May 12, 2011 | By
Fructose consumption in the U.S. has increased by 30 percent over the past 20 years and as much as four times compared to a century ago, according to "Medical News Today," October 31, 2009. Much of the increase has been in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, or HFCS, a sweetener used in soft drinks and other commercially prepared foods. Debate over the long-term side effects of high levels of consumption of high-fructose corn syrup continues among nutrition and health experts. However, most caution against consuming excessive amounts of all forms of dietary sugar.
OBESITY
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found a close association between the increasing consumption of sweetened beverages containing sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup or fruit-juice concentrates, and the rising obesity epidemic. In a study published in the April 2010 issue of the journal "Physiology and Behavior" researchers reported that all forms of added sweeteners promote weight gain as a long-term side effect. Liquid calories from sweetened beverages replace those from foods that contain higher nutritional value and increase risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease by increasing sugar consumption. Fructose may also promote abdominal fat accumulation and increase lipid production by the liver.
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
Upward trends in obesity, insulin resistance and high cholesterol have all paralleled the introduction of high-fructose corn syrup in soft drinks and other processed foods. However, high fructose corn syrup contributes to metabolic syndrome -- a combination of factors that increases risk for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease -- without increasing body weight, according to a study published in the April 2010 issue of the journal "Current Hypertension Reports." The researchers conclude that high fructose corn syrup impacts health in ways unrelated to promoting weight gain.
METABOLIC SYNDROME
All high-fructose diets, including those containing high-fructose corn syrup, promote obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol and raise triglyceride levels, according to a Swiss study. Long-term increased risk for metabolic syndrome may result. Similar detrimental effects occur in high-fat and high-glucose diets, implying that excess calories are more to blame than the type of sugar being consumed. Beverages and other processed foods sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup comprise the majority of fructose calories in the modern western diet. The study was published in the November 2010 issue of the journal "Nutrition."
MERCURY
Mercury contamination occurs in high-fructose corn syrup as a result of the manufacturing process, warns David Wallinga, M.D., writing for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, January 2009. Chemicals used in the manufacture of high-fructose corn syrup are produced using an outdated process that includes mercury. Mercury is toxic to the brain and nervous system and can cause abnormal fetal development and learning impairments in children.
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