Posted on 03/22/2010 1:19:34 PM PDT by dan1123
A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.
In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.
"Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the conditions of our tests," said psychology professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction. "When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight."
A Princeton University research team, including (from left) undergraduate Elyse Powell, psychology professor Bart Hoebel, visiting research associate Nicole Avena and graduate student Miriam Bocarsly, has demonstrated that rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup -- a sweetener found in many popular sodas -- gain significantly more weight than those with access to water sweetened with table sugar, even when they consume the same number of calories. The work may have important implications for understanding obesity trends in the United States. (Photo: Denise Applewhite) Photos for news media In results published online March 18 by the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, the researchers from the Department of Psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute reported on two experiments investigating the link between the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and obesity.
The first study showed that male rats given water sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup in addition to a standard diet of rat chow gained much more weight than male rats that received water sweetened with table sugar, or sucrose, in conjunction with the standard diet. The concentration of sugar in the sucrose solution was the same as is found in some commercial soft drinks, while the high-fructose corn syrup solution was half as concentrated as most sodas.
The second experiment -- the first long-term study of the effects of high-fructose corn syrup consumption on obesity in lab animals -- monitored weight gain, body fat and triglyceride levels in rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup over a period of six months. Compared to animals eating only rat chow, rats on a diet rich in high-fructose corn syrup showed characteristic signs of a dangerous condition known in humans as the metabolic syndrome, including abnormal weight gain, significant increases in circulating triglycerides and augmented fat deposition, especially visceral fat around the belly. Male rats in particular ballooned in size: Animals with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained 48 percent more weight than those eating a normal diet. In humans, this would be equivalent to a 200-pound man gaining 96 pounds.
"These rats aren't just getting fat; they're demonstrating characteristics of obesity, including substantial increases in abdominal fat and circulating triglycerides," said Princeton graduate student Miriam Bocarsly. "In humans, these same characteristics are known risk factors for high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer and diabetes." In addition to Hoebel and Bocarsly, the research team included Princeton undergraduate Elyse Powell and visiting research associate Nicole Avena, who was affiliated with Rockefeller University during the study and is now on the faculty at the University of Florida. The Princeton researchers note that they do not know yet why high-fructose corn syrup fed to rats in their study generated more triglycerides, and more body fat that resulted in obesity.
High-fructose corn syrup and sucrose are both compounds that contain the simple sugars fructose and glucose, but there at least two clear differences between them. First, sucrose is composed of equal amounts of the two simple sugars -- it is 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose -- but the typical high-fructose corn syrup used in this study features a slightly imbalanced ratio, containing 55 percent fructose and 42 percent glucose. Larger sugar molecules called higher saccharides make up the remaining 3 percent of the sweetener. Second, as a result of the manufacturing process for high-fructose corn syrup, the fructose molecules in the sweetener are free and unbound, ready for absorption and utilization. In contrast, every fructose molecule in sucrose that comes from cane sugar or beet sugar is bound to a corresponding glucose molecule and must go through an extra metabolic step before it can be utilized.
This creates a fascinating puzzle. The rats in the Princeton study became obese by drinking high-fructose corn syrup, but not by drinking sucrose. The critical differences in appetite, metabolism and gene expression that underlie this phenomenon are yet to be discovered, but may relate to the fact that excess fructose is being metabolized to produce fat, while glucose is largely being processed for energy or stored as a carbohydrate, called glycogen, in the liver and muscles.
In the 40 years since the introduction of high-fructose corn syrup as a cost-effective sweetener in the American diet, rates of obesity in the U.S. have skyrocketed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1970, around 15 percent of the U.S. population met the definition for obesity; today, roughly one-third of the American adults are considered obese, the CDC reported. High-fructose corn syrup is found in a wide range of foods and beverages, including fruit juice, soda, cereal, bread, yogurt, ketchup and mayonnaise. On average, Americans consume 60 pounds of the sweetener per person every year.
"Our findings lend support to the theory that the excessive consumption of high-fructose corn syrup found in many beverages may be an important factor in the obesity epidemic," Avena said.
The new research complements previous work led by Hoebel and Avena demonstrating that sucrose can be addictive, having effects on the brain similar to some drugs of abuse.
In the future, the team intends to explore how the animals respond to the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in conjunction with a high-fat diet -- the equivalent of a typical fast-food meal containing a hamburger, fries and soda -- and whether excessive high-fructose corn syrup consumption contributes to the diseases associated with obesity. Another step will be to study how fructose affects brain function in the control of appetite.
The research was supported by the U.S. Public Health Service.
The engine tanked and the repair facility checked the gas and they said alchohl was the culprit.
Now the greenies and corn farmers want to mandate a 20% mixture .
Forgot to add that my triglyceride levels are now in the normal range—all these things are affected by HFCS, so I don’t think it’s a coincidence my problems ended for the most part when I restricted it from my and my family’s diet.
"Check the Passover section of your supermarket. Some soda companies produce a sugar/sucrose-based version of their products around Passover for Jews who are restricted by custom from eating corn during this time.
Coca-Cola produces a version of Coke without corn syrup that can be identified by a yellow cap and is considered by some to taste better than Coke Zero, which is also free of corn syrup but contains artificial sweeteners, not sugar."
You mean protect congressmen from sugar produciong states.
What actually tanked? Engine (burnt pistons and valves), or fuel supply system? I've used methanol in both racing Karts and 800 horse-power sprint cars. I know ethanol is different from methanol, but they are close enough that the changes made for one will usually accommodate the other.
Firt thing is they don't like the same rubber fuel lines your gasoline-powered engines have always used - they eat them up, melt them from the inside out. The methanol-powered Karts couldn't use the standard black rubber fuel line that the gasoline engines used, it was polyurethane.
Second, they leave behind a residue that can clog things up - for the Karts, the remedy was running a few ounces of WD-40 through the main line, carb, and into the engine before packing it up at the end of the day. This got rid of any residual methanol, lubricated things (methanol works to dry things out), and eliminated the potential for corrosive deposites left behind when the methanol evaporated.
Obviously the nutrient quality of your food matters so a calorie is scientifically not just a calorie. But for practical purposes it is. What the average fatso does is look at a bunch of soda or cookies with “natural sugar” and decides “oh look no high fructose corn syrup. I can eat the whole box.” I see alot of people delude themselves into thinking they can get away with eating a ton of fruit or drinking gallons of orange juice. Bottom line is moderating your sugar/carb intake while creating an overall calorie deficit is the key to losing weight. Just avoiding the real crap like refined flour and HFCS will make you feel better but won’t necessarily make you lean.
But in the study, the rats ingested exactly the same thing in the exact same amounts, and the ones who had HFCS got fatter. It wasn't nutrient quality in the food, the only difference was switching sugar with HFCS.
I have been on a fitness kick for the last 6 months after I got sick of comparing myself to my always ripped lifeguard brother. (Now down 40lbs—beer gut to six pack!) I’m sort of in health nazi mode right now and I love to talk about this stuff so forgive me if I keep posting on these diet threads. I eat a very simple whole-food oriented high protein, relatively low carb diet and never felt or looked better. It’s definitely the way to go.
Certainly agreed. People who can’t get a handle on their weight usually have a psychological addiction to carbs/junk and a deluded concept of how many calories they really eat/burn.
I said “for practical purposes” meaning how people approach their diet in real life. I have no doubt that regular sugar is preferable to high fructose corn syrup (I personally avoid the latter whenever possible) but you still have to really watch how much sugar is in your food. It cracks me up to see people at Whole Foods loading up on these sugary, calorie-filled “Natural Sodas.”
In a seperate experiment in Alabama, I can vouch that it DOES cause excessive weight gain.
I’m not sure about that.
The name of the place that rented the sleds is:
Trckside. Eagle River, Wi.
They could definatley tell you more.
It sounds like you are into motors a lot more than I am.
Good luck
I used to be. Now with the Cubanesque takeover of this country, I may very well be again.
When I was in the Air Force, I gained a little weight. They put me on the fat-boy program which was a low-fat, carb rich diet. I didn't lose more than a pound or two. I was doing mandatory aerobics thrice-weekly and playing full-court basketball with a lot of my buddies almost daily. That lack of weight loss with all the exercise I was doing really made me think about what was going on.
Now, I'm way too fat (nobody's fault but mine), and I'm looking to Atkins as a solution. It's amazing how much crap is in packaged food these days.
After I lose the weight, I'll be likely going on a whole/real food for life plan. Basically, it's "eat food, not too much, mostly plants."
... corn to fatten hogs and cattle ...
Yep, our feed mill’s nutritionist calls corn the gold standard for fattening livestock.
So, corn is starchy and fattening. Who knew?
Through the centuries rice got added (both species I believe), then oats and other grains were added to the restricted list. So far soybeans aren't on the list (which thoughtfully allows devout folks to continue with a heavy sashimi diet through the High Holy Days).
Given that the Hebrews at the time of Passover had had experience with other grains than those with wheat gluten, but did not prohibit their use, may I humbly suggest it was the "wheat gluten" that was targeted, not the fermentation possibilities.
Eventually some smart guy will figure this all out.
Cubanesque takeover?
I don’t understand that. Please explain.
Viet vet. What year and with what outfit?
I spent some time there with the 3rd Marine division.
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