High Fructose Corn Syrup: The Dangers Exposed
When you look at the food items on the grocery store shelves and take time to read the label, high fructose corn syrup or similar seems to appear on most things.
It's as if it has become an integral part of everyone's diet and few realize the problems that it causes.
What is this ingredient and why should you avoid it if you truly want to lose weight and get healthy?
I investigate this common food additive to see how it affects health and why it could be the main reason you are gaining weight.
What is High Fructose Corn Syrup?
High-fructose corn sugar (HFCS) can be described as an artificial sugar made with corn syrup.
HFCS, as well as added sugar, are linked to other serious health issues such diabetes and heart disease.
If consumed in large quantities, the fructose found in HFCS could cause health problems.
Too Much Fructose
Before table sugar and high fructose corn syrup were affordable and easily available, the majority of people's diets had very low amounts of fructose, which was derived from natural sources such as fruits and vegetables.
Most starchy carbs like rice and potatoes are converted into glucose, the most basic form of carbohydrate. However, table sugar and the HFCS are roughly 50% glucose, 50% fructose.
Every cell of your body uses glucose for energy. It's also the primary fuel source for many processes and high intensity exercise.
To be used as fuel, fructose, which comes from high fructose Corn Syrup or table sugar, must be converted by the liver into glucose, glycogen (stored carbohydrates), or fat.
HFCS, just like regular table sugars, is a rich source for fructose. The intake of fructose has increased dramatically over the past 20 years.
Most of the adverse effects listed below can be attributed to excess fructose. They are applicable to both high fructose corn syrup (55% fructose), and plain table Sugar (50% fructose).
Low Nutrients
High fructose corn starch has zero nutritional value, just like other added sugars. Although it is rich in calories, it does not contain any essential nutrients.
Consuming HFCS reduces the total nutritional content of your food. This is because the more HFCS that you consume, you have less space for nutrient-dense foods.
A number of meal replacement diets like Nutrisystem do not use HFCS as an additive (read my Nutrisystem review). This is one advantage to opting for a diet meal delivery type of diet when it is not possible to switch to a more traditional whole food diet.
Below are some of the diseases and medical conditions that can be brought on by excessive consumption of HFCS:
Obesity and Weight Gain
Studies have shown that an excessive intake of sugar (including HFCS) plays a major role in obesity development.
One study found that healthy adults consume beverages containing glucose or fructose.
The fructose drinks did not stimulate areas of the brain that control appetite as much as the glucose drinks.
Visceral fat is also promoted by fructose. Visceral fat, which surrounds your organs, is the most damaging type of body fat. It is linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
In addition, the availability and cost of sugar and HFCS have influenced weight gain. Research shows that the average person now consumes over 500 calories daily from sugar. This is 300% higher than 50 years ago.
Diabetes
Diabetes can also result from insulin resistance when there is too much fructose or high fructose consumption.
Healthy people experience insulin levels that increase in response to the intake of sugars. It's job is to transport sugar out of their bloodstreams into their cells.
But, if you consume too much fructose regularly, your body may become resistant to insulin's effects.
This will reduce your body's ability control blood sugar levels. Long-term, insulin and blood sugar levels both increase.
HFCS has been associated with diabetes and other diseases such as heart disease and certain types of cancer.
Fatty Liver Disease
High fructose intake leads to increased liver fat.
One study, which included overweight men and women, found that sucrose-sweetened soft drinks for six months had a significantly higher liver fat percentage than water, milk, diet soda or water.
Another study also showed that fructose can cause liver fat to increase more than equal amounts glucose.
Long-term liver fat accumulation may lead to serious health issues, including type 2 diabetes and liver disease.
It is important to not confuse the harmful effects of fructose added sugar (including HFCS) with fructose from fruit. Consuming excessive fructose from whole fruits is difficult, as they are safe and healthy in reasonable amounts.
Other Diseases
The overconsumption and development of fructose has been associated with many serious illnesses.
Inflammation
Sugar and HFCS have been proven to cause inflammation. This can increase the risk of developing diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or cancer.
Additionally to inflammation, excess fructose could increase harmful substances called advanced glycocation end products (AGEs), that can damage your cells.
Gout
Excess HFCS can worsen inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and gout. This can be explained by an increase in inflammation and excess uric acid in the bloodstream.
Heart Disease
Given all the health problems and diseases that are linked to excessive sugar and HFCS intake, it is not surprising that researches have begun to link them with a higher risk of developing heart disease and a lower life expectancy.
Summary
In the last few decades, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), became affordable and more widely available. This explains the reason the food industry uses it so widely as a sweetener in foods.
Experts now link excessive consumption to many serious health problems, including obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and other issues.
Some home delivery diets do not use this as a sweetener, helping diets like Nutrisystem work much more effectively.
However, just buying packaged processed foods from the grocery store for convenience is not the way to good health or a slim waistline. You can improve your health by avoiding high-fructose corn syrup (and all added sugars) to lower your risk of developing diseases.
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