How many deaths will be traced back to HFCS?
Think that headline is a little too dramatic?
I wish it were. But I just read about a new study that could once and for all link HFCS to the biggest killers of our time.
Researchers at Princeton have concluded that, when it comes to weight gain, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is pretty much the worst food product you can put in your body -- far worse than fat or sucrose.
Now, Nutrition & Healing readers have known for years that HFCS is bad news. But no matter how bad we thought it was -- it's worse. And the mainstream is finally opening their eyes.
In the study, rats that were fed HFCS gained significantly more weight than rats that were given table sugar, even when they were eating the same number of daily calories.
Oh, and weight gain wasn't the worst of it. Long-term consumption also led to abnormal increases in body fat (especially in the abdomen, which studies have shown is the worst place to have a higher level of body fat) and a rise in circulating triglycerides. The conclusion? HFCS seems to be a major player in what people like to call the "obesity epidemic."
Now, some people might think, "Yeah, okay, but how much HFCS were these rats given? It was probably all they were eating. What does that prove?"
Well, here comes the worst part -- these rats were being fed HFCS at levels well below the equivalent of what's in soda. And they were becoming obese. All of them. The researchers noted that when rats are fed a high-fat diet, they don't ALL gain weight. With HFCS, obesity was practically guaranteed.
As the Princeton team pointed out, the increases in body fat and higher levels of triglycerides are known risk factors for high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer and diabetes in humans.
Those "HFCS is just like other sugars and sweeteners " commercials (New ad campaign supports high fructose corn syrup," 10/15/2008) are starting to look even more ridiculous (and dangerous) now, aren't they? In fact, the researchers specifically called out those claims, saying they "just aren't true."
If the Princeton study weren't enough, more bad news about HFCS recently hit the news waves. Research soon to be published in the journal Hepatology links HFCS to liver scarring in people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
This could be the death knell for HFCS. One can hope, anyway. But I suspect the industry will figure out some spin strong enough to nudge the evidence out of everyone's minds.
Until HFCS is gone for good, the best thing we can do is spread the word. It's amazing that the food industry has been allowed to poison people for so long. How many heart- and cancer-related deaths can ultimately be traced back to HFCS? We'll never know for sure, but I have a feeling in the future the country will look back at our HFCS-dominated grocery shelves as a dismal point in our nutritional history.
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Christine O'Brien writes the e-letter Health eTips for Dr. Wright's Nutrition and Healing.
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Comments
Audrae Erickson
Research can be confusing. Please consider what nutrition experts have to say about the Princeton study before accepting the results.
“So, I’m skeptical. I don’t think the study produces convincing evidence of a difference between the effects of HFCS and sucrose on the body weight of rats. I’m afraid I have to agree with the Corn Refiners on this one. So does HFCS make rats fat? Sure if you feed them too many calories altogether. Sucrose will do that too.” Marion Nestle, Ph.D., Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, New York University http://cli.gs/Jrsys
“This study is poorly designed and poorly controlled and does not prove or even suggest that HFCS is more likely to lead to obesity than sucrose [table sugar].” Karen Teff, Ph.D., Associate Director, Institute for Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine http://bit.ly/bkD52b
Whether from cane, beets, or corn, a sugar is a sugar. We would also encourage readers to consider what nutrition experts have to say about high fructose corn syrup. http://bit.ly/bkD52b
You can also learn more about high fructose corn syrup at www.SweetSurprise.com.
Audrae Erickson, Corn Refiners Association
Dr. N. W. Miller
Naturally a representative of the Corn Refiners Association (I'd use an apostrophe there, but then I'm fussy) would defend HFCS. And be warned that the nearby link "High Fructose Corn Syrup" at sweetsurprise.com is more of the same industry propaganda.
Just look at America's expanding waistlines. It isn't all the result of french fries and potato chips. Something that tastes sweet but fails to engage the body's mechanism for making you feel satisfied ("full") would go a long way toward promoting over-consumption of sweets.
And scarring of the liver is something not to be dismissed lightly. Sugar apparently won't do that, but HFCS seems to.
Recall Macbeth: "Methinks the lady (Audrae Erickson of the Corn Refiners' Association [apostrophe added]) doth protest too much." That "sweet surprise" could turn out to be a really nasty one.
Anonymous
Almost all the recipe when it comes to pastry and many other things tons of sugar is added, whether is refined sugar which is bad to begin with ot others, well HFCS maybe cheaper, most definitely is not healthy, there are good sugars available, and maybe folks we should be concentrating more on these products. JAM
Anonymous
Audrae Ericson is representative of everything that's wrong in America. Her comment is supportive of all of the lies that have been perpetrated on the unsuspecting American public by the greedy food industry for years. She is DEAD WRONG about HFCS and she knows it. It is a toxic cheap sweetener, thickener that cannot be readily processed by the liver. There are even trace amounts of a form of mercury found in HFCS which is needed in the processing of same. There has been study after study proving its toxicity in the human body overtime. It should have been BANNED by the Fraud and Drug Administration (FDA) years ago. That's another story for another day. Sadly. it is found in so many processed foods it is almost impossible to avoid. The obesity link to HFCS is just one of the many side effects of this lethal substance. Bottomline: Avoid HFCS and its numerous aliases (yeast extract, corn syrup, etc.) at all costs if you value your longtime health! How much is the CRA paying off these nutritionists to cover-up the real story on HFCS? That said, excess sugar in any form is bad for you but HFCS is by far the worst for all of the reasons stated in the article and many more!
Anonymous
I just saw the "Sweet Surprise" TV spot for the first time. Shameful! The Corn Refiners are following the tobacco industry playbook:
1: Deny, deny, deny. Scientific evidence has been released that threatens your sales. Deny its existence, and propose the opposite. If a single study finds that a tiny dose your product isn't immediately fatal, you can claim that "research shows" that the product is "safe".
2: If specific studies gain traction, like the Princeton and Duke HFCS studies, misquote them and cast the methods in doubt. You'd have to drink 60 cans of soda a day, right? (Wrong. The Princeton study compared sucrose to HFCS at the same total calorie count, demonstrating a huge difference in effect between one and the other.)
3: Blame something else. Video games, potato chips. It's your fault, not our product's. If only you used it in moderation!
In the spot I saw, a man refuses a Popsicle made with HFCS. A woman successfully challenges that decision! How hypocritical! On one hand telling us to use "moderation", then chastising us for turning down a nutritionally bankrupt, artificially flavored, HFCS-laden snack?
Zebe
The Princeton scientists have defended their research, and rightfully so. The corn refiners are acting like the tobacco corporations years ago. People just want choices, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Some people will always use HFCS because it is like an addictive drug, just like tobacco (except tobacco is more natural than HFCS).
Check out the corporate sponsors for the American Dietetic Association that the corn refiners are always quoting:
http://www.eatright.org/corporat...
Snack food, solft drink, candy, and corn refining companies are trying to control the health and eating habits of the American public. Scary!
Give up high fructose corn syrup and the food that it is in, and see an improvement in your health in about two months.
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