Something that really
surprised me when working as a pharmacist was why people would still gain
weight even though they were following a strict low fat diet.
After seeing so many people
suffering from obesity related diseases like heart disease, diabetes and the
side effects of the medication they were taking, I was strongly motivated to
research what actually causes people to become obese, it clearly was not just
the fat they were eating!
I actually discovered that
a trigger factor for many widespread diseases of the west such as obesity,
heart disease and diabetes could be closely linked to the consumption of one
particular substance found in many processed foods and drinks – fructose in the
form of high fructose corn syrup.
Fructose is the form of
high fructose corn syrup is found in pretty much all processed foods such as
ready meals, fast foods, sweets and fizzy drinks and most people are totally
unaware of its danger.
It is also often found in
‘low fat’ supposedly healthy alternatives and even many popular weight loss
products because food with the fat taken out simply tastes horrible. High
fructose corn syrup in combination with many other additives are usually added
to enhance the flavor.
Glucose is the type of
sugar our body loves. It gets metabolized by every cell in our body and is very
easy to burn with very few toxic by-products. It also tells the brain to stop
eating when you are full.
Fructose on the other hand
is another type of sugar and is found in sucrose which breaks down to glucose
and fructose.
Fructose is actually only
metabolized by the liver and it’s very similar to ethanol (the alcohol in
drinks). When you consume it, it’s actually like ethanol but without the
high. It confuses the liver and ends up making lots of bad fats in the
process. It also doesn’t signal your brain that you are full. This
is why people can drink massive cups of fizzy drinks which are high in fructose
and still eat huge meals containing refined foods that are also full of
fructose.
Many fruits also contain
fructose, but nature has provided the antidote, as these fruits are also packed
with fibre which prevents your body from absorbing too much of it.
When I advised people to
reduce their consumption of high fructose corn syrup by eating lower
carb/higher protein diets free from processed foods, even if they say they are
healthy options, they started to lose weight and feel much better as a result.
In many cases I asked
people to just stop their consumption of fizzy drinks like Coca Cola and
instead swap it with either plain water, or add some freshly squeezed lemon for
flavor.
Green tea is also a great
alternative, and it is one of my personal favorites because it contains alpha
wave stimulating theanine that also double serves as an antidote to the harmful
effects of caffeine.
Those who loved to drink
tea and coffee sweetened with lots of sugar, I advised to swap with natural
sweeteners like stevia instead. This alone had some remarkable results.
There are 1.6 billion
servings of Coke sold each day worldwide!! A very significant percentage of
that is through supermarket chains like WALMART.
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LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the
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instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here;
therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so.
Thank you very much.
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