celebratingour 2 0 thyear - The Parklander Magazine

FROM THE EXPERTSCan the CornBy David J. Blyweiss, M.D.When you think of sugar you probably think of sugar cane, or maybebeets. But a field of corn—probably not. But most of the sugar inthe foods we eat and the beverages we drink today comes fromcorn. In fact, you can find high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) injelly, juice, sodas, whole-grain breads, cereals, ketchup, crackers, yogurt, sweetpickles, applesauce, salad dressing, ice cream, cough syrup and lots more.And that’s not a good thing.Proponents of HFCS say its natural, but “natural” is a relative term. Cornsyrup is a glucose-heavy syrup made from cornstarch. There’s no fructose incorn syrup—not naturally, at least. But in 1957, researchers discovered anenzyme that could turn the glucose in corn syrup into fructose. This processwas modified and improved upon in the 1970s, making it possible tomass-produce HFCS. With restrictions on importing sugar and continuingsubsidies for domestic corn, it is markedly cheaper for the food conglomeratesto use HFCS to sweeten everything our national sweet tooth craves.The entire process involves several steps and three different enzymes, buteventually a syrup with around 90 percent fructose content is created, and thisis blended down with untreated syrup (containing only glucose) into a mix ofeither 42 percent or 55 percent fructose.The rest is glucose. It’s also importantto know that two of the enzymes used, alpha-amylase and glucose-isomerase,are genetically modified tomake them more stable.I don’t know about you, but none ofthis sounds particularly natural to me.And then there is HFCS’s impact on health. A groundbreaking study inthe Journal of Clinical Investigation recently linked HFCS to obesity. Theresearchers recruited volunteers to drink a glass of Kool-Aid with everymeal for 10 weeks; half took their soft drinks sweetened with fructose, theother half with glucose. By the end of the study, both groups had put onweight, but the subjects getting fructose had more visceral fat—the kindthat surrounds our organs and is associated with a heightened risk for atherosclerosis,cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The fructose groupalso showed higher levels of LDL cholesterol and lower insulin sensitivity.At the end of the 19th century our yearly intakeof sugar was less than 10 pounds year, at thebeginning of the 21st century we’re closing inon the 150 pound/year mark.But wait—there’s more. A diet high in fructose also increases the risk ofdeveloping high blood pressure (hypertension), according to a paperpresented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meetingand Scientific Exposition in San Diego, California. The findings suggestthat cutting back on processed foods and beverages that contain HFCSmay help prevent hypertension.The researchers, who are all part of the University of Colorado DenverHealth Sciences Center, examined 4,528 adults—none of them had ahistory of high blood pressure when the study began. All of the participantskept a food diary. It turns out that the people who ate or drank more than74 grams per day of fructose (2.5 sugary soft drinks per day) increased theirrisk of developing hypertension. Specifically, a diet of more than 74 gramsper day of fructose led to a 28 percent, 36 percent and 87 percent higherrisk for blood pressure levels of 135/85, 140/90, and 160/100 mmHg,respectively. (A normal blood pressure reading is below 120/80 mmHg.)These two studies simply confirm what we already know. HFCS isincredibly bad for you. Even the new commercials touting HFCS haveadded the line: “when used in moderation”…and we haven’t even begun todiscuss the fact that our corn itself is genetically modified or that it’s onlybeen in our diet for a few hundred years. Remember the Pilgrims firstThanksgiving didn’t include HFCS or GMO corn. But if you thinkrefined white sugar or artificial sweeteners are healthier options, thinkagain. For those times when you need to add a little sweetness to your life,choose agave. Agave nectar has the lowest value on the glycemic index.That means it won’t rapidly increase blood sugar. It’s a perfect way tosweeten coffee or tea and you can even use it in baking. It looks and pourslike honey and tastes like sugar. Personally, I can’t think of a sweeter waythan agave to blunt the ill effects of the “Frankenfood,” HFCS.96 MAY 2010David J. Blyweiss, M.D., practices at Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center,in Boca Raton.