Many of you have probably seen the ads on TV in the last year or so where high fructose corn syrup is being re-branded as corn sugar, and attempts to persuade you that HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) doesn’t deserve the bad rap its been given, BUT in my opinion, it does!
Here are the basics you need to understand:
- Glucose is the foundation of all carbohydrate metabolism, and it circulates in our blood, giving our tissues energy to function.
- Galactose is a sugar that is essential to the proper development of YOUNG animals. It’s pretty clear that humans don’t have a need for galactose after about age 6 though many of us continue to consume milk after this age. Does this sound foreign to you? Think of this, humans are the ONLY animals that continue to drink milk after they have been weaned. Then, after weaning, we decide to drink the milk of another animal. This does not happen anywhere else in nature! If you are interested in more information on the controversy behind consuming milk checkout these links: On Milk, On BGH
- Now for Fructose. Fructose is only found in small concentrations in natural foods. When you consume fructose, it has to be broken into its constituent sugars glucose and galactose. For this process to happen, it has to be processed in the liver.
Research done in 2009 showed that consuming fructose caused a severe stimulation of excess insulin production, and triggered the entire chain reaction that leads to all the degenerative diseases associated with poor glycemic (blood sugar) control. These include cardiovascular disease, hypoglycemia, diabetes, and chronic fatigue.
Dysglycemia is a MAJOR reason for many of our modern health problems, and a foundational aspect of your health. If you don’t have good blood sugar balance, you will not be healthy. If you simply get your blood sugar under control, you will make huge differences in most aspects of you health. With that being said, does this sound like fructose should be consumed regularly in your diet?
One other thing you need to know about is glycation. GLYCATION IS A MAJOR CONCERN WHEN CONSUMING FRUCTOSE.
What is glycation? Glycation is a haphazard process that impairs the functioning of biomolecules, and is a catabolic aging process, where sugar reacts with protein, causing subsequent oxidative damage of the sugar-protein complex. The really important thing to know here is that fructose causes 10 times more glycation than most other sugars. This means more oxidative damage/stress, which basically means you will have faster aging and higher probability of developing a degenerative disease.
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Dr. Shook is training in functional medicine, and practices in Hickory, NC.
References:
Gul A, Rahman MA, Hasnain SN.,Influence of fructose concentration on myocardial infarction in senile diabetic and non-diabetic patients Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 2009 Nov;117(10):605-9. Epub 2009 Nov 18.
