Professor Dr. Joanne L. Slavin, PhD, RD, Professor, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota; Chairman, "Carbohydrates and Protein," testifying during the first meeting of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Commitee:
Dr. Slavin: ”High fructose corn sweeteners do not appear to contribute to overweight and obesity any differently from other energy sources. Critical reviews in Food, Science and Nutrition state that calories are calories and high fructose corn sweeteners are no different than other calories, calorie per calorie...”
Watson: The Corn Refiners Association said the same thing in their $30 million, 18-month TV ad campaign “targeting mothers” with the message that HFCS is: Made from corn, has no artificial ingredients, is fine in moderation, and is no more fattening than sugar.
But even sugars are metabolized differently. Glucose goes into the blood, raising blood sugar. Fructose goes to the liver and is converted into triglycerides (fats made in the liver from excess carbohydrates). Glucose raises blood sugar and fructose elevates triglycerides causing a metabolic traffic jam in our livers, predisposing us to fatty liver disease.
Watson: Dr. Slavin supported the position of the Corn Refiners Association. Dr. Slavin is from Minnesota; so is Cargill, a company that manufactures a lot of HFCS and gives millions of dollars to the University of Minnesota.
Cargill Gives University of Minnesota $1 Million for Human Metabolism Chair and Fellowships
Monday, May 5, 2003. MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL: "The University of Minnesota has received a gift of $1 million from Cargill Incorporated to expand research in the biological systems that affect human metabolism, nutrition, and diseases linked to food consumption. The gift will create an endowed faculty position..."
Watson: There is a Cargill Building on the University of Minnesota “farm campus” and a U of M professor chairs the Carbohydrate Committee on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Does this explain why - despite the high school science evidence to the contrary – that "a calorie of high fructose corn syrup is no different than any other calorie - because a calorie is a calorie, is a calorie....”
Watson: It's the quality of the calories that matter - not the quantity. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins have unique metabolic and hormonal effects. The quality of our food and the quality of the calories we consume should be at the very heart of the Dietary Guidelines.
Now more testimony from Dr. Slavin about carbohydrates:
Dr. Slavin: Is there a carbohydrate requirement? If you go back in nutrition and if you are as old as I am, you can go back and say there is no technical requirement, because we can make carbohydrate from protein. So technically, you could take protein, deaminate it and use it for gluconeogenesis [body made glucose]...
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Watson: Dr. Slavin is confirming that our bodies have no specific biological requirement for carbohydrates. Carbs are used just for energy.
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Dr. Slavin: We don’t know exactly how much [carbohydrate] we need, we don’t know exactly how much is necessary for optimum health, but we know that carbohydrates are a good source of energy, and that if there are none around, you use ketone bodies in breaking down body fats...
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Watson: Dr. Slavin is acknowledging that the 65 percent figure was taken out of thin air. Dr. Slavin states that if you restrict carbohydrates, you will burn fat. This is the point Dr. Robert Atkins made in his best selling 1973 Diet Revolution. Carbohydrate restriction is a physiologically safe way to burn fat for energy and thereby more easily maintain ideal body weight.
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Dr. Slavin: The recommendation is 45 to 65 percent of calories should come from carbohydrates... Where did we get to these levels? We know that below 45 percent [carbohydrate] I am not going to get my adequate intake for fiber, and based on our discussion yesterday, fiber continues to be a problem.
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Watson: Dr. Slavin is saying; in order to get enough fiber in our diets – a substance with no nutritional value – we must emphasize a food component that we have no biological requirement for.
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Dr. Slavin: So, getting people to eat more carbohydrates is an important part of getting them to eat the fiber that they need. So, if carbohydrates go down, lipids and protein have to go up. So, there is no real reason to do that. Higher than 65, if you go really high, there is some data on the high triglycerides people get concerned about, and that you decrease fat and protein to too low of levels.
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Watson: Dr. Slavin says there is “some data” about triglycerides. In fact, there is conclusive scientific evidence that elevated triglycerides from eating excess carbohydrates are the most predictive risk factor for coronary heart disease. According to Gerald Reaven, MD, Stanford University, 25 percent of the American population has elevated triglycerides, excess body-made blood fats associated with high carbohydrate diets.
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Dr. Slavin: Recommendation for added sugars is that they not be more than 25 percent of total calories ...
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Watson: Dr. Slavin is saying that it’s perfectly okay for Americans to eat up to 25 percent of their calories as sugar – an empty calorie blood-sugar-raising food component with no fiber or nutritional value! Although our bodies require protein, the current Dietary Guidelines do not mention protein or explain how to achieve optimum levels of complete protein.
