As the EU Launches Shocking Fructose Health Claim Label, Oreos Are
Found to Be as Addictive as Cocaine
October 30, 2013
Story at-a-glance
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According to a recent animal study, Oreo cookies are just as
addictive as cocaine or morphine, activating more neurons in
the brain’s pleasure center than exposure to illicit drugs
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Most processed foods are actually created to be
addictive—whether we’re talking about cookies or pasta
sauce—through the masterful use of addictive ingredients
like salt, fat, sugar and a wide variety of proprietary
flavorings
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In a shocking twist, the European Union has approved a
health claim for fructose, slated to take effect as of 2014
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Food manufacturers that replace at least 30 percent of the
glucose and/or sucrose content in their food with fructose
will be allowed to state their product has a positive effect
on carbohydrate metabolism and insulin sensitivity
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While fructose creates a lower glycemic response immediately
after eating it, compared to sucrose or glucose, it is
grossly misleading to say it’s therefore healthier for you,
as this completely ignores its overall metabolic
consequences
By Dr. Mercola
When you eat refined processed sugars, they trigger
production of your brain's natural opioids -- a key ingredient
in the addiction process. Your brain essentially becomes
addicted to stimulating the release of its own opioids as it
would to morphine or heroin.
This
addictive nature of sugar and
processed food has again been confirmed by a psychology
professor and a team of students at the College of Connecticut,1,
2 who showed that Oreo cookies are just as addictive
as cocaine or morphine.
The study, which was designed to investigate the potential
addictiveness of high-fat/high-sugar foods, also found that
eating Oreos activated more neurons in the rat brain’s pleasure
center than exposure to illicit drugs did. According to
professor Schroeder:
“Our research supports the theory that high-fat/
high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that
drugs do. It may explain why some people can’t resist these
foods despite the fact that they know they are bad for
them.”
The idea for the study originated with neuroscience major
Jamie Honohan, who wanted to know how the high prevalence of
junk foods in low-income neighborhoods might contribute to the
obesity epidemic.
Indeed, it’s quite revealing to note that, in contrast to
third-world countries, in the US the poorest people
have the highest obesity rates. This seeming contradiction is, I
believe, a clear indication that the problem stems from the diet
itself.
Something in the cheapest and most readily available foods is
creating metabolic havoc, and that’s exactly what researchers
keep finding. As reported by Connecticut college:
“...Oreos activated significantly more neurons than
cocaine or morphine. 'This correlated well with our
behavioral results and lends support to the hypothesis that
high-fat/ high sugar foods can be thought of as addictive,'
said Schroeder.
And that could be a problem for the general public,
says Honohan. ‘Even though we associate significant health
hazards in taking drugs like cocaine and morphine, high-fat/
high-sugar foods may present even more of a danger because
of their accessibility and affordability,’ she said.”
Please note that I do not agree with the comment that
everything that is considered high-fat is bad for you. Oreo
cookies and virtually every other processed snack are bad
because they use highly processed omega-6 vegetable oils, the
wrong type of fat. However it is possible to make a healthy
high-fat snack using oils like coconut oil.
Processed Foods Are DESIGNED to Be Addictive
Indeed, scientific research into the addictive nature of
certain foods, combined with shocking “insider” exposés,3
tells us that Americans are not necessarily lacking in self
control when it comes to their food consumption. Rather, food
companies have perfected food concoctions that are addictive.
And they know it.
Most people blindly believe that food companies will do the
right thing; that they would never produce food that might be
toxic or harmful. This, we’ve learned is not the case.
The food industry is well aware of its role in creating
obesity, and they’re not ignorant as to the reason why Americans
can’t seem to get enough
junk food. They even insist on selling foods to the American
market with ingredients that have been
banned for health reasons in other countries...
Most processed foods are actually created to be
addictive—whether we’re talking about cookies or pasta
sauce—through the masterful use of addictive ingredients like
salt, fat, sugar and a wide variety of proprietary flavorings.
In a previous New York Times article,4
investigative reporter Michael Moss wrote about the
extraordinary science behind taste and junk food addiction, and
how multinational food companies struggle to maintain their
“stomach shares” in the face of mounting evidence that their
foods are driving the health crisis.
In it he mentions a 1999 meeting between 11 CEOs in charge of
America’s largest food companies, including Kraft, Nabisco,
General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Mars, where their
role in the increasingly poor health of Americans was addressed
head-on. Moss writes in part:
“James Behnke, a 55-year-old executive at
Pillsbury... was engaged in conversation with a group of
food-science experts who were painting an increasingly grim
picture of the public’s ability to cope with the industry’s
formulations —
From the body’s fragile controls on overeating to the hidden
power of some processed foods to make people feel hungrier
still. It was time, he and a handful of others felt, to warn
the C.E.O.’s that their companies may have gone too far in
creating and marketing products that posed the greatest
health concerns.“
SHOCKING! EU Approves Health Claim for Fructose
With everything we now know about the metabolic disaster that
is fructose, it’s absolutely SHOCKING to learn that the European
Union has approved a health claim for fructose,5
slated to take effect as of 2014. Many of my readers are
scattered through the EU nations, and for you, understanding the
ramifications of this label is crucial.
As of 2014, food manufacturers that replace at least 30
percent of the glucose and/or sucrose content in their food
with fructose will be allowed to put a health claim on
their product, stating that it has a positive effect on
carbohydrate metabolism and insulin sensitivity.
There’s no doubt in my mind that such a health claim will
promote an avalanche of chronic disease, as food manufacturers
start switching from the lesser to the greater
of two evils... As reported by Ingredients Network:6
“[F]ood and beverage manufacturers can expect a
healthy upward surge in sales for products with fructose
from the 2nd of January 2014 when the European Union’s
fructose health claim comes into effect. ...[T]he fructose
declaration promises to be truly ground breaking for food
and beverage manufacturers. Manufacturers who substitute at
least 30 percent of glucose or sucrose with fructose can now
claim that
‘Consumption of foods containing fructose leads to a
lower blood glucose rise compared to foods containing
sucrose or glucose.’ ...fructose’s ability to emphasize
fruity flavors also makes the news particularly favorable
for manufacturers of beverages, fruit preparations, fruit
flavored ice-cream, yogurts and more.
Since the EU’s game-changing step, validating fructose
benefits, the industry’s attention has focused with
increased urgency on the opportunities presented by
incorporating non-GMO crystalline fructose into different
food and beverages products...”
Why Fructose Is Worse for You Than Other Sugars
One of the primary problems with refined fructose is that it
is isocaloric but not isometabolic. What this means is that
while you can have the same amount of calories from fructose or
any other nutrient, including glucose, the metabolic effect
will be entirely different despite the identical calorie count.
While it is true that refined fructose creates a lower
glycemic response immediately after eating it, compared to
sucrose or glucose, to say that it is therefore healthier for
you is a gross and seriously misleading claim that wholly
ignores its overall metabolic consequences.
In short, the fact that refined fructose produces a lower
immediate glycemic response is completely irrelevant, because
the overall metabolic effects are far more destructive. In my
view, this label is dangerous, and may set the EU up for an
out-of-control spiral of chronic disease.
Refined fructose actually affects your body in ways similar
to alcohol, hence the rise in non-alcoholic fatty liver
disease—and, again, addiction.
Fructose and ethanol both have immediate, narcotic effects
associated with their dopaminergic properties. In the same way
that alcohol can lead to the downward spiral of compulsive
overconsumption, fructose tends to generate an insatiable and
intense sensation of pleasurable sweetness, often driving us to
consume far more than our body can handle; even while it damages
multiple organ systems.
The EU Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies
even spells out the consequences in their Opinion paper,7
while still agreeing with the proposed health claim for
fructose:
“The Panel considers that in order to bear the claim,
glucose or sucrose should be replaced by fructose in sugar
sweetened foods or beverages. The target population is
individuals who wish to reduce their post-prandial glycaemic
responses. The Panel notes that high intakes of
fructose may lead to metabolic complications such as
dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance and increased visceral
adiposity.“ [Emphasis mine]
What You Need to Know About Fructose versus Glucose Metabolism
Again, while refined fructose creates a lower glycemic
response in the short term, compared to other sugars, in the
long term, it causes greater metabolic havoc than sugar. This
has been repeatedly demonstrated in scientific studies.
One of the most recent ones, published in the journal Nature,8
again concluded that while refined fructose and glucose have the
same caloric value, they are metabolized differently, and
fructose causes more harm of the two. Below is a summary of the
main differences between glucose and fructose metabolism, which
explains why I keep repeating that fructose is by far the worst
type of sugar there is:
With fructose, 100 percent of the metabolic burden rests
on your liver. But with glucose, your liver has to break
down only 20 percent |
When you eat 120 calories of glucose, less than one
calorie is stored as fat. 120 calories of fructose
results in 40 calories being stored as fat.
Consuming fructose is essentially consuming fat!
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Every cell in your body, including your brain, utilizes
glucose. Therefore, much of it is "burned up"
immediately after you consume it. By contrast, fructose
is turned into free fatty acids (FFAs), VLDL (the
damaging form of cholesterol), and triglycerides, which
get stored as fat |
The metabolism of fructose by your liver creates a long
list of waste products and toxins, including a large
amount of uric acid, which drives up blood pressure and
causes gout |
The fatty acids created during fructose metabolism
accumulate as fat, both in your liver and skeletal
muscle tissues, causing insulin resistance and
non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Insulin
resistance progresses to metabolic syndrome and type II
diabetes |
Glucose suppresses the hunger hormone ghrelin and
stimulates leptin, which suppresses your appetite.
Fructose has no effect on ghrelin and interferes with
your brain's communication with leptin, resulting in
overeating |
Fructose is the most lipophilic carbohydrate. In other
words, fructose converts to activated glycerol (g-3-p),
which is directly used to turn FFAs into triglycerides.
The more g-3-p you have, the more fat you store. Glucose
does not do this |
In addition to fructose's dopamine modulating activity,
there appears to be a
fructose-opiate connection. While both
glucose and fructose are capable of creating
pain killing effects, researchers have found
that fructose is more potent than glucose in
accomplishing these effects, suggesting it may be more
addictive |
Cancer Researcher Issues Stark Warning
This is a
Flash-based video and may not be viewable on mobile devices.
In the video above, Dr. Lewis Cantley, a cancer researcher
and head of the Cancer Center at New York’s Weill Cornell
Medical College, explains why a high-sugar diet is so
dangerous—in particular to children. First, it’s important to
know that the factor that links obesity, diabetes, and cancer is
insulin and leptin resistance. Insulin and leptin
resistance, and even full-blown type 2 diabetes, is now becoming
increasingly prevalent in children and teens—something that was
virtually unheard of 50 years ago. As Dr. Cantley says, type 2
diabetes is referred to as “late onset diabetes” for the precise
reason that it typically didn’t strike until you were in your
60s.
If diabetes at 60 is evidence of a lifetime of
higher-than-ideal sugar consumption, then the fact that
teenagers are now developing type 2 diabetes tells us that
the amount of sugar in the average diet, starting from infancy,
is exceptionally high—so high that the ramifications
become evident several decades sooner than before! This
in turn exponentially increases the child’s risk of developing
cancer at some point in his or her life. Dr. Cantley warns:
“This correlation of earlier and earlier type 2
diabetes, that means you now have 20, 30, 40 years of high
insulin levels, which could potentially drive the growth of
tumors. It really does make us very worried that advances
we’re making in treating cancer is going to be completely
offset by this dramatic increase in cancers that are
associated with diabetes and obesity... The more I learn
about it, the more compulsive I become about avoiding
sugar.”
Think about it... Sugar used to be available to our ancestors
only as fruit or honey—and then only for a few months of the
year—compared to today, when fructose (primarily in the form of
high fructose corn syrup) is added to virtually all processed
foods and drinks; even items you normally would not think of as
being high in sugar. Tragically, many
infant formulas even contain more than 50 percent sugar!
This, I believe, gets your child hooked on sweets virtually from
day one, and sets the wheels in motion for metabolic
dysfunction.
If you received your fructose only from vegetables and fruits
(where it originates) as most people did a century ago, you'd
consume about 15 grams per day. Today, the average is 73 grams
per day, which is nearly 500 percent higher a dose and your body
simply can't tolerate that type of biochemical abuse.
Furthermore, in vegetables and fruits, the fructose is mixed in
with fiber, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and beneficial
phytonutrients, all of which help moderate the negative
metabolic effects.
This is why, as a general rule, I advise keeping your daily
fructose consumption, from ALL sources, including whole fruit,
below 25 grams per day. If you are overweight and/or have
insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure
or other chronic disease, you’d be wise to limit it further—down
to 15 grams a day.
Take Control of Your Health, and Don’t Fall for Grossly
Misleading Fructose Health Claims
For the first time in history, "lifestyle" diseases --
diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers -- are killing more
people than communicable diseases. According to
GreenMedInfo.com, scientific studies have linked fructose to
about 78 different diseases and health problems.9
Select the hyperlinks provided to review how fructose may:
As previously reported in a New York Times10
opinion piece on the dramatic health care savings promised by
healthier lifestyle habits and diet:
"The INTERHEART study of 30,000 men and women in 52
countries showed that at least 90 percent
of heart disease is lifestyle related; a
European study of more than 23,000 Germans showed that
people with healthier lifestyles had an 81
percent lower risk.”
Treating these entirely preventable illnesses costs
more than one-seventh of the US gross domestic product (GDP). It
stands to reason then that preventing these diseases
could save the US health care system around one trillion
dollars a year!11
One of the primary, and likely most effective ways of preventing
these diseases would be to curb the outrageous over-consumption
of sugar.
Your Lifestyle Will Make or Break Your Health
Unfortunately, processed foods are HUGE business with great
profit margins—maximized, I might add, by designing foods with
addictive qualities, through the use of salt, sugar,
fat and other secret, proprietary flavor formulas. The food
industry as a whole has NO incentive whatsoever to switch to
selling and marketing whole foods—unless the market absolutely
demands it.
I believe the current situation can change, but only if
enough people understand the simple truths of healthy eating and
refuse to buy sugar-laden processed foods. If you want to
protect your health, and the health of your family, my most
urgent recommendation is to do just that—replace the processed
foods with homemade meals, made from scratch using whole
ingredients.
Remember, insulin and leptin resistance are core factors in
obesity, which in turn is a risk factor for cancer and may boost
tumor growth. Insulin and leptin resistance is also at the root
of most other chronic diseases. To safely and effectively
reverse insulin and leptin resistance, you need to:
- Avoid, sugar, fructose, grains, and processed foods
- Eat a healthful diet of whole foods, ideally organic,
and replace the grain carbs with:
- Large amounts of vegetables
- Low-to-moderate amount of high quality protein
(think organically raised, pastured animals)
- As much highly quality healthful fat as you want
(saturated and monosaturated). Most people need upwards
of 50-70 percent fats in their diet for optimal
health. Good sources include coconut and coconut oil,
avocados, butter, nuts, and animal fats. Also take a
high-quality source of animal-based
omega-3 fat, such as krill oil
As I've said before, about 80 percent of the health benefits
you reap from a healthy lifestyle comes from your diet, and the
remaining 20 percent from exercise – but it's a very important
20 percent, as it acts in tandem with and boosts the benefits
derived from a proper diet. For maximum benefits, you'll want to
make sure to include high-intensity interval training, which is
at the heart of my Peak Fitness program. To learn more, please
see my previous article: "The
Major Exercise Mistake I Made for Over 30 Years."
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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