HFCS Is Killing Us Sweetly

High fructose corn syrup is NOT a part of nature’s plan.  The fructose found in fruits however, IS.  Organic orange…GOOD, orange soda…BAD.  An orange comes in nature’s package, complete with fiber, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and an amount of fructose, (bound to glucose) that the human body is designed to digest and metabolize slowly and easily.

HFCS delivers such a heavy “punch” of fructose that it overwhelms the system and sends it into a metabolic tailspin.  Without fiber or nutrients to slow down its digestion, AND because the fructose is not bound to glucose as in nature’s sugar, the fructose in HFCS bypasses digestion and heads at warp speed straight to the liver for metabolism.  There it is “spit out” as triglycerides and cholesterol.  Yep, that’s FAT.

TV commercials would have you believe you are eating something sweet that won’t hurt you because it doesn’t spike your insulin.  BUT…what they aren’t telling you is that it will give you high cholesterol and make you fat. 

It’s no wonder the increase in consumption of HFCS is directly related to the increase in metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension and heart disease.  Not to mention fatty liver and liver damage.  Because alcohol and HFCS are metabolized in similar ways by the liver, more and more people are now suffering from nonalcoholic fatty liver, leading to hepatic insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

HFCS contributes to hypertension in yet another way, (besides through metabolic syndrome), by interfering with the body’s production of nitric oxide needed for blood vessel relaxation and smooth blood flow.  This lack of nitric oxide can also lead to coronary artery disease and erectile dysfunction. Enough said. 

Moreover, since HFCS does not directly stimulate an insulin response, there is no insulin to trigger the hormone leptin (the body’s appetite suppressant), and the cycle of overeating fructose laden carbohydrates that are converted to fat, leading to obesity and disease, goes unchecked.

Do you really want to consume food products that are metabolized directly into fat? 

But wait…it gets worse.  HFCS has been found to damage the lining of the intestines, allowing for toxic gut bacteria and undigested food particles to leak out into the blood stream causing immune reactions, (leading to auto-immune conditions), and wide spread inflammation, which is the root cause of most diseases. 

Americans are eating toxic levels of HFCS and it shows in our declining health.  The best way to avoid the harmful effects of HFCS is to eat whole foods and avoid anything packaged.  (Which is of course the mantra of healthy individuals worldwide).  If you must buy packaged food—especially if it is sweet-- PLEASE read the label and steer clear of any products that include high fructose corn syrup in their ingredients.  

Here is a short list of the worst culprits:

Sodas—20 oz. soda has 15 teaspoons of sugar—all HFCS

Breakfast cereals and bars

Sauces and dressings

Crackers

Processed snacks

The fructose that nature provides in the form of fruits, comes in their own healthy packaging of fiber and nutrients.  The fructose is in a quantity that our bodies can deal with, like the tickle of a feather, as opposed to the sledgehammer effect of fructose in HFCS.  Also, the fiber in fruits helps slow down the release of sugar into the blood stream to reduce the cortisol rollercoaster. 

For guidance and support on your journey to better health, contact me for a free 15 minute consultation at nina.lynn@me.com.

 

Why You Can't Eat Just One

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Food cravings can be emotionally driven, (especially if you are a woman), hormonally triggered from stress, chemically driven when the addictive properties of sugar, gluten and dairy hit your brain, or, food cravings may be related to food reactions or sensitivities. 

Food reactions are like allergic reactions, but less immediate and more subtle. The body's response to the perceived "trauma" of a food reaction is to secrete endorphins.  These endorphins make you feel temporarily good, so you actually develop an addiction to the very food you are sensitive to.

Your immune system gets involved as well in response to a perceived trauma by creating inflammation.  Next cortisol is released to deal with the inflammation.  Because cortisol causes a rise in blood sugar, insulin is called in to shuttle the sugar into your cells. 

All of the cortisol and insulin drives down serotonin (the feel good neurotransmitter), leaving every cell in your body screaming for CARBS to bring it back up.

Sugar has been shown to be as addicting as crack, but gluten also has addictive properties of it’s own.  Gluteomorphins are opiate like substances that are released during the digestion of gliadin, the protein in gluten.  

No wonder it is such a challenge to have just one cookie, or why you just can’t give up pasta.  Crackers, breads, deserts, processed foods, have all become the “crack” of the American diet.  

Or perhaps it’s ice cream that you snack on until your spoon hits bottom.  Casin, the protein in dairy comes with it’s own opiate like compounds called casomorphins.  

Unfortunately, once you finish your carbohydrate feeding frenzy in an attempt to reach that “high”, you eventually, (sooner than later), crash head on into the land of tired, hungry and depressed.  So you do it all again, and before you know it “chubby” comes along for the ride. 

The fastest way off this roller-coaster of hormonal imbalance and food intolerance is to get off sugar, gluten and dairy.  

I can hear you moaning from here.  

If you attempt to eliminate all three at once it may feel like you jumped off of that roller-coaster mid run.  

Try eliminating one of your favorite “bad boys” a week, by three weeks you’re done.  Once you feel the difference you won’t go back.  

Where does the emotional piece come in?  Could you be "hungry" for something other than food?

Many of us feel a lack of sweetness in our lives emotionally, so we end up eating sweets to fill that void.  Sweet foods do indeed increase our level of serotonin (the feel good neurotransmitter), for a short burst, but the serotonin and blood sugar drop that follows puts us right back where we started, tired and sad.

If you are feeling a lack of sweetness in your life, try to find ways to add sweetness without food.

It could be to have a massage, put flowers in your home, watch a favorite movie, spend time with uplifting friends.  Make a list of things that make you happy and bring "sweetness" into your life, and then do them often.

Also, replacing sugary carbohydrates with real whole plant foods, (fruits are natures sugar), managing your stress with de-stressing techniques, and nourishing yourself with life as well as food, you will find your energy levels will increase, and your body and life will flow in its natural rhythm. 

For guidance and support in eliminating food cravings, contact me for a free 15 minute consultation at nina.lynn@me.com.