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HFCS high fructose corn syrup is responsible for a dangerous epidemic of obesity and diabetes. People under the age of 45 are “children of the corn.” Like Stephen King's thriller, they are reaping the consequences...
...of the
food industry’s high fructose corn syrup. They were children or young adults in
the late 70s, 80s and 90s when high fructose corn syrup was introduced to the
American food supply as a cheap replacement for sugar. Now many of them are
struggling with an epidemic of obesity and diabetes, also being referred to as
diabesity.
In a recent chemical analysis of eleven carbonated soft drinks sweetened with
high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), researchers from Rutgers University found very
high levels of reactive carbonyls.
Reactive carbonyls, which have been linked to tissue damage and complications of
diabetes, are elevated in the blood of people with diabetes. A single can of
soda, however, has five times that concentration of reactive carbonyls.
Old-fashioned table sugar, on the other hand, has no reactive carbonyls.
When people from Iceland visit the United States, the first thing they notice is
the number of fat people they see. The average weight of American women (164
pounds) and men (191 pounds) has increased 25 pounds since 1960. We are the
fattest people on earth, thanks to Coke, Pepsi and ADM - Archer Daniels
Midland - the largest producer of HFCS.
Due to federal agribusiness subsidies, every dollar of profits earned by ADM's
corn sweetener operation costs consumers $10. Of the $113.6 billion in taxpayer
commodity subsidy payments distributed by the USDA between 1995 and 2004, corn
drew $41.8 billion -- more than cotton, soy, and rice combined. What's wrong
with this picture? Maybe it's the Iowa presidential primary. Where do the
presidential candidates and your congress people stand on corn subsidies? Who
sucks up to ADM?
The occurrence of new cases of type 2 diabetes has doubled over the past three
decades, according to a report in the American Heart Association's journal
Circulation - June 2006. The percentage of overweight children in the United
States has tripled since 1980. The epidemic of type 2 diabetes cases across the
nation is likely to lead to a substantially higher incidence of strokes among
middle-aged adults and newly diagnosed diabetics.
"Most, but not all, of the increase in diabetes occurred in people who were
obese - those with a body mass index of 30 or more," according to the National
Lung, Heart, and Blood Institute in Framingham, Massachusetts.
A person with diabetes has a 50 percent chance of having a heart attack compared
with a risk of 5 percent for people without diabetes or who don’t know if they
have a vascular disease. In fact, diabetes puts you at the same risk for a heart
attack as a non-diabetic who has had a heart attack and whose risk of another is
substantially higher.
More than one out of every three individuals in the United States has diabetes
or impaired fasting glucose, a condition that increases the risk of developing
diabetes.
The CDC estimates that diabetes costs the United States $92 billion in
medical costs and $40 billion in indirect costs.
It is getting difficult to find a food product at the grocery store or McDonalds
that is not loaded with HFCS. One 20-ounce bottle of Coke, Pepsi, Mt Dew, Sprite
or Dr. Pepper is the equivalent of pouring 17 teaspoons of sugar straight into
your body. HFCS is the leading ingredient after carbonated water in these
beverages. Women who drink at least one regular soda a day are 85 percent more
likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who drink less. It also leads to
tooth decay.
High Fructose Corn Syrup is found in fruit drinks like Capri Sun, Sunny Delight,
Snapple, Hawaiian Punch, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice and in most energy drinks.
It is also found in chocolate drinks like Yoohoo, Arizona Tea, SoBe Beverages,
cookies, ice cream, Campbell soup, Heinz Ketchup, Ragu, Aunt Jemima Syrup,
Hershey's Syrup, Breyers Yogurt, Kraft Barbecue Sauce, Smucker's Preserves and
some breakfast cereals.
High fructose corn syrup masquerades under the name of crystalline fructose in
Glaceau Vitamin Water and some energy drinks. Naive teenagers guzzle this
"poison" because they think it is good for them. Then they go on a diet and
wonder why they are still gaining weight.
Have you seen the new commercials on TV for Capri Sun? The ad suggests that
Capri Sun is now healthy for you because they have added antioxidants. As long
as they continue to sweeten Capri Sun with HFCS, they are lying to you.
People who use HFCS as a sweetener increase their triglycerides 32 percent
relative to people who use mostly sugar, according to University of Minnesota
professor John Bantle. The body metabolizes high fructose corn syrup differently
than sugar. It blunts the body's ability to recognize when it is full and
increases a person's appetite.
High Fructose Corn Syrup puts people at risk for metabolic syndrome. According
to the Mayo Clinic, "Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur
together, increasing your risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Having
just one of these conditions — increased blood pressure, elevated insulin
levels, excess body fat around the waist or abnormal cholesterol levels —
contributes to your risk of serious disease. In combination, your risk is even
greater."
There is a a rise in uric acid in the bloodstream that occurs after fructose is
consumed. The temporary spike of HFCS blocks the action of insulin, which
typically regulates how body cells use and store sugar and other food nutrients
for energy. If uric acid levels are frequently elevated, over time features of
metabolic syndrome may develop, including high blood pressure, obesity and
elevated blood cholesterol levels.
Research by the U. S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) reveals that high fructose diets shorten the life span of
laboratory mice from the normal two years to a mere five weeks.
Overweight Hispanic-American children who consume lots of sugary foods and
drinks show signs of pancreatic beta cell decline - a forerunner of type 2
diabetes.
Researchers at the University of Southern California came to that conclusion
after studying 63 overweight Hispanic children, ages 9 to 13, all without
diabetes. The team tracked the children's eating habits and also took blood
samples before and after giving them sweets.
Beta cells in the pancreas create insulin in response to sugar obtained from
food. When beta cells start to function less effectively, they produce less
insulin, leading ultimately to diabetes. The USC team found that about 40
percent of the sweets consumed by the children in this study came from sugary
drinks such as soda or sweetened juices.
If you compare the population of non-diabetics to diabetics, the average life
span is 10 years less. There are many complications that occur with diabetes.
They include coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, blindness,
kidney disease and loss of sensation in the hands and feet.
Older people may have something to worry about also. The leading theory about
the cause of Alzheimer's Disease implicates insulin. Insulin concentrations in
the brain drop significantly in early Alzheimer's and continue to fall as the
disease worsens, suggesting that Alzheimer's Disease may be Type 3 diabetes.
Researchers found that insulin is not just produced in the pancreas, but also in
the brain.
If you wish to prevent diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, the prudent thing to do
is to read the label of food items and beverages before you buy them at the
store. If you see High Fructose Corn Syrup or crystalline fructose - Don't Buy
It!
One tip is to try an ethnic grocery store - such as an Asian or Latino food
store, if you have trouble finding HFCS free foods that you like. The American
food industry doesn't give two "toots" about your health.
According to Dr. Mark Hyman, MD "Immediate action is needed to address this
problem on a societal level. The time for blaming the victim, for putting the
entire responsibility of the obesity epidemic on a gluttonous population is
over. The science is clear, and we have the means to save lives and millions in
health care dollars.”
Question of the decade: Why doesn't the FDA approve
stevia as a sweetener? Stevia
was introduced in the 1970s in Japan and accounts for over 40% of the sweetener
market there. It is also commonly used in South America. Only 24 percent of
Japanese aged 15 and older are believed to be overweight, compared to over 65
percent of adults in the United States.
In 1991, at the request of an anonymous complaint, the FDA labeled stevia as an
unsafe food additive. It is truly absurd that the medical establishment and
government watch dogs in the U.S. are so myopic as to believe that if a product
has not been scientifically proven safe inside the borders of the U.S., then it
is dangerous until proven otherwise. What's wrong with this picture?
According to Dr. William Dietz
of the CDC (Center for Disease Control), in the February 2006 issue of the
Journal of Pediatrics, "Consumption of excess calories can produce weight gain.
The high fructose content of sugar-sweetened beverages may promote hepatic
lipogenesis, and the reduced insulinogenic response may decrease the inhibitory
effects of these sugar-sweetened beverages on food intake. In addition,
significant weight gain may occur when carbohydrates are consumed as liquids
rather than as solids."
Soft drinking teens pile on pounds and obesity
According to a study released
March 6, 2006, the number of overweight children is on the rise worldwide and by
the end of the decade the number of overweight children will have caused a
strain on our health system as they age. It is estimated that just under half of
the children in North and South America will be overweight by 2010, up from
about 28%. In Europe, about 38% of the children will be overweight, compared to
25% currently.
Dr. James said researchers had analyzed reports from 1980 to 2005 as well as
World Health Organization data. They found data for trends over time covering
school-age populations in 25 countries and preschool-age children in 42
countries.
In the drinks study, a team at Boston's Children's Hospital monitored the weight
of 103 teenagers, putting half of them on unsweetened or artificially-sweetened
drinks and letting the other half continue to consume sugary drinks. They
concluded that a single 330ml can a day of sweetened drinks could lead teens to
put on 1 pound every three or four weeks.
News Article
Diabetes Risk Factors
As a footnote, a new Italian study suggests Aspartame (NutraSweet) causes cancer in rats at levels currently approved for humans.
The Dangers of Corn Oil
A study at the San Francisco VA Medical Center demonstrates that omega-6 fatty
acids such as the fat found in corn oil promote the growth of prostate tumor
cells in the laboratory.
Working with human prostate cancer cells in tissue culture, researchers
identified for the first time a direct chain of causation: When introduced into
prostate tumor cells in culture, omega-6 fatty acid causes the production of
cPLA2, which then causes the production of the enzyme COX2. In turn, COX2
stimulates the release of PGE2, a hormone-like molecule that promotes cell
growth.
What's important about this is that omega-6 fatty acids are found in corn oil
and most of the oils used in bakery goods, which means that if you're eating a
diet high in omega-6 fatty acids, it's possible that you're turning on this
cancer cascade, which has been shown to be a common denominator in the growth of
prostate, colorectal, and some breast cancers.
The study points out that 60 years ago in the United States, the dietary ratio
of omega-6 to omega-3, a beneficial fatty acid, was 1 to 2. Today, the ratio is
25 to 1. Over that same 60 years, the incidence of prostate cancer in the U.S.
has increased steadily.
This is one more reason it is important to pay attention to the fats that you
are eating. Substitute olive oil whenever possible, and take omega 3 fish oil
capsules daily. Remember, always be good to yourself.
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