Corn Syrup Is More Toxic Than
Refined Sugar, Researchers Conclude
January 21, 2015
Story at-a-glance
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Excessive amounts of sugar in your diet has toxic
effects, and processed fructose is far worse, from a
metabolic standpoint, than refined sugar
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Female mice fed a diet that contained 25 percent of
calories from corn syrup had nearly twice the death
rate compared to those fed a diet in which 25
percent of calories came from table sugar
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Mice fed corn syrup also had 26 percent fewer
offspring than their sugar-fed counterparts
By Dr. Mercola
Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of
Endocrinology at the University of California, has been a pioneer in
decoding sugar metabolism.
He’s become quite well-known in recent years for stating that
excessive amounts of sugar in your diet has toxic effects. He’s also
pointed out that processed fructose is far worse, from a metabolic
standpoint, than refined sugar.
Now, new research1,2
from the University of Utah confirms Dr. Lustig’s stance, showing
that corn syrup is more toxic to female mice than table sugar. Not
only did corn syrup adversely impact the animals’ rate of
reproduction, it also caused premature death.
From a chemical standpoint, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is
similar to table sugar, but it does contain higher levels of
fructose.
Manufacturers have long claimed that HFCS contains at most 55
percent fructose (and 45 percent glucose). This is very close to
white sugar, which contains about 50 percent fructose (and 50
percent glucose).
That said,
tests have revealed that the fructose level in HFCS can reach as
high as 65 percent. It is this elevated fructose level is one piece
of the explanation for why HFCS is so much worse for you than
refined sugar.
Corn Syrup Found to Be More Toxic Than Table Sugar
According to senior author Wayne Potts,3
“this is the most robust study showing there is a difference between
high-fructose corn syrup and table sugar at human-relevant doses.”
As reported by Reuters:4
“The study showed that female mice fed a diet which
contained 25 percent of calories from added fructose and glucose
carbohydrates known as monosaccharides that are found in corn
syrup died at a rate 1.87 times higher than female mice on a
diet in which 25 percent of calories came from sucrose.
The mice on the fructose-glucose diet produced 26.4
percent fewer offspring than their counterparts on the diet
containing added table sugar...
The study suggests humans, especially women, could face
adverse health effects tied to consuming too much corn syrup,
which is found in many processed food products...
Between 13 and 25 percent of Americans are estimated to
eat diets containing 25 percent or more of calories from added
sugars, according to the paper.”
According to the authors of this paper, 42 percent of the added
sugar found in the US diet comes from corn syrup; 44 percent comes
from sucrose. The remaining 14 percent of added sugars are in the
form of natural sweeteners such as honey, molasses, and fruit. .
Worldwide however,
high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) accounts for only eight percent
of added sugar consumption, so Americans are far more likely to
consume excessive amounts of HFCS than many other nationalities, and
our disease statistics tend to mirror that as well.
High fructose consumption is in fact a primary contributor to
most chronic disease states, starting with insulin resistance, which
can then progress into related diseases like diabetes, heart
disease, cancer, and more.
Heart Failure Patients with High Blood Sugar Have Higher Risk of
Early Death
In related news,5
researchers claim that testing blood sugar levels of patients
suffering heart failure can help identify those at greatest risk of
death. According to the study’s lead author Dr. Douglas Lee:6
"Our findings suggest that the measurement of blood sugar
levels in all patients arriving at emergency departments with
acute heart failure could provide doctors with useful prognostic
information and could help to improve outcomes in these
patients.
Among patients without pre-existing diabetes, the
majority (51 percent) had blood glucose levels on arrival at
hospital that were within 'normal' limits but greater than 6.1
millimoles per liter (mmol/L) [110 milligrams per deciliter
(mg/dL)].”
Among non-diabetics, the risk of death within one month of their
heart failure was 26 percent higher among those with even
slightly elevated blood sugar levels, compared to patients
whose blood sugar levels were in the low-normal range.
Those with blood sugar levels nearing the criteria for diabetes
had a 50 percent higher risk of death within the month
following their heart failure. Elevated blood sugar levels were also
associated with a higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
American Agricultural Policies Promote High Disease Rates
There's a common belief that healthy food is inherently more
expensive, and thus can only be for the wealthy. But healthy food
could easily be more affordable for everyone, were it not for
agribusiness CEOs, their lobbyists, and the politicians in their
pockets.
Both corn and sugar beet crops are heavily subsidized in the US.
The reason why buying a loaf of processed white bread is cheaper
than buying a pound of broccoli is directly related to agricultural
subsidies, which favor all the ingredients that make up a junk food
diet.
As noted by Business Insider,7
the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) spends nearly $1.3 billion a
year on subsidies for our most commonly used junk food ingredients,
including corn, wheat, soy, and sugar beets.
Sugar used to be a condiment; now it’s a diet staple. According
to SugarScience.org, added sugars hide in 74 percent of processed
foods under more than 60 different names.8
If subsidies were really based on nutritional value, then neither
corn nor sugar beets would fit the bill... As it stands,
agricultural subsidies are used to grown ingredients that form the
very foundation of a junk food diet.
US Sugar Industry Enjoys a Particularly Sweet Deal...
Interestingly enough, processed food could be even cheaper than
it already is. Not that this would necessarily be a positive thing,
but it highlights the fact that processed junk foods are a real
profit center—both for food industry and our politicians.
According to University of Michigan–Flint economist Mark J.
Perry,9
US policies such as minimum price guarantees for domestic sugar,
along with high tariffs for imported sugar, ends up costing American
consumers about $3 billion per year in inflated processed food
prices. As noted in a recent article by Reason Magazine:10
“Taking candy from a baby is easy. Taking sugar from a
senator? Not so much... [I]t's not just the nation's 3,913 sugar
beet farms and 666 sugarcane farms that crave the sugar
program's artificially sweetened revenues. The program also
persists because it offers a steady source of money to elected
officials.
In a June 2014 report, Bryan Riley, a senior policy
analyst at the Heritage Foundation, noted that while sugar
constitutes just two percent of the total value of US crop
production, the nation's sugar farmers account for 35 percent of
the crop industry's total campaign contributions and 40 percent
of its lobbying expenditures.
Over the years, major sugar companies such as American
Crystal Sugar and Florida Crystals have donated millions of
dollars to individual candidates and political action
committees. According to OpenSecrets.org, the industry as a
whole has donated $41.7 million since 1990.”
Processed foods have become such major profit centers, food
manufacturers have absolutely no incentive to switch to selling
whole, unadulterated foods. I believe our food system can
be changed, but only if enough people understand the simple truths
of healthy eating and refuse to buy sugar-laden processed
foods. Four years ago, Dr. David Ludwig, a Harvard-affiliated
pediatrician, wrote a commentary in the Journal of the American
Medical Association (JAMA),11
offering concrete suggestions to turn this disease-producing diet
trend around, such as:
- Restructuring subsidies
- Regulating the marketing of food to children
- Adequately funding school lunch programs
- Using existing and future technologies to allow the food
industry to retain profits while producing more healthful
products
Those are all good suggestions, but while politicians debate and
search for their moral compasses, I would suggest doing your own
homework and changing your own diet.
Do You Know How Much Sugar You Consume Every Day?
We’ve long acknowledged that the Western diet is associated with
increased rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension,
and cancer. Yet the conventional paradigm is extremely reluctant to
accept that it is the sugar content of this diet that is
the primary culprit. Doctors and health officials alike are still
trying to convince you that you can have your cake and eat it too,
as long as it’s “in moderation.”
The crux of the problem is that if you eat a diet consisting
primarily of processed foods, moderation immediately goes out the
window, because virtually all processed food items contain some form
of added sugar. Oftentimes, just ONE food item can contain an entire
day’s worth of sugar!
Sweetened beverages may be among the worst culprits. Take Vitamin
Water, for example. One 20 oz bottle contains around 30 grams of
sugar,12
which equates to THREE Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnuts. That
one bottle alone is also TWICE the daily recommended fructose
allowance for people with insulin resistance, and it’s five grams
over the limit for non-insulin resistant folks! On average, sugar
makes up 15 percent of total calories consumed in the US (about 19.5
teaspoons per day), and your liver, which processes sugar, simply
cannot handle that kind of burden.
When you overload your liver in this way, you inevitably end up
with chronic metabolic disease. According to available data, the
safety threshold for sugar appears to be around six to nine
teaspoons (25-38 grams) of added sugar per day. Any more that, and
you’re setting yourself up for an insulin resistance. And again,
processed fructose tends to cause more severe metabolic dysfunction
than regular sugar, in part because it’s more readily
metabolized into fat than any other sugar.
The fatty acids created during fructose metabolism accumulate as
fat droplets in your liver and skeletal muscle tissues, causing
insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Insulin resistance in turn progresses to metabolic syndrome and type
2 diabetes. The metabolism of fructose by your liver also creates a
number of waste products and toxins, including a large amount of
uric acid, which drives up blood pressure and causes gout.
To Avoid Chronic Disease, Be Mindful of Your Fructose Consumption
Mounting evidence clearly shows that refined sugar and processed
fructose are primary factors causing obesity and chronic disease,
including heart and cardiovascular disease. A paper by Yang, et al,
published in JAMA Internal Medicine last year looked at
consumption of added sugar over two decades, as a percentage of
total calories, concluding that it significantly contributed to
cardiovascular deaths. People who consumed 30 percent of their daily
calories as added sugar (like many teenagers are) had a four-fold
greater risk of dying from heart disease.
The evidence is quite clear: If you want to normalize your
weight, and dramatically reduce your risk of diseases such as heart
disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s, you need to address your
processed food consumption. Refined sugar, processed fructose,
grains, and other sugar-forming starchy carbohydrates are largely
responsible for your body's adverse insulin and leptin reactions,
which underlie these and other chronic disease states.
If you’re insulin/leptin resistant, have diabetes, high blood
pressure, heart disease, or are overweight, you’d be wise to limit
your total sugar/fructose intake to 15 grams per day until your
insulin/leptin resistance has resolved. This applies to at least
half of all Americans. For all others, I recommend limiting your
daily fructose consumption to 25 grams or less, to maintain optimal
health. The easiest way to accomplish this is by swapping processed
foods for whole, ideally organic foods. This means cooking from
scratch with fresh ingredients. My free
nutrition
plan offers a step-by-step guide to feed your family right.
Healthy Diet Summary
Remember, processed foods are the main source of all the
primary disease-promoting culprits, including high fructose corn
syrup and other sugars, processed grains,
trans fats, artificial sweeteners, and other synthetic additives
that may aggravate metabolic dysfunction. Since you’re cutting out a
lot of energy (carbs) from your diet when you reduce sugars and
grains, you need to replace them with something. The ideal
replacement is a combination of:
- High quality healthy fat (including
saturated13
and monounsaturated). Those with insulin resistance benefit from
upwards of 50-85 percent of their daily calories in the
form of healthy fats. Good sources include coconut and coconut
oil, avocados, butter, nuts, and animal fats. (Remember, fat is
high in calories while being small in terms of volume. So when
you look at your plate, the largest portion would be
vegetables.)
- As many non-starchy vegetables as you want
- Low-to-moderate amount of high quality protein.
Substantial amounts of protein can be found in meat, fish, eggs,
dairy products, legumes, and nuts. When selecting animal-based
protein, be sure to opt for organically raised, grass-fed or
pastured meats, eggs, and dairy, to avoid potential health
complications caused by genetically engineered animal feed and
pesticides.
Most Americans eat far too much protein, so be mindful of the
amount. I believe it is the rare person who really needs more
than one-half gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. Those
that are aggressively exercising or competing and pregnant women
will need about 25 percent more, but most people rarely need
more than 40-70 grams of protein a day.
To determine your lean body mass, find out your percent body
fat and subtract from 100. This means that if you have 20
percent body fat, you have 80 percent lean body mass. Just
multiply that by your current weight to get your lean body mass
in pounds or kilos. To determine whether you’re getting too much
protein, simply calculate your lean body mass as described
above, then write down everything you’re eating for a few days,
and calculate the amount of daily protein from all sources.
Again, you’re aiming for one-half gram of protein per pound
of lean body mass, which would place most people in the range of
40 to 70 grams of protein per day. If you’re currently averaging
a lot more than that, adjust downward accordingly. You could use
the chart below or simply Google the food you want to know and
you will quickly find the grams of protein in the food.
Red meat, pork, poultry, and seafood average 6-9 grams
of protein per ounce.
An ideal amount for most people would be a 3 ounce serving
of meat or seafood (not 9 or 12 ounce steaks!), which will
provide about 18-27 grams of protein |
Eggs contain about 6-8 grams of protein per egg. So an
omelet made from two eggs would give you about 12-16 grams
of protein.
If you add cheese, you need to calculate that protein in as
well (check the label of your cheese) |
Seeds and nuts contain on average 4-8 grams of protein
per quarter cup |
Cooked beans average about 7-8 grams per half cup |
Cooked grains average 5-7 grams per cup |
Most vegetables contain about 1-2 grams of protein per
ounce |
Copyright 1997- 2015 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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