Guest guest Posted May 2, 2004 Report Share Posted May 2, 2004 Dear Members, I got this following article from an internet site and thought it will be useful to those who buy packaged food. High Fructose Corn Syrup is added to a lot of food items. Regards. Swamy ---------------------------- What's Worse Than Sugar? By Mark Francis Cohen April 2004 No one knows if the craze for low-carb diets will lead to a slimmer America. But it could at least take the sizzle out of our love affair with sugar, the most notorious carbohydrate of them all. The perils of sugar have been understood for years, but now there's evidence of a new and even more dangerous consequence of our craving for sweets. Dietary experts and scientists are singling out one in particular—high-fructose corn syrup—as a reason for the startling rise in obesity in America and a related increase in diabetes cases. " I think it's a huge problem, " says Richard Anderson, a scientist at the federal Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Md. " High-fructose corn syrup is metabolized differently than other sugars, and it has a different effect on health. " High-fructose corn syrup is not the bottled stuff you buy at the grocery store to make pecan pie or jelly. It's an additive that's cheaper and easier to use than sugar, making it the leading sweetener in sodas and fruit juices. It turns up in everything from pizza and yogurt to breakfast cereal, baby food and beer. Food manufacturers began substituting high-fructose corn syrup for sugar in the 1970s. Its use skyrocketed in the 1990s, when people turned to low-fat foods and forgot about calories and sugar content. Today annual consumption of the sweetener tops 60 pounds per person in this country, up from only about half a pound in 1970, the U.S. Agriculture Department reports. Americans swallow more of it than regular sugar. " There's something important in the fact that the increase in the use of high-fructose corn syrup coincides with the obesity epidemic in this country, " says George Bray, M.D., a diabetes expert and professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. " [The coincidence] is not easily explained away. " Others think the additive is getting a bad rap. " There's no evidence that high-fructose corn syrup does anything harmful to people, " says Maureen Storey, director of Virginia Tech's Center for Food and Nutrition Policy, which receives some of its funding from food producers and the federal government. " It's just a sweetener. " Storey and other health experts point out that a lack of exercise, not just calories, contributes to obesity. " People should burn the same amount of calories they are eating to maintain their weight, " she says. As scientists have begun scrutinizing the product, the Corn Growers Association has established a website (www.hfcsfacts.com) to counter criticism. The site quotes industry advocates who say that high-fructose corn syrup is essentially the same as table sugar, or sucrose, because each is about 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose. Nevertheless, sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, which is created through an intricate process that transforms corn starch into a thick, clear liquid, are not the same. Anderson says, " [it] upsets me when people say there's no difference. There's a big difference. " The syrup contains about 5 percent more fructose than sugar does—not a great amount but significant because fructose is sweeter and, studies suggest, digested differently. Sugar is broken down in the digestive tract and processed in cells. The glucose stimulates insulin production, a necessary step for converting sugar into energy. High-fructose corn syrup goes directly to the liver. Research has shown that the liver releases enzymes that instruct the body to store fat (and that may elevate triglyceride and " bad " cholesterol levels). Thus fructose may slow fat burning and cause weight gain. Other research indicates that high-fructose corn syrup does not stimulate insulin production, which usually creates a sense of being full. People may eat more than they need to. Anderson also says that lowered chromium levels caused by the sweetener may be linked to type 2 diabetes, a gradual failure to produce insulin that chiefly occurs in adults. Obesity can also contribute to the onset of diabetes. Older Americans are especially susceptible to the risks of sugar products. As we age our taste buds deteriorate, but the appreciation of sweet tastes lingers, prompting us to eat meals rich in added sugars. HERE TO STAY High-fructose corn syrup is a high-value ingredient for food manufacturers. It's easy to transport to processors in tanker trucks. Unlike sugar, it isn't vulnerable to freezer burn. It keeps foods from drying out. It has a long shelf life. And it gives breads a pleasing golden color. And it's 20 percent cheaper than table sugar, in part because of generous federal subsidies and trade policies that encourage farmers to grow more corn, says health journalist Greg Critser, author of Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World. Adding it to processed foods thus becomes cheaper, and fast-food chains can afford to offer super-sized servings. " High-fructose corn syrup is the commercially preferred, taxpayer-supported sugar of choice, " Critser says. " [it] is not only as bad for you as sugar, it's worse. " Mark Francis Cohen is a freelance writer in Washington, DC. Weighing In on a Better Diet Eating more fresh vegetables, fruits and juices and steering clear of processed foods made with high-fructose corn syrup and other sugars is the obvious way to improve your diet and maintain proper weight. Some nutrition sources: • U.S. Department of Agriculture • Center for Science in the Public Interest • American Dietetic Association's Food and Nutrition Information channel • Healthatoz.com's Nutrition channel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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