The Real Headless Horseman: Obesity

By John Quidor - aQHCpcwsbaMXQA at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22126482

For Halloween, we need to remember that much of the “treats” that children are getting are extremely unhealthy. Most treats are sugar/fat/high fructose corn syrup laden candy.  As a once-a-year event, this might be fine (in moderation), but with childhood obesity and metabolic syndrome on the rise, and colon cancer diagnosed at ever-younger ages (possibly due to weight problems), consuming such junk food should not be a habit.  It’s not “The Headless Horseman” stalking the land, but the obesity epidemic, and fewer and fewer of us are as slim as Ichabod Crane.

Rats and Colon Cancer

A study shows that dietary risk factors thought to contribute to colon cancer in humans induce early stage colonic lesions in rats.

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated clear associations between specific dietary and environmental risk factors and incidence of colorectal cancer, but the mechanisms responsible for these associations are not known. An animal model could facilitate such an understanding.

Both genotoxic and nongenotoxic carcinogens induce aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the colons of F344 rats. F344 rats were provided with diets that contained putative risk factors for CRC: low calcium and low vitamin D, high iron, high fructose, and decreased light (UV) exposure or a control diet for 14 wk. The rats were then assessed with biochemical measures and by topological examination for evidence of colon abnormalities. Circulating ionized calcium was decreased from 2.85 to 1.69 mmol/L, and ACF were increased from 0.7 to 13.6 lesions/colon (both P < 0.001).

Rats exposed to the multiple environmental conditions associated with colon cancer, developed ACF similar to the heterogeneous or ill-defined ACF in the human colon. Heterogeneous ACF are the type most frequently seen in humans, and are also seen in rats shortly after exposure to the non-genotoxic colon carcinogen, dextran sulfate sodium. The rodent model could be used to assess the pathways from diet and environment to colon cancer and to provide guidance for clinical studies.

Consider carefully the results with "high fructose" - do we really need high fructose corn syrup in our diets? Also, the "high iron" is another warning shot about red meat.

Fructose - Your Foe

We all know that sugar is bad for us. This is why the World Health Organization recommends us to limit our sugar (sucrose) intake to six teaspoons a day. But did you know that fructose, one of the individual types of sugar, is toxic for you? You may not be aware that you consume fructose every day. It is present in regular sugar “sucrose” (composed by glucose and fructose at a ratio of 1:1); however, its main source in the diet is the omnipresent high fructose corn syrup. This “syrup” is added to almost everything: from soft drinks, candy, bread, to tomato soup and ketchup. It is even in some potato and macaroni salads in the neighborhood deli. The fruit juices also contain considerable levels of fructose.
 
Whereas the sugar glucose is used as an energy source by every single cell in the body, fructose is not. Be aware, however, that excess of glucose intake could be converted into fructose in the body. Unlike glucose, fructose can be utilized only by liver cells, where fructose processing results in increased levels of the toxic uric acid and fat. Thus, excess of fructose intake from the diet results in excess fat in the liver (and “fatty liver” disease) and excess fat circulating in the blood. The increased fat in the blood accumulates in the body, and leads to obesity, cardiovascular (heart) diseases, and type 2 diabetes. In fact, fructose is the main culprit for metabolic syndrome, the condition in which high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and high cholesterol levels co-occur.


Actionable

• Read the ingredients of each food product in your refrigerator and pantry. If “high fructose corn syrup” is one of the ingredients, discard the product. Stop buying such products.

• Stop drinking soft drinks and fruit juices. Instead, eat fruit and drink water.

• Do not allow your children to drink anything else but water and plain milk.

• Laugh with this Coca Cola video. Coca Cola is one of the companies that have drowned us in drinks with high fructose corn syrup and sugar.

• Next time you want to eat out, think twice: do you know what is in your meal? The only way to be sure is to cook it yourself. Learn how to cook with these affordable recipes from the free Good and Cheap cookbook.

• If you do eat out and you are served in a plate larger than 9 inches in diameter, chances are that there is too much food. Eat only half of the meal and take the other half home.

Four guidelines to keep children’s weight under control

Below are the slightly modified recommendations by Dr. Robert Lustig, MD, UCSF School of Medicine:

1. Get rid of every sugared liquid in the house. Children should drink only water and milk.
 

2. Provide at least five servings of vegetables and/or fruit a day (this equals about five handfuls).

3. Serve individual portions. Serve a second portion only if the child still claims to be hungry after waiting for 20 minutes.

4. Children should have at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.

If you would like to know more about some of these recommendations, watch “Sugar, the bitter truth”, a great presentation by Dr. Lustig available on YouTube.