Thursday, February 26, 2009

Here's What's Wrong With High Fructose Corn Syrup

Maybe you've seen the recent commercials sponsored by the Corn Refiner's Association. Basically, there are two people sitting down to eat. One offers the other some food and the other backs off and refuses because it contains high fructose corn sryup.

The first person says, what's wrong with high fructose corn syrup, after all it's made from corn? The second person fumbles around, realizes they don't have an anwer and then is overcome by guilt or stupidity after they don't have anything intelligent to say. The first person wins the power struggle then they both stuff thier face with whatever crapola has the high fructose corn syrup.

I've posted this list before, but find that with the increase in commercials being played on TV, I'd like to give you some more ammunition to answer the question "What's Wrong With High Fructose Corn Syrup?"

Here’s the Top Ten List of Why High Fructose Corn Syrup is bad for you:

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup is made from genetically modified (GMO) corn. Which you should know, most corn nowadays is GMO.

2. High Fructose Corn Syrup is far from being natural as it takes high heat, 3 different enzymes and 5 different processes to create it.

3. The introduction of High Fructose Corn Syrup into society coincides with the beginning of the obesity epidemic. As HFCS beame more widely used, the rate of obesity climbed as well, bringing with it all those obesity related problems like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

4. Because High Fructose Corn Syrup is so far removed from a natural food, it fails to stimulate leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full.

5. Because High Fructose Corn Syrup is so far removed from a natural food, it fails to reduce ghrelin, a stomach hormone that stimulates your appetite.

6. Because High Fructose Corn Syrup is so far removed from a natural food, it may also decrease adiponectin levels. Adiponectin is a hormone made by fat cells that helps make you more sensitive to insulin and helps control your weight and appetite

7. Because of #’s 4, 5 & 6, eating high fructose corn syrup fails to do 3 things your body needs to feel full and curb your apetite…..so you keep on eating and eating and eating...

8. High Fructose Corn Syrup spikes your triglyceride levels

9. High Fructose Corn Syrup lowers your levels of “good cholesterol” (HDL)

10. High Fructose Corn Syrup increases your levels of LDL-B cholesterol. LDL is your “bad cholesterol”, the LDL-B is the “bad of the bad cholesterol”.

11. As has been the subject of recent news reports, some recent studies have shown that most high fructose corn syrup contains mercury. You are most vulerable when high fructose corn syrup is one of the top 4 ingredients in your food. Mercury is a heavy metal poison that is difficult for your body to get rid of. Mercury is responsible for many symptoms that plaque our society and can be attributed to the mercury-silver amalgum dental fillings and now to high fructose corn syrup.

Bottom line, anything sweetened with high fructose corn syrup should be labeled "artificialy sweetened". High Fructose Corn Syrup does not occur in nature. The corn high fructose corn syrup is made from is genetically modified.

Don't be deceived by the cute TV commercials when the person can't answer why high fructose corn syrup is bad for you. The fact is, it is bad for you whether or not you can vocalize the reasons. Now, with this blog post, you have 11 good anwers when some dope asks you why high fructose corn syrup is bad for you!

'nuff said

DocT

Dr. Narson is a 2-term past president of the Florida Chiropractic Association’s Council on Sports Injuries, Physical Fitness & Rehabilitation and was honored as the recipient of the coveted Chiropractic Sports Physician of the Year Award in 1999-2000. He practices in Miami Beach, Florida at the Miami Beach Family & Sports Chiropractic Center; A Facility for Natural Sports Medicine.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

We need to go on the warpath on corn syrup like we are doing with trans-fats. I just had my cholesterol tested last Saturday and it was 238. The tri-glyceride's were 199 ! The thing about corn syurp, it permeates all of our foods !

Unknown said...

I was astonished when I saw those commercials. It angers me that corporate America will play on the ignorance of people, but what is worse is that it actually works! I shop at Whole Foods Market (no hydrogenated oils and no high fructose corn syrup here in the entire store). My overweight, unhealthy colleagues laugh at me when I decline a treat based on its ingredients "you're so picky, you little health nut" Okay, but I haven't taken a sick day in 7 years. The proof is in the naturally sweetened pudding.

Anonymous said...

Did you kniow its illegal in all of Europe and in some other conuntries. Thats why america is the fattest country in the worold its because of High Fructose Corn Syrup. I am actually working on a project for my civics class that is trying to make High Fructose Corn Syrup illegal in Utah. Thanks for sending a message out and helping our cause. If we could get support from other states that would be great.

John Hays said...

How do you escape the simple fact that obesity results from an imbalance of caloric intake and exercise? Were we not so sedentary in both our work and leisure activities, we'd be mostly more slender, would we not?

Dr. Todd Narson said...

Hi John, thanks for reading the blog and commenting. And yes, you are correct in what you say, for the most part. We would be much more slender and the problem isn't only high fructose corn syrup(HFCS) but all added sugar. As one can see in someone like Michael Phelps, i you exercise and train enough, you can put almost anything in your mouth and still be fit. So you can burn the calories.

However most people eat way way too much and expend much too little energy, so there is the one imbalance you point out.

But the problem is they bulk up on what seems like small quantities of food, but because they are so highly refined, it's really "concentrated calories" and they're getting many more calories than that bargained for.

I pointed out to one of the therapists in my office last week that the bag of trail mix he snacked on was actually 6 servings and a total of 900 calories. That's a lot for a mid afternoon snack.

But not only the quantity of calories and lack of exercise, but the timing of when you eat it. Even healthy food in too large of quantities will slow up your metabolism. Like in the old coal fed steam engine trains, if you shovel in too much coal you're going to smother the fire, if you put in too little, you're not giving the fire enough fuel to burn...either way, the water stops boiling and slows down - eventually topping the engine.

Think of the engine as your metabolism and there in lies another piece of the puzzle.

Another aspect is the healthfulness of the foods. Put in large quantities of unhealthy foods and although you'll burn the calories, you're still putting toxic chemicals into your body.

After all, food isn't simply our "fuel" it's nourishment to feed our tissues and cells nutrients it needs to rebuild and replicate.

But yes, eat less, exercise more is a start. But there's more too it.

Thanks for your comment John.

All the best.

Todd