Caution: Do This and You'll Likely Gain 15 Pounds Next Year

One of 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, little different from white sugar's 50 percent fructose makeup.
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 is actually 65 percent.
According to Grist:
"Why is this important?
It's 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's 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."
This is actually pretty shocking news, and could further explain just why soda in particular is so extremely detrimental to your health. As it turns out, the fructose content of the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) used in many popular soda brands has been sorely underestimated.
Around 100 years ago the average American consumed a mere 15 grams of fructose a day, primarily in the form of fruit. One hundred years later, one fourth of Americans are consuming more than 135 grams per day, largely in the form of soda.
Fructose at 15 grams a day is harmless unless you suffer from high uric acid levels. However, at nearly ten times that amount it becomes a major cause of obesity and nearly all chronic degenerative disease.
Instead of consisting of 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose, many of the sodas tested, including Coke, Pepsi and Sprite, contained as much as 65 percent fructose, nearly 20 percent higher than originally believed.
Overall, the mean fructose content of all 23 sodas tested was 59 percent – still higher than claimed by the industry.
How this happened is anybody's guess at this point.
Grist reports:
"[T]urns out that the actual amount of fructose in HFCS in particular food products has never been officially disclosed, just assumed.
... Perhaps it's been a recent development, or perhaps HFCS producers have been making this higher fructose concoction for decades."
These results also raise the question of whether or not HFCS-containing processed foods are also far higher in health-harming fructose than previously believed.
Soda Consumption Drives Obesity and Chronic Disease Epidemics
When you consider that Americans drink an average of 53 to 57 gallons of soda per year (depending on the source of your statistics), this 10 percent difference in actual fructose content could make a huge difference in your health.
Remember, high fructose corn syrup in the form of soda is the number one source of calories in the United States, and it is very likely the primary cause of the obesity epidemic.
A single can of soda per day can add as much as 15 pounds to your weight over the course of a single year, not to mention increase your risk of diabetes by 85 percent.
Additionally, elevated insulin levels – which soda clearly causes – also underlies nearly every chronic disease known to man, including:

•Cancer
•Heart disease
•Premature aging
•Arthritis
•Osteoporosis
From my perspective, there is absolutely NO reason to ever drink soda.