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Fact or Fiction: Sugar & High Fructose Corn Syrup

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Published: 10Jul2009
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Myth: Sugar is making America fat

FACT: Poor choices are making America fat

All legitimate science agrees that the causes of continuous weight gain in developed nations consists of a variety of environmental, psychological and physiological factors, not sugar and sweeteners . Researchers found that obesity was positively linked with time spent watching TV or at a computer and diets high in fat. This review looked at 38,409 individuals ages 20-74 and found no increase in body mass or obesity in populations that consumed sugar sweetened beverages vs. those that did not. Sweeteners are unfortunately guilty by association because of their presence in the foods and drinks (thus calories) we choose to consume. In other words, we can get fat on anything if we eat more calories than we burn, even if we only ate whole grains, fish and salads.

According to a 2003 article in Obesity Research, "The use of caloric sweeteners has risen across the world, and has contributed to an increasing number of calories consumed per day, which leads to weight gain" . The sad truth is that as a society we simply make poor food and drink choices. No one would argue that a diet high in sugar (and high in the nutrient deficient foods that deliver it) is good for you, but in the end these poor food choices are simply a delivery vehicle for excess calories. And don't forget, too much of any nutrient can become unhealthy, including, meats, vitamins and minerals, fish oils, etc. If we consumed sugars in moderation like we should, there would be no health-related issues. Sadly, we would probably fill the calorie gap with something else and then blame all our problems on the substitute food. So, there is nothing inherently fat-producing about sugar. The reality is that sugary foods do make up a significant portion of the typical American's diet. Coupled with low daily activity, this is a recipe for disaster, tipping the scale in favor of weight gain. A more accurate take-home message is, "reduce junk food intake and increase physical activity to improve health and body composition". Not, "don't eat sugar, it makes you fat."

Myth: High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) makes you fatter than sugar and leads to type 2 diabetes

FACT: Consumption of caloric sweeteners in America has declined since its peak in 1999 while obesity has climbed more rapidly than any other time in our history

This is an offshoot of the sugar myth. It's just another urban legend, according to John S. White, Ph.D., a leading research consultant who specializes in nutritive sweeteners. "These allegations--such as increased fat production or increased appetite--are based on poorly conceived experimentation of little relevance to the human diet, which tests abnormally high levels of fructose as the sole carbohydrate, often in animals that are poor models for human metabolism." Most of the anti-HFCS nonsense available to the public is based upon research showing the adverse effects of a diet unusually high in fructose, not HFCS. To clarify, HFCS is similar in fructose content to regular sugar. HFCS starts as corn syrup, which is primarily glucose. Through an enzymatic process, much of the glucose becomes fructose, making the syrup comparatively high in fructose when compared to regular corn syrup. White, granulated sugar is about 50/50 glucose and fructose. HFCS used in most beverages is 42% or 55% fructose, not significantly higher and maybe even lower in fructose than regular sugar (sucrose). The ratio of glucose to fructose in the American food supply has remained quite constant since the 1960s . To truly eat a diet high in fructose, one would have to go out of their way to do it and it would not be easy to do. Studies have looked at the metabolism of HFCS, its affect on insulin, appetite, leptin, and ghrelin and found no significant differences from sucrose (table sugar) . It would be a simple argument if HFCS were the villainous substance many claim it to be, but consider that the rise in obesity in the US is mirrored around the world in all developed countries. HFCS is not a significant contributor of calories to the daily diet of countries outside of the US. In Latin American countries for example, soft drink consumption makes up a significant portion of total daily calorie intake, and obesity is on the rise, yet the makers of Latin American soft drinks still use good old sucrose to sweeten their beverages. In this case, it is the CALORIC contribution, coupled with decreased physical activity, which is increasing the region's heft.

Regarding the safety of sugar and other sweeteners consider this: since the advent of HFCS (and remember the vast majority of the US population is consuming it), the average lifespan has increased by about two years (not because of HFCS, but clearly the substance is not systematically killing off the population). As for sugars, including fructose and HFCS, making us fat, the American consumption of ALL caloric sweeteners has been going down since its peak in 1999—to the tune of about 10 lbs. per year per person—while obesity during the same time period has climbed more rapidly than any other time in our history!

References --

Sun SZ, EmpieMW. Lack of findings for the association between obesity risk and the usual sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in adults- A primary analysis of databases of CSFII-1989-1991, CSFII-1994-1998, NHANES III and combined NHANES 1999-2002. Food Chem Toxicol. 2007. 45 (8): 1523-1536.

Popkin B., Nielson SJ. The Sweetening of the World's Diet. Obesity Research. 2003: 11(11).

Forshee RA, Story ML, Allison DB, Glinsmann WH, Hein GL, Lineback DR, Miller SA, Nicklas TA, Weaver GA, White JS. A critical examination of the evidence relating high fructose corn syrup and weight gain. Critical reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 2007. 47(6): 561-582.

Melanson KJ, Zukley L, Lowndes J, Nguyen V, Angelopoulos TJ, Rippe JM. Effects of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose consumption on circulating glucose, insulin, leptina dn ghrelin and on appetite in normal-weight women. Nutrition 2007. 23(2): 103-112.

Neal Spruce is chairman of the board for the prestigious National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and founder dotFIT, LLC. Neal is a fitness specialist, author, licensed teacher, researcher, bodybuilding champion, personal fitness consultant and speaker. dotFIT is the leading online fitness and weight loss program.

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