When I became a vegetarian and started reading ingredients on the products I bought, I was bowled over by the number of items I regularly consumed listing high fructose corn syrup. Not only that, they usually listed it was the first or second ingredient, which meant that it was a primary ingredient. With this information alone I resolved to eat dramatically fewer processed foods. And today, while I’m far from perfect, I still limit the amount of high fructose corn syrup we eat.
It looks like intuition may have done me a favor. The New York Times Health Section reports on a Texas study finding high fructose corn syrup more readily converts to fat than glucose, another form of sugar.
Dr. Parks noted that the study likely underestimates the fat-building effect of fructose because the study subjects were lean and healthy. In overweight people, the effect may be amplified.
…limiting processed foods containing high-fructose corn syrup as well as curbing calories is a good idea, Dr. Parks said.
“There are lots of people out there who want to demonize fructose as the cause of the obesity epidemic,” she said. “I think it may be a contributor, but it’s not the only problem. Americans are eating too many calories for their activity level. We’re overeating fat, we’re overeating protein and we’re overeating all sugars. [emphasis added]
Even though her study findings linked fructose to fat, I liked the fact that she didn’t scapegoat fructose as the singular culprit. Nice touch.
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