Why Corn Syrup is Worse than Sugar
W
hy is it important to choose natural sugars instead of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)? Dr. Vanessa Bundy, a pediatric resident at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University, remarks, “Fructose is metabolized differently than other sugars and has some byproducts [that are] believed to be bad for us.” Children and adolescents that consume many foods containing pure fructose, such as sodas and energy drinks, kids’ cereals and sugary snacks, are at special risk. The researchers’ analysis of 559 adolescents, ages 14 to 18, correlated high-fructose diets with higher blood pressure, fasting glucose levels, insulin resistance and inflammatory factors that contribute to heart and vascular disease. Heavy consumers of the mega-sweetener also tended to have lower levels of cardiovascular protectors such as HDL (good) cholesterol and adiponectin, a protein hormone that regulates the body’s metabolism of lipids (fats and oils) and glucose (a simple sugar and universal source of energy). Bundy explains, “The overall amount of fructose that is in HFCS is not much different than the amount in table sugar, but it’s believed there’s something in the syrup processing that plays a role in [producing] the bad byproducts of metabolism.”
Rice Syrup Alert
C
Buy into your
community
… Support our advertisers
10
West Michigan Edition
NaturalWestMichigan.com
onsider reading labels and avoiding or restricting foods sweetened with rice syrup, at least for now. A recent study by researchers at Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, found levels of arsenic in foods containing rice syrup that exceeded U.S. standards for bottled water. The sampling of products included cereal bars, energy shots (drinks) and baby formulas sweetened with organic brown rice syrup. Arsenic is toxic and potentially carcinogenic, and the researchers are pushing for regulatory limits in food, like those that protect drinking water.