Soft Drink Sweetener May Add Extra Fat

WebMD ^ | 8/1/05 | Jennifer Warner

[truthandlife]

A sweetener commonly used in soft drinks and other foods may lead to more body fat than drinks sweetened with plain sugar.

A new study suggests that fructose may alter the body's metabolism in a way that prompts it to store body fat.

Researchers say the findings may help explain the recently established link between rising soft drink popularity and obesity rates in the U.S. and other parts of the world.

"Our study shows how fat mass increases as a direct consequence of soft drink consumption," says researcher Matthias Tschöp, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati, in a news release.

Fructose is a sweetener found naturally in fruits and honey and is widely used as a sweetener in soft drinks, fruit juices, and cereal. In soft drinks, fructose is usually found in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, which contains 55% fructose.

Fructose: Stealth Fat Builder? In the study, researchers compared the effects of feeding mice fructose-sweetened water, a soft drink sweetened with sucrose (table sugar), a diet soft drink, or water. The mice were allowed to drink as much as they wanted of their designated beverage.

The mice that drank the fructose-sweetened water gained significantly more body fat than the others, even though they decreased the amount of calories they ate from solid food.

"We were surprised to see that mice actually ate less when exposed to fructose-sweetened beverages, and therefore didn't consume more overall calories," says Tschöp. "Nevertheless, they gained significantly more body fat within a few weeks."

More Weight, More Body Fat All of the mice weighed about 39 grams at the start of the study. Those that drank the fructose-sweetened water gained an average of 8 grams during the course of the study compared with average weight gains of less than 5 grams among the others.

The fructose-drinking mice also gained more body fat. Body fat increased by nearly 11% in the fructose group of mice -- significantly more than the 5% increase in the water group. Body fat increased by 7% to 8% in the soft drink and diet soft drink groups.

Researchers say the results suggest that the body metabolizes fructose differently than other sweeteners or carbohydrates and in a way that favors fat storage.

Their findings appear in the current issue of Obesity Research.

A 2004 report showed that Americans eat 132 calories each day of high-fructose corn syrup and that the figure is closer to 300 calories for the top 20% of Americans.

WebMD spoke to study researcher George A. Bray when that study was released. Bray said between 1970 and 1990, high-fructose corn syrup consumption increased by more than 1,000%, largely because the nation's soft drink manufacturers switched from sucrose to high-fructose corn syrup.

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SOURCES: Jurgens, H. Obesity Research, July 2005; vol 13: 1146-1156. News release, University of Cincinnati

[texas_mrs]

People from all over the US come to and order from the Dublin Dr. Pepper plant in Dublin, Texas to get their sodas because they are still made here with Imperial Pure Cane Sugar just as the original recipe called Taste is much better, too.

[CajunConservative]

It is NOT just in soft drinks. It is in almost everything. Where I live there is only one loaf of bread that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it. It is in crackers, cookies, catsup, vanilla (I could go on and on) if there are more than three ingredient listed, then the 3rd is going to be high fructose corn syrup. I wish people would start to complain like I have. I am allergic to it so I must avoid it and it is very hard to do that.

I am in your shoes too. I stopped eating out for the most part, buying prepackaged foods, and cooking from scratch because that was the only way I could control the ingredients. I can tell immediately if something has hfcs in it because I get extremely dizzy from the first taste.

[Vinnie_Vidi_Vici]

Actually, when you ingest plain sugar (Sucrose), a disaccharide, It goes through a process called "inversion". Where it hits the acid in your stomach and is separated into it's constituent sugars Dextrose and Fructose, the same 2 mono-saccharides found in the high fructose syrup used in beverages.

Sounds like scare tactics from an ailing sugar industry.

[Little Pig]

No researcher will come out and declare an absolute, especially on a study like this. They might use stronger language in a journal-published paper summarizing a large collection of studies, but rarely will you get any scientist to refer to their results as "this shows definitively...". The media _is_ guilty of using waffle terms to sensationalize stories, but in science it merely shows the potential uncertainty of a finding.

[CajunConservative]

I hope something changes, I think the fructose and some of the overly processed foods are the culprits in the obesity problem. They don't have to do away with it let people have a choice though, corn syrup or no corn syrup. I think people have a right to be fat if they want to.

I agree. I don't care if other people prefer that crap but it would be nice to have a choice.

[Perdogg]

I agree 110%.

[Little Pig]

Forgot to add that, since the study only showed definite results for mice, but the mice were exhibiting behavior and subsequent results similar to that of humans (the consumption of fructose and getting fat), they use the "may" and "suggest" to indicate that they think they might have found a link to what we are seeing in humans. Scientifically, it will take quite a few more studies before they feel comfortable using stronger language, but this is not the same as (as noted in my previous post) when the media uses waffle terms to sensationalize something.

I should add that part of this "obesity epidemic" is a result of the government constantly lowering the bar on what constitutes "obese". The current standard is based largely on the BMI, which is so imprecise it is virtually useless. As an example, Jay Cutler is considered "obese" in the below picture, and according to the CDC BMI calculator and categories, he is only 1.5 points below "morbidly obese".

[B Knotts]

That's quite correct about Mexican Coke. They don't have the sugar price supports to deal with, so they can just use regular sugar, which tastes better.

The soft drink companies claim that there is no difference in the taste, but they're lying.

Recently, even the iced tea mix manufacturers have switched to HFCS. As a result, I no longer buy iced tea mix. It tastes awful.

[B Knotts]

I don't care if other people prefer that crap but it would be nice to have a choice.

I would be willing to pay more to get regular sugar.

[Ditter]

The thing that amazes me is that high fructose corn syrup is in things that you would never think needed to be sweetened. Corn in any form gives me a headache, that means corn meal, corn flour, corn starch, corn oil as well as HFCS. If I ate any corn yesterday I would wake up with a headache today.

I wish people were more aware of the subtle way that food allergies can affect them. A food diary of what you have eaten and when can be a real eye opener. It is easy to do when you get in the habit of it.

[CajunConservative]

I am too. Since I don't eat out as much anymore I have more money to spend on higher quality foods without breaking the food budget.

[Vor Lady]

They don't put saccharin in soda anymore; unfortunately.

[CajunConservative]

I swell up bad, get dizzy and fight ravenous cravings when I eat corn in any form. I am talking major fluid retention. The food diary was what helped me figure out a pattern. It's been the one tool that has helped me lose the weight. I get migraines from eggs, soy messes up my hormones, dairy and beef cause skin problems along with a few gastro issues.

When the light went on and I finally saw the correlation to my problem foods and how poorly I felt it was so easy to eliminate them. The way they make me feel is so not worth the few moments of eating them.

It was the elimination of those foods that allowed me to lose a LOT of weight fairly easily. I don't have the cravings or ravenous hunger like I struggled with before. My appetite is normal. It doesn't take much to satisfy and hold until the next meal hours away.

[Red Badger]

Bring back CYCLAMATES!!!!!!!!!!

[Mygirlsmom]

I'm in complete agreement with you, but the responsibility for those choices rests with the CONSUMER.

My comment about "tobacconizing" is that we will now see a slew of lawsuits that claim "I couldn't help myself -I'm "addicted" to this product and evil Coke KNEW that it would happen and didn't do anything about it."

[PoorMuttly]

Agreed! See Post 73 below for the Dr. Muttly (played one on TV) analysis, and prescription.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1456053/posts?q=1&&page=51

[rwfromkansas]

Well, the study has some strong evidence for it, but in an article, the writer will still write it as if it has not been proven.

It doesn't mean it is just conjecture.