How Does High Fructose Corn Syrup Affect Belly Fat

The average American consumes approximately 136 pounds of added sugar in their diet, each year. About 57 pounds of this added sugar comes in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

Fructose is a natural sugar commonly found in fruits, but it is also a major component of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Most processed foods and commercially sweetened beverages contain HFCS because it’s an inexpensive sweetener. But can HFCS have unhealthy side effects on your body?

High Fructose Corn Syrup contains no fat or cholesterol, but it can play a significant role in increasing stomach fat, or belly fat as it is commonly called. If you want to know how to lose weight, the simple answer may be to eliminate high fructose corn syrup in your diet. HFCS causes the body to change the sugar into fat, triglycerides, and cholesterol. The difference between glucose and fructose is in how the body handles these two different types of sugar. HFCS increases triglycerides and LDL cholesterol.

Researchers have known for a long time that consuming large amounts of fructose in the diet causes problems with cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Research has also shown that people who drink fructose-sweetened beverages have an increased incidence of abdominal fat. This higher rate of belly fat is linked with plenty of health problems and is major concern for many people. Excess belly fat is associated with high LDL cholesterol and high triglycerides, which are known to be risk factors for heart disease. For people who want to learn how to lose belly fat, the answer can often be found in eliminating HFCS.

High Fructose Corn Syrup includes any of several types of corn syrup that have gone through an enzymatic process to convert its glucose into fructose, which is then mixed with pure corn syrup (100% glucose) to obtain the desired level of sweetness. HFCS is used extensively in many processed and commercially prepared foods and beverages. HFCS is often used in place of sugar because it is considerably less expensive. The question is, how does this affect our health?

The process for producing HFCS was first developed in 1957, but it wasn’t until the late 1960’s that the process was refined for industrial production. By 1975 high fructose corn syrup was quickly becoming a standard ingredient in many commercially processed foods and beverages.

If we look back to 1966, when Americans ate no HFCS, women under the age of 50 weighed approximately 27.5 pounds less than they do today; men under 50 weighed an average of 23.5 pounds less. This trend holds true for older adults as well, men between 50 and 59 are nearly 28 pounds heavier today, while age group from 60 to 74 showed an average increase of 33 pounds according the Center for Disease Control (CDC). What accounts for this significant increase in weight? If we change our food, can it help us to lose weight? If we reduce or eliminate our intake of HFCS will it help us to lose belly fat?

We all realize that too much sugar of any kind isn’t good for us, but some sugars may be worse than we realize. For example, too much fructose decreases the body’s response to the leptin’s, a protein hormone which plays a key role in regulating both appetite and metabolism. Fructose also increases your body’s tendency to store fat. So, when you eat foods containing high fructose corn syrup, what you end up consuming is a genetically modified food product that inhibits metabolism and appetite suppression while encouraging your body to store fat. Is it any wonder why Americans are getting fatter?

We’re certainly aware of the dangers of carrying excess weight and stomach fat; it’s time we learned how to lose belly fat fast. By losing weight, we reduce our risk of a number of health issues associated with excess belly fat.