The presence of high fructose corn syrup in the food and drinks we consume is now commonly linked to America's obesity epidemic and a range of associated health concerns. A story by Susan Heavy in Reuters notes:
" A leading U.S. cancer lobby group is urging the Surgeon General to conduct a sweeping study of the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages on consumer health, saying such drinks play major role in the nation's obesity crisis and require a U.S. action plan.
In a letter to U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the American Cancer Society's advocacy affiliate on Tuesday called for a comprehensive review along the lines of the U.S. top doctor's landmark report on the dangers of smoking in 1964.
"An unbiased and comprehensive report on the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages could have a major impact on the public's consciousness and perhaps begin to change the direction of public behavior in their choices of food and drinks," American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network wrote."
In a similar light, the the descriptions below by John Cassone, PhD of Cassone Wellness, arrived in a Google+ message. They seem plausible.
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This is what happens to your body within one hour of drinking a can of soda.
10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system, which is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake. You'd normally vomit from such an intake, but the phosphoric acid cuts the flavor.
20 minutes: Your blood sugar skyrockets. Your pancreas attempts to maximize insulin production in order to turn high levels of sugar into fat.
40 minutes: As your body finishes absorbing the caffeine, your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your liver pumps more sugar into the bloodstream. Adenosine receptors in your brain are blocked preventing you from feeling how tired you may actually be.
45 minutes: Your body increases dopamine production, causing you to feel pleasure and adding to the addictiveness of the beverage. This physical neuro response works the same way as it would if we were consuming heroin.
60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, which boosts your metabolism a bit further. High doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners compound this effect, increasing the urinary excretion of calcium. The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (You have to GO!) Your body will eliminate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was otherwise heading to your bones. And you will also flush out the sodium, electrolytes and water. Your body has eliminated the water that was in the soda. And in the process it was infused with nutrients and minerals your body would have otherwise used to hydrate your system or build body cells, bones, teeth.
The sugar crash begins. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You start feeling like crap. Time to grab another?"
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It's been years since I've had a Coke or Pepsi. I moan when as I watch friends order them in restaurants or at the ball park. Once thought to be harmless beverages emblematic of the good life, they now loom as an increasingly obvious menace to our well-being. Efforts to remove them from the American are often resisted with much the fervor that greeted anti-smoking campaigns and attempts to require the use of auto seat belt campaigns. It's a question of precious "freedom" don't you know?
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