Thursday, April 21, 2011

10 Side Effects of High-Fructose Corn Syrup


You have heard the term high fructose corn syrup if you have spent any time on health websites, magazine articles or television shows. Commonly referred to as HFCS, the sweetener accounts for more calories than any other food option in the entire American diet.

Negative Effects of HFCS

High fructose corn syrup, so commonly found because corn has become one of the cheapest most widely available crops, acts as an alternative sweetener to normal table sugar. The fructose has a much sweeter taste and acts as a much more cost effective option for food producers and manufacturers. Ultimately, HFCS acts as the number one cause for obesity in the world, especially in the United States of America. The sweetener has the ability to decrease metabolism and hinder the natural production of insulin and other appetite controllers, amongst other problems.

1. Obesity

HFCS limits your body’s ability to produce insulin and leptin, making it difficult to metabolize food and regulate appetite. The pancreas remains insulin resistance to all types of fructose, including HFCS, severely hindering appetite control.

2. Diabetes

Due to obesity and an irregular fluctuation of insulin, HFCS leads to diabetes in many people. Continual pancreatic damage remains the main cause of diabetes.

3. Tooth Infections and Decay

Foods rich in sugars and sweeteners like HFCS rot teeth by decaying the enamel coating.

4. LDL Cholesterol and Triglycerides Increase

Sugars metabolize into fat, therefore increasing your unhealthy cholesterol levels along with the fat storages in your body. Since high fructose corn syrup does not cause the secretion of insulin or leptin, foods with high levels of the sweetener become nearly fully absorbed and metabolized into fat and cholesterol.

5. Increased Risk of Heart Attack and Heart Disease

High amounts of HFCS often result in higher cholesterol, which in turn blocks arteries and the flow of blood to and from the heart. This process weakens the heart muscles and the ability for new oxygen to circulate throughout the body. The increase in fat storages also harms heart health.

6. Anemia

In order for your body to digest HFCS and other sugars that contain no vitamins or minerals, you must use other storages of the valuable nutrients, depleting your body of its natural amounts.

7. Poor Immunity

HFCS interfere with the creation of hormones and enzymes in your body that normally defend major diseases.

8. Lack of Calories

Even though foods that contain high levels of HFCS provide a ton of calories, those calories have no nutritional value at all. This often gets labeled as the empty calorie phenomenon.

9. Fatigue

High levels of sugar cause your body to release greater amounts of hormones and endorphins that slow the body down.

10. Mood Swings and Withdrawal

Too much sugar and HFCS will cause your body to crave more, and when trying to cut back, the desire and cravings only increase.

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