You know all those commercials talking about "High Fructose Corn Syrup"
is just "another kind of sugar"...
and Sugar is Sugar...right? WRONG!!
Princeton researches find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts "considerably more weight gain". A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.
In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, espeically in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.
"Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true" said psychology professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction. "When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese - every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight".
Well, that's fine for rats, but what about humans?
Your brain doesn't view high fructose corn syrup the same way it does other kinds of sugar. This is because of the way HFCS is metabolized in your liver. When you have prolonged ingestion of HFCS, you are promoting your liver to dump more cholesterol and triglycerides into your bloodstream, putting you at an increased rise of a cluster of health problems associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. In addition, it skips your body's energy-balancing mechanism that tells your brain when you've had enough to eat and when your body needs to burn more calories. As a consequence, the claims that HFCS makes you overeat and gain weight have merit.
So...How do we avoid high fructose corn syrup in our food?
Read the labels...it's EVERYWHERE!
Baked Goods: many baked goods, including English muffins, rolls and white and whole-wheat bread contain high fructose corn syrup. The syrup helps baked goods achieve a brown crust and retain moisture.
Tomato-based Sauces: Pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, ketchup and barbecue causes typically contain high fructose corn syrup, which is used to balance the tart tomatoes and bring out the flavors of spices.
Soft Drinks: Soft drinks use high amounts of the syrup as a source of intense sweetness. It also helps stabilize flavors over the long shelf-life of the drinks. Diet soft drinks do not usually contain the syrup.
Cereals: Most breakfast cereals contain high fructose corn syrup. Cereals aimed at adults also often contain the syrup even if they don't taste especially sugary, even those promoted as being healty; Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch, Special K, and Smart Start Healthy Heart.
Fruit Drinks: Fruit drinks often contain high levels of the syrup. It is used bottled juices, drink pouches and in frozen concentrates. High fructose corn syrup has a lower freezing temperature than other sweeteners, and that makes thawing faster.
Processed Foods: Processed foods such as lunch meats, dinner sausage, macaroni and cheese, boxed meals, packaged lunch meals and other processed foods contain the syrup because it is inexpensive and provides a long shelf life.
Salad Dressings: In an effort to reduce calories from oil, many salad-dressing manufactures add high fructose corn syrup instead. Low-fat and low-calorie dressings tend to have higher levels of the syrup than dressings that are made with olive or another kind of oil.
Yogurt: Many yogurt brands contain the sweetener. Even flavors or yogurt lines are called "all natural" and "organic" contain high fructose corn syrup.
Cough Syrups: Many liquid cough suppressants and expectorants contain high fructose corn syrup. Flavored varieties designed to taste better for children tend to have higher amounts of the sweetener.
While it may not be reasonable to try to cut out ALL high fructose corn syrup (making your own ketchup is a little extreme) being conscious of it and sticking to more fresh foods (again, back to shopping the perimeter of the store) will cut down on the 'chemical sugars' in exchange for the 'natural sugars' that the body can process efficiently and may make weight loss easier.
Hope
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