What is your take on high fructose cornsyrup and obesity?

Question

I have heard there is a link between eating that and obesity. Should I eliminate it from my diet if I am trying to lose weight? It is in everything--ketchup, bread, mayo and other processed food. Should I go on the non-processed food diet?

Answer 1

Prior to 1996, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was virtually non-existent in Americans' diets. When it came to sweeteners, the number one version on the market was sucrose, or table sugar. But that all changed after the invention of high-fructose corn syrup.

Made from corn starch through a complicated process, HFCS emerged as a cheaper, significantly sweeter, easy to transport and easy to use (especially in beverages, since it's a liquid) alternative to sugar.

Whereas regular corn syrup is all glucose, HFCS is composed of half glucose and half fructose.
Fructose is absorbed differently [than other sugars]. It doesn't register in the body metabolically the same way that glucose does.

When glucose is consumed, a set of reactions occur in the body allowing it to be used as energy, and production of leptin, a hormone that helps control appetite and fat storage, is increased.
When fructose is consumed, however, it appears to behave more like fat with respect to the hormones involved in body weight regulation. Fructose doesn't stimulate insulin secretion. It doesn't increase leptin production or suppress production of ghrelin. That suggests that consuming a lot of fructose, like consuming too much fat, could contribute to weight gain.

The first thing to do is to give up all soft drinks and other sweetened beverages that contain it. Then start checking labels meticulously. Even products that aren't thought of as "sweet' often contain it
Fortunately, as more and more consumers opt to stay away from HFCS, there are product alternatives out there. Organic pasta sauce and ketchup, for instance, are much less likely to contain HFCS than regular varieties.

Answer 2

Probably linked. Diabetes and hfcs, definitely linked. The non-processed food diet is the best way to lose weight, anyway, along with increased excercise. Don't try to eliminate all carbs, just reduce them. My favorite way to diet is simply called the hunger diet, you expect to be hungry for 2-3 hours between each meal, which should be 5-6 hours apart.

Answer 3

I don't think you need to eliminate it totally, as you said, it's almost unavoidable unless you're independently wealthy and can afford to buy only unprocessed, pure foods, which are extremely high in price. As a diabetic, I have been told to avoid all unnecessary occasions to use it; i.e., use alternative sweeteners in whatever is possible, and don't use heavily sweetened products. The reason it is tied to obesity is that your body processes it almost immediately - it's like dumping sugar into your blood - or eating pure sugar, straight. Losing weight is almost always a matter of eating sensibly and exercising to burn more calories than you take in. Good luck!

Answer 4

A non-processed diet will be naturally higher in fiber and "good stuff" and lower in "bad" stuff.
I have read that too about corn syrup. I think it was in Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. Even if it wasn't in that book, it's worth reading if you're at all interested in how America has become so fat. Supposedly there's a movie coming out soon, based on it.

Answer 5

I have read that it is not directly burned as a source of cellular energy, but instead that it is more likely to be immediately stored in fat cells because it is more difficult for the cell to turn into energy (glucose, or sugar, being the easiest).

Has there been a trend towards obesity since we started using HFCS since the 70s? There must, of course, be other factors, but the coincidence is questionable.

Answer 6

Cutting down on portions is your BEST bet to lose weight !

Go ahead and try to lower your sucrose intake but cutting down on food all together is far more effective.

For three meals a day eat only 1 cup of food (high protein). Guaranteed you WILL lose weight !!

Answer 7

YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY TRY UR BEST NOT TO EAT PROCESSED FOODS.IT WILL MAKE U FEEL SO MUCH BETTER ABOUT YOUR BODY UR HEALTH AND UR SELF ESTEEM.ALSO TRY SOME EXERCISE LIKE 20 MINUTE WALKS PER DAY TO START OUT.IT WILL TAKE UR MIND OFF THE JUNK.....GOOD LUCK,(NOT SO HEAVT MAC)