High fructose corn syrup is just sugar made from corn. The only difference is that some studies have revealed that it may convert to fat in the body even easier than sugar does. So for overweight people it's probably best to avoid it. Otherwise for the rest of us it is basically equivalent to sugar.
Hi, Twp, and everybody,
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has other consequences than just weight gain, and is not natural corn sugar, but transformed corn sugar. Natural corn syrup is 100% glucose. HFCS is produced by enzymatic processing of corn syrup to transform part of its glucose in fructose, in order to produce a cheaper alternative to sucrose ( from beet and cane sugar). For example, when you convert 42% of the corn syrup glucose in fructose, you get HFCS 42, which has the same sweetness than sucrose. In sodas, HFCS 55 is used, which means that it is even sweeter than natural sucrose. For more details about HFCS, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fructose_corn_syrup .
The high content of fructose in HFCS is a game changer. The human digestive system has been used for thousands of years to only low fructose intake at a time, from fruits, mainly, and occasionally from other sources like honey. The industrial revolution was too fast, at the evolutionary level, for human digestive system to adapt to that much of fructose at once. So, many individuals will suffer from symptoms of fructose malabsorption (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose_malabsorption ). The absorption capacity of fructose by the small intestine is overwhelmed, and much fructose makes its way to the colon, and the flora will digest it, by fermentation, and cause bloating, abdominal pain, overproduction of mucus, methane production, etc... Moreover, quoting the wikipedia article, " Some effects of fructose malabsorption are decreased tryptophan,[4] folic acid[5] and zinc in the blood.[5] ". The tryptophan decreased absorption, in particular, is very detrimental for anyone suffering from POIS, because that means less tryptophan reaching the brain. The decreased tryptophan level in the blood caused by fructose malbsoption is a known scientific fact - see, for example, this article:
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/12000987_Fructose_malabsorption_is_associated_with_decreased_plasma_tryptophan . Why is tryptophan so important? The brain needs tryptophan to produce both serotonin and niacin. Then, less tryptophan means more emotional and more cognitive symptoms in POIS , and more fatigue as well ( for a more detailed explanation, see my recent post on this topic here:
http://poiscenter.com/forums/index.php?topic=1988.msg15559#msg15559 ) .
So, a good recipe for a
hellish POIS cycle would be to take, at least 2 hours before O, a lot of sodas and junk sweets ( as HFCS sources), along with aspartame and MSG, and also some BCAA supplement as well if you are really masochist. Add some lactose or gluten, if your digestive tract is irritated by them, or anything else that will help produce pro-inflammatory cytokines in the guts - this will increase the madness of your POIS. And, of course, avoid anything beneficial, including niacin, tryptophan sources, 5-HTP, curcumin, or any antioxidant. Be sure to be stressed and worried, so your cortisol is high and turns your TDO liver enzyme in overactive mode, depleting your Trp still more. Anybody want to try this recipe for the worst POIS ever ? O_o Sincerely, I hope not ! ! !
A healthy diet is obviously leading to..... a better health
