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watched a show on TV last night telling us about the Men who made us fat.... and this corn syrup has been blamed for US obesity since the 1970s.. I dont know much about it, but could this be a reason apart from overeating..
watched a show on TV last night telling us about the Men who made us fat.... and this corn syrup has been blamed for US obesity since the 1970s.. I dont know much about it, but could this be a reason apart from overeating..
So what was the reason for obesity before the 1970's?
And what is the reason for obesity among people who don't consume things containing corn syrup?
Maybe - it isn't corn syrup causing obesity. Maybe people eating *too much* corn syrup, and *too much* of other things, is causing obesity. Maybe lack of exercise is causing obesity.
It's a dangerous and misguided thing to lay the blame of a worldwide dietary problem on one culprit. Not everyone around the world has access to corn syrup, but there are plenty of obese people in those parts of the world. People get obese for a few reasons:
1. overeating
2. underexercising
3. certain medications
4. rare, uncommon thyroid problems (that have become a very common, unrare *excuse* among certain people, because if they truly had those thyroid problems, then a single daily pill would correct it and they wouldn't be able to use that as their excuse anymore).
So what was the reason for obesity before the 1970's?
And what is the reason for obesity among people who don't consume things containing corn syrup?
Maybe - it isn't corn syrup causing obesity. Maybe people eating *too much* corn syrup, and *too much* of other things, is causing obesity. Maybe lack of exercise is causing obesity.
I'm not saying it is or isn't because I don't know. However, high fructose corn syrup -- which I assume is the culprit here -- was not widely used before the late 70s. Also, it's cheaper than sugar and food manufacturers began to add it to everything. The low-fat food craze saw fats being replaced with HFCS. It may not be the reason, but it may be a contributor.
I'm not saying it is or isn't because I don't know. However, high fructose corn syrup -- which I assume is the culprit here -- was not widely used before the late 70s. Also, it's cheaper than sugar and food manufacturers began to add it to everything. The low-fat food craze saw fats being replaced with HFCS. It may not be the reason, but it may be a contributor.
It's best to avoid it if at all possible.
The correlation between obesity and HFCS -cannot- be a causation. It is chemically impossible. If it were true, then everyone who consumed food containing HFCS would be obese. Since most people who consume food containing HFCS are -not- obese, then you can just rule that out.
OVERCONSUMING foods containing HFCS is certainly a culprit, but that goes back to the "overeating of anything is bad for you" school of thought, which is just common sense. Now, you figure out what is causing so many people to lack common sense, and you might have an answer to the obesity problem.
FWIW: I consume things containing HFCS. However, I have reduced my overall consumption of food, in particular starches and fats, which I had been overeating far more than I'd been overeating anything else. I have included exercise, and I have lost weight. But I still eat foods with HFCS. So do millions of people who are -not- overweight.
So HFCS can't be the culprit, or even a contributing factor. It has to be the dosage. Give yourself too much and you'll gain weight. Give yourself too much of -anything- and you'll end up with some kind of problem or another. Even too much water is bad for you.
The correlation between obesity and HFCS -cannot- be a causation. It is chemically impossible. If it were true, then everyone who consumed food containing HFCS would be obese. Since most people who consume food containing HFCS are -not- obese, then you can just rule that out.
OVERCONSUMING foods containing HFCS is certainly a culprit, but that goes back to the "overeating of anything is bad for you" school of thought, which is just common sense. Now, you figure out what is causing so many people to lack common sense, and you might have an answer to the obesity problem.
FWIW: I consume things containing HFCS. However, I have reduced my overall consumption of food, in particular starches and fats, which I had been overeating far more than I'd been overeating anything else. I have included exercise, and I have lost weight. But I still eat foods with HFCS. So do millions of people who are -not- overweight.
So HFCS can't be the culprit, or even a contributing factor. It has to be the dosage. Give yourself too much and you'll gain weight. Give yourself too much of -anything- and you'll end up with some kind of problem or another. Even too much water is bad for you.
I too will consume things with HFCS occasionally. I also consume all kinds of things that some think are absolute poison that have no ill effect on me weight wise. Simply because I do not overeat. For the 95% of the time my diet is very healthy. I have no food issues. I have no special dietary requirements. I can go to a restaurant and not have to worry about simple carbs or GOD FORBID - PUFAS! Life is good.
It is true that obesity has skyrocketed. Mainly due to farm subsidies and putting corn products into everything. Cheap food. People like cheap food. Bad food is cheaper than good food. You put wheat products and corn products together and you have a cash cow for the agra biz. But we cannot put the blame exclusively on them. People have to be responsible for what they put into their mouths. Once your pants get a little tight that is a clue telling you that you are gaining weight. It is then up to the individual to either go into denial and keeping eating the crap, or they can educate themselves, learn discipline and not allow themselves to balloon up to become obese.
And I saw a blurb this week in Shape that said another study showed a 5% increase in glucose levels when consuming HFCS vs regular sugar.
There is a lot of evidence that HFCS is much worse for you than sugar, even though corn producers claim it is the same.
I try to avoid it as much a possible. I probably have HFCS about 1X a month. And regular sugar in pretty small amounts. Most days I have very limited amounts of added sugar. Around 2-3 teaspoons. About 1-2X a week, I'll have a little more (like a pastry or chocolate bar).
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