What is My Son Eating to Make Him So Huge?

By Don Franks

I noticed that my son was really packing on the fat around his abdomen. Then I noticed his arms and legs were getting huge. My son is 12 years old and weighed 195 lbs. I became concerned and started researching online what could be causing this significant weight gain. I was shocked at the findings. Systematically, foods learned to be harmful or had no nutritional value were removed from our household and diets. Especially foods that contained high fructose corn syrup.

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is made up of corn syrups, by which the glucose of these syrups are gathered to be converted into fructose by a method called enzymatic processing. It is then mixed with 100% glucose (pure corn syrup) to achieve the correct levels of sweetness. The U.S. is not the only country that uses the process. Canada and the U.K. also have their versions of this processed substance. It has become common practice to include the substance in most foods you would buy at the grocers. Foods such as, yogurt, soft drinks (soda), salad dressing, cookies, kids cereals, industrialized breads, tomato ketchup, and soups to name a few. At the time of this writing, I know that Hunt's tomato ketchup, sold in the U.S., has put on its labels "No High Fructose Corn Syrup", which indicates sensitivity to some of the scientific reports concerning HFCS.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 79, No. 4, 537-543, April 2004. Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity - George A Bray, Samara Joy Nielsen and Barry M Popkin. This is one of several reports that does link the substance to obesity. Not surprisingly, there are other reports that say the link between obesity and HFCS is inconclusive and that there is not enough evidence. What is more absurd, is that they try to justify HFCS against white granulated sugar (table sugar) stating that it is not harmful compared to the granulated sugar that was once used in the same store bought products. I guess they do not think that consumers know, that table sugar is also a processed sugar that can pack the fat in our bodies. I have never read an article that supported HFCS and offered a healthy alternative like honey or stevia as a sweetener. The proponents of high fructose corn syrup also hide the fact that, there is no beneficial or nutritional value found in it. Is there a vitamin, antioxidant, any useful plant material or protein that would benefit the body? NO.

Before industrialization and modernization, men and women were hunter gatherers. We used to hunt for our meat from free roaming beasts in the wild. Now, we get our meat from cattle and fowl that are pretty much stationary, being fed food packed with growth hormones and antibiotics. We used to gather fruit, grain, and other phyto-nutrients without fear of pesticides or wondering if this plant was genetically modified in some way or another. I really doubt that the hunter gatherers had ever seen an epidemic of obesity in their day. Bottom line natural foods are the best food to consume for our health and well being.

Got off on a tangent there. Let me get back to the story of my son. Well, we got rid of sugary cereals, switched to low-fat or 2% milk, no longer drink soda, just basically stopped eating processed foods. We started eating foods that can boost the metabolism. These foods are rich in vitamins and nutrients, and when eaten in small portions through out the day kept us satiated. In two weeks my son went from 195 lbs. to 180lbs., and the fat around the stomach area had melted down considerably. We started our healthful eating at the same time. I am 48 years old and lost 10 lbs. in two weeks ( I weighed 200 lbs. and stand 5 ft., 11 in.). I guess my son being younger had a better metabolism. Needless to say, I am happy that we are losing weight and eating healthy. From now on, this is our new lifestyle.