So what is high fructose corn syrup, and why is it supposedly so bad for you? Corn syrup is essentially a blend of two sugars derived from the corn plant and processed enzymatically. It’s called “high fructose” because the levels of fructose in the end product are substantially higher than in the original plant. Corn syrup became a popular sugar replacement because of various factors. For one, the corn industry has been heavily subsidized by the government for several decades, meaning that corn is usually overproduced. What’s more, table sugar (or sucrose) was relatively scarce and highly priced. Corn syrup thus became an extremely cheap and more viable alternative for several food producers.

Several studies have tried to link the obesity epidemic in America to the rise in high fructose corn syrup intake. The idea was that high fructose corn syrup somehow interacts with our metabolic processes has lead researchers to conclude that HFCS is more likely to make us gain weight than normal table sugar. Indeed, studies using rats have found this phenomenon to be true. When the public became privy to these rather tentative studies, consumers have demanded less of the product in their goods. Several companies have answered to the demand, advertising their products as not containing any HFCS.

Still, more recent studies have concluded that high fructose corn syrup may not be as bad as was previously thought. A recent Miller-McCune article reported that because HFCS was introduced into the American diet a relatively short time ago, more long-term research is required to determine the true effects of the syrup.  The article was written in response to the corn industry asking the FDA to change the name of the syrup to “corn sugar”, saying that it’s a more accurate description of the product. The corn industry hopes that the change will make its product more consumer-friendly.

For consumers who are still wondering whether to purchase products with HFCS, some advise that it is wiser to avoid processed foods in any case. Whether sodas are sweetened with cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup doesn’t change the fact that soft drinks provide little nutritional value.

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This guest post is contributed by Vanessa Jones, who writes on the topics of dating sites. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: vanessa.jones42@gmail.com.

Lecture notes

Obesity , as known from various Studies, is an associated cause for increase in morbidity and mortality. There is  50–100% increase in risk of death from all causes compared to normal weight people, mostly due to cardiovascular causes. Mortality rates rise as obesity increases, particularly when obesity is associated with increased intraabdominal fat . Life expectancy of a moderately obese individual could be shortened by 2–5 years, and a 20- to 30-year-old male with a BMI > 45 may lose 13 years of life. It is also apparent that the degree to which obesity affects particular organ systems is influenced by susceptibility genes that vary in the population.

Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Obesity  is a major risk factor for diabetes, and as many as 80% of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are obese.

Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are pervasive features of obesity, increasing with weight gain and diminishing with weight loss . Insulin resistance is more strongly linked to intraabdominal fat than to fat in other depots. The molecular link between obesity and insulin resistance in tissues such as fat, muscle, and liver has been sought for many years.

Major factors under investigation include:

(1) insulin itself, by inducing receptor downregulation;

(2) free fatty acids, known to be increased and capable of impairing insulin action;

(3) intracellular lipid accumulation; and

(4) various circulating peptides produced by adipocytes, including the cytokines TNF- and IL-6, RBP4, and the “adipokines” adiponectin and resistin, which are produced by adipocytes, have altered expression in obese adipocytes, and are capable of modifying insulin action.

Weight loss and exercise, even of modest degree, are associated with increased insulin sensitivity and often improve glucose control in diabetes.
Also read Dieting for weight control : good or bad

Reproductive Disorders

Males-

• Male hypogonadism is associated with increased adipose tissue, often distributed in a pattern more typical of females.
• In men >160% ideal body weight, plasma testosterone and sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) are often reduced, and estrogen levels  are increased.
• Gynecomastia.

Females-

• menstrual abnormalities in women, particularly in women with upper body obesity.
• increased androgen production, decreased SHBG, and increased peripheral conversion of androgen to estrogen.
• may be associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), with its associated anovulation and ovarian hyperandrogenism; 40% of women with PCOS are obese.
• lower body obesity  may contribute to the increased incidence of uterine cancer in postmenopausal women with obesity.

Cardiovascular Disease

• coronary disease – Read on Acute MI
• stroke
• and congestive heart failure (CHF).

The waist/hip ratio may be the best predictor of these risks.

• Obesity-induced hypertension is associated with increased peripheral resistance and cardiac output, increased sympathetic nervous system tone, increased salt sensitivity, and insulin-mediated salt retention; it is often responsive to modest weight loss.

Pulmonary Disease

• Reduced chest wall compliance,
• increased work of breathing,
• increased minute ventilation due to increased metabolic rate,
• and decreased functional residual capacity and expiratory reserve volume
• Severe obesity may be associated with obstructive sleep apnea and the “obesity hypoventilation syndrome” with attenuated hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory responses

Gallstones

higher incidence of gallstones, particularly cholesterol gallstones

Cancer

• Males-

cancer of the esophagus,colon,rectum,pancreas,liver, and prostate

• Females -

cancer of the gallbladder, bile ducts, breasts, endometrium, cervix, and ovaries.

Bone, Joint, and Cutaneous Disease

• Obesity is associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis, no doubt partly due to the trauma of added weight bearing and joint malalignment.
• The prevalence of gout may also be increased
• Among the skin problems associated with obesity is acanthosis nigricans, manifested by darkening and thickening of the skin folds on the neck, elbows, and dorsal interphalangeal spaces. Acanthosis reflects the severity of underlying insulin resistance and diminishes with weight loss.
• Friability of skin may be increased, especially in skin folds, enhancing the risk of fungal and yeast infections. Finally, venous stasis is increased in the obese.

Source: Harrison’s Internal Medicine Book

Body normally stores Reserve energy in form of fat, and utilizes it in time of starvation or hunger. Fat in fact is a good friend of human that can be worst foe as well. Obesity is one of the most concerning problem in the developed countries. Obesity itself is a social embarrassment, but above that it is the etiology to many problems in the future. The Body mass Index or BMI grading can be used to measure how fit you are. Calculate your BMI here.

In a program on Discovery channel, topic was “Obesity”, I found it rather informative and a way to raise public awareness about the possible consequence of Obesity. It also emphasized on  “ Dieting an Unhealthy way for weight loss”. As we generally think, the body loses fat after a fasting or Dieting, which is true but not completely, as body is prone to gain more weight soon after that.

The story about an Ex-Sumo Wrestler struggling to lose weight in his thirties was touching. How Obesity could affect your day to day living was shown through his story. He weighed more than 650 pound, which was like carrying 2 person with him all the time. That lead to the erosion of cartilage of his knee joint leading to a condition called Osteoarthritis. About 20 million American are living with osteoarthritis today, so I don’t think it is a new topic in USA. He fears he won’t make to the next decade if he doesn’t do something soon to lose his weight. He is under diet control and exercise. Losing 30 pounds was a light of Hope for him, but he needs to lose 300 pounds more to get to his target. He has Type 2 Diabetes and he’s under constant threat of many fatal diseases.

The ultimate decision he has to make, go through Bariaticsurgery “ A process where stomach size is reduced and part of intestine is bypassed’. It could drastically reduce weight but is not free from severe side effects. He thinks he won’t make it through the surgery so he denies undergoing surgery. It was in fact a touching story that left me thinking, he should have undergone the surgery, looking at the results of few other similar patients.

Female store fat in different parts of the body. Men store most of the fat inside their abdomen, surrounding the vital organs, Liver, Adrenals, and Intestine etc. This affects the endocrinal system in Men. Such type of Obesity is more prone to predispose Diabetes Type II. Obesity in men is more fatal than that in Women.

People undergo dieting as a therapy to lose weight. Body has tendency to maintain certain amount of fat as static reserve. When person is dieting, the body considers the stage of fasting as starvation. After the fasting, the body tends to restore the used fat. Moreover body takes extra precaution and keeps the static reserve of fat at a higher level than before.  So next time the person feels immense hunger and the food taken subsequently results in more storage of fat and weight gain. Person who periodically undergoes dieting, can ultimately fall into a vicious cycle of dieting and weight gain. So dieting is not at all a healthy way of weight loss.

Best Weight loss  technique is to reduce the Calorie intake and Exercise more. (Remember : When we eat , we usually underestimate the calorie provided by the food, we may be taking double the normal calorie requirement  that we need.)

Synopsis Article

For anyone looking to eat a more healthy diet, keep their weight down and increase their health a good place to start is to switch from refined carbohydrates to complex carbs. This is where the GI index can help.

GI (glycemic index) is a measure of how much a carbohydrate raises blood glucose once eaten. Carbohydrates are broken down by our bodies into glucose which is the main fuel for every cell in our body. Carbohydrates that have a high GI will get broken down more quickly giving high blood glucose levels thus causing a high insulin response. On the other hand low GI foods are broken down more slowly and a gradual release of glucose in to the blood is achieved, this gives the body a sustained energy source over a longer period of time and can improve the bodies sensitivity to insulin.

In recent years there has been an increase in the amount of refined carbohydrates eaten, refined carbohydrates have been stripped of their fibre and nutrients and this is why they are more quickly digested. This change in eating habits has been linked to obesity, diabetes, fatty liver that can lead to hepatitis or liver failure and other diseases.

To conclude it seems best to eat a varied healthy diet that is high in fibre and complex carbohydrates.

Low GI foods include:

Rolled oats, wholewheat bread and pasta, brown or wild rice, apples, pears, broccoli, baked beans, sweetcorn, quinoa and more.
There is a well presented GI table here: thegi-diet.org/lowgifoods.

Not all complex carbs have a low GI. The potato is a good example and is digested quickly, even more so when baked.

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Author: Clare Fay
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