The liver converts the excessive fructose into fat after using up the needed amount of carbohydrates from sugar and the excessive fat is stored in liver, body cells, and pushed out into the blood, which causes a fatty or dysfunctional liver, obesity and related diseases, and high blood pressure along with cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke (Cohen; Goldwert). Generally, dietary fat has been believed to be the culprit for causing obesity. In the 1980s, scientists blamed dietary fat in food as the major reason for obesity and cardiovascular disease (Syed & Davidson). So food companies started to eliminate fats from food and to compensate for its cardboard-like taste, they started to put in more sugar, mostly in form of cheap High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), which became the food industry’s savior. But for 30 years with less fat, cases of obesity and diabetes have only increased in number.It is not just because people eat more sugar through processed/fast foods, but also HFCS convolutes the body signal system by never informing brain to stop eating. It suppresses the hormone Leptin, which sends a signal to the brain “full,” so people eat more than they need and it results in prevalent abnormal obesity (Bray). Even more sad news from nephrologist Richard Johnson is, sugar rush depletes body energy and makes it harder for people to move, holding true to the term, couch potato (Cohen).
Regarding cardiovascular disease, high sugared blood hurts the blood vessels and it makes it easy for the dangerous LDL cholesterol to invade and cause plaque that leads to heart attacks or strokes (Lund University). Also, a recent finding from the University of California-Davis reports that LDL cholesterol, the byproduct of excessiv...
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...iction”). People would rather choose sweet stuff right now, than be aware and cautious for their future health. Also its downsides show up slowly or sneakily, it makes it hard to blame sugar directly and people are easily misled. Food companies spend a lot of money on lobbying to keep the facts under wraps (Syed & Davidson). Moreover, they make food packages deceptive ; Sugar can be disguised by more than 50 different names: HFCS, molasses, corn syrup, dextrose…(Pikul) Also processed food such as pasta sauce has 12g of sugar per half-cup (“Best Pasta”). Yes, it is almost impossible to escape sugar; 77% of packaged foods contain sugar (Lustig, “The Sugar-Addiction”). But people do not know the facts well. Americans’ average sugar consumption is 22 teaspoons per day, while The American Heart Association suggests only 6 teaspoons for women and 9 for men (“Sugar 101”).
According to the article, Too Much Can Make Us Sick (http://www.sugarscience.org/too-much-can-make-us-sick/), “Heart disease. Diabetes. These chronic conditions are among the leading causes of death worldwide. Increasingly, scientists are focusing on a common set of underlying metabolic issues that raise people's risk for chronic disease. It turns out that the long-term overconsumption of added sugars is linked to many of these dysfunctions.” This means that people living today, have a lot more trouble with diseases because of our unhealthy sugar intake compared to the
The food that we as a nation consumes reflects the health and well being of the American people. We have become so accustomed to fast food and easy, unhealthy, diet choices that diseases like diabetes has become very prevalent and on the rise. One in every three Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes. In the film “Food Inc.” takes a look into a typical grocery store and reveals the illusion of variety. Most of the food in the industry leads back to corn. High fructose corn syrup, a sweetener made from corn starch, is found in many of the foods and beverages that we consume. High fructose corn syrup has been linked to metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes. Corn has become very affordable and abundant and big food
However, the outcome was different from his desired result due to strong protest from the dairy and livestock industry, so the Congress instead urged people to buy lean meat and less fat food so the dairy and livestock industry do not go out of business. This created the fat-free boom in the market in the 1980s. However, food companies began to put more sugar in their products because the taste was bad when they reduced fat in the food. Now, the sugar intake of Americans has doubled compared with before. In the American market, there are approximately 600,000 different food products, and 80% of those include sugar. Although sugar is written in various forms and names, one suggests that it’s bad in any form, especially if taken too much. Sugar consumed naturally through fiber-rich fruit or vegetable should be fine, but the added sweeteners stimulate the hormones that increase insulin. High insulin prevents people from thinking they are full, and thus crave more food. This causes many diseases. Of course one meal high in sugar will not kill them, but the problem is that people generally exceed daily sugar intake in one meal alone when consuming process food. We eat more processed and convenient food instead of fruits, vegetables, and
The use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contributes drastically to obesity. In the normal process of glucose consumption the pancreas responds by producing insulin to transport sugar to the body cells to use as energy. It then stimulates the production of the hormone leptin, which regulates appetite and fat storage, and suppresses production of the hormone ghrelin. When properly functioning, these hormones serve to regulate food intake and cause hunger to dissipate. However, fructose (the most commodious substance in HFCS)
Obesity in America has risen dramatically in the last forty years. Many believe high fructose corn syrup is to blame for this and other health related issues like diabetes and high blood pressure. High fructose corn syrup was invented by Richard O. Marshall and Earl R. Kooi in 1957 (Production of high fructose corn syrup). Scientists have done tests and many reports and found many statistics showing the same thing: once high fructose corn syrup (or HFCS) was added to food and beverages in 1975, obesity rose without warning. The U.S. has the highest obesity rate in the world: “roughly two-thirds of adults and one-third of young people in the U.S. are now overweight or obese” (McMillen). That’s a massive amount, and it’s growing at a steady pace with little sign of ending any time soon. We also eat more mass produced food than any other country in the world. High fructose corn syrup has taken over the food market and has found its way to almost all of our food and drinks.
In the documentary “Fed Up,” sugar is responsible for Americas rising obesity rate, which is happening even with the great stress that is set on exercise and portion control for those who are overweight. Fed Up is a film directed by Stephanie Soechtig, with Executive Producers Katie Couric and Laurie David. The filmmaker’s intent is mainly to inform people of the dangers of too much sugar, but it also talks about the fat’s in our diets and the food corporation shadiness. The filmmaker wants to educate the country on the effects of a poor diet and to open eyes to the obesity catastrophe in the United States. The main debate used is that sugar is the direct matter of obesity. Overall, I don’t believe the filmmaker’s debate was successful.
Up to 40 percent of normal weight people have the same metabolic dysfunction as those who are obese. So, 51 percent of the U.S. population is sick with metabolic dysfunction,” (Fed Up). Obesity has become an epidemic in America over the past thirty years. This is largely due to over consumption of foods with added sugars. Sugary foods contain a large amount of calories in a small amount of food. People overload on calories before we even feel full. Ann Marina of Livestrong explains, “Refined sugar is composed of simple carbohydrates, which are converted into glucose for energy. Any unused glucose is stored as fat cells in your body.” Added sugar has an addictive quality, making it easy to eat a lot at once. Income also has a lot to do with sugar intake and obesity. With the recession and many people experiencing money troubles, people often settle for the cheapest foods to feed their families. The cheapest foods happen to be fast foods and foods containing added sugars. The obesity epidemic is a sad truth in America today, but people are becoming more conscious of what they are putting into their bodies when they gain knowledge about the effects of sugar. With the consumption of added sugars, our bodies develop insulin resistance, which is the leading cause of metabolic syndrome, obesity, cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. Dr. David Reuben, author of "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Nutrition",
High fructose corn syrup is known to proliferate levels of uric acid; it also can raise lactic acid levels (Buist), which leads to muscle cramps. The intake of corn syrup creates a higher risk for heart disease. It also produces “oxidative damage” to the body, depriving cells of oxygen, which in turn speeds up the aging process (Buist). Fructose is broken down by the liver, so the the liver has to pause its production of insulin in order to break down the sugar. This can lead to diabetes and weight gain. High fructose corn syrup also impedes the breakdown of copper, which also can lead to diabetes, heart attacks, and thyroid problems (Buist). Ingesting this sugar ...
Because the modern diet is centered around sugar, people are drawn to eat unhealthily. Most food we eat that is advertised
“Sugar addiction is a rapidly growing epidemic (Teitelbaum, 2010).” According to researchers, on average an individual consumes one-hundred pounds of sugar each year. Americans spend billions of dollars a year on gym memberships, healthy foods and beverages, and exercise equipment. Despite the economic strain, Americans continue to make room in their budgets for weight loss products.
HFCS is being used for almost every food product in the food industry. However, if we look at HFCS from a limited point of view we just see it as something present in our food and not the health factors behind it. HFCS can be habit forming since it is a sweet replacement for sugar and in his article Peretti mentions that David Kessler said “sugar, through its metabolisation by the gut and hence the brain, is extremely addictive, just like cigarettes or alcohol.” People enjoy the taste and because of this they consume large quantities, which lead to health factors such as: obesity, diabetes, heart problems, infertility, liver problems, and so on. Our limited perspective may cause us to lose sight of how much of a risk HFCS possess. In my case I use to think that my family gained significant amount of weight only through fatty foods and...
High fructose corn syrup is found in almost any packaged snack on the shelves in convenience stores. The low priced meats from fast food restaurants are high in fats, sugar, and salt and low in nutrients. If the government stopped subsidizing these foods, the market would open up for more diverse options. Small food producers with diverse food would be able to compete in the market. Recently, there has been an increase in awareness about the relationship between food and health.
When a person gains weight, they think the main cause is the fat that is included in the food they eat. They are terribly mistaken. According to the video Hungry for Change, they say, “ In the 1900’s, an average person only consumed about 15g of sugar a day. But in the present, modern adults consumes 70-80g of sugar a day, and teens consumes about 120-150g”. Sugar is not only a unhealthy diet and obesity, but it is the main cause of overweight. Sugar does not contain fat, but when people eat more calories than they burn, the remaining calories stays as fat. By being overweight, it can impact a person’s entire quality of life. In the physical health, the right kind of food gives you the strength and energy to make it through in your everyday lifestyle. In other words, by eating the wrong kind of foods, you won't get the energy you need in your life. In the mental/emotional health, a little stress is good for your body because it gives ...
We are all familiar with sugar. It is sweet, delicious, and addictive; yet only a few of us know that it is deadly. When it comes to sugar, it seems like most people are in the mind frame knowing that it could be bad for our health, but only a few are really taking the moderate amounts. In fact, as a whole population, each and everyone of us are still eating about 500 extra calories per day from sugar. Yes, that seems like an exaggerated number judging from the tiny sweet crystals we sprinkle on our coffee, but it is not. Sugar is not only present in the form of sweets and flavourings, it is hidden in all the processed foods we eat. We have heard about the dangers of eating too much fat or salt, but we know very little about the harmful effects of consuming too much sugar. There still isn’t any warnings about sugar on our food labels, nor has there been any broadcasts on the serious damages it could do to our health. It has come to my concern during my research that few
...ng sugar and fats. The junk food companies know this, but they don’t care, because it makes them rich. In summary, this is why by law, all fast-food companies should have forced limitations on distribution which has lead to the rise of obesity in America.