How Sweet Do You Like It?

I’m averaging slightly over a post a month this year – much less than I’d like (but more than 2010)…and since it’s been over three months since I did post anything, I figured it was high time.

So I bring you – straight from the blog I contribute to at work – a little ditty about high fructose corn syrup:

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) – or corn syrup that has been broken down and processed to form a ratio-specific blend of fructose and glucose – has become the go-to sweetener for the United States’ food industry. Two of the main reasons for this are that the high fructose blend, in comparison to sucrose (or table sugar), is cheaper to produce and sweeter in taste (so you need even less to yield the results you want – reducing the cost even further).

In today’s grocery store you will find HFCS listed in the ingredient list for almost any processed food that you purchase – from breads and cereals to lunch meats and yogurts. The significance of this continues to be argued.

Research has suggested that increases in HFCS consumption may contribute to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; however the evidence remains inconclusive, and so the research continues.

One thing that is known for sure is that fructose is absorbed and stored by the body differently than glucose. Glucose, once absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, enters the bloodstream, stimulates the body’s release of insulin from the pancreas, and – if it isn’t used by the body immediately – is taken [mostly] into the body’s muscle cells (with insulin’s help) to provide energy stores for the future. Fructose, on the other hand, doesn’t stimulate the release of insulin and isn’t stored in the same type of body cell as glucose. Instead, fructose is taken to the liver where it is further broken down and “repackaged” into triacylglycerol, which is stored in the body’s fat cells – a different form of energy reserve.

Where the research is insufficient with regards to HFCS intake alone, it’s pretty decisive with regard to added sugar intake; large amounts of any type of added sugar (HFCS or otherwise) can be linked to weight gain, dental cavities, poor nutrition, and increased triglyceride levels (which can boost your heart attack risk).

To that end, the American Heart Association recommends that most American women should consume no more than 100 calories a day, and that most American men should consume no more than 150 calories a day, from added sugar (from any source) - that’s approximately 6 teaspoons and 9 teaspoons, respectively.

To reduce your added sugar intake, consider these tips from the Mayo Clinic:

• Avoid sugary, non-diet sodas. Drink water or other unsweetened beverages instead.
• Choose breakfast cereals carefully. Although healthy breakfast cereals can contain added sugar to make them more appealing to children, skip the non-nutritious, sugary and frosted cereals.
• Eat fewer processed and packaged foods, such as sweetened grains like cookies and cakes and some microwaveable meals.
• Snack on vegetables, fruit, low-fat cheese, whole-grain crackers, and low-fat, low-calorie yogurt instead of candy, pastries and cookies.