High Fructose Corn Syrup Inhibits Weight Loss

There's really no worthwhile reason to consume HFCS, despite the pricey ad campaign by the Corn Refiners Association to convince you it's perfectly safe. Let's not mince words here: HFCS is dangerous! HFCS is metabolized differently by your body than regular table sugar. It raises triglyceride levels, for one thing, and this is a huge predictor for heart disease.

The other product of HFCS breakdown in the body is adipose tissue. A 2008 study published in Science Daily offers proof of this mechanism.

"Our study shows for the first time the surprising speed with which humans make body fat from fructose," Dr. Parks said. Fructose, glucose and sucrose, which is a mixture of fructose and glucose, are all forms of sugar but are metabolized differently.

"All three can be made into triglycerides, a form of body fat; however, once you start the process of fat synthesis from fructose, it's hard to slow it down," she said.

Read the article here

Much easier weight loss can be achieved by limiting HFCS, in addition to the more traditonal advice of counting calories and increasing exercise. Sweetened drinks are particularly worrisome in this regard because soda is the leading source of calories in the typical American's diet. HFCS has no doubt played a role in the ongoing obesity epidemic.

Anyone who still believes the hype about HFCS being the same as real sugar is simply in denial.

The Dangers of Soda, Part Two

You may have heard how soda is a source of “empty” calories, or in other words, it’s a bunch of sugar water with no nutritional value. But what’s important to understand is that soda is far more than empty calories. Many of the substances present in your favorite soft drink, even in small amounts, are downright harmful.

Take phosphorus, for example, which is found in many sodas. It weakens bones by depleting them of calcium. Phosphorus and calcium do not mix! The more soda you drink, the higher your risk for osteoporosis. The problem is even worse for the younger crowd, children and teens who are in the prime years for calcium deposition in their growing bones. For this same reason, there’s also a correlation between soda consumption and bone fractures in kids and young adults. Who would have thought a can of Pepsi could lower your bone density?

Better yet, I’ll bet you’d think I’m kidding if I told you that one of the most toxic and carcinogenic substances on the planet is present in soda. Think again – this is no joke. Soft drinks use benzoate salt as a preservative, and this combines with ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in the drinks to form benzene. Years ago, when this problem became apparent, many manufacturers reformulated their products to avoid this chemical reaction. However, the FDA decided to let the industry regulate itself and correct the problem, so guess what happened next? No regulations whatsoever exist to prevent the combination of these two substances in soft drinks.

Nowadays, folks here and there have caught on that soda is awfully bad for you, and to combat this negativity, some manufacturers are trying to make the stuff appear healthy by adding vitamins. The issue of benzene was in the news a few years ago but the fuss has largely died down. With no regulation on the matter, manufacturers are free to tout their “healthy” soft drinks, loaded with stuff that can kill you, but fortified with vitamins and minerals. The reaction of benzoic acid and vitamin C is once again a problem, as benzene is back in a friendly soft drink near you.

Read this excerpt and pay attention to the word “only” in the first sentence.

ScienceDaily (Jan. 9, 2008) — Only nine percent of 199 beverage samples had benzene levels above the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limit of 5 parts per billion (ppb) for benzene in drinking water, according to a study by EPA and U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists.

(Read the entire article here.)

This is a prime example of a factual statement carefully crafted to try and overcome it’s own inherent negativity. In other words, USE YOUR BRAIN and read this study for what it is, not what the writer wants you to hear. If they omitted the word “only”, this statement would sound too alarmist, so “only” is used to tone it down a bit. Bottom line is that benzene was found in 9 percent of the samples tested, and an astute reader will see that’s 9 percent too much!

So to sum up, when you enjoy a frosty cold soft drink, you're consuming much more than empty calories. This toxic brew is loaded with High Fructose Corn Syrup, mercury, Genetically-Modified organisms (GMO), phosphorus, and quite possibly benzene. Bottoms up!

The Dangers of Soda, Part One

It's amazing how dependent our culture is on soda. The stuff is everywhere. And besides restaurants and supermarket shelves, it's sold at movie theaters, sporting events, and in vending machines hidden in every nook and cranny of our existence. You just can't get away from it. More significantly, a recent study has shown that soda is the most common source of calories in the typical American's diet. Ouch.

I'll be doing a series of posts on the ingredients of soda, and why you don't want any! (Repeat after me...I will not drink any more soda....I will not drink any more soda....) Today I'll start by talking about High Fructose Corn Syrup.

We've all heard about sugar rotting our teeth. Would you be surprised to hear there's no sugar in soda? These days it's all HFCS, and despite the current multi-million dollar ad campaign from the Corn Refiners Association to convince you otherwise, HFCS is bad news.

This sweetener isn't even made from sugar; it's made from corn, the vast majority of which has been genetically modified. The long term effects of a diet containing GMO foods are unknown because they've only been around since the 1990s. However, studies in animals conclusively show ill effects.

Animals fed a GMO diet have significantly decreased fertility rates, and the problem appears to worsen in successive generations. I'm not just talking about lab studies on mice or rats, but farmers have reported decreased fertility in farm animals given feed containing GMO corn and soy. With the human life span being so much longer, the lifelong effects on people can't yet be measured.

Intuitively, one wonders how the effects on people could be so different that the FDA has approved the use of GMO foods for human consumption. While certainly not the only consequence, decreased fertility is one of the biggest immediate concerns from the use of GMO foods. There's some great information about genetically modified foods here if you'd like to learn more.

In addition, the process by which HFCS is produced involves the use of mercury, and small amounts of mercury can remain in the finished product. Mercury is a heavy metal and is toxic even in miniscule amounts. There is NO safe level of Mercury consumption. Ingestion of mercury leads to nervous system damage. (This is the same stuff to be wary of when eating certain types of fish, and the same substance accused of contributing to autism in children who receive it in their vaccines. Beware!)

But soda isn't the only thing that contains HFCS. This awful stuff is present in approximately 7 out of 10 products on your grocery store's shelves. Time to start reading labels, especially if you have kids. Here's a recent quote from David Wallinga, MD, of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), a co-author of two of the most significant studies on this subject.

“Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the FDA to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply.”

Hmm....Have I opened your eyes yet? The most important thing here is that you need to be aware of what you're eating. Don't trust the government or the mega-corporations peddling their version of food to do this work for you. They won't.