甜食，尤其高果糖糖漿對身體不好，這一點無論在科學或大眾媒體上早就已經不是新聞，包括會導致非酒精性脂肪肝病。前幾天在Nature Briefing上發表的這篇研究報告只是進一步提出另外一個科學證據。我特別分享這篇文章的出發點是因為絕大部分民眾對這個極度傷身的食品在認知上的嚴重欠缺。高果糖糖漿在所有甜食裡是最惡毒的一種，現代人之所以會肥胖和慢性疾病氾濫，主要兇嫌之一就是氾濫的加工食品裡，只要是有一點甜味的，絕大部分是使用高果糖玉米糖漿 (或稱高果糖糖漿， 甚至偽裝度更高的玉米糖漿、玉米糖膠、果糖)。 這個在加工食品包裝的成份表上看起來似乎沒什麼害處，甚至好像是天然營養的成份；而且因為它甜度比白砂糖高，成本比白砂糖低，所以很多加工食品都會用它當原料， 很多民眾每天都在吃而不自知。
Sweets, especially high-fructose syrup, are not good for the health. This is no longer news in science or the mass media. Diseases caused by excessive intake of high-fructose syrup includes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. A research report published in Nature Briefing a few days ago provided further scientific evidence. I decided to share the abstract of this article because most people have a serious lack of awareness of this highly unhealthy food. High-fructose syrup is the most vicious of all sweets. One of the main culprits for the out-of-control obesity and chronic diseases globally today is the flood of processed foods. As long as there is a little sweetness, most of them use high-fructose corn syrup (or high fructose syrup). The wording of fructose might seem to be benign on the ingredient list of processed food packaging, and even seems to be a “natural” nutritious food. What’s more, the reason it’s widely and rampantly used in processed food is because it has higher sweetness than white sugar at a lower cost. Many people are eating it daily without knowing.
民眾的無知程度有多嚴重？我來分享一下這兩例子。第ㄧ個例子：我們的朋友裡很多是熱愛跑步、騎車、或鐵人三項的。 這些人給我們的印象都不只是熱愛運動，而且比一般民眾更注重飲食品質。但這些人裡頭有多少人在運動時的水分補充會去避免喝寶礦力？ 殊不知寶礦力裡面用的就是高果糖糖漿！(舒跑的成份表上沒有高果糖糖漿，但含有黑麥牙寡糖漿，對人體影響如何有待確認)。 除了運動飲料外，超商裡有很多其他飲料也含有高果糖糖漿(包括可口可樂和很多人以為是很健康的果菜汁和糙米漿，見文末照片)。 第二個例子，三年前我在台北參加了一次運動營養學的研討會，講者之一是一位國立大學營養學碩士， 而且是中華民國奧運選手集訓團隊的專任營養師。 演講內容之一是運動員在運動後應該吃什麼補給品； 這位國家級營養師要傳遞的訊息是：一定要多補充足夠的葡萄糖(這一點雖然我不完全贊成，但倒也沒有太大的問題)， 重點是，然後他的幻燈片上就貼出一個他推薦的運動後補給品的照片(如下面照片)，他認為熱量夠、容易取得、便宜、 而且是很健康的。 🤦🏻♂️
How serious is the ignorance of the general public? Let me share these two examples. Example 1: Many of our friends love running, cycling, or triathlon. These people give us the impression that they not only love sports, but also pay more attention to the quality of diet than the general public. But how many of these people are well-informed enough to avoid drinking sports drinks like Pocari Sweat (equivalent of Gatorade in Taiwan) when they are hydrated during exercise? Indeed, high fructose syrup is the major ingredient of such sport drinks – it make them sweet and provides glucose. Now the second example: I attended a sports nutrition seminar in Taipei three years ago. One of the speakers owns a master’s degree in nutrition from a national university and was a full-time nutritionist (advisor) for the Olympic athletes training team of Taiwan. One of the contents of his speech is what supplements athletes should take after exercise; the message that the national nutritionist wanted to deliver was: You should refill with enough glucose right after exercise (I don’t fully agree with this point, but it’s not too far off). The real issue was, he then showed a photo of his recommended post-exercise food on his slides (see the photos above). He said this tiny pack contains enough calories, is available in every convenient store (cheap and easily accessible, and healthy! 🤦🏻♂️
熱愛運動的民眾、國家奧運選手、甚至是國家級的營養師都有這樣的盲點，一般民眾在這個議題上的資訊缺乏程度，就很容易想像了… 台灣人罹患肝癌的人很多，除了喜歡吃油炸食品外，高果糖玉米糖漿的貢獻應該不少。以下就是這篇 Nature Briefing 報告摘要部分的摘譯：
Even such demographic group are so poorly informed in regard to this vicious food, I can’t imagine how deceived the general public are. Below is the abstract of the article from Nature Briefing:
Nature Briefing，2021/8/18：“果糖的攝取與肥胖和癌症發病率上升有關，這是全球人口發病率和死亡率的兩個主要原因。膳食中果糖的代謝始於小腸的上皮組織……雖然該途徑與肥胖和腫瘤有關，在腸道中驅動這些病理的確切機制仍不清楚…”
From Nature Briefing, Aug. 18: “Fructose consumption is linked to the rising incidence of obesity and cancer, which are two of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. Dietary fructose metabolism begins at the epithelium of the small intestine… Although this pathway has been implicated in obesity and tumour promotion, the exact mechanism that drives these pathologies in the intestine remains unclear… “
“在幾種老鼠實驗模型中，膳食果糖可提高腸細胞的存活率並增加腸絨毛長度。 絨毛長度的增加擴大了腸道的表面積，並增加了餵食高脂肪飲食的老鼠的營養吸收率和肥胖。 在缺氧的腸細胞中，1-磷酸果糖 會抑制丙酮酸激酶的M2同工型以促進細胞存活。 己酮糖激酶的基因消融或丙酮酸激酶的刺激可防止絨毛伸長並消除由高果糖玉米糖漿餵養小鼠引起的營養吸收和腫瘤生長”
“…dietary fructose improves the survival of intestinal cells and increases intestinal villus length in several mouse models. The increase in villus length expands the surface area of the gut and increases nutrient absorption and adiposity in mice that are fed a high-fat diet. In hypoxic intestinal cells, fructose 1-phosphate inhibits the M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase to promote cell survival. Genetic ablation of ketohexokinase or stimulation of pyruvate kinase prevents villus elongation and abolishes the nutrient absorption and tumour growth that are induced by feeding mice with high-fructose corn syrup.”
“果糖會通過代謝物異位來促進細胞存活的能力， 這也是為什麼時下西方飲食會造成過度肥胖，並為「高果糖玉米糖漿 會促進腫瘤生長」提供了令人信服的解釋。”
“The ability of fructose to promote cell survival through an allosteric metabolite thus provides additional insights into the excess adiposity generated by a Western diet, and a compelling explanation for the promotion of tumour growth by high-fructose corn syrup.”
～～ End of the Nature Briefing paper abstract. Access to the entire article requires a membership. 以上是這篇 Nature Briefing 報告的摘要， 閱讀報告全文必須是付費會員。 ～～
以下是台灣超商裡加工食品飲料類添加高果糖糖漿的一些例子 Below are some of the most popular drinks (some considered “healthy”) available in convenient stores in Taiwan that have high-fructose syrup on the ingredient list.
