How Its Consumption Can Make You That Way in Hours Flat

Six months ago or so I wrote about high fructose corn syrup – the stuff you’ll find high up in the list of ingredients in cereals, breads, candy, gum and desserts – and its linkage to diabetes (See “High Fructose Equals No Glucose?”). Now comes word from the health world that foods containing high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) convert to fat faster than foods that don’t contain it. Yet another reason to avoid HFCS!

If you or anyone you know has ever been on the Atkins Diet, you probably know that it restricts people from eating fruit because of its fructose content. It’s this same kind of fructose that’s used in processed foods, only converted into a corn syrup to extend the shelf life and add flavor to the foods it’s infused with.

University of Texas researchers realized fructose frazzled the body’s ability to burn fat after enlisting the help of six participants, all of whom were asked to consume either a glucose or fructose-based drink. Their testing of the individuals found that those who consumed the fructose-based drink converted the sugar from the drink into fat much quicker than the glucose-based drink – just four hours after consuming it! What’s more, because the participants were asked to drink the samples in the morning, the morning consumption of the drink affected how the body handled fats throughout the day. In other words, what the participants ate at lunch was stored, rather than burned, simply because they drank the fructose-based drink. I’m sure the participants really appreciated that (he says sarcastically)!

All this substantiates what we have already known about high fructose corn syrup: it’s bad for you. Simple as that. What’s more, this study substantiates the study that linked high fructose corn syrup to diabetes; for as we know, obesity is one of the prime risk factors for diabetes. And what ingredient contributes to obesity? High fructose corn syrup.

Now, this study may give some the impression that fructose of any kind should not be consumed. I hope no one goes away thinking this. After all, as I previously mentioned, fruits are loaded with fructose. But this fructose is found naturally in fruits, it’s not manufactured and supplanted into the fruits to extend its shelf life like high fructose corn syrup does with Rice Krispies Treats and Sunkist (Anyone who buys fruit regularly knows how quickly they spoil).

You might question, then, why the Atkins diet forbids its adherers to eating fruit. But remember: the Atkins diet forbids ALL carbohydrates, including those found in fruits. While this diet may help you lose weight, the lack of energy vitamins and minerals you get from quality carbohydrates in vegetables like potatoes and fruits like cantaloupe and blueberries are invaluable to your long-term health. In short, don’t confuse fructose for high fructose corn syrup. They may have the same name, but they’re converted by the liver in entirely different ways.

Let this study be the one that convinces you: eliminate high fructose corn syrup for your diet. They may lengthen the length of your food, but they’ll shorten the length of your life!