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> Some scientists point to the dramatic rise in rates of obesity — from 13.4 percent of adults in 1980 to 42.4 percent in 2017-18, again per the NHANES — since
by tropdrop 6y ago
> Some scientists point to the dramatic rise in rates of obesity — from 13.4 percent of adults in 1980 to 42.4 percent in 2017-18, again per the NHANES — since excess weight depresses kidney efficiency, and to the likely not unrelated introduction, in 1967, of high-fructose corn syrup, which can cause the body to produce higher levels of uric acid, and its wholesale embrace in the early 1980s by the American food industry and then the world. Once gout was confined largely to Western civilization (with some outliers, like the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan); now its ravages are global.
High fructose corn syrup seems to me the strongest contender for "single biggest cause" – it ties in nicely with the obesity epidemic, and the two surely snowball together. That doesn't mean that other factors (the same as 18th century's) can't bring gout on, like a comment elsewhere here reports, but I just cannot believe that high fructose corn syrup's ubiquitous stance in our food isn't met with some pernicious and hard-to-trace effects on our health.
- mtgx 6y agoIsn't it interesting how we started getting much fatter and more diabetes just around the time we were told to give up meat fat and instead eat "healthier" alternatives made with vegetable oil, sugar, and corn syrup?
- JamesBarney 6y agoSugar does seem to be involved in gout but high fructose corn syrup is basically indistinguishable from sugar metabolically.
- jjav 6y agoThat is not true. Natural sugar (e.g. sugar cane) is 50% fructose. HFCS is by definition a compound sugar with more than 50% of fructose. How much higher, depends on the manufacturer.
- JamesBarney 6y agoHCFS-42 is high fructose corn syrup with 42% fructose. So you don't need greater than 50% fructose. And the most common high fructose corn syrup is hcfs 55% which is very close to sugar. The scientific consensus is pretty much there won't be any significant changes to your health if you replace sugar with HCFS or vice versa.
- johnyzee 6y agoThat is wrong. Fructose metabolism specifically differs from other types of sugars, by requiring a particular enzyme, which means it can only be broken down in the liver. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructolysis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructolysis Unlike glucose, which is directly metabolized widely in the body, fructose is almost entirely metabolized in the liver in humans, where it is directed toward replenishment of liver glycogen and triglyceride synthesis. Under one percent of ingested fructose is directly converted to plasma triglyceride.
- JamesBarney 6y agoNo you misread my comment. I never said fructose is indistinguishable from glucose. I said sucrose is almost indistinguishable from high fructose corn syrup. Sucrose is 50% fructose 50% glucose and most high fructose corn syrup is 55% fructose 45% glucose. They are almost identical.
- johnyzee 6y agoAh, makes sense. When people say 'sugar' they often refer to the different kinds of saccharides, not necessarily sucrose.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- perardi 6y agoMay I bro-science it for a second? I shy away from blaming high-fructose corn syrup as some sort of subtle poison. A gram of HFCS is anywhere from 42–55% fructose, which is the same as what you’d get from an apple. But I think there may be something to the dose of HFCS. Fructose has to be metabolized in the liver, and there’s an upper bound of how much it can break down at once. (I believe 50 grams.) Which, if you’re eating fruit, is fine; the fiber slows down digestion, and also you’re probably not eating like 6 apples at once. But oh man, look at an energy drink, or a sugary coffee drink. I am from Midwestern white trash stock, and during my obese younger years, I would frequently drink a 44oz Big Gulp of Mountain Dew. That’s a shotgun blast of fructose, and my gut instinct (hah) says that there’s a dose-response curve going on here.