Section Blog Hunger Single Worst Food/Beverage in the World: 20 oz. Soda:
| Single Worst Food/Beverage in the World: 20 oz. Soda: |
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| Written by Richard L. Lipman M.D. |
| Monday, 23 March 2009 23:42 |
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The most fattening food/beverage is the 20 oz. bottle of soda. A single soda a day for a year = weight gain of 25 lbs.
 Many researchers believe that if the 20 oz. bottle of soda was eliminated that’s all that would be needed to stop the runaway obesity problem. Many people either forget or don't realize how many extra calories they consume in a single 20 oz. bottle of any regular soda: 250 calories and 15 teaspoons sugar. Drinking only 1 a day for a year can result in a 25 lb. weight gain. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) not the cause of obesity:
In 2004 a series of scientific articles blamed obesity on high fructose corn syrup that became the major sweetener in soft drinks and many other foods. They cited evidence that fructose was only metabolized by the liver which turned the fructose into fat. Furthermore, HFCS lacked any effect on satiety. It became nutritional dogma that sugar was healthy, and high-fructose corn syrup was not. More recent evidence indicates that this is not true, the metabolic effects of HFCS are minimal and beverages sweetened with HFCS are no more fattening than other beverages with similar amount of sugar.
Mexican and European Sodas Have no HFCS:
One of the interesting side points made by many scientists is that pure cane sugar is used in Mexico and Europe. The incidence of obesity in these countries is approaching that in the US where HFCS is used almost exclusively.
Most of the studies compared HFCS with pure fructose: HFSC is 50% fructose and 50% table sugar (white table sugar, which scientists call sucrose, is made from sugar cane or sugar beets and consists of 50% fructose and 50% glucose.) Recent studies show all sugars are the same. This year more than five scientific studies found no link between HFCS and obesity. Is High Fructose Corn Syrup the "Devil?"
One paper was written by Barry Popkin, a co-author on the original 2004 paper, who said
"It doesn't appear that when you consume high-fructose corn syrup, you have any different effect on appetite than if you consume any other sugar," he says. The kind of high-fructose syrup that sweetens almost all soft drinks in the USA is made from corn and consists of 55% fructose and 42% glucose, both of which are slightly different sugars. "People think high-fructose corn syrup is the devil and table sugar is natural," but that's not necessarily true, says Elizabeth Parks, a professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "So far the research appears to show that sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup are not that different," Parks says. She believes there's some evidence that the way they are metabolized in the liver is different, but not in a significant way.
If it’s not the kind of sugar in sodas, what is it?
It’s the total amount of sugar and thus the calories: 15 teaspoons of sugar-250 calories whether it's from table sugar, HFCS, brown sugar or raw sugar.
Conclusion: Pay attention to the calories and stop losing focus on the type of sugar. Dr. Victor Fulgoni writes a conclusion to the annual American Society for Nutrition Public Information Committee symposium for 2007 titled "High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS): Everything You Wanted to Know, But Were Afraid to Ask .... "served as a platform to address the controversy surrounding HFCS. Speakers from academia and industry came together to provide up-to-date information on this food ingredient. The proceedings from the symposium covered 1) considerable background on what HFCS is and why it is used as a food ingredient, 2) the contribution HFCS makes to consumers' diets, and 3) the latest research on the metabolic effects of HFCS. The data presented indicated that HFCS is very similar to sucrose, being 55% fructose and 45% glucose, and thus, not surprisingly, few metabolic differences were found comparing HFCS and sucrose. That said, HFCS does contribute to added sugars and calories, and those concerned with managing their weight should be concerned about calories from beverages and other foods, regardless of HFCS content."
Lenny R. Vartanian, PhD,
Read more on soft drinks, artifical sweeteners and other sugary beverages Read More on Artificial Sweeteners,
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| Last Updated on Thursday, 30 April 2009 22:36 |
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