Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Fructose+a lot=Obesity?

I choose yet again another nutrition article from my nutrition textbook, Nutrition: An Applied Approach for my free choice blog post. The article is entitled "Is High-Fructose Corn Syrup the Cause of the Obesity Epidemic?"
To me, this article contains information that is common sense. I mean, there is a reason why the original food pyramid included hardly any sugars and why the current MyPlate eradicated sugars from the diet altogether. I remember learning about the hazards of a sugary diet as a young child. What I did not know previously was how big a role fountain drinks contribute to obesity and how the intake increased by 100% since the 1970's.
I do not think all the blame should fall entirely on to the fault of soda, however. As the article lists; “genetic influences, lack of adequate physical activity and excessive consumption of energy (calories)” are also responsible for overweight kids. It seems that obesity is a combination of all these factors. SweetSurprise.com's facts about high-fructose corn syrup states it is actually alright in moderation. Though fructose should not be promoted nor consumed in massive quantities, foods saturated in fat and regular sugar are equally unhealthy.
Nevertheless, fructose corn syrup should be limited in the daily diet. Not only is it a link to obesity but causes a host of other health problems. Tooth decay, cavities, diabetes type two, risk of heart disease are just a few issues that be caused by sugary substances. Jennifer Nelson, a registered and licensed dietician, wrote on MayoClinic.com a few suggestions to prevent high-fructose corn syrup from dominating your life such as drinking primarily water, choosing breakfast cereals carefully, eating fewer packaged and processed food and finding alternatives of low fat dairy food products rather than gouging on cookies, candy and such.  

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