All sugar is not created equally

TheMadcapSyd · Mar 24, 2010

Well we're all stoners, we all like candy and junk food, but a lot of us here seem to also be health conscious, and this study seems to prove what people have been saying for years, high fructose corn syrup makes people gain more weight then normal sugar.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100322121115.htm

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."

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.
Click to expand...

So basically, eat less crap. Even anecdotal, the huge increase in obesity since 1980 can't be pinned on some cultural shift except for what's going into our food.

Basically the corn lobby has ruined America.

boguskyle · Mar 24, 2010

amen sista

DazedGypsy · Mar 24, 2010

tell me something i dont know hehe

OneLifeForm · Mar 24, 2010

This should be old news to everyone, crystalline fructose is among the top worst "sugars" now. Even your plain white table sugar is harmful in any dose. Your body can't process the shit.

TheMadcapSyd · Mar 24, 2010

Actually sucrose(normal table sugar) is easily processed into it's component parts of fructose and glucose in the stomach then readily enters the bloodstream. Sugar is an essential part of the diet. What's not digested by the stomach gets broken down by sucrase in the small intestines.

bubbler211 · Mar 24, 2010

long live pure white cane sugar!! Coca cola sure was taken back when everybody about stopped drinking their product back in the 80s when they switched sugars

FreshDacre · Mar 24, 2010

Agave syrup and honey are the best

bubbler211 · Mar 24, 2010

I was at www.druglibrary.org One of the research profs stated the reason that people crave sweet foods is that marijuana smoking tends to lower your sugar levels I went back to pass the link on in here and now i cant find that page. maybe some good can come from this for people that are insulin dependent

Stonertower420 · Mar 24, 2010

I haven't eaten hfcs or saturated fats in a real long time (except when I'm drunk or at a friends house). Shit is terrible, and i`ve been losing lots of fat and having a ton of energy because if it

porkstock41 · Mar 24, 2010

i probably eat a lot of sugar, but i do avoid HFCS

i agree that the corn lobby sucks ass

and that honey is the best

fitzy21 · Mar 24, 2010

rats rats and more rats...

no relevance to humans

DazedGypsy · Mar 24, 2010

agave nectar ftw
i know it's not local but it's a treat

TheMadcapSyd · Mar 24, 2010

fitzy21 said:

rats rats and more rats...

no relevance to humans
Click to expand...

Alright, want a human experiment, I point to exhibit A: The United States

fitzy21 · Mar 24, 2010

and i'll answer - excess calories

magic

TheMadcapSyd · Mar 24, 2010

Excess calories doesn't explain the massive rise in obesity since the 1980's, we're eating more but it's not that much more. Plus the fact Europeans on average eat about the same caloric intake a day as Americans do, as do Canadians. Just look across the border to see the difference.

porkstock41 · Mar 24, 2010

fitzy21 said:

rats rats and more rats...

no relevance to humans
Click to expand...

what happens in a rat has a lot of relevance to humans. what happens in a fucking yeast cell has a lot of relevance to humans. i'm not refuting the need for human clinical trial with new drugs only tested in animal models, but we have A LOT in common with rats - genetically and molecularly we are probably at least 70% IDENTICAL

Log in or Sign up

All sugar is not created equally

TheMadcapSyd Titanic's captain, yo!

boguskyle kyleboguesque

DazedGypsy fire

OneLifeForm Member

TheMadcapSyd Titanic's captain, yo!

bubbler211 Member

FreshDacre Senior Member

bubbler211 Member

Stonertower420 Senior Member

porkstock41 Every time across from me...not there!

fitzy21 Worst RT Mod EVAH!!!!

DazedGypsy fire

TheMadcapSyd Titanic's captain, yo!

fitzy21 Worst RT Mod EVAH!!!!

TheMadcapSyd Titanic's captain, yo!

porkstock41 Every time across from me...not there!

Log in or Sign up

All sugar is not created equally

TheMadcapSyd Titanic's captain, yo!

boguskyle kyleboguesque

DazedGypsy fire

OneLifeForm Member

TheMadcapSyd Titanic's captain, yo!

bubbler211 Member

FreshDacre Senior Member

bubbler211 Member

Stonertower420 Senior Member

porkstock41 Every time across from me...not there!

fitzy21 Worst RT Mod EVAH!!!!

DazedGypsy fire

TheMadcapSyd Titanic's captain, yo!

fitzy21 Worst RT Mod EVAH!!!!

TheMadcapSyd Titanic's captain, yo!

porkstock41 Every time across from me...not there!

Useful Searches