03-27-2010, 02:59 PM
By now you have all probably seen or heard the commercials saying that High Fructose Corn Syrup (or HFCS) is safe because it is made from corn, or that it has the same effects as regular sugar.
Despite what the corn industry or anyone else wants us to believe, it is NOT the same as regular sugar. In fact, HFCS is much worse than regular white sugar. HFCS is any type of corn syrup that has been processed to make the glucose into fructose. The food industry has started using HFCS in a wide variety of foods and drinks from crackers and salad dressing to sodas and juice boxes due to the fact that it is so inexpensive to make. Because HFCS is high in fructose and your body requires glucose, your body needs more, so you develop a craving for more sweets.
When glucose is consumed in the body, it increases the production of insulin which allows sugar to go to the cells to be used as energy. It also helps manage the hormones that regulate appetite and food intake. Fructose, however can induce insulin resistance which leads to diabetes, impair glucose tolerance, convert into triglycerides that leads to heart disease, and alter the magnesium balance in the body that can lead to the acceleration of bone loss.
Many experts are now linking the obesity outbreak to HFCS as well. Since the introduction of HFCS to the American diet from 1975-1985 the obesity rate has increased at a similar rate to the amount of HFCS used. New studies show that if HFCS id heated as it would be in cooking, it forms a dangerous chemical called hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). This dangerous chemical has been shown to kill honeybees that were fed the heated HFCS. On top of everything else, HFCS often contains mercury which is toxic to the nerves.
Despite what the corn industry or anyone else wants us to believe, it is NOT the same as regular sugar. In fact, HFCS is much worse than regular white sugar. HFCS is any type of corn syrup that has been processed to make the glucose into fructose. The food industry has started using HFCS in a wide variety of foods and drinks from crackers and salad dressing to sodas and juice boxes due to the fact that it is so inexpensive to make. Because HFCS is high in fructose and your body requires glucose, your body needs more, so you develop a craving for more sweets.
When glucose is consumed in the body, it increases the production of insulin which allows sugar to go to the cells to be used as energy. It also helps manage the hormones that regulate appetite and food intake. Fructose, however can induce insulin resistance which leads to diabetes, impair glucose tolerance, convert into triglycerides that leads to heart disease, and alter the magnesium balance in the body that can lead to the acceleration of bone loss.
Many experts are now linking the obesity outbreak to HFCS as well. Since the introduction of HFCS to the American diet from 1975-1985 the obesity rate has increased at a similar rate to the amount of HFCS used. New studies show that if HFCS id heated as it would be in cooking, it forms a dangerous chemical called hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). This dangerous chemical has been shown to kill honeybees that were fed the heated HFCS. On top of everything else, HFCS often contains mercury which is toxic to the nerves.