Is HFCS the Cause of the Obesity Epidemic?

This issue will focus on High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), the heavily used sweetener that I did not cover in my last issues of Real Health focusing on sugar and its alternatives. HFCS is a big enough problem that it requires its own edition of Real Health.

Obesity is rampant in this country. Just look around and you will see overweight and out of shape people at every level from grade school to the elderly. Being overweight used to be viewed as a little unusual, but now it is common and pretty typical.

Sure, some people lack self-control and need more exercise, but this just can't explain what's shaping up to be a raging weight pandemic. There is one possible culprit behind the growing weight crisis—and it's not just carbs or refined sugar. It's an addictive "designer chemical" called high-fructose corn syrup.

Now, I realize you may have been told that fructose is a "natural" sweetener and is "healthier" than refined sugar (sucrose). But HFCS is neither “natural” nor “healthier”. The HFCS marketing blitz seen on TV recently has tried to portray HFCS as maligned and misunderstood. HFCS is a killer in "natural" disguise and may be at the root of our obesity problem. HFCS is being added to hundreds of our nation's best-selling foods—so much that the average American swallows 56 pounds of it a year! This product is manufactured from cornstarch, but goes through extensive chemical tweaking and genetic modification—rendering it far from "natural" and decidedly unsafe. In fact, it functions exactly like an "anti-diet" pill.

Fructose is not metabolized the same as other sugars. Instead of being converted to glucose which the body uses, it must be removed by the liver. 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.

Studies Confirm the Diet Devastation of HFCS

While the manufacturers of HFCS and groups like the Corn Refiners Association continue to place the full blame for obesity on increased calorie consumption and an overall lack of exercise, the latest research indicates HFCS is undoubtedly a major contributing factor. A study from the University of Pennsylvania supports the idea that HFCS impairs your body's ability to recognize
when it is full. These findings take this idea beyond just a theory, and unveil the exact mechanism of how this process takes place.

Fructose doesn't stimulate an increase in insulin the way most sugars do, nor does it cause an increase in the compound leptin—both of which signal the body's central nervous system to stop eating. Fructose also increases the level of another compound, ghrelin, which enhances the desire to eat more. In simple terms, fructose completely disrupts your body's natural ability to tell when you're satisfied and should stop eating—which ultimately leads to weight gain and obesity.

HFCS adversely manipulates levels of the exact same hormones and compounds that the pharmaceutical companies are trying to influence with diet pills. But, instead of causing a loss of appetite and weight loss, it effectively increases appetite and weight gain. In fact, the Department of Agriculture has compiled data that directly links HFCS to skyrocketing diabetes and obesity. HFCS first entered our food supply back in the Nixon administration. Between 1970 and 1990, our intake of this sweetener increased by a staggering 1,000 percent. There's simply no other food or food group whose intake has increased so fast.

Fructose (as an added sweetener) also inhibits copper metabolism. 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. Consumers trying to avoid genetically modified foods should also avoid HFCS. It is almost certainly made from genetically modified corn and then it is processed with genetically modified enzymes. I've seen some estimates claiming that virtually everything--almost 80 percent--of what we eat today has been genetically modified at some point. Since the use of HFCS is so prevalent in processed foods, those figures may be right.

Mercury contamination - another possible issue

A study published in the January issue of Environmental Health, claimed that mercury was found in nearly 50 per cent of tested samples of commercial HFCS. Moreover, a recent study by the US Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) claimed that mercury was detected in nearly one-third of 55 brand name food and beverage products, where HFCS is the first or second highest labelled ingredient, including, it claims, products by Quaker, Hershey’s, Kraft and Smucker’s.
The authors concluded that possible mercury contamination of HFCS was not common knowledge within the food industry that frequently uses the sweetener.

Cause of contamination

The IATP’s Dr David Wallinga, coauthor of both studies, explained how HFCS could become tainted with chemical. He said that for decades, HFCS has been made using mercury-grade caustic soda produced in industrial chlorine plants, with the caustic soda used for, among other things, the separation of the corn starch from the corn kernel. The use of mercury cells to produce caustic soda can contaminate it, and ultimately HFCS, with mercury, said Wallinga.

But the Corn Refiners Association answers back by commissioning their own study and claiming: “Results from third-party testing conducted on high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from all the production facilities in the US and Canada show that no quantifiable levels of mercury were detected in any of the samples analyzed, claims the CRA. “

Unfortunately, history has shown that often times when the manufacturers commission a study it is not always unbiased. You can decide for yourself on this one.

Sweet Talk From Manufacturers Doesn't Add Up

With a health profile as poor as HFCS, you would think the public would demand its removal from our food supply. But the truth of the matter is we've been falsely led to believe HFCS is a safe and desirable sweetener. It is the sweetest of all naturally derived sugars, and it has
been touted as being safe for diabetics, since it doesn't significantly raise insulin levels. It is also one of the least expensive sweeteners to produce (even cheaper than cane sugar). Manufacturers love the stuff, so don't expect them to voluntarily pull it from the market when it's sweeter than sugar, mixes better, and is less expensive to produce.

HFCS helps food manufacturers sell billions of dollars worth of food most people would never want otherwise. HFCS isn't just lurking in soda and gummy bears. It's even plentiful in foods labeled as "natural" and "healthy"- including many breads, whole-grain cereals, fruit juices,
energy bars, spaghetti sauces and an endless variety of snacks. Check the labels of the foods and drinks you consume. If they contain HFCS, don’t use them.

As you know, there's really only one way to lose weight: You must burn more calories than you consume each day. To keep it off, you need to create and maintain healthy eating habits so they become a permanent part of your lifestyle. But the great news is that there's a simple way
to kick-start your plan for natural weight loss. Starting tomorrow, just say "no" to HFCS. Without this "anti-diet" culprit in your menu, you can curb your food cravings and instead focus on more nutritious, satisfying foods.

Till next time, stay healthy and happy.

JD Roma