High fructose corn syrup linked to skyrocketing rates of obesity

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rates of obesity in the United States have skyrocketed since the introduction of high fructose corn syrup in 1970. In that time, obesity rates have gone from 15 percent of the U.S. population to roughly one-third.

A new study published in the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior by researchers at Princeton University found that rats with access to high fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

One reason for this, according to Roger Deutsch, author of Your Hidden Food Allergies Are Making You Fat and President of Cell Science Systems, Corp. (CSS), is that certain chemicals in the immune system, specifically Interleukin-6 and TNF-alpha, interfere with sugar metabolism. IL-6 is released from T Cells and macrophages to stimulate immune response to trauma, whereas TNF-alpha is used to regulate immune cells.

"Sure, calories in vs. calories out: it's a law of physics. But the 'calories out' part of the equation is impacted by complex biological processes dependent on immune function," said Deutsch. "Immune function, in turn, is dependent on so many factors: genes, digestion, liver transformation of chemicals in food, etc. These factors are person specific."

Another cause of the extreme weight gain associated with high fructose corn syrup, said Deutsch, is the body's inability cope with unnaturally proportioned, over processed sugars.

The inability to tolerate foods and environmental factors, also known as sensitivity or intolerance, induces chronic activation of the innate immune system and gives rise to inflammatory processes, which include excess production of reactive oxygen species and the release of preformed and newly synthesized mediators of inflammation.

"Since the beginning of time, humans have been consuming unprocessed sugars without a problem. However, once HFCS was introduced, obesity and inflammatory disease rates skyrocketed. By identifying the items that cause inflammation, such as HFCS, you can dramatically reduce the amount of chronic inflammation, which leads to many different diseases, including obesity," said Deutsch.