Soda consumers can get much higher dose of harmful sugar fructose labels show

Soda consumers can get much higher dose of harmful sugar fructose labels show -

Soda consumers can get a much higher dose of sugar fructose harmful than they were led to believe, according to a new study by the Centre for research on childhood obesity (CNOC) at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), part of the Keck Medicine USC.

In the study, published time: June 3, 2014 the newspaper nutrition , Keck School of Medicine researchers analyzed the chemical composition of 34 popular beverages, find that drinks and juices based on high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew and Sprite, all contain 50 percent more fructose than glucose, a mixture that challenges states sugar and HFCS are essentially the same.

"We found what ends up being consumed in these drinks is not natural sugar or HFCS, but rather a mixture of fructose-intense which could increase the risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and diseases of liver, "said Michael Goran, Ph.D., Director of the CNOC and lead author of the study. "The human body was not designed to treat this form of sugar at high levels. Unlike glucose, which serves as fuel for the body, fructose is almost entirely processed in the liver where it is converted into fat."

The Corn Refiners Association, a trade group that represents the producers of HFCS, has long argued that HFCS is only negligible different from natural sugar (sucrose), which is composed of equal parts of fructose and glucose. The Goran analysis based drinks HFCS, however, showed a fructose to glucose ratio of 60:40 -. "Sugar is sugar" considerably higher than found in equal proportions sucrose and challenge the industry demand that

research also shows that some of the ingredients on the product labels do not represent their fructose content. For example, Goran team found that the label on Pepsi Throwback indicates that it is made with real sugar (sucrose), but analysis has shown that it contains more than 50 percent fructose. Sierra Mist, Gatorade and Mexican Coke also have higher concentrations of fructose than implied by their label. This suggests that these drinks may contain HFCS, which are not disclosed on their labels.

The research team bought drinks for the popularity of the product and analyzed for sugar composition in three different laboratories using three different methods. The results were consistent across the different methods and gave a medium sugar composition of 60 percent fructose and 40 percent glucose in beverages containing HFCS.

Americans consume more HFCS per capita than any other country and consumption has doubled over the past three decades. Diabetes rates have tripled over the same period. Much of this increase is directly related to sodas, sports drinks and energy drinks.

"As Americans drink 45 gallons of soda a year, it is important for us to have a more precise understanding of what we are actually drinking, including specific label information types of sugars, "said Goran.