The "health killer" that is more terrible than sugar and alcohol is hidden in the food you often eat

Now many people know the dangers of excessive sugar intake, but there is something we eat frequently in our daily lives that is a more terrible health killer than sugar and alcohol.

It is high fructose corn syrup . When you first hear the name "high fructose corn syrup", you will equate it with health and naturalness, but these are all illusions. Don't be fooled by it!

Since its creation in 1970, it has enabled Americans to:

1. Obesity rate - has increased three times from 13% to the current 40%.

2. Gout incidence - increased threefold from 3% in 1970 to 9% in 1996.

3. Diabetes incidence – increased 7.5 times from less than 1% in 1958 to 7.4% in 2015.

A recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2014, "Dietary fructose and glucose monosaccharides increase mortality in female mice compared to sucrose," pointed out that high fructose corn syrup, which is often used in soda and processed foods, may be more harmful to health than ordinary table sugar.

Wayne Potts, a researcher in the Department of Biology at the University of Utah, said that the trend of abandoning regular sugar in favor of high fructose corn syrup began in the mid-1970s, and this change coincided with the beginning of the rise of diabetes and obesity in the United States. [1]

Image source: unsplash © Jeswin Thomas

What is "glucose fructose syrup"?

There is neither fruit nor glucose in fructose syrup. It is a very cheap sweetener obtained from corn starch by enzymatic hydrolysis. It is named fructose syrup because it contains both glucose and fructose.

One disadvantage of high fructose corn syrup is that it has a weak sense of fullness, which may eventually lead to a greater total energy intake than drinks made with sucrose. Long-term intake can lead to a series of health problems such as obesity, fatty liver, diabetes, gout, etc.

Some people even say that "high fructose corn syrup" has become the second "great invention" of the food industry that harms humanity after hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans fatty acids).

Common fructose syrups can be divided into three categories according to the proportion of fructose they contain:

1. No. 42 fructose syrup containing 42% fructose

2. No. 55 fructose syrup containing 55% fructose

3. No. 90 fructose syrup containing 90% fructose

No. 42 fructose syrup is suitable for making cakes and biscuits, while No. 55 fructose is more suitable for making cold drinks and beverages. No. 90 fructose syrup is not common in daily life because of its high fructose content and strong sweetness.

Since its birth in 1970, fructose corn syrup has been widely used by food manufacturers for its low cost, high sweetness, easy fermentation, good coloring, and long shelf life. In this way, under the influence of various factors, fructose corn syrup has become popular all over the world.

Since then, many products such as cakes, biscuits, juices, ketchup, and canned foods, regardless of whether they had sugar added before, now have varying amounts of high fructose corn syrup added.

Image source: unsplash © Rebecca Campbell

The harm of fructose corn syrup

Much bigger than you think!

The biggest harm of high fructose corn syrup to the human body is that it makes us eat excessive fructose. These excessive fructose will bring a huge metabolic burden to our body, especially the liver.

Relevant studies have shown that fructose is more easily absorbed by the liver than glucose because the metabolic pathway of glucose in the body is more complex. Excessive intake of fructose will promote the synthesis of large amounts of fat and increase the risk of obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes, cardiovascular and other diseases.

1

obesity

Unlike the fructose in fresh fruits, if the fructose we consume comes from high fructose corn syrup and lacks the wrapping of dietary fiber, it will be absorbed by the human body at the fastest speed after entering the human body in liquid form.

A study titled "The Potential Role of Fructose in Hypertension, Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, and Diabetes" published in the October 4, 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that since the invention of high fructose corn syrup, Americans' fructose intake has been increasing day by day, from less than 0.45 kg per person per year in 1972 to 28.35 kg per person per year in 1992. [2]

This means that Americans consume 77g of fructose alone every day, far exceeding the total daily sugar intake recommended by the World Health Organization.

Due to excessive fructose intake, the obesity rate in Americans has risen sharply, from 13% to more than 40%.

2

Fatty liver

When we eat glucose, it will be used by various organs or cells in the body to provide energy for the body. Excess glucose will be stored in the liver or muscles in the form of glycogen.

However, after continuing to eat large amounts of food containing high fructose corn syrup, the fat around the liver accumulates more and more, gradually forming fatty liver.

According to a 70-year study published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Dietary Fructose and Glucose Differentially Affect Lipid and Glucose Homeostasis,” people who drink at least one beverage containing fructose corn syrup a day have a 55% higher risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease than those who do not drink any beverage. [3]

3

diabetes

As fatty liver disease worsens, the body will also experience abnormal blood lipid metabolism, further inducing insulin resistance and increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

In 2012, a study published in the journal Global Public Health found that countries that used high fructose corn syrup had a 20% higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those that did not. [4]

Researchers from Oxford University and the University of Southern California compared 42 countries and found that the more fructose corn syrup a country consumed, the higher the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

In 2006, a Harvard University study on "Added sweeteners" confirmed that women who drank one or more sugary soft drinks every day were twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as women who drank them less than once a month (see figure below). [5]

In April 2017, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report titled “Long-Term Trends in Diabetes,” which showed that the prevalence of diabetes in the U.S. has increased 7.5 times from less than 1% in 1958 to 7.4% in 2015 (see the figure below). [6]

4

gout

In addition to inducing non-alcoholic fatty liver and triggering insulin resistance, long-term consumption of high fructose corn syrup can also cause gout.

In 2011, in a study published in the U.S. National Library, Dr. Hyon Choi of Boston University Hospital conducted a 12-year comparative study on 46,000 volunteers. [7]

Finally, he found that people who drank fructose-containing beverages 5-6 times a week had a 29% higher chance of developing gout than normal people, and those who drank fructose-containing beverages more than 2 times a day had an 85% higher chance of developing gout! That is, there is a positive correlation between gout attacks and the intake of fructose-containing beverages.

After the advent of high fructose corn syrup in the 1970s, the incidence of gout increased from less than 3% to 9% (see the figure below).

How to avoid intake

Too much "high fructose corn syrup"?

1

Look at the ingredient list

Read the ingredient list when buying things - a very important life skill, everyone must learn to read the ingredient list when buying things!

When you buy drinks, yogurt, or desserts, you can look at the ingredient list. Generally, the ingredient list will indicate whether it contains "high fructose corn syrup".

2

Buy less sugar when buying milk tea

Another important use of fructose corn syrup is in mixed drinks such as milk tea. It is recommended that you indicate that you want less sugar when buying milk tea, or ask the milk tea shop whether you can use sugar-free sweeteners instead of fructose corn syrup.

3

Drink natural beverages

For beverages, it is recommended that you drink natural beverages, such as milk, orange juice, etc. In addition, the healthiest beverage is boiled water. Plain boiled water is healthier than milk tea and beverages, and will not cause obesity, diabetes, high blood lipids, etc. Many people have drunk various high-end beverages in their lives, but only found out at the end: the healthiest is still the glass of boiled water. If you think it tastes bland, you can add a slice of lemon to increase the flavor.

Image source: unsplash ©Francesca Hotchin

References

[1] Journal of Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology, “US study shows that high fructose corn syrup is more harmful to health than table sugar”

http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTotal-ZGSP201412054.htm

[2] Potential role of sugar (fructose) in the epidemic of hypertension, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease

https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/86/4/899/4649308

[3] Dietary Fructose and Glucose Differentially Affect Lipid and Glucose Homeostasis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2682989/

[4] Harvard Health Letter "Added sweeteners"

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/added-sweeteners

[5] High fructose corn syrup linked to diabetes

https://news.usc.edu/44415/high-fructose-corn-syrup-linked-to-diabetes/

[6] Long-term Trends in Diabetes April 2017

https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics/slides/long_term_trends.pdf

[7] The Epidemiology of Uric Acid and Fructose

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3197219/

Planning and production

Source: Run Run Shaw Hospital

Editor: Yang Yaping