Does high-fructose corn syrup make you fatter than sugar? See this new study and you decide...
by Mike Geary - Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-selling program: The Truth about Six-Pack Abs
A "Corny" Lie?
Unless you've been under a rock for the last year or two, you've
undoubtedly seen the massive media campaign that the Corn Refiners
Association (the CRA) has been running on TV commercials, online ads,
etc trying to "clean up" the poor public image of high-fructose corn
syrup (HFCS).
They have even tried a re-branding campaign trying to change the name to "corn sugar" instead of high-fructose corn syrup.
In addition, the TV commercials try to convince you that HFCS is "no
worse than sugar", and even try to imply that it is somehow 'natural',
with this phrase:
"It's made from corn, has no artificial ingredients, has the same calories as sugar and is okay to eat in moderation"
REALLY? I'd say that it's a downright LIE to say that HFCS has no
artificial ingredients if you've ever seen how HFCS is refined and
processed and the chemicals involved in that process. Watch the
entertaining documentary King Corn and you'll see the NASTY chemicals involved in refining HFCS!
And let's not forget that HFCS is almost always made from Genetically Modified corn. Not so "natural" anymore huh!
In response to this CRA propaganda campaign to revamp the image of
HFCS, Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in
the Public Interest stated: "High-fructose corn syrup starts out as
cornstarch, which is chemically or enzymatically degraded to glucose and
some short polymers of glucose. Another enzyme is then used to convert
varying fractions of glucose into fructose... High-fructose corn syrup
just doesn't exist in nature".
What about the debate: Is High-Fructose Corn Syrup worse for you than sugar?
This seems to have been an ongoing debate for the last couple years,
but I personally think it's a stupid debate... In terms of your health
and your waistline, they are BOTH pure evil! Over time, with excess
consumption of either HFCS or sugar, they can both lead to diabetes,
obesity, and other major health problems, including premature aging, and
a bulging belly!
However, with that said, I personally avoid HFCS at all costs, but I don't necessarily avoid sugar altogether. I minimize sugar
greatly, but I don't avoid it like I avoid HFCS. Have I mentioned that
I haven't had a soda pop since I was a teenager... not one! Two things
that I try to avoid almost 100% are HFCS and trans fats... because they
are easily two of the MOST evil food additives that cause the
most damage from a biochemical standpoint internally in your body (keep
that in mind when you're about to eat or drink them, and it's easy to
say no).
The only HFCS I get is probably the minor amounts that I might get in
ketchup at a restaurant (sorry, I'm not giving up my ketchup... but I
do get organic ketchup at home, which has no HFCS). But other than
ketchup at a restaurant, I stay away from anything and everything with
HFCS in it, including store-bought salad dressings which are often laced
with high amounts of HFCS. Instead, I make my own healthy lean-body salad dressings at home.
The reason that I avoid HFCS more than I avoid plain sugar is that there is just too much evidence at this point that your body DOES process HFCS differently than sugar... despite the propaganda that the Corn Refiners Association is trying to shove down your throat with their ads.
New Princeton Study reveals that HFCS can stimulate more weight gain than sugar
Leave it to those geniuses at Princeton to give us some good evidence that HFCS can make you fatter than sugar! In a 2010 Princeton University study, researchers found that rats given water
sweetened with HFCS gained significantly more weight than those given
water sweetened with plain sugar, despite calorie intake being the same
between both groups.
Princeton researchers also state: "In addition to causing
significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of
high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat,
especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides".
And what about those claims by the Corn Refiners Association that
HFCS is "no worse than sugar"? Well, let's get past the propaganda, and
hear what an actual researcher has to say:
According to professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction... "Some
people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than
other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our
results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the
conditions of our tests. When rats are drinking high-fructose corn
syrup at levels well below
those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across
the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this;
they don't all gain extra weight."
Princeton researchers also noted that the HFCS groups in the studies
gained significant amounts of visceral fat around the belly. As you
might know, visceral fat is more deadly than subcutaneous fat and is a serious health concern as it releases inflammatory molecules into your system.
One reason that HFCS appears to cause more weight gain than plain
sugar is that HFCS doesn't trigger a leptin response in the body. This
means that it won't signal the body to decrease appetite despite those
HFCS calories that were consumed.
Another reason that HFCS affects our bodies differently is this...
according to Princeton researchers, although HFCS only has 10% more
fructose than table sugar (55% fructose content vs 50% fructose content
in sugar), the fructose in HFCS is more sinister... According to Princeton, "as
a result of the manufacturing process for high-fructose corn syrup, the
fructose molecules in the sweetener are free and unbound, ready for
fast absorption and utilization. In contrast, every fructose molecule in
sucrose that comes from cane sugar or beet sugar is bound to a
corresponding glucose molecule and must go through an extra metabolic
step before it can be utilized."
Aha... very interesting!
Well, I hope that's enough evidence for you to simply try to fully
avoid HFCS from now on. Again, this doesn't mean eating loads of table
sugar is good for you either (that should be obvious), but these studies
clearly show that HFCS is at least one step WORSE for you than sugar.
And you also know that HFCS contributes to more abdominal fat, so with
that said, why in the world would you ever want to touch another soda
again!
You also now know that the deceptive advertisments by the Corn
Refiners Association have basically been LYING to you with their
propaganda that "HFCS is no worse for you than sugar". Now you know the
truth.
Please share this article with your friends and family to help them avoid the dangers of HFCS
Sunday 11 May 2014
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