Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a condition characterized by abdominal obesity, hyperglycaemia, hypertension and dyslipidaemia, and thus increased susceptibility to diabetes, kidney and heart diseases [1]. The modern human diet contains refined sugars mainly fructose, which is culpable in the global incidence and prevalence of MetS in adults and children [2,3]. We investigated the effec...

What do the Atkins Diet and the traditional Japanese diet have in common? The Atkins Diet is low in carbohydrate and usually high in fat; the Japanese diet is high in carbohydrate and usually low in fat. Yet both work to promote weight loss. One commonality of both diets is that they both eliminate the monosaccharide fructose. Sucrose (table sugar) and its synthetic sister high fructose corn sy...

Sugar intake has dramatically increased during the last few decades. Specifically, there has been a clear trend towards higher consumption of fructose and high fructose corn syrup, which are the most common added sugars in processed food, soft drinks and other sweetened beverages. Although still controversial, this rising trend in simple sugar consumption has been positively associated with wei...

This article summarizes the presentations from the "Sweetened Beverages and Health: Current State of Scientific Understandings" symposium held at the ASN Annual Meeting in Boston, MA on April 23, 2013. The metabolic and health effects of sugar-sweetened beverages were discussed from a variety of points of view by 5 different presenters. Dr. David Allison drew a distinction between conjecture an...

The potential use of date syrup, for the production of carotenoids by Rhodotorula glutinisin batch fermentation process, was investigated during 7 days. The results revealed that carbon (glucose or date syrup) and nitrogen sources [yeast extract, (NH4)2SO4 and NH4NO3] had a significant influence on biomass and carotenoid production. Maximum yield of total carotenoid production (7.94 mg/L) with ...

The purpose of this study was to utilize low quality date syrup, a rich and available source of nutrient in Iran, for the production of bacterial cellulose using Gluconacetobacter xylinus. Static batch fermentationfor the purpose of cellulose production by G. xylinus (PTCC, 1734) was studied using low quality date syrupand sucrose solution (Bx. 10%) as fermentation media at 28°C. Re...

Domestic US sugar production has been protected by government policy for the past 82 years, resulting in elevated domestic prices and an estimated annual (2013) $1.4 billion dollar "tax" on consumers. These elevated prices and the simultaneous federal support for domestic corn production have ensured a strong market for high-fructose corn syrup. Americans have dramatically increased their consu...

We describe the epidemic of obesity in the United States: escalating rates of obesity in both adults and children, and why these qualify as an epidemic; disparities in overweight and obesity by race/ethnicity and sex, and the staggering health and economic consequences of obesity. Physical activity contributes to the epidemic as explained by new patterns of physical activity in adults and child...

The title compound (HMF), C(6)H(6)O(3), is one of the products of acid-catalyzed dehydration of high-fructose corn syrup, and has been shown to be toxic to honey bees. The compound was crystallized at 276 K, and it was found that the two independent mol-ecules in the asymmetric unit form an infinite O-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding chain that is linked into a three-dimensional network structure by weak i...

Fructose is a simple monosaccharide which is found in many plant foods. It is also used as a sweetening additive in the form of fructose corn syrup, a mixture of glucose and fructose. Its consumption is, in general, rising among the population. Setting aside the condition of hereditary fructose intolerance (which is relatively rare), it is possible for dietary intake of fructose to overload the...