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Health updates: Weight gain and infertility

February 24, 2012

Health, Pregnancy, Weight issues

The following is new information regarding fructose and weight gain, and researchers find that infertility rises as levels of Bisphenol A (BPA) rise in women.

You could easily gain 15 pounds this year

One of the principal arguments food corporations have used to defend high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is that it is chemically similar to table sugar. Manufacturers have stated repeatedly that HFCS contains at most 55 percent fructose, a small difference from white sugar’s 50 percent fructose. But as it turns out, the specific amount of fructose in HFCS for any particular food product has never been officially tested. And when researchers tested brand-name sodas, they found that the fructose content was actually 65 percent.

According to Grist.org: “Why is this important? It is because research has shown fructose to be particularly harmful to human health. Unlike excess glucose, which passes through our digestive tract and is excreted, 100 percent of fructose that is consumed is taken up by the liver. Once there, fructose causes increased fat deposition in the abdominal cavity and increased blood levels of triglycerides, both of which are risk factors for heart disease and diabetes.”

Could this be why many women are infertile?

Bisphenol A (BPA), which is a chemical used to harden plastic and line food containers, may be harming women’s eggs. In the latest study, women undergoing in vitro fertilization who had higher levels of BPA in their blood had 50 percent fewer fertilized eggs, which suggests the chemical is compromising the quality of eggs and perhaps contributing significantly to fertility problems. Evidence links exposure to the chemical to a lower quality among eggs retrieved for in vitro fertilization. A study found that as blood levels of BPA doubled in the women studied, the percentage of eggs fertilized normally declined by 50 percent.

United Press International reports: “The researchers noted BPA — found in the urine of nearly everyone tested in a 2004 U.S. analysis — is an endocrine disruptor that either mimics or blocks body hormones.”

 

Sources:  www.Grist.org October 26, 2010, AnnArbor.com December 16, 2010, UPI December 19, 2010, Fertility and Sterility December 4, 2010 and mercola.com January 3, 2011.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 30, Number 1, Feb/Mar 2011.

 

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