The Hidden Ingredient in Weight Loss Products That Can Make You Fat

If you’d rather avoid an appointment with this man, then sign-up to the FREE Daily Health eletter...
where good health comes naturally!

You know what they say: New Year, New You. So I am back the at gym trying to lose the extra pounds I gained over Christmas... an all too familiar scenario I'm sure you'll agree!. In order to get faster results I am also back on a low-carb high-protein diet.

After getting back from the gym last night, I made a chicken salad and as I rigorously poured some olive oil over my salad my friend exclaimed ‘Not so much oil! It will make you fat!’

Needless to say, a massive debate ensued and it couldn’t have come at a better time especially with the recent news report of a leading UK heart surgeon proclaiming that we should ‘Ban Butter’ to save the growing number of young adults from heart attacks and clogged arteries.

Yet, butter isn't the villain of the story... what everyone should be banning from their diets is margarine which is full of unhealthy trans fats. One of the worst offenders making us fat and unhealthy though is a hidden ingredient added to numerous food and drink products...

In fact, it is the number one source of calories in fizzy drinks: high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

A few facts on high fructose corn syrup

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was invented in 1966 in Japan and introduced to the American market in 1975. Food and beverage manufacturers began switching their sweeteners from sucrose (table sugar) to corn syrup because HFCS was far cheaper to make.

This switch from sucrose to fructose drastically altered the average diet:

HFCS is found in every type of processed, pre-packaged food you can think of. In fact, the use of HFCS in the US diet increased by a whopping 10,673 per cent between 1970 and 2005, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture.

The current annual consumption of sugar is 141 pounds per person, of which 63 pounds is HFCS.

Adolescents consume 73 grams of fructose per day, mostly from fizzy drinks and juice drinks. A total of 12 per cent of their total caloric intake is from fructose alone.

In the past century, fructose consumption increased 5- fold, even though its only been around for 44 years...

Processed foods account for more than 90 per cent of the money Americans spend on meals.

Just before you think ‘At least I can give my baby a good and healthy start’ – think again... Many infant formulas are more than 50 per cent sugar of which 43 per cent is corn syrup solids. You might as well be giving your baby a bottle of Coke...

Sign up to The Daily Health e-letter - it’s FREE!    ("We value your privacy!")

In just 5 minutes every day, it will tell you what works, what doesn't work, and what may harm you in both orthodox and alternative medicine.


“The HSI Daily Health e-Alerts contain scattered nuggets and gems of
health and nutritional wisdom.A very useful source of information about new thinking and
innovative treatments for a wide range of conditions.” - Dr AB, FRCS

Sugar causes obesity

The American Beverage Association claims there is no link between HFCS and obesity. However, countless research studies have a different tune to sing:

A study of the effects of sugar-sweetened drinks on obesity in children found that for each additional serving of a sugar-sweetened drink, both body mass index and odds of obesity increased in the children studied.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 88 studies about the association between fizzy drink consumption and health outcomes, found clear associations between fizzy drink consumption and higher body weight.

The Fizzy Drink Study in Christchurch, England explored the effects on obesity when vending machines were removed from schools for one year. In the schools where the machines were removed, obesity stayed constant. In the schools where vending machines remained, obesity rates continued to rise.

A study by Dr. Schulze published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2004 provides further evidence that sugared drinks cause type II diabetes.

A similar study in 2008 of African American women showed that higher intake of both sugar-sweetened fizzy drinks and fruit drinks lead to higher rates of type II diabetes.

In a recent study, sixteen volunteers were fed a controlled diet including high levels of fructose. Ten weeks later, the volunteers had produced new fat cells around their hearts, livers and other digestive organs. They also showed signs of food-processing abnormalities linked to diabetes and heart disease. A second group of volunteers who were fed a similar diet, but with glucose replacing fructose, did not have these problems.

At this point, it is important to note that fructose is very different from sucrose and glucose. To start with it’s not a natural organic form of sugar...

Sucrose, is an organic compound commonly known as table sugar and sometimes called saccharose.

Glucose is a type of sugar that comes from digesting carbohydrates. The body turns carbohydrates into a chemical that can easily be converted to energy.

Eating fructose will make you fat

Part of what makes HFCS such an unhealthy product is that it is metabolised to fat, far more rapidly than any other sugar. A recent study in 2008 at the University of Texas South-western Medical Centre in the US, demonstrated exactly how this impacts your health.

Dr. Elizabeth Parks lead researcher of the study explains: "Our study shows for the first time the surprising speed with which humans make body fat from fructose. Once you start the process of fat synthesis from fructose, it's hard to slow it down… The bottom line is that fructose very quickly gets made into fat in the body."

How does this happen? Most fats are formed in your liver, and when sugar enters your liver, it decides whether to store it, burn it or turn it into fat. Fructose, however, bypasses this process and turns full speed ahead into fat.

Ironically, the very products that most people rely on to lose weight - low-fat diet foods - are often those that contain the most fructose! Even “natural” diet foods often contain fructose as a sweetener.

Healthy tips to lose weight faster

Ideally, you should avoid as much sugar as possible, especially if you are overweight or have diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure.

We don’t live in a perfect world, and following rigid dietary guidelines is not always practical or even possible. If you want to use a sweetener occasionally, use organic cane sugar in moderation or use organic raw honey in moderation.

Avoid all artificial sweeteners, which can damage your health even more quickly than HFCS.

Be sure to eat your sugar with fibre ... a piece of fruit. As a friend of mine said “When God made the poison, he packaged it with the antidote: fibre.”

Wait 20 minutes before second portions at meals, giving your brain a chance to receive satiety signals.

Exercise is important for several reasons, some of which might surprise you:

Exercise improves skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity (insulin works best in your muscles)

Exercise reduces stress and lowers cortisol, which decreases appetite

Exercise suppresses ghrelin (a hormone which increases before meals and decrease after meals), thereby decreasing appetite

Exercise speeds up metabolic cycles, reducing citrate levels, thus reducing fat production

Exercise can make you more alert, reduce arthritis, lift your mood, strengthen your bones, and even slow down ageing.

Avoid so-called energy drinks and sports drinks because they are loaded with sugar, sodium and chemical additives. Instead, rehydrate with pure, fresh water during and after exercise.

Related Reading:

Artificial Sweeteners Cause Weight-Gain

Weight loss: You Are What You Eat, How You Eat And How Much You Eat...

Did you find this information useful?
Then why not get more expert health recommendations just like this
delivered direct to your inbox
Sign up here to The Daily Health e-letter - it's FREE!     ("We value your privacy!")


"It is truly refreshing to read a newsletter on the topic of alternative medicine which is scientifically based and reviewed by professionals………" - Robert Sinott

Sources:

This Common Food Ingredient Can Really Mess Up Your Metabolism, by Dr. Mercola, published online 26.01.10, articles.mercola.com

‘Ban butter to save thousands of lives, says heart surgeon’ by Sean Poulter, published online 19.01.10, dailymail.co.uk

“Dietary assessment of major trends in U.S. food consumption, 1970-2005.” by Wells H.F. and Buzby J.C, published by USDA Economic Research Service, Economic Information Bulletin Number 33, March 2008.

“Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: a prospective, observational analysis” by Drs Ludwig D.S., Peterson, K.E. and Gortmaker, S.L, published in the The Lancet Feb 17, 2001 Volume 357, Issue 9255, pp 505-508

“Effects of soft drink consumption on nutrition and health: A systematic review and meta-analysis” by Drs. Vartanian L.R., Schwartz M.B. and Brownell K.D, published by AJPH April 2007, vol 97, No. 41, pp 667-675.

“Schools that can soda cut obesity,” by Esterbrook J, CBS News Health April 23, 2004

“Sugar-sweetened soft drinks, obesity, and type 2 diabetes” by Dr. Apovian C.M, published by JAMA 2004;292:978-979

“Sugar-sweetened beverages and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in African American women” by Drs. Palmer J.R., Boggs D.A., Krishnan S., Hu F.B., Singer M. and Rosenberg L., published by Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(14):1487-1492.

“Consuming fructose-sweetened, not glucose-sweetened, beverages increases visceral adiposity and lipids and decreases insulin sensitivity in overweight/obese humans” by Stanhope K.L., et al, published by Clin Invest. 2009 May 1;119(5):1322-1334

Some Carbs Turn to Fat Fast in Your Body, by Dr. Mercola, published online 14.08.08, artiucles.merola.com