High fructose corn syrup is defined by Wikipedia as “any of a group of corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic processing to increase its fructose content, and is then mixed with pure corn syrup (100% glucose), becoming a high-fructose corn syrup; the types are: HFCS 90 (mostly for making HFCS 55), approximately 90% fructose and 10% glucose; HFCS 55 (mostly used in soft drinks), approximately 55% fructose and 45% glucose; and HFCS 42 (used in most foods and baked goods), approximately 42% fructose and 58% glucose.[1].” The sugar, or sucrose, equivalent version is obviously HFCS 55, with the numerical designation representing the sucrose factor, but what does that mean from a physiological standpoint?
To understand how HFCS impacts the body, you have to consider its relationship with insulin, why that is important and how it ties in to HFCS? Insulin is the hormone secreted by the Pancreas to regulate glucose, or blood sugar. It is a chemical messenger that communicates with insulin receptors that lie on the surface of muscle, liver, and fat cells, as well as specific cells in the kidney and the hypothalamus of the brain. The more it detects excess glucose, the more it shifts the metabolism, the more it converts it into glycogen to store it in the liver and muscles. The body functions with insulin and blood sugar in different ways. Here are some key issues:
· Excess blood sugar that cannot be stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles turns to new fat that is stored in the fat repositories of the hips, butt and back.
· Excess insulin transports fat from the blood stream and transports it into fat cells.
· Elevated insulin levels inhibit the release and utilization of stored body fat for energy
· Elevated insulin comes from too many carbohydrates in your meal and not enough protein.
· Elevated insulin comes from eating an excessively large meal.
· Research from the University of Wisconsin and University of California indicate that chronic over-nutrition appears to activate the inflammatory protein IKKβ/NF-κB, which has led mice to become resistant to insulin and researchers conclude that an excess of the protein leads to obesity.
So how do you protect yourself if you are watching what you eat? It helps to understand something about homeostasis to appreciate the way the process works.
The hypothalamus of the brain, which controls the excretion of ghrelin, called the hunger hormone for its impact on eating urges, is known as the Appetite Control Center of the body. Too much ghrelin makes you eat more, while too little reduces appetite. Eating reduces ghrelin production and deprivation dieting increases ghrelin production, which explains why you are hungry on some diets, while so many successful diets have focused on eating the right foods in adequate quantities on a regular basis.
HFCS sweeteners trigger ghrelin production but don’t trigger the “full” response that tells you to quit eating, regardless of how much you ingest, because the fructose doesn’t satiate the body’s needs or trigger the hormones that make you feel full. Consequently, shortly after eating you hunger for more of the same. Ghrelin is produced principally in the stomach (2/3), although significant production comes from the small intestine (1/3). Ghrelin is a very complicated but essential key to the endocrine system of the body and is being explored by a wide variety of sources for even more physiological applications. Dr.’s David Cumming and Michael H. Shannon have written an extremely interesting article on ghrelin, “Roles for Ghrelin in the Regulation of Appetite and Body Weight” that is a worthy, well annotated read. If you are interested in this subject, click on the title.
Leptin, ghrelin’s opposing hormone, affects insulin absorption in the body when deficiency of the hormone, which is produced by fat cells, results in hyperphagia, obesity, and insulin resistance, and a variety of neuroendocrine deficits, notably hypogonadism. In short, leptin production reduces appetite, and is produced by adipose cells (fat) in the body, proportionate to the amount of fat the body contains, just like insulin. (See diagram of how leptin works, clickhere.)
Cell Metabolism, Volume 3, Issue 5, May 2006 Pages 301-302, offers further study on the affects of leptin. Although you can buy OTC leptin in oral form to lose weight, ingesting it in that fashion seems to lose its efficacy within a very short period of time.
So, why are these two opposing hormones important to weight gain and how does that relate to HFCS? In a multi-clinic study on the affects of fructose on leptin secretion, one of the findings were“In rhesus monkeys, an8-h iv fructose infusion resulted in markedly reduced insulin secretion and did not increase circulating leptin concentrations compared with infusion of the same amount of glucose” Here is the empirical evidence that fructose isn’t absorbed in the body like sugar. It goes on….”Therefore,it is important to determine the effects of dietary fructose on meal-associated insulin secretion and the diurnal pattern of leptin production in humans. This is particularly relevant, in light of the fact that per capita fructose consumption has increased during the past three decades within the same time frame as a marked increase in the prevalence of obesity". It was my own observation of the HFCS/obesity timeline that motivated me to write this article. The AMA has acknowledged that the increase of obesity in our country is directly proportional to the consumption of HFCS; however, in the absence of direct empirical data, they have consistently left this topic up for grabs. This could possibly be in light of the incredible amount of lobbying by the Corn Refiners Association.
In essence, the fructose (55) used to sweeten soft drinks does not trigger leptin production, so the body does not recognize the level of sugar it receives in the form of fructose as it does when ingesting regular sugar. The implications of this are multifaceted, because lesser amounts of fructose are ingredients in everything from salad dressings to bread, with a 42% sugar equivalent in baked goods. Many of these goods are baked in the grocery stores themselves, so when you sit down to a meal in which a substantial amount of fructose is the sweetener in multiple dishes being served, the cumulative effect overwhelms the system with sugars whose impact are not being recognized, therefore offset, by the body’s hormonal defenses. On top of that, Fructose is metabolized in the liver, while glucose is digested throughout the body, suggesting that many liver complications could be attributable to fat accumulated from fructose.
Another concern is how the FDA changed the designation of HFCS from artificial to “natural” sweeteners after a serious lobbying effort from the Corn Refiners Association. This coincided nicely with the Association’s $30 million ad campaign, designed to mitigate the damage done by research pointing the finger at HFCS as a potential contributor to obesity. FDA comments include this sentence, “Because the glutaraldehyde does not come into contact with the high dextrose equivalent corn starch hydrolsate, it would not be considered to be included in or added to the HFCS.” Glutaraldehyde is, “a colorless liquid with a pungent odor used to sterilize medical and dental equipment.” Umm, yummy! And people are concerned about white sugar being bleached?
Per capita consumption of HFCS is currently 59 pounds, adding to a global obesity (BMI >30) that is epidemic, despite the number of those starving around the world, and represents about 30% of our nation’s population, with morbid obesity (BMI>40) adding another 5% to the mix. The world wide situation is so severe that obesity is beginning to overtake infectious diseases as the most significant contributor to global health problems.
Finally, HFCS is only one contributor to obesity to U.S. weight issues, but certainly, it deserves much greater scrutiny than it is currently receiving. Part of the problem we face in combating HFCS usage is that when you review all of the food processors that use it, the total benefit it provides in both costs and processing, added to the lack of current evidence that directly connects it to obesity, we are fighting a very difficult uphill battle. That being said, there is no reason why you can’t mount your own efforts to educate your family and friends to the facts at hand.
The next article on food will cover saline additives, or brine, injections in all meats and the impact on humans from eating domestic livestock that is fed a constant diet of growth hormone and antibiotic additives. Consider this, if the feces excreted by chickens contain enough growth hormone to justify mixing it with grain and feeding it to cattle to promote growth, how much of it remains in the flesh of the bird that we eat? Now you know why Tyson has come out with organic chicken. Torte is a serious threat when you serve millions of consumers.
No where to hide from HFCS.
Foods that contain HFCS ~ Bon Apetite!!
Fast Foods with HFCS ~ Mangia!!
Glossary
Homeostasis ~ refers to the body's ability to regulate its internal physiology to maintain stability in response to fluctuations in the outside environment.
Postprandial ~ After a meal
Orexigenic ~ having a stimulating impact on the appetite