High Fructose Crap Syrup

            An important study done on mice helps clarify the connection between high fructose corn syrup and insulin resistance.  According to Science Daily and Cell Metabolism, “Researchers showed that mice fed a high fructose diet could be protected from insulin resistance if a gene known as transcriptional coactivator PPARg coactiviator 1b (PGC1b) was “knocked down” in the animals’ liver and fat tissue.  PGC1b controls the activity of several other genes, including one responsible for burning fat in the liver.  This suggests an important role for PCG1b in the pathogenesis of fructose-induced insulin resistance.”  Natural health promoter, Dr. Mercola states that “According to the latest statistics, new cases of diabetes have increased by 90 percent in the last 10 years, and diabetes or pre-diabetes now strikes one in four Americans. Those are absolutely astounding statistics to say the least.”  Mercola goes on to explain where high fructose corn syrup factors in “There’s no doubt in my mind that one of the primary fuels for this epidemic is the excess consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  He isn’t speaking this out of thin air, crucial studies back up this claim.  For one, in the journal Cell Metabolism finds “Insulin resistance is a common feature of the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Both have reached epidemic proportions worldwide with the global adoption of the westernized diet along with increased consumption of fructose, stemming from the wide and increasing use of high-fructose corn syrup sweeteners.”  The journal then explains high fructose corn syrup’s effect on related blood glucose conditions; “It is well established that fructose is more lipogenic than glucose, and high-fructose diets have been linked to hypertriglyceridemia, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and insulin resistance.”  

            These findings should raise multiple red flags for everyone concerned about diabetes and its causes.  The fact that, despite these eye-opening studies, we have corporations bribing the Food and Drug Administration to keep this toxin in America’s foods and beverages is saddening.  On the one hand, government officials admit obesity and diabetes rates are too high, on the other they’re pressured by food and beverage companies to keep quiet.  Reports like the Cell Metabolism findings above should be broadcast on public news to inform consumers about what they buy for themselves and their children.  Dr. Mercola sums it up this way: “Scientists have clearly linked the rising HFCS consumption to the epidemics of obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome in the U.S., and medical researchers have pinpointed various health dangers associated with the consumption of HFCS compared to regular sugar.  Despite all the evidence, the industry persists in claiming these findings are untrue, arguing that HFCS is the same as sugar. Their campaign also relies on nutritional research, but it should be noted that the funding for many of the major studies in question came from companies with a financial stake in the outcome.”

Reference: Dr. Mercola. (2009). Why high fructose corn syrup causes insulin resistance. Retrieved from http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/health/food/news.php?q=1237995913