'Diabetogenics'

Diabetes-causing foods

Scientists use the word 'diabetogenic' to describe things that cause diabetes. There are some specific substances commonly found in the modern diet that are diabetogenic. Indeed, foods can heal, but they can also harm. If we removed or greatly restricted our use of these foods, the tsunami of diabetes, and many other common lifestyle diseases, would begin to recede.

THE NEW SUGAR

The body converts sugar and starch in the diet into glucose (blood sugar) but a new from of sugar particularly disturb the body's chemistry. Since the late 1980s, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), the new sugar, has replaced regular sugar in practically every form of processed food and drink.

HFCS - a mixture of glucose and fructose - is made from genetically modified corn. Food companies use it because it is cheap, easy to process and very, very sweet. Even foods touted as healthy, like flavoured yoghurts, packaged breakfast cereals and low-fat salad dressings, commonly contain HFCS. We need to read food labels carefully.

THE TRANS FATS

Hydrogenated fats and partially hydrogenated fats are referred to as trans fats. They are made by taking healthy vegetable oils and bubbling the gas hydrogen into them to create these extremely unhealthy substances. Why would the food industry do such a terrible thing? Well, it increases their profits, as foods made with trans fats suffer less spoilage and have a longer shelf life.

Every cell of the body has a fatty cell membrane that is critical to the health of the cell. These trans fats displace the healthy fats in the cell membrane and make the cells sick. Researchers have identified a long list of diseases related to the use of hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats, and diabetes is high on that list. The damaged cell membrane promotes type-2 diabetes by making the cells insulin resistant.

Several countries have laws banning or restricting the use of these toxic fats, but many common processed foods still contain them. The US Office of Health Education's list of top trans-fat foods includes margarine and shortening, fried fast foods, packaged foods like cake mixes and cup soups, frozen foods, baked goods like cookies, chips, crackers, cakes, pastries and donuts, breakfast cereals, candy, non-dairy creamers and toppings.

REFINED GRAINS

Grains like wheat and rice have been a major part of human diet for thousands of years. Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel, including the bran, germ and endosperm. Examples of commonly eaten whole grains include whole-wheat flour, bulgur (cracked wheat), oatmeal, whole cornmeal, buckwheat, wild rice and brown rice. Less-common whole grains are amaranth, millet, quinoa, and sorghum.

However, the modern processing of these healthy grains have produced an array of very imbalanced foods. The refining process removes the valuable fibre, vitamins and minerals, leaving behind substances like white flour or white rice. These essentially starch-only foods are rapidly converted into sugar in the blood, disturbs the body's chemical balance and promotes diabetes.

Interestingly, studies show that alloxan, a chemical used to make white flour look clean and lily white, destroys the insulin producing cells of the pancreas. Some alloxan remains in white flour and may further increase the consumers' risk for diabetes.

MODERN DAIRY PRODUCTS

Modern dairy milk has long been suspected to play a role in the development of type-one diabetes. This is an immune-system disorder. Children who are fed dairy milk or whose mothers drank dairy milk during pregnancy, or while breast feeding, may be at increased risk of this disease. Research on this issue has appeared in prominent medical journals like the New England Medical Journal and the British Medical Journal.

In addition, the modern processing of milk, including pasteurising and homogenising, creates fats that are rapidly absorbed when consumed. A diet high in animal fats disturbs the function of the pancreas and promotes type-2 diabetes.

You may email Dr Tony Vendryes at vendryes@mac.com, or listen to An Ounce of Prevention on POWER 106FM on Fridays at 8 p.m. The programme streams live on the Internet.

DANGERS OF HFCS

Type-2 Diabetes: Research presented this month at the Australian Health and Medical Research Congress points out that the big increase in sugar in the diet parallels the rise in type-2 diabetes. Regular consumption of HFCS, in particular, creates a huge increase in the likelihood of developing diabetes.

Obesity: Many studies show that HFCS causes greater weight gain than other forms of sugars and sweeteners. Recent research at Princeton University [demonstrated that rats that were fed HFCS gained fat 300 per cent faster than rats fed an equal dose of fruit sugar.

Hypertension and high cholesterol: HFCS doesn't just make you fat and diabetic. There is a strong link between the consumption of HFCS, elevated triglyceride and bad cholesterol levels. This combination can promote hypertension, heart disease and stroke.

Liver damage: HFCS is processed by the liver and is especially destructive to that important organ. When combined with a sedentary lifestyle, chronic consumption can lead to severe liver damage and fatty-liver disease.