DR. MERCOLA AND HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) has petitioned the U.S. FDA to allow manufacturers the option of using the term corn sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.
In their press release on the subject, they claim that “independent research demonstrates that the current labeling is confusing to American consumers.â€
They blame “inexact scientific reports and inaccurate media accounts†for the current stigma associated with high fructose corn syrup.
In reality, as opposed to the CRA’s dream world, if you need to lose weight, or if you want to avoid diabetes and heart disease, high-fructose corn syrup is one type of sugar you’ll want to avoid.
Part of what makes HFCS such an unhealthy product is that it is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar.
The corn industry persistently claims that it is not much different than sugar and is perfectly safe, but we know otherwise.
The primary reason it’s so dangerous is that it is quite cheap to produce,  so it has been added to nearly all processed foods. The excessive consumption of fructose, such as HFCS, is a primary driving factor behind a number of health epidemics, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
Americans’ consumption of corn syrup has fallen to a 20-year low, probably due to consumer concerns that it is more harmful or more likely to cause obesity than ordinary sugar.
This is why the corn industry wants to sugar coat the fact that their product may be prematurely killing hundreds of thousands of Americans each year, and rename it to confuse people to keep using it – all in the name of trying to “clear up†confusion!
You have probably seen their new marketing campaign on television. Two new commercials try to alleviate shopper confusion, showing people who say they now understand that “whether it’s corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can’t tell the difference.†This is an absolutely brilliant marketing strategy and will work as the average consumer will not be smart enough to realize the difference.
However with your help, spreading the message through your Facebook accounts, your blogs and websites, and sharing it with your friends and family, we can sabotage their plans to manipulate and deceive you and the rest of the public.
Their latest strategy is aimed at seeking to defend their market and their profits, and your health depends on whether or not you buy into their smoke and mirrors routine.
The corn industry is still holding fast to the claim that all sugars are metabolized by your body in the same way, even though this outdated belief has been entirely SHATTERED in more recent years by a number of scientific studies.
The truth is, scientists HAVE linked the rising HFCS consumption to the epidemics of obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome in the U.S., and medical researchers HAVE pinpointed various health dangers associated with the consumption of HFCS specifically, compared to regular sugar.
This is why the corn industry is now scrambling to save face and profits – NOT because it’s really okay to consume an average of 59 pounds of HFCS a year.
Contrary to industry claims, your body does NOT recognize and treat all sugars the same. HFCS is a highly processed product that contains similar amounts of unbound fructose and glucose. Fructose and glucose are metabolized in very different ways in your body.
Glucose is metabolized in every cell of your body and is converted to blood glucose, while all fructose is metabolized in your liver, where it’s quickly converted to fat and cholesterol. (When a diet includes a large amount of fructose, it can therefore create fatty liver, and even cirrhosis.)
Sucrose, on the other hand, is a larger sugar molecule that is metabolized into glucose and fructose in your intestine.
Fructose is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar, and, because most fructose is consumed in liquid form (soda), its negative metabolic effects are further magnified.
Why does it turn to fat more readily than other sugar?
Most fats are formed in your liver, and when sugar enters your liver, it decides whether to store it, burn it or turn it into fat. However, researchers have discovered that fructose bypasses this process and turns directly into fat.
According to Dr. Elizabeth Parks, associate professor of clinical nutrition at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and lead author of a recent study on fructose in the Journal of Nutrition:
Our study shows for the first time the surprising speed with which humans make body fat from fructose. Once you start the process of fat synthesis from fructose, it’s hard to slow it down. The bottom line of this study is that fructose very quickly gets made into fat in the body.
The metabolic pathways used by fructose also generate uric acid. In fact, fructose typically generates uric acid within minutes of ingestion. When your uric acid level exceeds about 5.5 mg per dl, you have an increased risk for a host of diseases, including:
- Hypertension
- Kidney disease
- Insulin resistance, obesity, and diabetes
- Fatty liver
- Elevated triglycerides, elevated LDL, and cardiovascular disease
- For pregnant women, even preeclampsia
Other specific health problems associated with excessive fructose consumption include:
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
- An increase in triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels
- Liver disease
Name virtually any disease, and you will find elevated insulin levels is a primary risk factor. This is why, if you want to be healthy, let alone optimally healthy, you simply MUST restrict your fructose consumption.
|
|
In his book, The Sugar Fix, Dr. Johnson includes detailed tables showing the content of fructose in different foods — an information base that isn’t readily available when you’re trying to find out exactly how much fructose is in various foods. I encourage you to pick up a copy of this excellent resource. It is important to note however, that Dr. Johnson does promote.
Dr. Pinna says:
The bottom line is money and profit.
Common sugar, called SUCROSE, is made from sugar cane or sugar beets. Sugar cane and sugar beets are expensive.
Corn is cheap. The U.S. Government subsidizes corn.
Here is a graph showing how SUCROSE or REFINED SUGAR is going down and HFCS is going up in usage.
You can see two things in this chart.
Total sugar has gone up from 120 to 150.
AND
HFCS has gone up while REFINED SUGAR has gone down.
Simultaneously, there is an obesity epidemic on the planet. This tells me that HFCS is the cause of obesity. Fructose is being used more than ever, and it enters the body and quickly turns to fat. At the same time, the manufacturers of HFCS are making a fortune.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter in order to receive timely messages!
Popularity: 4% [?]
Filed Under: Added Sugar • Food
