" Thank you for your very informative post here. Could it be that the widespread use of high fructose corn syrup is responsible for both the large epidemic of obesity in this nation, but also the large number of people of all ages with unexpected cardiovascular disease and even heart attacks? Otherwise healthy and young people are having heart attacks in large numbers these days. Not everyone of them is obese either. Just wondering. "

" The evidence against HFCS is building which is plain in the fact that many Americans are not buying into the commercials promoting the product. We are still learning why HFCS is not healthy for us, why it is not just like honey or even table sugar. “Fructose differs in several ways from glucose, the other half of the sucrose (sugar) molecule in several ways. Fructose is absorbed from the gastrointestinal track by a different mechanism than glucose. Glucose stimulates insulin release from the pancreas, but fructose does not. Fructose also enters muscles and other cells with out depending on insulin, whereas most glucose enters cells in an insulin dependant manner. Finally, once inside the cell, fructose can enter the pathways that provide the triglycerides backbone (glycerol) more efficiently than glucose. Thus, high consumption of fructose as occurs with the rising of soft drinks and the use of HFCS may be a “fat equivalent” (Havel 2002)” (Davies, Fitzgerald 44)
Even the Mayo clinic has done studies on HFCS and has come to an initial conclusion that “animal studies have shown a link between increased consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and adverse health effects, such as diabetes and high cholesterol. However, the evidence is not as clear in human studies.” (Yet…)
Here is another thing the corn growers do not want the American public to learn. As stated in You on a Diet “when you eat calories from healthy sources, they turn off your desire to eat by inhibiting production of neuropeptide Y (NPY) (A peptide neurotransmitter believed to be important in the control of appetite and feeding behavior, especially in response to leptin.) or producing more CART (chemicals that reduce appetite and increase insulin delivery to the body). However, your brain does not see fructose in the HFCS, your body wants you to keep eating (which means that even low-fat foods can have extremely bad consequences, calorie- and appetite-wise). Americans have gone from eating no pounds of this stuff per person in 1960 to eating more than sixty-three pounds of it every year (that’s 128,000 calories). That is a contributor to weight gain, since the fructose in HFCS does not turn off your hunger signals. Foods with fructose – which may in fact be labeled as low-fat – make you both hungry and unable to shut off your appetite.” (Roizen et al.47)Something does not sit right with us the American people when it comes to high- fructose corn syrup. The ads are an insult to our intelligence, and draw our attention to the fact that HFCS is not sugar. It is not honey. It also pushes us to become aware that moderation is nearly impossible due to the saturation of it in our processed foods. The label “natural” is there but that does not make it healthy. Does the term “natural” really make it healthy? A rock is natural, but it really is not wise to eat. Honey and sugar are sweet, but high-fructose corn syrup is sweeter…can we say sickly sweet? Yes, I think we can.

Akgun S, Ertel NH. Plasma glucose and insulin after fructose an high-fructose corn syrup meals in subjects with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Care, 1981; 4:464
“High-fructose corn syrup: Why is it so bad for me?” Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Mayo Clinic Staff, Apr 5, 2007 www.MayoClinic.com http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fructose-corn-syrup/AN01588
Davies, H. Dele, Hiram E. Fitzgerald, and Vasiliki Mousouli. Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence. Child psychology and mental health. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2008. 39,44
Roizen, Michael F., Mehmet Oz, Ted Spiker, Lisa Oz, and Craig Wynett. You, on a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management. New York: Free Press, 2006. 47, 201 "