What the world eats - You will be surprised!!

"You are what you eat", not just an old cliche, but pure fact. Unfortunately however just because you east highly "preserved" processed foods does not mean you are going to be "preserved" as well. Actually its pretty much the opposite. Many preservatives and food additives have been linked to Cancer, Asthma and Hyperactivity.

Here is a list of additives to avoid, carry it with you to the grocery store, you will be shocked and amazed what products carry these additives. One of the most popular and common is E128 Red 2G (Red food color) and it has be proven to cause all the items listed above, Cancer, Asthma and Hyperactivity. 

From Natural News:
You may be shocked to see the significant variation even between relatively ‘similar’ nations when it comes to diet. While many families within the United States and Mexico include fast food and soda into the core of their nutritional program, families from nations like Bhutan survive off of traditional base food items like vegetables and grains. It is easy to see why disease rates are skyrocketing in many developed countries, where nutrition is not held to a very high regard.

Amazingly, the United States also spends more on healthcare than any nation in the world. Despite spending $7,960 per capita, the United States has been ranked dead last when it comes to the quality of care. The fact of the matter is that when food intake is ignored — along with the subsequent toxic ingredients that go along with the processed food addiction — disease will arise. In the telling pictures below, taken from the book ‘Hungry Planet: What the World Eats’, you can see what the average family from each nation eats over the period of one week.

This family in the picture above is from North Carolina eats a diet almost entirely of processed and pre-prepared foods with heavy amounts of junk and fast food. Consuming mostly sugar-laden ‘fruit’ drinks and mega-sized sodas from Burger King and McDonald’s, this average American diet will ultimately lead to chronic disease and rampant sickness. Some favorite foods include pizza and fast food.

Mexico

Families in mexico also tend to consume sugary sodas and processed foods, though their fruit and vegetable intake is higher than the United States families observed. The family lists their favorite food items as pizza, pasta, and chicken.

Canada

Enjoying some of the same processed items as families from Mexico and the United States, Canadian families do consume processed chips and meats, though you will notice a more prominent display of vegetables and fresh fish on the table. An increased amount of yogurt and cheese is also featured.

Italy

Italian families enjoy their bread, pasta, and assorted fruit. With grains a major part of the diet, along with other carbohydrate-rich foods, Italian families tend to forfeit some meal options high in protein for ‘traditional’ Italian dishes like pasta with ragu. While many of these items are fresh or even baked at home, Italian families still consume large amounts of sodas like Pepsi. You can see that this family drinks about 6 larger-sized bottles per week.

China

This Chinese family prefers fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce, listed as their favorite dishes. Eating processed food items mixed with packaged meats and fish, this Chinese family eats more fruit than vegetables, and their produce selection is one of the smallest besides the United States.

Chad

This family resides in the developing nation of Chad and spends only the equivalent of $1.23 per week on food to feed the entire family. Their favorite food is soup with fresh sheep meat.

Japan

It may surprise you, but this Japanese family consumes a diet high in processed junk and sugary treats. They list their favorite food items as cake, potato chips, and sashimi.

Germany

This German family has adopted an American-styled nutritional regiment, stating that their favorite foods are pizza, vanilla pudding, fried potatoes, and fried noodles. You may also notice the largely increased amount of beer and other alcoholic drinks over the other nations.

Great Britain

Spending over $250 per week on food, the average family in Great Britain is eating mostly processed meals and candy. This family’s preferred foods include chocolate fudge cake, mayonnaise sandwiches, and prawn cocktail.

Americans are killing themselves with sugar

Image from SetYouFreeNews.com

Sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are not just in soft drinks, pastries, and candies. They are hidden in most processed foods, condiments and sauces. Sometimes the sweetening ingredients in those foods and condiments are disguised as dextrose or corn syrup (which is most likely genetically modified) instead of sugar or HFCS.

So sugar is ubiquitous in the standard American diet (SAD). The food like substances from convenience stores, fast food stops, and even upscale restaurants are usually loaded with either sugar or HFCS.

High fructose corn syrup has become the sweetener of choice because it's cheaper and sweeter than sugar. Many say it's worse for you as well. Much of HFCS goes directly to the liver before it is metabolized anywhere else. What isn't used for energy from HFCS is stored as fat. Excess sugar also gets stored as fat.

Even some infant formulas contain sugar or HFCS amounts equivalent to a can of soda. They're getting hooked on sugar early. Sugar and HFCS tend to be addictive.

Since sugar became a household commodity in the 18th Century, sugar consumption has increased from four pounds per person annually to 180 pounds annually for half the American population. HFCS use has increased over ten thousand percent since its introduction into processed foods and beverages in the 1970s.

Health issues with sugar and HFCS

Obesity is obvious. Obesity levels are higher now than ever before. One-third of Americans are obese and another third are overweight. Eating a low fat diet only hurts your health. Our bodies need natural, good fats 

Obesity and overweight conditions usually lead to pre-diabetes and diabetes type 2, which can also cause kidney disease. If dietary habits remain the same, high blood pressure and artherosclerosis (clogged and hardened arteries) can occur, leading to heart attacks and strokes.

Coinciding with increased HFCS use is a sharp rise in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is a precursor to sclerosis of the liver.

Many tend to make a couple of bad mistakes upon realizing they need to cut down or completely eliminate sugar and high fructose corn syrup from their diet. The first is to use artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and Splenda (sucralose). That's just trading physical problems for neurological issues, while still getting fatter in the meantime 

However, you can use naturally plant based Stevia as a healthy sugar replacement.

Another mistake is to cut out obvious sweets and sodas while continuing to frequent fast food places and eat processed food meals at home. The gradual transition from the standard American diet should be toward cutting out processed and fast food meals completely, since most are laced with sugar or HFCS.

Studies are beginning to determine that consuming lots of sugar or HFCS leads to cancer. Anaerobic cancer cells do thrive on sugar. They depend on fermenting glucose (sugar) for their energy because they've lost the ability to metabolize with oxygen (http://www.naturalnews.com/024827_cancer_sugar_women.html).

That's why alternative cancer treatments strictly forbid sugar consumption. Of course, mainstream oncology does not even discourage sugar. It's widely understood that we all contain some free floating cancer cells that have not developed into tumors.

Natural fructose in fruit is okay. Buthigh added sugar/HFCS consumptionwill only encourage cancer cells and cause the other health issues mentioned in this article.

Monsanto ‘Biotechnology Book for Kids’ Caught Brainwashing Children

Anthony Gucciardi from Activist Post


Facing direct opposition from the public, biotechnology giants like Monsanto and Dow are now making a disturbing attempt to brainwash developing minds into accepting their genetically modified foods using blatant lies and propaganda.

In a last ditch effort to potentially sway public opinion, the Council for Biotechnology Information (CBI)  has launched the “Biotechnology Basics Activity Book” for kids.


With the intent to be used by ‘agriculture and science teachers’, the activity book spreads absurd lies about GMO crops — even going as far as to say that they ‘improve our health’ and ‘help the environment’.


The book can be seen on the organization’s website, and makes it extremely apparent that it is full of misinformation and propaganda that completely ignores scientific research surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMOs).


In fact, let’s examine some claims made by this book that serves as an ‘educational’ tool to be used by teachers.


Here is a short outline I created from the article at Activist Post:


Monsanto’s Propaganda that is spreading to our children through literature

From page # 1 of the Propaganda they are distributing.....
.........................They say that GMO crops............

1) Grow more food;


Not so much ……according to 900 scientists, GMO crops actually do not grow more food than traditional farming practices. In fact, they are simply not an effective tool to fight starvation in any capacity, thanks to their excessive costs and immense failure to yield crops.


Funded by the World Bank and United Nations, an organization was created known as the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). Made up of 900 scientists and researchers, the group — whose mission was to examine the issue of world hunger — found that genetically modified crops were not a meaningful solution to the problem.




2) Help the environment
Do What?......Research has shown that Monsanto’s modified Bt pesticide is actually mutating the very genetic coding of insect life on the planet, creating super resistant ‘mutant’ bugs that are wreaking havoc on farms using Monsanto’s harmful concoctions across the globe. At least 8 populations of insects have developed some form of resistance, with 2 populations resistant to Bt sprays and at least 6 species resistant to Bt crops as a whole.


3) Grow more nutritious food that improves our health.
Do GMOs really ‘Improve Our Health’?. . . But what about the claim that GMOs improve our health? It turns out nothing could be further from the truth. A prominent review of 19 studies examining the safety of GMO crops found that consumption of GMO corn or soybeans can lead to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice – particularly in the liver and kidneys.


Of course the negative effects do not end there. Monsanto’s modified biopesticide, known as Bt, has been found to be killing human kidney cells in conjunction with Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide Roundup. That’s right, it exhibits direct toxicity to human cells. 

Sugar by Suicide - Reasons to Avoid Sugar - 126 of Them!

Suicide by Sugar

Suicide by Sugar is a book by Dr. Nancy Appleton. The book describes the dangers of sugar in detail and cites 200+ medical studies. The book also includes a list of reasons why sugar ruins health, which is similar to this list on the author’s blog: Whenever the book talks about sugar, it is also referring to these other sweeteners: 


(Note: so a sugar by any other name is still SUGAR), agave syrup, agave nectar, barley malt, beet sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, cane syrup, confections sugar, crystalline fructose, date sugar, evaporated sugarcane, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, galactose, glucose, granulated sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, liquid cane sugar, liquid cane syrup, maltose, maple syrup, molasses, powdered sugar, raw sugar, rice syrup, sugarcane syrup, table sugar, turbinado sugar, unrefined sugar, white sugar

 

Some of the negative health effects of sugar mentioned in the book include:• Sugar is addictive. Rats who quit sugar cold turkey experience withdrawal symptoms.• In one study, 94 percent of rats preferred sugar over cocaine.• Sugar suppresses the immune system by depleting levels of phagocytes, which in turn reduces the body’s ability to fight infection and disease.• A policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics cited research that showed for each additional serving of soda consumed by a child, the body mass index and risk of obesity both increase.• Cooking with sugar food with sugar leads to the formation of advanced glycation end products, which are linked to many age-related diseases.• Fructose significantly raises triglyceride levels in the bloodstream.• Fructose can aggravate symptoms of IBS and diarrhea.• Fructose and sucrose contribute to the oxidative damage that leads to wrinkles.• Fructose intake leads to an increased excretion of several important minerals that are needed for health• Fructose consumption leads to the release of the hormone ghrelin, which induces hunger and leads people to overeat.• Sugar leads to the development of metabolic syndrome and heart disease. One study showed that participants who consumed one or more sodas per day were 48 percent more likely to already have metabolic syndrome.• High sugar intake leads to type 2 diabetes, which is also associated with dementia and depression• Women with high glycemic load diets or high fructose intake were over 50 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer.• Tumors may use sugar to fuel their growth.• Sugar can facilitate the emergence of seizures.

Refined sugar is the number one cause of health problems in the world. The following list is taken from the Article126 Reasons Sugar Is Ruining Your Health by Nancy Appleton, Ph.D. If you have a thing for sugar, you might want to copy this list and put it on your refrigerator or underneath your sugar bowl.

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar upsets the minerals in the body.
3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
5. Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection.
6. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose.
7. Sugar reduces high-density lipoproteins.
8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency.
9. Sugar leads to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostrate and rectum.
10. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.
11. Sugar causes copper deficiency.
12. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
13. Sugar can weaken eyesight.
14. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
15. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
16. Sugar can produce an acidic digestive track.
17. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.
18. Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease.
19. Sugar can cause aging.
20. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
21. Sugar can cause tooth decay.
22. Sugar contributes to obesity.
23. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's Disease, and ulcerative colitis.
24. Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
25. Sugar can cause arthritis.
26. Sugar can cause asthma.
27. Sugar can cause Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
28. Sugar can cause gallstones.
29. Sugar can cause ischemic heart disease.
30. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
31. Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis.
32. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
33. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
34. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.
35. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
36. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
37. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
38. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
39. Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
40. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
41. Sugar can increase cholesterol.
42. Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure.
43. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
44. Sugar can cause migraine headaches.
45. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.
46. Sugar causes food allergies.
47. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
48. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
49. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
50. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
51. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
52. Sugar can change the structure of protein.
53. Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
54. Sugar can cause cataracts.
55. Sugar can cause emphysema.
56. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
57. Sugar can promote an elevation of low-density proteins (LDL).
58. Sugar can cause free radical in the blood stream.
59. Sugar lowers the enzymes ability to function.
60. Sugar can cause loss of tissue elasticity and function.
61. Sugar can cause a permanent altering the way the proteins act in the body.
62. Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide.
63. Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat.
64. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
65. Sugar can damage the pancreas.
66. Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
67. Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement.
68. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
69. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
70. Sugar can make the make the tendons more brittle.
71. Sugar can cause headaches.
72. Sugar can over-stress the pancreas.
73. Sugar can adversely affect school children's grades.
74. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves.
75. Sugar can cause depression.
76. Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer.
77. Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion).
78. Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout.
79. The ingestion of sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates.
80. Sugar can increase the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
81 Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.
82. Sugar can cause less effective functioning of two blood proteins, albumin and lipoproteins, which may reduce the body’s ability to handle fat and cholesterol.
83. There is a greater risk for Crohn's disease with people who have a high intake of sugar.
84. Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness.
85. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
86. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
87. Sugar can lead to the hypothalamus to become highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli.
88. Sugar can lead to dizziness.
89. High sucrose diet significantly increases serum insulin.
90. High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.
91. High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer.
92. High sugar diets tend to be lower in antioxidant micronutrients.
93. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold-increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
94. High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents with high sugar diets.
95. Sugar slows food's travel time through the gastrointestinal tract.
96. Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon. This can modify bile to produce cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.
97. Diets high in sugar can increase fasting blood glucose.
98. Sugar combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more difficult.
99. Sugar can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer.
100. Sugar is an addictive substance.
101. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.
102. Sugar can exacerbate PMS.
103. Sugar suppresses lymphocytes.
104. Decrease in sugar can increase emotional stability.
105. The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.
106. The rapid absorption of glucose promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.
107. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit disorder (ADD).
108. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.
109. Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function.
110. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.
111. Adolescents consuming high sugar diets are at increased risk for delivering small-for-gestational-age infants.
112. High sucrose intake could be an important risk factor in lung carcinogenesis.
113. Sugar increases the risk of polio.
114. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.
115. Sugar is an addictive substance.
116. Intensive Care Units: Sugar limit saves lives
117. Sugar feeds cancer.
118. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.
119. I.Vs (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain.
120. Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men.
121. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E in the blood.
122. Sugar can cause free radicals in the blood stream.
123. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer's disease.
124. Sugar feeds cancer cells.
125. Sugar given to premature babies often produces high blood sugar, causing them to lose precious sugar, water and salts through the urine, putting them at risk for dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.
126. Sugar given to premature babies can also affect the amount of carbon dioxide premature infants produce, exacerbating problems for those with lung disorders.

High sugar diets are linked to violence in prisoners. 

The Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup Is This Disguised Sugar causing and/or affecting diabetes, especially in children?

Is This Disguised Sugar Affecting and Contributing to Diabetes?

Christopher R. Mohr, MS, RD, LDN

 from Diabetes Health 

(My Note: Please take a few minutes and watch this video that tells you the truth about the 30 Billion dollar campaign out there that is trying to convince that High Fructose Corn Syrup is safe. AMA tells us its safe but their own studies say differently, FDA says its safe but their own studies say its not. Please don't trust the government with your health, do your own research and you decide, make and INFORMED decision. : end My Note) 

One of the more popular aliases for sugar today is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)—a corn-based sweetener that has been on the market since approximately 1970.

You know how important it is to control the sugar and carbohydrates in your diet. So you read food labels and listen to your body cues to make sure you’re getting what you need to stay healthy.

But what happens when a manufacturer disguises sugar as something you don’t recognize?

Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. In fact, one of the more popular aliases for sugar today is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)—a corn-based sweetener that has been on the market since approximately 1970.

According to a commentary in the April 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, between 1970 and 1990, the consumption of HFCS increased over 1,000 percent.

“HFCS now represents more than 40 percent of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the sole caloric sweetener in soft drinks in the United States,” write George A. Bray, Samara Joy Nielsen and Barry M. Popkin, the authors of the commentary.

HFCS—It’s Here to Stay

Today, food companies use HFCS—a mixture of fructose and glucose—because it’s inexpensive, easy to transport and keeps foods moist. And because HFCS is so sweet, it’s cost effective for companies to use small quantities of HCFS in place of other more expensive sweeteners or flavorings.

For these reasons and others, HFCS isn’t going away any time soon.

That is why, to best manage diabetes, you need to know what HFCS is and how to identify it in products.

Understanding Glucose and Fructose

Since HFCS is a blend of glucose and fructose, it’s important to understand the role each plays in your body. All sugars, indeed all carbohydrates, have four calories per gram.

But that is just part of the story.

Glucose (dextrose) is a monosaccharide (basically, a simple sugar), which is the form of sugar that is transported in the blood and is used by the body for energy. This is what you measure when testing your blood glucose or blood “sugar.”

Fructose is also a monosaccharide and is often referred to as “fruit sugar,” because it is the primary carbohydrate in most fruits. It’s also the primary sugar in honey and half the carbohydrate in sucrose (table sugar). However, fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion or require insulin to be transported into cells, as do other carbohydrates.

What It Means to You and Your Diabetes

As a person with diabetes, you know how important it is to control your blood glucose and insulin levels to avoid complications. So, it would seem that a lack of glucose and insulin secretion from fructose consumption would be a good thing.

However, insulin also controls another hormone, leptin, so its release is necessary.

Leptin tells your body to stop eating when it’s full by signaling the brain to stop sending hunger signals. Since fructose doesn’t stimulate glucose levels and insulin release, there’s no increase in leptin levels or feeling of satiety. This can leave you ripe for unhealthy weight gain.

The Fate of Fructose in the Body

Fructose requires a different metabolic pathway than other carbohydrates because it basically skips glycolysis (normal carbohydrate metabolism). Because of this, fructose is an unregulated source of “acetyl CoA,” or the starting material for fatty acid synthesis. This, coupled with unstimulated leptin levels, is like opening the flood gates of fat deposition.

Should Fructose Be Eliminated From the Diet?

It’s not that you should eliminate fructose from your diet, but you should be aware of how much you’re consuming. After all, fructose is the primary sugar found in fruits, which provide valuable nutrients. In this case, a little fructose is fine. It becomes a problem only when someone consumes high levels of fructose or HFCS, which is now present in virtually all commercial foods (see below).

Check the Food Labels

While there is no way of knowing exactly how much HFCS is in a given product, you can read the food labels to gauge sugar levels. So, for example, if HFCS is one of the first ingredients listed (in soft drinks or syrup, for example), it is safe to assume there’s a lot in the product. If HFCS is in the products you buy, make sure it is either low on the ingredient list or that the products list very few total grams of sugar (which is how HFCS is shown on ingredient labels).

What Does It All Mean?

If HFCS is one of the first ingredients listed on a food label, don’t eat it. Make a mental list of the worst culprits, such as regular soft drinks and many highly sweetened breakfast cereals. HFCS alone won’t make you fat, but when HFCS is high on the ingredient list, the food is not the best choice. As part of a lifestyle that has many of us eating too much and moving too little, we’re putting our health at risk if we don’t choose our foods carefully.

So what’s the answer? It’s easy. Avoid HFCS by reading food labels and shopping the grocery store’s perimeter: Produce is on one side, seafood, meat and poultry on another, and dairy products, eggs and bread on the third. Avoid the center aisles, which are mostly stocked with highly processed foods.

The more you stick to fresh whole foods and avoid commercial and highly processed foods, the less HFCS you will consume.

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Common Foods High in HFCS

• Regular soft drinks
• Fruit juice and fruit drinks that are not 100 percent juice
• Pancake syrups
• Popsicles
• Fruit-flavored yogurts
• Frozen yogurts
• Ketchup and BBQ sauces
• Jarred and canned pasta sauces
• Canned soups
• Canned fruits (if not in its own juice)
• Breakfast cereals
• Highly sweetened breakfast cereals

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Problems Caused by Too Much HFCS

• It can lead to higher caloric intake
• It can lead to an increase in bodyweight
• It fools your body into thinking it’s hungry
• It increases the amount of processed foods you eat, thereby decreasing your intake of nutrient-dense foods
• It may increase insulin resistance and triglycerides

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Data Is Scarce . . . But Telling

Although data on humans is scarce, it does exist.

According to a study published in the October 2002 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who consumed 28 percent of their total calories from sucrose (half the carbohydrate in sucrose is fructose) as opposed to artificial sweetener had a higher caloric intake, body weight, fat mass and blood pressure after 10 weeks.

This is no mystery since higher caloric intake leads to greater weight gain. In the sucrose group, there was an increase of a little more than 400 calories, which would result in an approximate weight gain of almost seven pounds during the 10-week study if all other factors were constant. However, there was only about half that weight gain in this group. Therefore, the authors estimate that 48 percent of the excess energy intake from sucrose was used for other energy-demanding body processes, such as lipogenesis (the creation of fat).

To make matters worse, fructose consumption is tied to insulin resistance in rodents and increased triglyceride secretion (suggesting that it may have the same effect on humans, too). Considering that type 2 is a common co-morbidity of overweight and obesity, insulin resistance is common. Therefore, if fructose does, in fact, have the same insulin-resistant effect in humans as it does in rodents, individuals would be exacerbating the issue by consuming too much of it.