In 1965 a new product was invented that is now one of the most widely used ingredients by the food industry. It is cheap, it is tasty, and it is abundant. You can find this product in almost all processed food items including ketchup, bread, sports drinks, cereal, canned fruits and vegetables, lunch meats, salad dressings, soups, a variety of dairy products, and can even be found in some medication! Unfortunately, this product has also been a significant contributor to the over 400% increase in obesity in the last 20 years.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup
If you haven’t guessed it, the product I am referring to is High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), and yes, they put it in everything. What I want to make clear from the beginning is that HFCS is NOT worse than sugar, natural or otherwise. They are both terrible for your health and body composition and you would do well to avoid them. What makes HFCS so potent is that it is cheap and even sweeter than sucrose (traditional sugar). The fact that it’s cheap means that a food or beverage producer can sweeten up their product without affecting the cost. This is very appealing as we humans just LOVE the taste of sugar.
So HFCS is in everything, but how does this relate to the alarming increase in obesity? This comes down to what HFCS and sugar does to our bodies. You see, while HFCS is labeled for its high fructose content (55% fructose), sugar is actually very much the same in its makeup (50% fructose). So in the end, these two ingredients come out about equal when they enter the body. Unfortunately, fructose is not a good thing to have in your body in the first place.
Fructose and Fat
Fructose is one of the three main simple sugars found in nature (glucose and galactose are the others). Until recently, it was mostly found in fruits, honey, and some vegetables. In quantities available in nature, you would normally consume around 15 g of fructose per day or 12 lbs. per year. Today in America, the average person consumes around 62 g of fructose per day or 50 lbs. per year! What makes this particular sugar so unfavorable when it comes to our health and weight is the way our body metabolizes it.
While glucose (the derivative of most starch and the other half of sucrose) can be used in the body for many actions, and can be stored in the muscles to be used for energy later, fructose has a limited role: replenish liver glycogen. When you ingest fructose it is sent on a direct path to the liver and can be stored there. Once the liver is saturated however, fructose will then be turned to triglyceride and most likely stored as fat. This can become especially problematic when you do not exercise, as your liver has little reason to release its sugar stores. So now you have a full liver, taking in more fructose and glucose, and have nowhere for the fructose to go. Add to this that fructose actually increases the rate at which you store fat, and you are on the fast track to weight gain.
The Glycemic Myth
One of the common arguments for the health benefits of fructose and fructose-containing foods is that fructose actually has a very low glycemic index. Unfortunately, this means very little concerning your health. The glycemic index measures blood sugar levels after consuming a food item. Because fructose is sent directly to the liver, it does not have much opportunity to increase blood sugar. So while your blood sugar is level, your triglycerides (fat) are going through the roof. Not so good after all.
Cut It Out!
If you want to work on getting your fructose consumption in check, here is what I suggest.
1a) Start reading labels! If you buy ANYTHING that has a label on it, see if there has been HFCS, sugar, beet sugar, cane sugar, fructose, or agave nectar (all fructose!), added. If it does, skip it.
1b) Don’t buy things in packages! If you really want to be sure you are staying clear of fructose, just avoid packaged/processed food altogether. Remember, bread, yogurt, deli meat, and soup are just as processed as cereal, potato chips, and candy bars.
2) Keep clear of caloric beverages. Soda and juice have a load of sugar, and coffee and tea are usually filled up with sugar. Remember, “raw cane sugar” has the same fructose as HFCS.
3) Eat in. You would be amazed at how much restaurant food has sugar added. Well, I guess it’s not that amazing, that’s why it tastes so good!
4) Limit fruit. This is always a hard one for people to accept, but it is important to understand that you do not NEED fruit. This doesn’t mean you have to completely cut it out, but if you are having 4-5 servings a day, you are consuming a serious amount of sugar. If you do decide to include fruit, 1-2 servings are plenty and it is best to emphasize berries. (NOTE: If you are working to lose weight, 0-1 serving is best. You can still get all of those vitamins and minerals from veggies. Did you know that one spear of broccoli has just as much vitamin C as an orange?)
If all of these tasks seem daunting, just pick one and start working on it. We are living in a world that is not helping us to be healthy, so we must fend for ourselves and figure out ways to avoid all of the junk that is out there. It may seem like a lot of work, but I’ll tell you what, it’s a lot more work being unhealthy and overweight than it is cooking for yourself and cutting out soda. So cut out the fructose, feel better, and start losing those love handles!
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