High Fructose Corn Syrup

[noxagol]

So, what's so bad about this stuff?

[DrRP08]

High fructose corn syrup is actually banned in Europe. It's made by adding fructose with glucose. The end result is so thick and gooey that the liver can't digest it properly so it creates a lot of fat in your system which in turn goes into your bloodstream. I've also heard that this can contribute significantly to type 2 diabetes along with other obvious risks such as high cholesterol, etc. I know a few people who refuse to eat/drink anything with high fructose corn syrup in it and they essentially call it poison. I try not to take it in either; but, it seems like everything in this country is manufactured with high fructose corn syrup in it. The reason being that it is much cheaper to manufacture high fructose corn syrup than it is to make sucrose (table sugar) or raw sugar (from a sugar cane).

[SeanEdwards]

It will give you diabetes.

[noxagol]

Except fructose+glucose=sucrose. Got any studies or something ?

[DrRP08]

I should have been more specific; they make a corn syrup by refining corn starch which is mostly glucose then fructose and mixed with that solution. It's an artificial sugar, not sucrose.

[noxagol]

I should have been more specific; they make a corn syrup by refining corn starch which is mostly glucose then fructose and mixed with that solution. It's an artificial sugar, not sucrose.

Except, glucose and fructose are natural sugars, monosacharides. How do you get an artificial sugar from two natural sugars? Either it is a solution of fructose and glucose or they react to make sucrose, I'm guessing the former. Still not understanding all the hate towards HFCS. I can see the trends and coorelations, but corellation !=causation.

[DrRP08]

Except, glucose and fructose are natural sugars, monosacharides. How do you get an artificial sugar from two natural sugars? Either it is a solution of fructose and glucose or they react to make sucrose, I'm guessing the former. Still not understanding all the hate towards HFCS. I can see the trends and coorelations, but corellation !=causation.

The ingredients may not be artificial but the product itself is. High fructose corn syrup isn't a natural ingredient.

[Isaac Bickerstaff]

Just avoid it and you will feel better.

[noxagol]

Still haven't shown me anything concrete.

[heavenlyboy34]

Enjoy these...

http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructose.html

The Double Danger of
High Fructose Corn Syrup

By Bill Sanda, BS, MBA

For many years, Dr. Meira Fields and her coworkers at the US Department of Agriculture investigated the harmful effects of dietary sugar on rats. They discovered that when male rats are fed a diet deficient in copper, with sucrose as the carbohydrate, they develop severe pathologies of vital organs. Liver, heart and testes exhibit extreme swelling, while the pancreas atrophies, invariably leading to death of the rats before maturity.

Sucrose is a disaccharide composed of 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose. Dr. Fields repeated her experiments to determine whether it was the glucose or fructose moiety that caused the harmful effects. Starch breaks down into glucose when digested. On a copper-deficient diet, the male rats showed some signs of copper deficiency, but not the gross abnormalities of vital organs that occur in rats on the sucrose diet. When the rats were fed fructose, the fatal organ abnormalities occured.

Lysl oxidase is a copper-dependent enzyme that participates in the formation of collagen and elastin. Fructose seems to interfere with copper metabolism to such an extent that collagen and elastin cannot form in growing animals--hence the hypertrophy of the heart and liver in young males. The females did not develop these abnormalities, but they resorbed their litters.1

These experiements should give us pause when we consider the great increase in the use of high fructose corn syrup during the past 30 years, particularly in soft drinks, fruit juices and other beverages aimed at growing children, children increasingly likely to be copper deficient as modern parents no longer serve liver to their families. (Liver is by far the best source of copper in human diets.)

"The bodies of the children I see today are mush," observed a concerned chiropractor recently. The culprit is the modern diet, high in fructose and low in copper-containing foods, resulting in inadequate formation of elastin and collagen--the sinews that hold the body together.
BINGEING ON FRUCTOSE

Until the 1970s most of the sugar we ate came from sucrose derived from sugar beets or sugar cane. Then sugar from corn--corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, dextrine and especially high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)--began to gain popularity as a sweetener because it was much less expensive to produce. High fructose corn syrup can be manipulated to contain equal amounts of fructose and glucose, or up to 80 percent fructose and 20 percent glucose.2 Thus, with almost twice the fructose, HFCS delivers a double danger compared to sugar.

(With regards to fruit, the ratio is usually 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose, but most commercial fruit juices have HFCS added. Fruit contains fiber which slows down the metabolism of fructose and other sugars, but the fructose in HFCS is absorbed very quickly.)

In 1980 the average person ate 39 pounds of fructose and 84 pounds of sucrose. In 1994 the average person ate 66 pounds of sucrose and 83 pounds of fructose, providing 19 percent of total caloric energy.3 Today approximately 25 percent of our average caloric intake comes from sugars, with the larger fraction as fructose.4

High fructose corn syrup is extremely soluble and mixes well in many foods. It is cheap to produce, sweet and easy to store. It’s used in everything from bread to pasta sauces to bacon to beer as well as in "health products" like protein bars and "natural" sodas.
FRUCTOSE FOR DIABETICS?

In the past, fructose was considered beneficial to diabetics because it is absorbed only 40 percent as quickly as glucose and causes only a modest rise in blood sugar.5 However, research on other hormonal factors suggests that fructose actually promotes disease more readily than glucose. Glucose is metabolized in every cell in the body but all fructose must be metabolized in the liver.6 The livers of test animals fed large amounts of fructose develop fatty deposits and cirrhosis, similar to problems that develop in the livers of alcoholics.

Pure fructose contains no enzymes, vitamins or minerals and robs the body of its micronutrient treasures in order to assimilate itself for physiological use.7 While naturally occurring sugars, as well as sucrose, contain fructose bound to other sugars, high fructose corn syrup contains a good deal of "free" or unbound fructose. Research indicates that this free fructose interferes with the heart’s use of key minerals like magnesium, copper and chromium. Among other consequences, HFCS has been implicated in elevated blood cholesterol levels and the creation of blood clots. It has been found to inhibit the action of white blood cells so that they are unable to defend the body against harmful foreign invaders.8

Studies on the Maillard reaction indicate that fructose may contribute to diabetic complications more readily than glucose. The Maillard reaction is a browning reaction that occurs when compounds are exposed to various sugars. Fructose browns food seven times faster than glucose, resulting in a decrease in protein quality and a toxicity of protein in the body.9 This is due to the loss of amino acid residues and decreased protein digestibility. Maillard products can inhibit the uptake and metabolism of free amino acids and other nutrients such as zinc, and some advanced Maillard products have mutagenic and/or carcinogenic properties. The Maillard reactions between proteins and fructose, glucose, and other sugars may play a role in aging and in some clinical complications of diabetes.10

Fructose reduces the affinity of insulin for its receptor, which is the hallmark of type-2 diabetes. This is the first step for glucose to enter a cell and be metabolized. As a result, the body needs to pump out more insulin to handle the same amount of glucose.21
OTHER EFFECTS

Nancy Appleton, PhD, clinical nutritionist, has compiled a list of the harmful effects of fructose in her books Lick the Sugar Habit, Healthy Bones, Heal Yourself With Natural Foods, The Curse Of Louis Pasteur and Lick the Sugar Habit Sugar Counter. She points out that consumption of fructose causes a significant increase in the concentration of uric acid; after ingestion of glucose, no significant change occurs. An increase in uric acid can be an indicator of heart disease.12 Furthermore, fructose ingestion in humans results in increases in blood lactic acid, especially in patients with preexisting acidotic conditions such as diabetes, postoperative stress or uremia. Extreme elevations cause metabolic acidosis and can result in death.13

Fructose is absorbed primarily in the jejunum before metabolism in the liver. Fructose is converted to fatty acids by the liver at a greater rate than is glucose.14 When consumed in excess of dietary glucose, the liver cannot convert all of the excess fructose in the system and it may be malabsorbed. The portion that escapes conversion may be thrown out in the urine. Diarrhea can be a consequence.19 A study of 25 patients with functional bowel disease showed that pronounced gastrointestinal distress may be provoked by malabsorption of small amounts of fructose.26

Fructose interacts with oral contraceptives and elevates insulin levels in women on "the pill."17

In studies with rats, fructose consistently produces higher kidney calcium concentrations than glucose. Fructose generally induces greater urinary concentrations of phosphorus and magnesium and lowered urinary pH compared with glucose.18

In humans, fructose feeding leads to mineral losses, especially higher fecal excretions of iron and magnesium, than did subjects fed sucrose. Iron, magnesium, calcium, and zinc balances tended to be more negative during the fructose-feeding period as compared to balances during the sucrose-feeding period.19

There is significant evidence that high sucrose diets may alter intracellular metabolism, which in turn facilitates accelerated aging through oxidative damage. Scientists found that the rats given fructose had more undesirable cross-linking changes in the collagen of their skin than in the other groups. These changes are also thought to be markers for aging. The scientists say that it is the fructose molecule in the sucrose, not the glucose, that plays the larger part.20

Because it is metabolized by the liver, fructose does not cause the pancreas to release insulin the way it normally does. Fructose converts to fat more than any other sugar. This may be one of the reasons Americans continue to get fatter. Fructose raises serum triglycerides significantly. As a left-handed sugar, fructose digestion is very low. For complete internal conversion of fructose into glucose and acetates, it must rob ATP energy stores from the liver.21

Not only does fructose have more damaging effects in the presence of copper deficiency, fructose also inhibits copper metabolism--another example of the sweeteners double-whammy effect. A deficiency in copper leads to bone fragility, anemia, defects of the connective tissue, arteries, and bone, infertility, heart arrhythmias, high cholesterol levels, heart attacks, and an inability to control blood sugar levels.22

Although these studies were not designed to test the effects of fructose on weight gain, the observation of increased body weight associated with fructose ingestion is of interest. One explanation for this observation could be that fructose ingestion did not increase the production of two hormones, insulin and leptin, that have key roles in the long-term regulation of food intake and energy expenditure.23
HYPERSENSIVITY

The magnitude of the deleterious effects of fructose varies depending on such factors as age, sex, baseline glucose, insulin, triglyceride concentrations, the presence of insulin resistance, and the amount of dietary fructose consumed.24 Some people are more sensitive to fructose. They include hypertensive, hyperinsulinemic, hypertriglyceridemic, non-insulin dependent diabetic people, people with functional bowel disease and postmenopausal women.25

Everyone should avoid over-exposure to fructose, but especially those listed above. One or two pieces of fruit per day is fine, but commercial fruit juices and any products containing high fructose corn syrup aremore dangerous than sugar and should be removed from the diet.

REFERENCES

1. Fields, M, Proceedings of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 1984, 175:530-537.

2. Appleton, Nancy, PhD, Fructose is No Answer For a Sweetener, http://www.mercola.com/2002/jan/5/fructose.htm.

3. Beatrice Trum Hunter, Confusing Consumers About Sugar Intake, Consumer’s Research 78, no 1 (January 1995): 14-17.

4. Fallon, Sally and Mary Enig, Nourishing Traditions, New Trends Publishing, Washington DC, 2001, p. 23.

5. Hallfrisch, Judith, Metabolic Effects of Dietary Fructose, FASEB Journal 4 (June 1990): 2652-2660.

6. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 2002 Vol. 76, No. 5, 911-922.

7. Appleton, Nancy Ph.D., Fructose is No Answer For a Sweetener, http://www.mercola.com/2002/jan/5/fructose.htm.

8. http://www.mcvitamins.com/cornsyrup.htm.

9. H. F. Bunn and P. J. Higgins, Reaction of Nonosaccharides with Proteins; Possible Evolutionary Significance, Science 213 (1981):2222-2244.

10. William L Dills Jr., Protein Fructosylation: Fructose and the Maillard Reaction, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 58 (suppl) (1993): 779S-787S.

11. Hunter.

12. J. MacDonald, Anne Keyser, and Deborah Pacy, Some Effects, in Man, of Varying the Load of Glucose, Sucrose, Fructose, or Sorbitol on Various Metabolites in Blood, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 31 (August 1978)): 1305-1311.

13. Hallfrisch, Judith, Metabolic Effects of Dietary Fructose, FASEB Journal 4 (June 1990): 2652-2660.

14. D. Zakim and R. H. Herman, Fructose Metabolism II, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 21: 315-319, 1968.

15. A. E. Bender and K. B. Damji, Some Effects of Dietary Sucrose, World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics 15 (1972): 104-155.

16. J. J. Rumessen and E. Gudmand-Hoyer, Functional Bowel Disease: Malabsorption and Abdominal Distress After Ingestion of Fructose, Sorbitol, and Fructose-Sorbitol Mixtures, Gastroenterology 95, no. 3 (September 1988): 694-700.

17. Hunter,Beatrice Trum,Confusing Consumers About Sugar Intake, Consumers’ Research 78, no 1 (January 1995): 14-17.

18. A. E. Bergstra, A. G. Lemmens, and A. C. Beynens, Dietary Fructose vs. Glucose Stimulates Nephrocalcinogenesis in Female Rats, Journal of Nutrition 123, no. 7 (July 1993): 1320-1327.

19. R. Ivaturi and C. Kies, Mineral Balances in Humans as Affected by Fructose, High Fructose Corn Syrup and Sucrose, Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 42, no. 2 (1992): 143-151.

20. Roger B. Mc Donald, Influence of Dietary Sucrose on Biological Aging, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62 (suppl), (1995): 284s-293s.

21. H. Hallfrisch, et al.,The Effects of Fructose on Blood Lipid Levels, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 37: 5, 1983, 740-748.

22. Klevay, Leslie, Acting Director of the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Human Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, N.D.

23. Observation by Nancy Appleton, PhD.

24. Hollenbeck, Claire B., Dietary Fructose Effects on Lipoprotein Metabolism and Risk for Coronary Artery Disease, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 58 (suppl), (1993): 800S-807S.

25. Appleton, Nancy Ph.D., Fructose is No Answer For a Sweetener, http://www.mercola.com/2002/jan/5/fructose.htm.

Sidebar Article
SOFT DRINKS IN THE SCHOOLS

High fructose corn syrup is the primary sweetener used in soft drinks, now readily available to children in school vending machines. The soft drink industry increased US production from 22 to 41 gallons of soft drinks per person a year between 1970 and 1997.

Teenagers and children, the industry’s main tragets, are among the largest consumers. In the past 10 years, soft drink consumption among children has almost doubled in the United States. Teenage boys now drink, on average, three or more cans of soda per day, and 10 percent drink seven or more cans a day. The average for teenage girls is more than two cans a day, and 10 percent drink more than five cans a day. A typical 20-ounce Coke contains zero fat, zero protein and 67 grams of carbohydrates, usually in the form of high fructose corn syrup.

There are an estimated 20,000 vending machines in schools nationwide, according to the National Automatic Merchandising Association. The USDA collected data on vending machines in schools and reported that 88 percent of high schools, 61 percent of middle schools and 14 percent of elementary schools have food or beverage vending machines for student use. Thirty-four percent of high schools and 15 percent of middle schools permit students to use school vending machines at any time, and 6 percent of elementary schools allow students to use vending machines during lunch.

About the Author

Bill SandaBill Sanda, BS, MBA, served as Executive Director and Director of Public Affairs for the Weston A. Price Foundation. Bill was a partner and co-owner of The McAdam Group, a lobbying company specializing in elements of education policy, and was a consultant to Primezyme, Inc., a nutrition and healing clinic. He has extensive experience in Washington D.C. politics and government, having served as a professional staff member in the US Senate.

http://www.healthmad.com/Nutrition/Dangers-of-High-Fructose-Corn-Syrup.32885
by Kevin Millard, Jul 4, 2007
High fructose corn syrup is the new silent killer. Sadly, it is found in almost everything we eat. find out how to avoid it.

One of the greatest ways we can improve our health is to eliminate high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from our diets.
What is HFCS?

HFCS is not the run of the mill corn syrup found on the grocery store shelf, nor is it the fructose naturally found in fruits and honey. HFCS is a highly refined clear liquid derived from corn starch. Food manufactures love to use it because of its long shelf life an it's relative low cost.
Why is HFCS Bad for us?

Since HFCS's widespread introduction in the 1980's North American obesity rates have skyrocketed. Obesity has been linked to may heath issues including heart disease and many forms of cancer. When HFCS is ingested, it travels straight to the liver which turns the sugary liquid into fat, and unlike other carbohydrates HFCS does not cause the pancreas to produce insulin; which acts as a hunger quenching signal to the brain. So we get stuck in a vicious cycle, eating food that gets immediately stored as fat and never feeling full.
Where is HFCS found?

HFCS is found in almost everything we eat today. However, the worst culprit has to be soft drinks. A single 12 oz can of cola has up to 13 tsp of sugar, most of it fructose from HFCS. There is HFCS hidden in many of our other food as well, like ketchup, relish, cookies, and most alarmingly in low-fat diet foods. Manufactures substitute HFCS for the fat in food like mayo and salad dressings, then mark them as diet foods.
How Can We Avoid HFCS?

Avoiding HFCS will take a lifestyle change for the better. The first food to go has to be the soft drinks; this includes fruit punch, fruit cocktails, and Kool-Aid since they are all laden with HFCS.

Second, eat more meals at home. Restaurant foods are mostly prepackaged foods reheated and served to you. Use of HFCS in these foods is wide spread because of their increased shelf life.

Third, diet while you shop. Since you are going to be eating most of your meals at home, you're going to want to fill your cupboards with the best foods. While shopping, read the labels, if HFCS, fructose, or modified corn starch appears within the first five ingredients place it back on the shelf an move on. Sounds easy right? Wrong. As you make your way through the store you will begin to realize just how much of what you have been eating on a daily basis contains HFCS.

Reducing HFCS will not alway be easy, but the health benefits are well worth it. You will feel stronger and more vital, it will lift your mood and give you increased concentration. Limiting your intake of HFCS will not only shrink your midsection but also do wonders for your over all health.

[Ben2008]

So, what's so bad about this stuff?

Anything that causes a rapid rise in blood sugar is bad for you. This includes sugar, potatoes, and anything made of flour. It causes a spike in insulin which damages your cells over time. If you want to live long and healthy, only eat low glycemic foods.

[amonasro]

In simple terms, it has much to do with the Glycemic Index (GI) of foods and HFCS's occurrence in processed foods as a whole.

GI is basically a measurement of how fast your body digests something, i.e. converts food sugars into glucose usable for our cells. The higher the GI, the faster the sugar is used in our bodies. For example, the GI of fruit is lower than fruit juice because it contains fiber which slows digestion to an extent. The same reasoning applies to whole grains vs. enriched flour: It takes longer to digest whole grains because they contain naturally occurring substances (fiber, vitamins, minerals) which slow digestion and are often (unfortunately) stripped away during food processing.

So what happens in our bodies when we eat sugary foods, or any foods for that matter? Insulin is released by our pancreas to transport digested sugars to muscle cells and the liver in the form of glycogen. It also triggers our body to stop using fat as an energy source. The more quickly sugar is digested the more insulin is released to deal with the sudden, unnatural abundance of sugar in our bloodstream. So it causes an insulin spike, then a crash, then a craving for more sugar. Repeat ad nauseum. Lower GI foods like whole grains cause a steady, slow release of insulin the way nature intended, and lower food cravings until your body really needs to eat again. If you are eating high GI foods all the time you are throwing off your body's natural equilibrium by flooding your bloodstream with insulin. Doing this day in and day out for years can cause your body to develop a resistance to insulin, leading to all sorts of problems, mainly massive weight gain and type II diabetes.

So the higher the GI, the more likely it will be stored as fat. Once our muscle cells are topped off with glycogen and other sugar-requiring metabolic processes are complete, anything extra goes to fat cells immediately--do not pass go, do not collect $200. It's how our bodies are designed for survival in the wild. (If you are an athlete, high GI foods can be beneficial for quickly restoring muscle glycogen levels after exercise. Otherwise, save the Gatorade and Vitamin Water until after your bike ride.)

HFCS is high GI, offers no nutritional value, and is a vital ingredient in processed food, specifically junk food, and specifically junk food that is marketed heavily toward kids. That's why there is a huge weight epidemic today, that's why and the sugar industry is scrambling to cover their collective butts, and that's why you should NOT eat anything with "enriched", "hydrogenated", or "corn syrup" on the label. Avoid those and you're off to a good start.

[berrybunches]

Notice the rise in disgustingly obese people since they started putting it in everything, especially pop? Its pretty obvious it it bad for you.

It is proven to make you feel less full/leave you hungry which causes over eating.
Read here:
http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/hfcs.htm

[Virtual Isolation]

To follow up the previous explanations, this is another fairly simple one.

In order to digest sucrose (cane sugar, glucose+fructose), the liver produces an enzyme that serves as a self-regulator for the two sugars to enter the bloodstream. The liver only produces a limited amount, and it can only split the sucrose at a certain rate.

Corn syrup is high in single sugars, so there is no limiting enzyme. As mentioned previously, fructose is immediately metabolized in the liver upon ingestion, converted to glycogen, and then released into the body. Other than this, there is no regulating mechanism in the body for the combination of free fructose and glucose that HFCS provides.

When this combination is ingested it sugar shocks both the bloodstream and the liver, causing spikes in blood sugar and insulin. Over time the body will lose its ability to react to insulin due to the high variance and gain a condition known as insulin resistance. At this point, blood sugar will remain artificially high and the body will begin converting this energy into fat, leading (among other things) to the precursor symptoms to type 2 diabetes.

I began to cut out soft drinks from my diet about 9 months ago and now mostly live off of iced tea (unsweetened) or sodas that are sweetened with regular sugar. Since that time I have slept much better and lost about 15-20 pounds of total weight from a peak of 185 (2 years ago I was at 155 - desk job did that to me). One of my brothers did the same and has dropped at least 25 pounds from a peak of 240.

[drmarkmedman]

...

[heavenlyboy34]

Notice the rise in disgustingly obese people since they started putting it in everything, especially pop? Its pretty obvious it it bad for you.

It is proven to make you feel less full/leave you hungry which causes over eating.
Read here:
http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/hfcs.htm

That's very true. However, studies by experts such as Lance Dreyer show that all refined foods contribute to obesity-especially starchy breads, pasta, etc. It's a mad, mad world indeed! :eek:

[azminuteman]

Except, glucose and fructose are natural sugars, monosacharides. How do you get an artificial sugar from two natural sugars? Either it is a solution of fructose and glucose or they react to make sucrose, I'm guessing the former. Still not understanding all the hate towards HFCS. I can see the trends and coorelations, but corellation !=causation.

From a practical standpoint,

I lost 15 pounds within 6 weeks by just cutting out HFCS from my diet. I still eat sugar.
I cut out soft drinks, sauces, food additives, and snacks that contain that evil stuff.
Now, (7 months later) I will occasionally have a soft drink here and there but adamant against sauces, additives, and snacks.

After that 6 week run, you sort of get on a health kick and I cut out enriched flour and lost another 5 pounds.

I did not add exercise to help lose the weight as I wasn't able to exercise during that period (meningitis which brought on extreme headaches).



In case you're wondering or curious;

I used to work out every weekday morning. Got toned in the arms, back, legs, shoulders but still had the love handles.

I contracted an illness that gave me extreme headaches when my heart rate went up. Went to a doctor that ordered an MRI and sent me to a neurologist.
Neurologist said I have Kernigs sign and is an indication of meningitis. A spinal tap would be conclusive yet unnecessary as there is no treatment for meningitis.

So since I would be out of it for a statistical 6 month time, the doctor made an off the cuff remark about HFCS and if I could cut it out of my diet.

My rationale at the time was that if it could ease the headaches, then I'll do it. 6 weeks later, I was 15 pounds lighter and buying new clothes.

I had the symptoms for 7 months then the headaches stopped and I'm back to working out.

[heavenlyboy34]

Another interesting part of this subject-

Look at the FDA food pyramid. The worst foods (from a dietary viewpoint) are given highest priority. I personally think that the FDA is corrupt and helping out the grain/dairy industry (one of the reasons RP and true libertarians oppose it)...but if y'all have a different view, please share.

[freelance]

From a practical standpoint,

I lost 15 pounds within 6 weeks by just cutting out HFCS from my diet. I still eat sugar.
I cut out soft drinks, sauces, food additives, and snacks that contain that evil stuff.
Now, (7 months later) I will occasionally have a soft drink here and there but adamant against sauces, additives, and snacks.

After that 6 week run, you sort of get on a health kick and I cut out enriched flour and lost another 5 pounds.

I did not add exercise to help lose the weight as I wasn't able to exercise during that period (meningitis which brought on extreme headaches).



In case you're wondering or curious;

I used to work out every weekday morning. Got toned in the arms, back, legs, shoulders but still had the love handles.

I contracted an illness that gave me extreme headaches when my heart rate went up. Went to a doctor that ordered an MRI and sent me to a neurologist.
Neurologist said I have Kernigs sign and is an indication of meningitis. A spinal tap would be conclusive yet unnecessary as there is no treatment for meningitis.

So since I would be out of it for a statistical 6 month time, the doctor made an off the cuff remark about HFCS and if I could cut it out of my diet.

My rationale at the time was that if it could ease the headaches, then I'll do it. 6 weeks later, I was 15 pounds lighter and buying new clothes.

I had the symptoms for 7 months then the headaches stopped and I'm back to working out.

WOW! Congratulations. You can make your own sauces. It's really not difficult and you know what you're putting in them.

[lucius]

Another interesting part of this subject-

Look at the FDA food pyramid. The worst foods (from a dietary viewpoint) are given highest priority. I personally think that the FDA is corrupt and helping out the grain/dairy industry (one of the reasons RP and true libertarians oppose it)...but if y'all have a different view, please share.

Here is a good article: http://www.consciouschoice.com/2004/cc1711/wh_lead1711.html


But perhaps many Americans did follow the Food Pyramid and that’s why they ended up overweight! Let me explain.

Back in the early ‘80s, I was the leader of a group of top-level nutritionists with the USDA who developed the eating guide that became known as the Food Guide Pyramid. Carefully reviewing the research on nutrient recommendations, disease prevention, documented dietary shortfalls and major health problems of the population, we submitted the final version of our new Food Guide to the Secretary of Agriculture.

When our version of the Food Guide came back to us revised, we were shocked to find that it was vastly different from the one we had developed...

Killing us from the get-go...

[heavenlyboy34]

Here is a good article: http://www.consciouschoice.com/2004/cc1711/wh_lead1711.html



Killing us from the get-go...

I like this part..."It’s evident that the government can’t be relied on to provide objective, health-promoting food and nutrition advice. In the 25 years since the initial Food Guide was developed, we face an unprecedented nutrition crisis. A majority of Americans have poor-quality diets and the rates of diet-related chronic diseases, from cancer, diabetes and heart disease to digestive diseases and arthritis, are soaring. The latest research blames commercial food ingredients, imbalanced diets, excessive calories and too few nutrient and antioxidant-rich vegetables, fruits and whole grains.":eek:

The gov'ment sucks!

[Doktor_Jeep]

To follow up the previous explanations, this is another fairly simple one.

In order to digest sucrose (cane sugar, glucose+fructose), the liver produces an enzyme that serves as a self-regulator for the two sugars to enter the bloodstream. The liver only produces a limited amount, and it can only split the sucrose at a certain rate.

Corn syrup is high in single sugars, so there is no limiting enzyme. As mentioned previously, fructose is immediately metabolized in the liver upon ingestion, converted to glycogen, and then released into the body. Other than this, there is no regulating mechanism in the body for the combination of free fructose and glucose that HFCS provides.

When this combination is ingested it sugar shocks both the bloodstream and the liver, causing spikes in blood sugar and insulin. Over time the body will lose its ability to react to insulin due to the high variance and gain a condition known as insulin resistance. At this point, blood sugar will remain artificially high and the body will begin converting this energy into fat, leading (among other things) to the precursor symptoms to type 2 diabetes.

I began to cut out soft drinks from my diet about 9 months ago and now mostly live off of iced tea (unsweetened) or sodas that are sweetened with regular sugar. Since that time I have slept much better and lost about 15-20 pounds of total weight from a peak of 185 (2 years ago I was at 155 - desk job did that to me). One of my brothers did the same and has dropped at least 25 pounds from a peak of 240.




Indeed that is typical - when I found about about HFCS and eliminated it, I lost 20 lbs and my strength improved.

[Austin]

Slightly off-topic, but what about mono sodium glutamate

[UnReconstructed]

The gov'ment sucks!

word

[Ozwest]

It is some-what mind blowing that you have not mentioned GM foods.

[Ozwest]

Thank God for Monsanto.

[Ozwest]

You guys are ready for Mussolini.

[heavenlyboy34]

You guys are ready for Mussolini.

McCain is our Mussolini. :eek: