Question of the year: high fructose corn syrup
December 31, 2007
I will end the year with the big issue of 2007: high fructose corn syrup. It is basically the same as sugar (sucrose). The “high fructose” is misleading. Sucrose is glucose and fructose (50/50). High fructose corn syrup is glucose and fructose (45/55 or 55/42). So whether you eat cane sugar, organic cane sugar, table sugar, or high fructose corn syrup, you are eating the same thing–glucose and fructose. Yes, fructose is metabolized differently, but most foods do not contain just fructose. The big issues are quantity and calories. Eating too much sugar (or starch, for that matter) is much more of a problem when there is lots of it and lots of calories from sugars or anything else. So we are back to moderation, alas. Enjoy your dessert and happy new year!
I thought I had read once in the NY Times or possibly even the Wall Street Journal, that High-Fructose Corn Syrup is metabolized differently than ordinary table sugar or the fructose in fruit. A quick google suggests that my memory is either mistaken or controversial, although I am naturally suspicious.
However, undoubtedly, total U.S. sugars consumption appears to have increased significantly in only the last four decades, according to this USDA chart on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Usda_sweeteners.jpg
Comment by Fentry — December 31, 2007 @ 7:01 pm
If they are effectively the same, Marion, then why do people consume so much more of a drink sweetened with HFCS than a beverage sweetened with sugar?
Comment by Jack at Fork & Bottle — January 1, 2008 @ 1:18 am
I’m not aware of evidence that they do. More bottled drinks contain HFCS than sucrose because HFCS is so much cheaper, or used to be before we started growing corn for ethanol. Happy new year to you!
Comment by Marion — January 1, 2008 @ 12:22 pm
Hi,
I picked up your article on a HFCS google alert. There are two clear differences between the industrial sweetener, HFCS, and table sugar, sucrose. First, sugar is a dissacharide which requires the enzyme sucrase to cleave the molecule into its component sugars, fructose and
glucose. Anytime you have enzyme catalysis you have regulation at the site of the chemical reaction. Whether you are running a marathon
or sleeping will determine how fast the sucrose
will be cleaved. HFCS, only a mixture of glucose and fructose, immediately enters the bloodstream. Secondlly, although the Corn Refiners Assoc., claim that HFCS 55 (55%fructose:45% glucose) is “very similar” to sucrose (50:50) that is patently misleading. 55/45=12.2% excess fructose in any beverage sweetened with HFCS. Considering that the average teen chugs one or two cans a day that is a lot of extra fructose that the body is foced to assimilate with long term health hazard. Fructose can only be metabolized in the liver. Excess fructose can lead to excess triglycerides and lipidemia (the bad cholesterol). Paradoxically,
although fructose does not elicit the insulin response, it can lead to hyperinsulinemia, insulin
resistance, and Type II diabetes. Fructose is the
“sweetness” marker in all fruits. Fructose from fruit also comes with micronutrients, vitamins, anti-oxidants, and fiber. To respond to
Fentry. My personal campaign to alert everyone to the treachery of HFCS started in Europe. Folks, they look a lot better than we do, and guess what,
in France Coke (made with real sugar) is still served in 6 oz glass bottles (quite refreshing and satisfying). Why is it that in the US Coke is only sweetened with HFCS 55 and we guzzle liters. Finally, HFCS has invaded our food supply. Courtesy of the Corn Refiners Assoc., go to www.corn.org/NSFC2006.pdf
P29-30 list all the products that contain HFCS.
Some surprises even for me: soups, bagels, cough
syrups. Also, we have been take for a ride with our “low-fat” obsession. Compare two bottles of the same brand of salad dressing, one regular, one fat-free. Guess what substitutes for the oils in the reduced-fat bottle? HFCS. StopHFCS.com lists foods that are HFCS-free. They welcome additions and suggestions.
Hawkishly read the labels.
Take care.
Comment by Cynthia1770 — January 6, 2008 @ 1:20 am
The data about harmful effects of fructose on appetite, bodyweight. As always moderation is the key.
Comment by doc — January 29, 2008 @ 8:45 pm
People — have you never taken basic Chemistry or a nutrition course?
Comment by Colette — February 26, 2008 @ 11:45 am
Dear Ms. Nestle,
Thank you for keeping the discussion going.
It always astounds me how the debate regarding the labeling of sugar in the US has been going on for 80+ years.
This link has some congressional testimony from the 1920s regarding the dangers of labeling refined sugar as “corn syrup”:
http://www.scdrecipe.com/blog/archive/2006/07/07/food-history-101-adulterers-corn-sugar-health/
Comment by Raman — March 12, 2008 @ 8:52 am
Dear Dr. Nestle,
I am a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher in Texas and I am wondering what you think of the new HFCS commercials now appearing on television? Evidently its gotten enough bad publicity that they feel the need to clear their name on national television.
In my unit on nutrition I stress that moderation is the key with HFCS and other sugars. Which, as I explain to the students, is actually difficult because it is indeed in everything.
Recently, a friend and colleague tested positive for fructose malabsorption. She is finding it very difficult to find foods without HFCS and is eating natural and homemade foods. She explained to me that the difference in her comfort level is phenomenal. I wonder if there is a connection between the high use HFCS as a commercial sweetener and fructose malapsortion. She was born at the beginning of the “HFCS age.”
Comment by Ann — September 18, 2008 @ 8:33 am