High Fructose Corn Syrup and the Obesity Epidemic

Interview with Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND.

Do you believe that high fructose corn syrup, a prevalent ingredient in so many packaged foods, is a factor in the obesity of children? Adults?

My best source of information on the epidemic of obesity created by high fructose corn syrup is presented by Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology. In an hour long video, he explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

Lustig and his fellow researchers have concluded that it’s the fructose component in sucrose (processed table sugar) and high fructose corn syrup that’s causing the epidemic of Metabolic Syndrome with it’s components of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, elevated cholesterol and triglyerides, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, inflammation, and non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease.

Is the way the body metabolizes high fructose corn syrup a factor in weight gain, obesity and diabetes?

Biochemically, we know that it takes 28 molecules of magnesium to metabolize one molecule of sucrose (table sugar). However, it take twice that amount, 56 molecules of magnesium to metabolize one molecule of fructose.

The deficiency in magnesium caused by having to metabolize high fructose corn syrup diminishes magnesium’s capacity to produce insulin and allow insulin to properly enter cells. Magnesium loss also has an impact on diabetes. One of the medical signs of diabetes is low blood levels of magnesium. Here is a quote from my book: The Magnesium Miracle 2014. “Magnesium enhances insulin secretion, facilitating sugar metabolism. Without magnesium, insulin is not able to transfer glucose into cells. Glucose and insulin build up in the blood, causing various types of tissue damage.”

Nutritionally speaking, is high fructose corn syrup equal to regular sugar?

It’s a very different molecule and requires more magnesium and more energy to metabolize. It leads to high triglycerides and fatty liver. As it turns out we were only meant to eat fructose in the form of fruit with all its fiber intact. Fructose isn’t processed like glucose, which is necessary for cellular nutrition. It’s processed in the liver as a toxin and transformed into fat. Alcohol is processed the same way, in the liver, as a toxin. Chronic fructose consumption and chronic alcohol consumption have most of the same side effects.

What can parents do to avoid high fructose corn syrup in their kid’s diet? Are there certain super offenders to steer clear of?

Look at labels and avoid high fructose corn syrup like the plague. Encourage children to drink water and if they must have flavoring, use organic stevia. Most people do realize that sugar can cause hyperactivity, but what they don’t realize is that sugar lurks where you least expect to find it and affects the human body in myriad ways. The sugar industry vehemently denies that sugar is hazardous to human health. Are the parallel increases in sugar consumption, obesity, and diabetes just a coincidence?

Here are 100 names that sugar can hide behind and should be avoided.

It sometimes requires a little detective work to find the hidden sugars in foods. You probably know the “ose”s (maltose, sucrose, glucose, fructose), but there are dozes more that you’d never suspect. The following is a list of 100 common names for sugar that you may encounter in ingredients of your favorite foods.

Amasake
Apple sugar
Barbados sugar
Bark sugar
Barley malt
Barley malt syrup
Beet sugar
Brown rice syrup
Brown sugar
Cane juice
Cane sugar
Caramelized foods
Carbitol
Carmel coloring
Carmel sugars
Concentrated fruit juice
Corn sweetener
Corn syrup
Date sugar
Dextrin
Dextrose
Diglycerides
Disaccharides
D-tagalose
Evaporated cane juice
Evaporated cane juice
Florida crystals
Fructooligosaccharides (FOS)
Fructose
Fruit juice concentrate
Galactose
Glucitol
Glucoamine
Gluconolactone
Glucose
Glucose polymers
Glucose syrup
Glycerides
Glycerine
Glycerol
Glycol
Hexitol
High-fructose corn syrup
Honey
Inversol
Invert sugar
Isomalt
Karo syrups
Lactose
Levulose
“Light” sugar
“Lite” sugar
Malitol
Malt dextrin
Malted barley
Maltodextrins
Maltodextrose
Maltose
Malts
Mannitol
Mannose
Maple syrup
Microcrystalline cellulose
Molasses
Monoglycerides
Monosaccarides
Nectars
Pentose
Polydextrose
Polyglycerides
Powdered sugar
Raisin juice
Raisin syrup
Raw sugar
Ribose rice syrup
Rice malt
Rice sugar
Rice sweeteners
Rice syrup solids
Saccharides
Sorbitol
Sorghum
Sucanat
Sucanet
Sucrose
Sugar cane
Trisaccharides
Turbinado sugar
Unrefined sugar
White sugar
Xylitol
Zylose

Here are two additional media stories that reference Dr. Lustig’s work. The NY Times – “Is Sugar Toxic”, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all and a segment on 60 Minutes, also called, “Is Sugar Toxic?” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-sugar-toxic-01-04-2012/