Is Sugar a Poison?

The rise of obesity is not just from eating too much and lack of exercise. Our consumption of sugar has increased over the past century from 15 to 75 grams a day. This translates to about 150 lbs of sugar a year! Fructose is one of the components of table sugar, or sucrose, and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and is the culprit that leads to insulin resistance, leptin resistance, overeating, and excessive fat storage that leads to a fatty liver and the metabolic syndrome. Some researchers believe that sugar and HFCS are indistinguishable by the human body and others believe that HFCS is what causes our bodies to store fat and gain weight.

A simple program to lose weight would include getting rid of all sugared liquids, be sure to consume fructose in fruit rather than as HFCS because the fiber protects against the effects of fructose. And, of course, limiting our calories and exercising are both a good idea.