'It' being corn, disguised as HFCS, a.k.a. High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Remember, you are what you eat.
Gatorade tried to hide HFCS with a fructose-glucose label. ‘All natural’ Snapple Iced Tea has
unnatural man made HFCS. Your cereals, yoghurt, fig newtons, granola bars, Nutrigrain bars,
all have HFCS. Other countries use sugar cane in soda, not the in U.S. Ketchup, steak sauce and
salad dressings have it too. And yes even your bread (Pepperidge Farm Light 7 Grain Style) has
it. In fact, every pre-packaged bread product at my local supermarket aisle had it.
HFCS was not part of the human diet until 1975. It is estimated we now consume more than 40
pounds a year or more than 200 calories a day, all from corn.
HFCS is produced by milling corn into corn starch which is then broken down using industrial
and genetically modified enzymes.
HFCS 55, the type most commonly used in soft drinks, is made up of 55% fructose and 45%
glucose. Nature’s sucrose is made up of 50% fructose and 50% glucose. More importantly, the
fructose and glucose in HFCS 55 are in the form of separate molecules; compared to natural
sucrose where the glucose and fructose are joined together as a single molecule.
In the simplest of terms, we have pulverized and digested a corn kernel outside of our body
and put it back in, as a mysterious form our body does not recognize readily. We were not
designed to metabolize HFCS nor have we adapted to do so.
What we know:
The increased use of HFCS in the United States mirrors our rapid increase in obesity, diabetes,
heart disease, and cancer. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 79, No. 4, 537-543, April
2004)).
Liver metabolism of fructose causes de novo lipogenesis (production of fat). Because fructose
metabolism occurs at a very high rate, frequent use of fructose promotes fat production and
increases triglyceride (cholesterol) levels.
Unlike glucose, fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion or enhance leptin production, key
signals in the regulation of our sensation of fullness.
When male rats were given high amounts of fructose, they died prematurely prior to adulthood,
suffering from anemia, high cholesterol, heart hypertrophy, delayed testicular development.
HFCS erode your teeth faster than soft drinks, made even worse with chewy energy bars.
When it comes to fuel for your muscles, natural glucose from starch is the body's
preferred source, from bread, pastas, rice, potatoes, and vegetables. Glucose from dietary
sources is broken down, absorbed, transported to the liver, and released into the blood, where
insulin stimulates its uptake into the liver and muscle.
A small study, published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism,
found cyclists who drank chocolate milk were able to bike about 50% longer than those who
drank Endurox and as long as those who drank Gatorade.
Recommendation:
Eat real foods. Keep it real.
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