HFCS linked to hypertension

[Richard D]

A diet high in fructose increases the risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension), according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, California. The findings suggest that cutting back on processed foods and beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may help prevent hypertension.

Over the last 200 years, the rate of fructose intake has directly paralleled the increasing rate of obesity, which has increased sharply in the last 20 years since the introduction of HFCS. Today, Americans consume 30% more fructose than 20 years ago and up to four times more than 100 years ago, when obesity rates were less than 5%. While this increase mirrors the dramatic rise in the prevalence of hypertension, studies have been inconsistent in linking excess fructose in the diet to hypertension.

Diana Jalal, MD (University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center), and her colleagues studied the issue in a large representative population of US adults. They examined 4,528 adults 18 years of age or older with no prior history of hypertension. Fructose intake was calculated based on a dietary questionnaire, and foods such as fruit juices, soft drinks, bakery products, and candy were included. Dr. Jalal's team found that people who ate or drank more than 74 grams per day of fructose (2.5 sugary soft drinks per day) increased their risk of developing hypertension. Specifically, a diet of more than 74 grams per day of fructose led to a 28%, 36%, and 87% higher risk 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 results indicate that high fructose intake in the form of added sugars is significantly and independently associated with higher blood pressure levels in the US adult population with no previous history of hypertension," the authors concluded. Additional studies are needed to see if low fructose diets can normalize blood pressure and prevent the development of hypertension.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029211521.htm

[conscious evolution]

1. HFCS is poison

Good to see the medical community is starting to recognize this fact.
I wish someone could get their hands on the Coca Cola study that shows a link to ADD.

[Warpy]

3. It's poison in large amounts, you mean

Back in the good old days when people got Karo syrup fudge only during the holidays, they tolerated it just fine.

People who live on processed foods, however, are opening themselves up to all sorts of illnesses. It's hard to pin down what the culprit really is, HFCS or salt. Processed foods contain a superabundance of both.

Our bodies are designed to metabolize fructose. We are simply not designed to metabolize quite that much of it all year long.

[salvorhardin]

4. If you ate the equivalent weight of HFCS 55 in sucrose (table sugar) you'd....

If you ate the equivalent weight of HFCS 55 in sucrose (table sugar) you'd be getting just about the same amount of fructose. So I don't think it's the HFCS so much as it is that processed foods are just overly sweetened and highly caloric. As I noted in another thread, if you're getting over 1,000 calories from just a single pot pie then your chances of taking in too many calories for the day are that much higher. All the extra salt doesn't help either. If your diet consists of primarily these types of processed/prepared foods then there's a good chance you're regularly taking in too many calories without even knowing it and will be obese. And of course, obesity is highly correlated with hypertension.

[ThatPoetGuy]

5. Huh?

"If you ate the equivalent weight of HFCS 55 in sucrose (table sugar) you'd be getting just about the same amount of fructose." Are you saying that sucrose contains fructose?

[salvorhardin]

6. Yes. Sucrose is 50% glucose and 50% fructose.

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. The only difference between sucrose and HFCS is that sucrose is a disaccharide while HFCS is just glucose and fructose mixed together.

There are mainly three different concentrations of HFCS.
HFCS 42: 42% fructose. Used mainly in foods and baked goods.
HFCS 55: 55% fructose. Used mainly in soft drinks.
HFCS 90: 90% fructose. Used to blend with HFCS 42 to make HFCS 55.

One might think that because in table sugar, the sucrose and glucose are chemically bonded that the fructose in HFCS would be metabolized much faster placing a heavy load on the liver. However there have been many studies that have shown that HFCS does not result in changes in metabolic function. Some of these studies have been industry funded, others have not.

There is some thinking that a diet heavy in fructose relative to glucose results in weight gain since insulin and leptin levels are suppressed while ghrelin levels increase. Insulin and leptin decrease appetite while ghrelin increases appetite thus people might eat more. However, since the amount of fructose in HFCS is roughly the same as in table sugar, there's no reason to suspect HFCS of being responsible for rising obesity rates.

[Codeine]

7. Yes. Sucrose does contain fructose.

In only slightly lower levels than HFCS.

There's really nothing magical about corn syrup. The problem isn't what it is, the problem is its ubiquity. It's in everything, in things where we don't need any sweeteners at all. Why does spaghetti sauce need sweetening? Things like that blow me away.

[salvorhardin]

9. Right on.

It's the ubiquity of HFCS which means even foods we don't necessarily think of as being highly caloric often are or are higher in calories than if we made them at home.

As for spaghetti sauce, when it's made at home it usually doesn't need to be sweetened because things like sauteing onions and garlic leads to carmelization (i.e. sugars). Some cooks do like to add a little sugar to their sauce though. I don't. If for some reason the sauce is overly acidic I've found that adding a grated carrot takes care of the problem as well as adding sugar, doesn't affect the taste and makes for a more interesting texture. I think store-bought sauces are frequently sweetened because the commercial process by which they're produced makes the sauce more acidic to start with and secondly, because people have come to expect everything to be really sweet.

[undergroundpanther]

11. As a kid

I ate a healthy diet we had a huge garden and I didn't like sodas they were and still are intolerably sweet to me,any juices get watered down ,candy was a rare treat.So today i don't drink crap loads of HF CS.And I didn't back than either.I have ADD.Was diagnosed in the early 70's.I took ritalin back than.I take adderall now.Not all ADD issues people have are caused by diet.I have a suspicion my ADD might be from brain damage from pstd. My mom put me on the Feingold diet,did not help because it really wasn't all that different from my normal diet.When I got to school ate school lunches my symptoms got worse.So I packed lunch from home..

[Mz Pip]

2. When I started

seriously reading labels of ingredients I was really amazed at how many "foods" had HFCS as the first ingredient and how many foods that don't need sugar at all had HFCS in them. Salad dressing? Why? Now I make my own.

The stuff seems to be everywhere, not just in soft drinks.

[grasswire]

8. even in pickled beets and canned tomatoes

I'm waiting for campbell's to take it out of the tomato soup. I love tomato soup in the winter but won't eat HFCS.

[nickinSTL]

10. doesn't surprise me any

I've been trying to cut down on my HFCS - aside from what's in foods - I had been drinking a Dr.Pepper a day for a long time, and now I'm cutting down on that.

Isn't made any easier for me that I can't drink most diet soda - aspartame is out for me.

So, for the most part, I'm cutting out soda.

I wish they'd do something about both HFCS and trans-fats in food. There has been a lot of talk lately about charging overweight people more for health insurance or in other ways - those thoughts go about it the wrong way. Cut out the HFCS and the trans-fats, and probably lots of other things...make healthy foods cheaper than junk foods, and THAT might have an effect on obesity.

It really angers me when people talk about punishing obese people in some financial way for their weight. I exercise regularly, eat few enough calories that I really ought to be losing weight...and yet, I don't. I think HFCS has a part in that. I got my weight down previously...drinking stuff with sucralose instead of HFCS.

I also have high blood pressure - which is well-controlled on meds, but I wouldn't be surprised if HFCS is related to that, too.