I’ve written to you many times about the negative effects of high-fructose corn syrup. And I have to apologize for bringing it up again but the huge agriculture companies are pushing it on us even more, and the mainstream seems bent on defending it.
The HFCS industry is still on a mission to convince people that corn syrup and table sugar are comparable. Yet today, we have even more evidence that it’s just not true, with some new studies, and some guidelines from institutions that finally seem to be coming around to the truth.
The FDA ruled that HFCS can be labeled a “natural” product because it’s made from corn. That’s technically true … although the “corn” in question is genetically modified. And there’s nothing natural or healthy about GMO corn.
Further, results from a study presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting found that the rate of obesity has increased sharply since the development of HFCS and that the prevalence of HFCS in processed foods may have something to do with it. Americans now consume 30% more fructose than they did 20 years ago, and even more over the last few years since I first wrote to you about the problem.
Yet, the HFCS website sweetsurprise.com claims that high fructose corn syrup does not contribute to obesity any differently than sugar. In support of this assertion they quote from a 2007 study: “An expert panel, led by Richard Forshee, Ph.D. of the University of Maryland Center for Food, Nutrition and Agriculture Policy, concluded that ‘The currently available evidence is insufficient to implicate high fructose corn syrup per se as a causal factor in the overweight and obesity problem in the United States.’”
That evidence is no longer current. In fact, the tables may be starting to turn even more drastically not only on HFCS but on sugar overall.
Today I want to tell you about some new studies, new findings and new dietary guidelines being adopted by the World Health Associations (WHO), the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), and The Mayo Clinic … the very organizations that ignored previous evidence.
Study says fructose worst sugar
The results of a study lead by James J. DiNicolantonio – a cardiovascular research scientist at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, MO, and published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings – warn strongly against ingesting HFCS, in addition to added sugars generally.
Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance) are the negative direct effects. If that sounds familiar, it’s because those are the same effects regular sugar has.
The study abstract contains a warning, which is fairly rare for buttoned-down scientists: “Added fructose in particular (e.g., as a constituent of added sucrose or as the main component of high-fructose sweeteners) may pose the greatest problem for incident diabetes, diabetes-related metabolic abnormalities, and cardiovascular risk.”
New WHO sugar guidelines
The World Health Organizations (WHO) recommends that sugar intake make up “less than 10% of total energy intake per day.” Even better, the WHO would like to recommend that adults reduce their daily sugar intake to only 5% of total daily calories. Based on a 2,000 calorie daily diet that would be only consuming about 25 grams of sugar (6 teaspoons) per day.
The interesting thing is that these WHO guidelines apply to most forms of sugar, not just the white stuff you and I know. It includes fructose and the foods and juices that have a great deal in them.
Hidden sources of sugar in foods
Aside from a physiological addiction to sugar, one of the biggest barriers to avoiding sugar is that it’s in foods you don’t normally think of as having sugar. Ketchup, for example, isn’t exactly tomato paste… it includes about 1 teaspoon of sugar in a single serving!
Of course you want to avoid the foods with sugars that sound inviting and wholesome, like “brown sugar” and “raw sugar.” Those are just names meant to fool you into thinking they’re more natural when they’re not.
Here is a list of fifteen other sugars found in everyday food labels, under names you may not be familiar with:
- corn sweetener
- corn syrup
- dextrose
- fructose
- fruit juice concentrate
- glucose
- high-fructose corn syrup
- honey
- invert sugar
- lactose
- maltose
- malt syrup
- molasses
- sucrose
- syrup
Natural sugars are ok
The good news is that fresh, whole foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, even though they have sugars, and fructose in the case of fruit, aren’t on the “bad” list.
A study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings finds that “Whole foods that contain fructose (e.g., fruits and vegetables) pose no problem for health and are likely protective against diabetes and adverse CV outcomes.” And further, that “there is no need for added fructose or any added sugars in the diet.”
While some guidelines, such as those offered by the American Heart Association, have not yet caught up to the new recommendation trend, I agree that reducing sugar intake to 5% of daily calories will go far to help stop your chances of getting adult onset diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and suffering a premature death as a result of these preventable diseases.
One of the things you can do to help reduce your body’s burden of sugar is to make sure you are getting enough magnesium and chromium.
Your body uses these two essential minerals to make insulin and enhance the effects of insulin, the substance that processes and lowers the amount of sugar in your blood.
It’s not uncommon for people with diabetes to be deficient in one or both.
There are quite a few vegetables and other foods that have these minerals, like broccoli, spinach, beans and the Peruvian grain-like plant quinoa. Herbs and spices are also surprisingly good sources.
Remember that vitamin C enhances the absorption of dietary chromium. But to avoid deficiency so that you can properly process all the hidden sugar in our foods, make sure your daily multi-nutrient has at least 400 mg of magnesium and 200 mcg of chromium.
References
http://personalliberty.com/the-skinny-on-high-fructose-corn-syrup/
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2014/consultation-sugar-guideline/en/
http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga95/sugars.htm
http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(15)00040-3/fulltext
