A sweetener that should be avoided at all costs is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) regardless of what savvy marketing gurus try and tell (sell) you. In fact, it is one of the eight reasons I cite in my new book that Americans are overweight and unhealthy. HFCS, developed by the Japanese and introduced to Americans in 1970, is either 42% or 55% fructose depending on its intended use, and is overly used in processed foods and beverages.

Sucrose (table sugar) also contains fructose as part of its molecular makeup, and the combination of HFCS and sucrose consumption in America has sky rocketed. In 2005, the average American was consuming 122 pounds of this combination per year, and it keeps increasing.

Fructose is metabolized in the liver where it is converted and stored as glycogen (storage form of glucose - blood sugar) or synthesized into triglycerides (fats). Habitual over consumption of fructose can overwhelm glycogen storage causing excessive triglyceride production resulting in fatty liver disease and high triglyceride (hypertriglyceridemia) blood levels. This can lead to insulin resistance, arterial (coronary) plaques and subsequent heart disease.

This sweetener has effects on insulin, leptin and ghrelin, hormones that regulate appetite and hunger among other things. HFCS inhibits insulin and leptin secretion and stimulates ghrelin production - the net result is increased hunger and appetite that leads to overeating and weight gain. In other words, the more HFCS you consume, the greater your hunger and the more you eat, especially carbohydrates.

The only way to avoid high fructose corn syrup, sucrose and other unhealthy food additives, is to avoid processed foods and beverages.

The Naked Truth!

Dr. Sardone