63 pounds of HFCS (up from
zero in 1966).
In fact, between 1970 and 1990, Americans' intake of HFCS increased
more than 1,000 percent - -which is far greater than changes in
intake for any other food, according to an article in the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup is Everywhere
Soft drinks, fruit juices and other sweet beverages (including sports
and energy drinks) are almost always sweetened with HFCS. In fact,
HFCS is the only caloric sweetener used in soft drinks.
But, this versatile sweetener doesn't stop there. It's also in
countless other products -- many that you wouldn't expect unless you
read the label. These include baked goods, cookies, jams and jellies,
ketchup, pasta sauce, salad dressing, bread, condiments and many
others.
Why HFCS May be Worse for You Than Sugar
High-fructose corn syrup is not the same as the corn syrup you buy to
make pies. Whereas regular corn syrup is all glucose, HFCS is
composed of half glucose and half fructose.
Says George A. Bray, former director of Louisiana State University's
Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, "Fructose is
absorbed differently [than other sugars]. It doesn't register in the
body metabolically the same way that glucose does."
When glucose is consumed, a set of reactions occur in the body
allowing it to be used as energy, and production of leptin, a hormone
that helps control appetite and fat storage, is increased. Meanwhile,
ghrelin, a stomach hormone, is reduced, which is thought to help
hunger go away.
Many experts agree high-fructose corn syrup, particularly in soft
drinks, is at least partly responsible for America's obesity
epidemic.
When fructose is consumed, however, it "appears to behave more like
fat with respect to the hormones involved in body weight regulation,"
explains Peter Havel, associate professor of nutrition at the
University of California, Davis. "Fructose doesn't stimulate insulin
secretion. It doesn't increase leptin production or suppress
production of ghrelin. That suggests that consuming a lot of
fructose, like consuming too much fat, could contribute to weight
gain."
Many experts have, in fact, suggested that HFCS, particularly those
in soft drinks, are at least partly responsible for the obesity
epidemic in America.
Drink a Lot of Sweet Drinks? Your Weight May be at Risk
According to an analysis of food consumption patterns from 1967 to
2000 by Bray and colleagues, published in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition, Bray said, "In examining this data, the
importance of the rising intake of high-fructose corn syrup was
obvious. It did not exist before 1970. From that point, there was a
rapid rise in this country in its use during the late 1970s and 1980s
coincidental with the epidemic of obesity." He goes on:
"Unlike glucose, fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion or
enhance leptin production. Because insulin and leptin act as key
afferent signals in the regulation of food intake and body weight,
this suggests that dietary fructose may contribute to increased
energy intake and weight gain. Furthermore, calorically sweetened
beverages may enhance caloric overconsumption. Thus, the increase in
consumption of HFCS has a temporal relation to the epidemic of
obesity, and the overconsumption of HFCS in calorically sweetened
beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity."
Another study, this one by researchers at the Children's Hospital
Boston, found that every additional 8-ounce soft drink in a day
increased school kids' risks of being obese by 60 percent.
More Than Just Weight Gain
Along with helping Americans pack on more pounds, HFCS has been
linked to other health problems, including:
* Increased levels of triglycerides, which is linked to an increased
risk of heart disease. A study by the University of Minnesota found
that fructose "produced significantly higher [blood] levels" of
triglycerides in men than did glucose.
* Accelerated bone loss. A study by the USDA, published in the
Journal of the American College of Nutrition, found that fructose may
alter the body's balance of magnesium, leading to increased bone
loss.
* A review of multiple studies by Havel and colleagues, published in
the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that, in animals,
consuming large amounts of HFCS:
o Induced insulin resistance
o Impaired glucose tolerance
o Produced high levels of insulin
o Boosted a dangerous fat in the blood
o Caused high blood pressure
If You Want to Give Up HFCS ...
The first thing to do is to give up all soft drinks and other
sweetened beverages that contain it. Then start checking labels
meticulously. Even products that aren't thought of as "sweet' often
contain it (like croutons and flavored almond slices for salads).
Fortunately, as more and more consumers opt to stay away from HFCS,
there are product alternatives out there. Organic pasta sauce and
ketchup, for instance, are much less likely to contain HFCS than
regular varieties. Look for them at your favorite health food store
or even in the "natural" section of your local grocery store.
Recommended Reading
If Your Weight is an Issue, This Is (By Far) the Most Important
"Secret" You Should Know
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/09/21/weight.htm
Why Some People Never Get Tired, and How You Can Join Their Ranks
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/09/07/energy.htm
Sources
Washington Post: Sweet but Not so Innocent?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A8003-2003Mar10?language=printer
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 79, No. 4, 537-543,
April 2004
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/79/4/537
The Ledger September 20, 2005
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050920/NEWS/509200303/1021
High-fructose Corn Sweeteners Partly Responsible for Obesity
http://sheknows.com/about/Detailed/3487.htm
The Murky World of High-Fructose Corn Syrup
http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup.html
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