The Rover Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 High Fructose Corn Syrup: Sweet Defeat? By Gailon Totheroh CBN News Science and Medical Reporter February 4, 2009 When the word sugar comes to mind, most of us immediately think of the white stuff we use on cereal, in coffee or tea, and for baking. That's technically sucrose, a product refined from sugar cane or sugar beets. But one major sweetener can't be found in a sugar bowl, just in food and drinks. It's known as corn syrup, most commonly as high fructose corn syrup, or simply HFCS. One recent addition to the huge number of HFCS-sweetened food items is Hannah Montana cereal. With marketing appeal, some kids may pester their mothers to try it. But should moms give in and buy a product laden with corn syrup? What we know as table sugar, that sucrose, used to be king. Then this tasty syrup flooded the market. Medical doctor Dana Flavin is head of the Foundation for Collaborative Medicine and Research. She says, starting in the 1960s, HFCS became increasingly popular. Part of the draw was not only its sweetness, "It was a good substitute, an inexpensive substitute for sugar and we didn't have to rely on imports of sugar. We could just go ahead and use the corn syrup." The government helped make corn syrup an even bigger hit with manufacturers and consumers. Corn subsidies helped make it cheaper; tariffs and quotas doubled the market price of table sugar. Plus HFCS has a longer shelf life, a boon for manufacturers. Those advantages led to widespread use in a multitude of grocery items. Sodas are actually the number one use. But the range of products includes salad dressings, barbecue sauces, whole grain breads, pasta sauces, hot dogs, breakfast cereals, peanut butter, jams, jellies, yogurt, and much more. Even consumers who avoid sodas may be taking in much more than they realize. Stephen Sinatra is the well-respected cardiologist and author of many books as well as a wellness letter, "Dr. Sinatra's Heart, Health, & Nutrition." One of his books, "Metabolic Cardiology," covers how the body is best energized; he says HFCS interferes with optimum metabolism. In fact, Sinatra has long denounced HFCS, but finds it hard to avoid. He even reads labels assiduously, "The other day when I ate something, there was high fructose corn syrup in it and I got rid of it immediately." Toxins Revealed When the corn syrup wave was getting under way, Flavin worked in the foods division at the Food and Drug Administration. For years, she had few concerns about the sweetener until she needed research for an article in Life Extension magazine, "The Metabolic Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup." An avid reader of scientific literature for decades, Flavin was shocked, "I was floored because I didn't want to believe it. And I'm a toxicologist from FDA and a physician. And I'm thinking, 'Oh, this is ridiculous, this is just corn syrup. I wish it were just corn syrup and were just that simple, but it's much more complicated." Actually, Sinatra and Flavin think excessive table sugar and corn syrup are both bad. But they say recent research shows corn syrup is worse. The reason is unclear, but the manufacturing of corn syrup makes it chemically different than table sugar. With sucrose, glucose and fructose are chemically bonded to each other and then separated in digestion. With HFCS, the sugars are unbound, giving free glucose and free fructose before digestion enters the picture. Newly revealed is that some of the manufacturing is adding mercury to HFCS from chemicals used in processing. Small amounts of this toxic metal may appear in half or more of the products that use significant quantities of HFCS. The amounts are low, falling below government safety levels. Some critics suggest there may be other contaminants as well, but that has not been confirmed. Fructose and the Body The basic problem with high fructose corn syrup is the fructose itself. The body processes fructose more slowly than regular table sugar. In the liver, the body turns fructose into fat rather than burning it for energy. Flavin comments, "And so you start developing what they call fatty liver. Now fatty liver can start also changing into a less effective liver that's not functioning properly." A fatty liver encourages weight gain. In addition, Flavin says fructose compounds obesity by increasing hunger, "So you do eat more. And then you have a greater appetite because your body's saying, 'I haven't had enough.' And your body is being fooled by a whole chemical imbalance." Sinatra, the cardiologist, says in that same process, insulin, the body's sugar manager goes haywire, "High fructose corn syrup is very sweet. It elicits an insulin response, and remember insulin is the number one risk factor for cardiovascular disease." Health Problems That means increasing the potential for deadly strokes and heart attacks. And insulin problems are at the heart of diabetes and all its health complications: Analysts performed a retrospective study of diet and this type of diabetes over the years 1909 to 1997. The found increased corn syrup consumption and less fiber intake correlated with an increase of type 2 diabetes by a factor of 20. Flavin worries about what's happening to the nation's children. Kids and teens consume more corn-sweetened soft drinks than any other age group. And that makes them much more likely to develop diabetes. The fructose in the corn syrup interacts with the carbonation to form substances called carbonyls. Carbonyls are not only toxic, but have been linked to cell damage leading to diabetes in children. According to the Institute of Medicine, children born in 2000 have a high lifetime risk for developing type 2 diabetes. That risk is 30 percent for boys and 40 percent for girls. Sinatra says most doctors don't recognize high fructose consumption as the cause of health problems in adults. Instead they treat symptoms like high blood pressure or high cholesterol as diseases in themselves, "He or she may prescribe drugs when only the best treatment is loss of weight, exercise, and restriction of simple carbohydrates -- sugars -- and high fructose corn syrup is at the top of the list." Flavin says we can't as a society ignore the degradation to our health, "When you start seeing these changes over time -- seeing this in the animal models and then you start seeing the population becoming more and more obese, more and more diabetic, we really need to start re-evaluating this." Experts say any fructose in your diet should come from eating whole fruit, in moderation. But for optimal health, put a lid on the sugar in general. And stay away from what many doctors are calling the most dangerous kind of sugar, high fructose corn syrup. http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/533279.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knebby Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 On the same subject - stay away from aspartame. Poison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 On the same subject - stay away from aspartame. Poison. Yes it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marolyn Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 what's mildly amusing is that this is supposedly "news"...more like "old news" in the health community...just like trans fats only became news recently when that information has been out there for 20 yrs...maybe they will eventually ban nitrates/nitrites and msg someday as well when they eventually trickle out that "news"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bong-Man Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I've been drinking the Mexican Coke that's made with actual sugar. It's also in a glass bottle, which is the real reason I drink it. Anything but plastic, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rover Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 what's mildly amusing is that this is supposedly "news"...more like "old news" in the health community...just like trans fats only became news recently when that information has been out there for 20 yrs...maybe they will eventually ban nitrates/nitrites and msg someday as well when they eventually trickle out that "news"... But, every day.... I see the plump guzzling their big gulp cokes.... and what's worst, they have bought the BIG gulp for their 4 and 5 year olds to drink..... For the poor.... I suppose High Fructose Corn Syrup is cheaper than---- presciption drugs..... But wait..... kids don't need suger to behave.... just LOVING discipline.... Like the young mother with three young children at the chekout line.... The three little girls did not fight, or mis-behave the whole 10 minutes that it took for them to get checked out. The mother was not "feeding" them sweets, nor did the children ask for any.... even though I was eating a Twix bar right behind them.... I paid a compliment to the mother.... on her patience with young children, saying how well behaved they were.... Her reply... "Oh, they're Home-Schooled....this is just another day for them...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rover Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 On the same subject - stay away from aspartame. Poison. Absolutely..... When I stopped drinking soft drinks.... years ago.... It was Diet Coke... with aspartame, that gave me headaches, that was 'the last straw'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 One of my children is very sensitive to food dyes (behavior wise; red and yellow in particular), and chocolate. Cheetos make 2 of my kids bounce off the walls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Absolutely..... When I stopped drinking soft drinks.... years ago.... It was Diet Coke... with aspartame, that gave me headaches, that was 'the last straw'. I'm prone to migraines and aspartame is known to cause them so for that amongst other reasons, I gave it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggie1971 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I've been drinking the Mexican Coke that's made with actual sugar. It's also in a glass bottle, which is the real reason I drink it. Anything but plastic, please. I've managed to find Mexican Cokes at a Kroger not far from where I live. They taste like Cokes did before 1985 when they changed the formula, then brought it back, but with corn syrup instead of refined sugar as the sweetner. The CC Company of course insisted it was the same thing....Pure bulls--t. Mexican Cokes kept really cold are truly the real thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarlaxle 56 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I thought everyone already knew this shit was everywhere....I have known for a while. (doesn't stop me from consuming it) Though, this stuff is pretty good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Soda In November 2006, Jones Soda announced that the company would be transitioning to use pure cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in its products. On January 22, 2007, Jones Pure Cane Soda was launched in 12 ounce cans. This would be unique in the carbonated soft drink category compared to other national brands that are sweetened with corn syrup. By April 2007, all of the company's products switched to cane sugar, except for its energy drinks, which changed that fall.[2] As of March 2007, a 12 ounce bottle of Jones Pure Cane Soda Root Beer lists in its ingredients "inverted cane sugar", also known as inverted sugar syrup, which, like HFCS, is a mixture of fructose and glucose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzldoc Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I've been drinking the Mexican Coke that's made with actual sugar. It's also in a glass bottle, which is the real reason I drink it. Anything but plastic, please. FNA brotha, I've gotten rid of everything plastic with the exception of a few food storage containers. Give me glass any time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepyep Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Hi all, Friend! Foe,oh shoot, I don't know? What the f*** is on sale? Jack&Jim, nor any beer has any of that in it. KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I did a little googling and realized many, if not most, side effects of asparame are also symptoms of (peri)menopause I have now gone 2 weeks without any aspartame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Is this what sweetens alot of tea's like Snapple and So Be? I use alot of honey in my regular hot tea. It's what they use in diet drinks to sweeten it. Honey is great in hot tea. I sometimes have that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pb Derigable Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I almost ran an apprentice out of the union because he broke my glass i used to pour 99cent RC cola 2-liter when i was doing paper work and such. I used to bring a case, but thievery and my own nice nature caused me to by a case almost everyday. I drink way too much pop. I usually go though a 2liter at work everyday and a 2-liter at home every other day. In the summer I go buy Kool-aid instead of pop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 The hardest thing to give up were actually my light flavored yogurts; as I'd already cut back to almost no diet sodas. I've been buying the large containers of plain, fat free yogurt and adding my own fruit. We also haven't bought any chips this week so I've been going cold turkey on all the bad stuff at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PennyLane Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 High Fructose Corn syrup is killing Americans. This is one ingredient is causing Americans obesity and diabetes. This ingredient should be taken out of all our foods. Just read the labels on processed foods and high fructose corn syrup is always listed with other ingredients, which I don't have clue what they are. Theory, if one can't pronounce it - don't eat it. I wonder if we are eating real food or is most of our food chemically based which may be the leading cause of obesity in this country? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 We're definitely eating much closer to the ground than before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGDAN Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 We're definitely eating much closer to the ground than before You Japaneese then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 You Japaneese then? No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdistancewinner Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 That I'm aware of, we don't really use High Fructose Corn Syrup in Britain, at least, not in our Coke. So, when it's Passover for Jews in the U.S their 'Kosher' Coke is actually Britain's 'normal' Coke - since it's sweetened with natural sugars. Whenever I go to the US, Coke doesn't taste like the UK version. There's definately a slight difference in taste. It's been a while since I had the US version, but I can say that it has a slight aftertaste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 That I'm aware of, we don't really use High Fructose Corn Syrup in Britain, at least, not in our Coke. So, when it's Passover for Jews in the U.S their 'Kosher' Coke is actually Britain's 'normal' Coke - since it's sweetened with natural sugars. Whenever I go to the US, Coke doesn't taste like the UK version. There's definately a slight difference in taste. It's been a while since I had the US version, but I can say that it has a slight aftertaste. I didn't know that - I don't drink it but I'm curious as to the difference in taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrycja Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 About aspartame, I knew of a guy who got a severe seizure because of it. Interesting story of how it was rubber-stamped as 'acceptable' for human consumption in soft drinks & other goods during Reagan's (?) era. I cut it out completely because it just tasted very weird and gave me massive headaches. Listen to your body. Ok good night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rover Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/25/corn.syrup.sugar/ Latest high-fructose corn syrup study generates buzz, debate By Hanna Raskin, Special to CNN March 25, 2010 -- Updated 1450 GMT (2250 HKT) (CNN) -- Acolytes of "Food Rules" guru Michael Pollan and other well-meaning foodies who've made corn a scapegoat for the nation's health crises, this week welcomed a new study from Princeton University that suggests high-fructose corn syrup causes more significant weight gain than table sugar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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