I noticed that Adriana has posted an article about sugar — and I just wrote another article about the same thing on my own blog — and, I have another bit of news for you that deals with one of the sugars and its effect on your health.
food label

There is so much controversy as to whether one type of sugar is better or worse for you. I happen to believe that there is little positive to say about sugar — but I also believe that there is one that may be worse for you than the others — and that one is high fructose corn syrup. This is a highly processed, chemically altered sweetener that was created back in the early 1970s in a lab in Japan. It is used in almost all processed and prepackaged foods.

Everyone has eaten high fructose corn syrup and its use is up by over 1,000 percent since its creation. It’s in everything from soft drinks and yogurt to cookies and crackers. In fact, high fructose corn syrup now represents more than 40 percent of the caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages.

The other thing that’s more than doubled in the same time frame is obesity. Coincidence?

I know that the obesity epidemic is caused by more than just high fructose corn syrup — there’s lack of physical activity — we’re eating huge portion sizes at meals — we consume huge quantities of fast-food — but this toxic substance in our foods does have a part to play.

High fructose corn syrup is a high calorie substance. If we add even a tiny amount of calories to our diet — say 100 calories a day — that can add up to a 10-pound weight gain in just one year. I saw a statistic that Americans consume 440 12-ounce cans of high fructose corn syrup-laced drinks every year, so the fact that we’re getting fat is no surprise — one of those cans is a lot more than 100 calories. Think about how many young people you see walking around with a huge bottle of soda in their hands.

There’s a reason for this — regular table sugar is made up of 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose. High fructose corn syrup is made up of 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose. (That’s why they call it “high fructose”).

Well, fructose doesn’t make you feel full like glucose does. So what happens is that you keep eating — your brain doesn’t get the “I’m full” message.

There’s one more problem — fructose just isn’t digested by your body. It isn’t absorbed or metabolized. It goes right into fat production. It also lowers your HDL (the “good” cholesterol).

To sum up — high fructose corn syrup is associated with a big list of problems like — insulin resistance — too many calories being consumed — it messes up your metabolism — it causes weight gain — it’s one of the culprits of high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

So read the labels on the foods you buy — and when you see high fructose corn syrup, put that product back on the shelf. Head over to the produce department and get some nice fresh fruits and vegetables. Get some whole wheat bread to go with it.

Have a healthy day.

Shanti,

Ron
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Ron Rink (See my profile on the “Contributors” page — the link is in the upper right hand corner) writes regularly about personal development in his “Ron’s Esoteric Thoughts and Ideas” blog at: http://www.theleaderinside.com — Stop by, check it out, and leave a comment.
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