High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Weight Gain (Essay Sample)

Does High-Fructose Corn Syrup Cause Weight Gain?
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Does High-Fructose Corn Syrup Cause Weight Gain?
Many people across the world have an increased intake in High-Fructose Corn Syrup which is usually taken up from sugar sweetened drinks as well as processed foods. It is for this reason that America has seen obesity rates triple while diabetes incidences increase at rates of seven times. Intake of High-Fructose Corn Syrup is not the only cause for weight gain, but it is most essentially a contributing factor. It is for this reason that it is essential to know the truth concerning the effects of high-fructose corn syrup. The idea among many people is that High-Fructose Corn Syrup is not harmful and that it is essentially the same as the cane sugar (Bocarsly, 2010). To use it in moderation may be assumed that it retains essential healthy part of human diet. The truth is different, in that the intakes of high-fructose corn syrup is responsible for various complications such as heart disease, cancer, liver failure, dementia, tooth decay, in addition to weight gain. In this essay, I examine the reasons why people will likely gain more weight when they consume high-fructose corn syrup, and how this affects the health of people.
According to Nielsen (2009), the laboratory tests that have been done on rats have shown that they will become fatter when they eat high-fructose corn syrup as opposed to eating sugar. This is regardless of whether or not the overall caloric intake remains the same. The other outcome of this intake is an accumulation of abnormal fat deposit within the abdominal area. Again, increased intake of high-fructose corn syrup causes triglicerides to rise (Nielsen, 2009). The experiments done on these rats saw a group of the male rats given similar concentration of sugars found within soft drinks. The other group was given high-fructose corn syrup solutions that contained half of the concentration.
As most experiments take the specimens of rats to put into context a human condition, the same effects that are seen in rats will be possible in humans. As the various rats drank high-fructose corn syrup which is at levels that are below those found in soda pop, it was seen that they became obese. This was seen in all of those tested. Nielsen (2009) further explains that this is not even a common occurrence where there is a consumption of the high-fat diet.
Nielsen looks into another experiment where weight gain, body fats as well as triglyceride levels were studied. This second experiment was done on rats which consumed high-fructose corn syrup within a six month period. The rats were seen to have symptoms similar to what is called metabolic syndrome in the humans. In the results, there was a gain of 48% more weight as opposed to the rats that ate the normal diets of rat chow (Nielsen, 2009). The reason for this experiment was so that it could be discovered why it was all happening as it did.
According to Nielsen, the rats that were experimented upon did not simply gain weight, they essentially became obese. This included some substantial increase in the abdominal fat as well as circulating triglycerides. The same characteristics are those associated with aspects of high blood pressure, the coronary artery disease, diabetes, as well as cancer in people.
All these are proof that high-fructose corn syrup is dangerous for the body, which is an issue that has been discussed extensively by scientists. Scientific studies indicate that there are different reasons as to why it is essential for a person to limit in as far as it is possible consumption of all products that are found to be high in fructose corn syrup. In fact, increased consumption may eventually lead to a situation where a person becomes quite sick.
To begin with, it is essential to understand that all forms of sugar will lead to obesity if their consumption is at pharmacologic doses. Both high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar can lead to harm if consumed within the pharmacologic dose of about 140 pounds in a year per person. Essentially, the amount that is taken in is what really matters (Bocarsly, 2010). When people take all the sugar that they do, whether is from the sweetened soda with high-fructose corn syrup, sports drinks, or tea, they are constantly moving towards inflicting harm on their bodies. Research has showed that the hunters and the gatherers from whom humans are descendent consumed in the average about 30 teaspoonful each year, and this is what some people consume in a single day. While all sugars are merely sugar, some essential differences do exist.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup, compared to the cane sugar, are different in that they are biochemically identical not identical. This means that when in the body, they will not be processed in the same way. The High-fructose corn syrup has been known to be essentially an industrial product, which means that they are never really natural (Nielsen, 2009). They do not occur naturally. During its production, extraction is made from the corn stalks and the process which is involved is fundamentally secretive and its manufactures have always declined to reveal it.
These are sugars extracted via some chemical enzymatic processes that result in the chemically as well as biologically integrated compound which is called an HFCS. This is unlike the regular cane sugars that are made of the two-sugar molecules which are bound together tightly. These are glucose as well as fructose taken in exactly equal measures. This makes it possible for enzymes within the digestive tract to break down sucrose into both glucose and fructose. After this process, absorption into the body system becomes possible. While HFCS equally contains glucose and fructose, this is not found in equal measure. It is usually in a 55-45 ration of fructose to glucose which comes in some unbound form.
It is possible for these to be much quicker to be absorbed into the blood stream because HFCS does not carry any form of chemical bond. The fructose then goes right to one’s liver where it then triggers lipogenesis (Nielsen, 2009). This is the production of fats which include triglycerides as well as cholesterol. For this re...