HFCS setting up babies for a lifetime of disease

When you or someone you love is expecting a child, you’ll do anything to keep the baby safe and healthy.

But there’s something that millions of pregnant women are consuming every day that’s been linked to low birth weight, high blood pressure, and even heart disease.

I’m not talking about alcohol or even tobacco – it’s the fructose that’s being packed into hundreds of everyday foods.

New research is proving that processed fructose (like high-fructose corn syrup) may set up babies for a lifetime of serious health problems before they’re even born.

And if there’s a mom-to-be in your life, it’s never been more important to make sure she gets this warning and takes some simple steps to keep her baby healthy.

Born sick

I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage that what’s bad for mom is bad for baby, too.

And it looks like that goes double for fructose.

For years I’ve been warning you about the dangers of HFCS and other types of processed fructose. And I’ve shared studies proving how fructose can cause serious damage to everything from our livers to our brains.

So it’s not exactly surprising that fructose is also incredibly dangerous for unborn babies, too.

But two new animal studies are giving us a frightening look at just how quickly the damage can occur – and just how lasting it may be.

Researchers from the University of Texas fed pregnant mice either regular water or water that was spiked with fructose.

And the mice in the fructose group had babies with higher blood sugar and blood pressure – and even early signs of insulin resistance.

That’s right – they were practically on their way to heart disease and diabetes before they were out of the womb. They even had lower levels of leptin, the hormone that tells us when it’s time to stop eating.

The researchers said it was almost as if their bodies had been “programmed” to develop the types of diseases most of us don’t experience until we’re much, much older.

And that’s frightening enough. But a second study from the St. Louis School of Medicine also found that mice fed fructose had babies with high uric acid and triglycerides, something that can lead to gout and even heart failure down the road.

Even worse, the babies suffered from abnormally low birth weights. That’s one of the exact same risks that comes from smoking while pregnant.

There are lots of things we’re told to avoid when pregnant, like tobacco, alcohol, processed meats, and even certain types of shellfish.

And it looks like it’s high time to add processed fructose to that list.

That means pregnant moms need to check food labels carefully for HFCS and all other forms of processed fructose — including agave and crystalline fructose, which are around 100 percent fructose.

Just a couple simple diet changes can make sure the babies we love get the healthy start to life that they deserve.

Sources:
“Poor fetal, maternal outcomes linked to high-fructose diet in pregnancy” Honor Whiteman, May 5, 2016, MNT, medicalnewstoday.com

“Impact of high fructose on health of offspring” Society for Maternal-fetal Medicine, February 4, 2016, EurekAlert, eurekalert.org