Facts about High Fructose Corn Syrup and Refined Sugar
By Caryn Talty | 1,122 views | 
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In lieu of the recent report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition claiming that the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup in beverages affects fullness and hunger the same way as refined sugar, I decided to investigate further the use of both products. The result of this study is not surprising, given that it was sponsored by a grant from the American Beverage Association, by the Corn Refiner’s Association, and by a fellowship from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Used as a decoy in the current war on processed and refined food products currently canvasing our grocer’s shelves, this article claims that there was no difference in participant perceptions on “sweetness, hunger and satiety profiles, or energy intakes at lunch” during the study they conducted. It just looks like one piece of manufactured “science” designed to push blame in our current nationwide obesity epidemic on another camp in our nation’s current witch-hunt on fattening foods.
High Fructose Corn Syrup proponents are touting this finding as a stamp of approval for their highly controversial product, claiming the release of this new information proves once and for all that they’re not guilty. What are the overall facts, and which is ultimately better and safer for the consumer to ingest, refined sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup? Let’s take a look and see.
We know that High Fructose Corn Syrup is a sweetener found in many of our processed foods these days, from our soft drinks and candy bars, to our salad dressings and just about every kind of packaged bread you can find at the grocer, often included in many foods that once used refined sugar. So what exactly is this stuff, and is it truly as unhealthy and fat producing as some people claim? And is it in our best interest to eat products with refined sugar instead?
According to Wikipedia, “The typical types of High Fructose Corn Syrup are: HFCS 90 (most commonly used in baked goods) which is approximately 90% fructose and 10% glucose; HFCS 55 (most commonly used in soft drinks) which is approximately 55% fructose and 45% glucose; and HFCS 42 (most commonly used in sports drinks) which is approximately 42% fructose and 58% glucose” [1].
According to the Corn Refiner’s Association High Fructose Corn Syrup is a completely safe and all-natural product. They also state that Consumers expect to see High Fructose Corn Syrup in their natural foods, and it is all legal, according to current FDA standards.
Did you notice how deceiving our food labeling is? Manufacturers will claim their juice is 100% natural, and will write it in big letters on the front of the bottle for kids and their health-conscious parents. But if we were to look at the ingredients, we would find that the main ingredient of this “natural juice” is High Fructose Corn Syrup!
The Corn Refiner’s Association makes a very viable comparison between the refining process of High Fructose Corn Syrup and refined sugar.
They claim, “Both High Fructose Corn Syrup and sugar require processing to make the final sweetener.”
They further exclaim, “The sugar refining process consists of numerous steps and process aids including: multiple clarifying steps with heat and lime, polymer flocculent and phosphoric acid; multiple evaporation steps; centrifugation; washing with pressure filtration or chemical treatment; and decolorization with carbon or bone char. Hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide, or enzymes are added to liquid sucrose to break the bond between glucose and fructose to make invert sugar. Sucrose from sugar beets is processed by similar methods.”
The Corn Refiner’s say their product is similarly made:
“High Fructose Corn Syrup is made from corn starch, which is separated from other kernel components through multiple grinding and screening steps, centrifugation and washing. The High Fructose Corn Syrup refining process utilizes multiple enzymes and consists of numerous steps including: multiple refining using membrane filters, carbon filters and ion-exchange columns; centrifugation; chromatographic separation; and multiple evaporation steps” [2].
But they do leave out the details about corn’s ultimate travels from cob to syrup. High Fructose Corn Syrup is produced by processing white cornstarch to yield glucose, and then processing the glucose to produce a high percentage of fructose in a clear syrup. Three different enzymes are used to break down the cornstarch and the process requires five detailed steps:
- The cornstarch is treated with alpha-amylase to produce polysaccharides.
- Glucoamylase is then added to break the sugar chains down further and yielding the simple sugar glucose.
- Glucose-isomerase is then added to convert glucose to a mixture of about 42 percent fructose and 50-52 percent glucose.
- A chromatography step then takes the mixture to 90 % fructose.
- The product is then blended with the original mixture to yield a final concentration of about 55 percent fructose, thus creating High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Despite of all the special enzymes required and the multi-step processing involved, High Fructose Corn Syrup is actually cheaper than sugar, perhaps because transport is so much easier. They just fill tanker trucks with the stuff and then pipe it directly into storage containers at various food manufacturing plants across the U.S.Does this sound natural to you? And it is in just about all of our foods these days, as a silent ingredient that some claim comprises about 40% of what we purchase in the grocery stores [3].
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Sugar and Sweetener Yearbook series, Tables 50-53.
USDA data shows that the per capita use of High Fructose Corn Syrup in the U.S. food supply was matched with an almost equal decline, on a one-to-one basis, in the per capita use of sugar.There is a difference between natural fructose occurring in our fruits and the High Fructose Corn Syrup that is used in so many processed foods, including “healthy” drinks and snacks. High Fructose Corn Syrup is sweeter and cheaper than sugar, mixes well with foods and drinks, has a longer shelf life, and has many other characteristics that are beneficial for the food industry. Along with tax incentives and governmental subsidies, this has made High Fructose Corn Syrup the sweetener of choice with manufacturers.
Dr. Barnet Meltzer, M.D. states, “white refined sugar, or sucrose, drains your liver, imbalances your adrenal glands, overtaxes your nerves, and depletes your B vitamins. It contributes to allergies, arthritis, premenstrual syndrome, and abnormal hormonal fluctuations in both women and men. It is the root cause of functional hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). It accelerates the onset of adult diabetes (high blood sugar). Perhaps most commonly, by setting up the body’s energy level to hit a false peak and then crash back down, it causes chronic fatigue and an unstable metabolism” [4].
So, what is the cause of the obesity epidemic in America? Do we blame refined sugar, or High Fructose Corn Syrup? It appears to me that the Corn Refiner’s Association has at least one valid point. I see no difference, really, between the use of refined sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup in relation to health. There is no “lesser of two evils”, just two evils.
Bottom line, we have to cut out the chemicals.
The real concern here is how refined sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup play an intricate role in the development of Type 2 diabetes, a disease that millions of people worldwide are now struggling to cope with. Many people are actually walking around eating as they normally do and unaware that they actually have it.
According to Gary Yang, “Not only can a high fructose diet worsen the symptoms in diabetic patients, it can actually increase the risk of developing diabetes in healthy individuals.” He believes the “most common cause of diabetes seen in developed countries is due to a build up in body fat, which can lead to insulin resistance and ultimately diabetes.” Yang explains in his article that a high fructose diet “induces an uncontrolled production of energy and fat as well as an overall increased appetite, resulting in increased caloric intake” [5].
This is why opponents of High Fructose Corn Syrup manufacturers like to point their fingers. They believe there is a strong link between fructose consumption and obesity/ diabetes.
Why might this be? Well, fructose is absorbed more slowly than glucose and is converted in the liver to glycogen. Therefore, it does not cause a rapid rise in blood glucose levels, and the pancreas does not react to as if it is a sugar. And by not reacting to the High Fructose Corn Syrup, the pancreas does not produce amylin or leptin - two very important hormones responsible for controlling our ability to feel full. Thus, we tend to overeat when we eat foods made with High Fructose Corn Syrup. Here is where the correlation between obesity and High Fructose Corn Syrup lies.
Some experts believe it is even linked to high grease (triglyceride) content in the blood and metabolic syndrome, which puts people at risk for type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. It appears as if the epidemic of obesity and the introduction of High Fructose Corn Syrup in our foods happened at about the same time (1970s to today). There are experts in the field of Endocrinology that believe this is no coincidence. Let’s review the role of fructose on glucose metabolism:
At low levels fructose may actually be beneficial in glucose disposal (at less than 10% total carbohydrate percentage). Because High Fructose Corn Syrup is so ubiquitous thanks to our food industry, in many people the supply of fructose is constant. And when fructose supply is constant this beneficial effect of fructose disappears [6].
So what happens when we over-feed our bodies fructose? The energy metabolism changes. Our body’s fat oxidation (burning) process decreases and 88% of our energy is stored as fat and only 12% of our energy is stored as glycogen [7].
Do you want excess grease (triglycerides) swimming in your blood to the point that blood becomes opaque from fat particles?! High Fructose consumption eventually leads to a fatty liver, an early sign of metabolic syndrome and diabetes [8].
Next time you go to the grocery store, take some time and read the labels. Get educated about your options, and start to curb your buying. If enough people are willing to make a change it will send a message to our food manufacturers that consumers are chemical savvy, and it will inadvertently curb your waistline too.
For information on condiments without High Fructose Corn Syrup see: HFCS-FREE List.
See this web site for information on fast-food menu items containing High Fructose Corn Syrup.
If you would like to read about corn sugars in general, view: Corn Sugars 101
- “High Fructose Corn Syrup.” Wikipedia. July 16, 2007.
- Corn Refiner’s Association. 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 950 Washington, DC 20006-5805.
- Dublin, Jim. “The Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup.” Helium, 2007.
- Meltzer, Barnet. Food Swings: Make the Life-Changing Connection Between the Foods You Eat and Your Emotional Health and Well-Being. Marlow Books (2001) page 42.
- Yang, Gary. “Our Sweet Ending: Health Consequences with High Fructose Corn Syrup Consumption.” The Science Creative Quarterly. Issue 2 (January-March 2007).
- McGuinness, Owen P.; Cherrington, Alan D. “Effects of fructose on hepatic glucose metabolism. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care. 6(4): 441-448, July 2003.
- McDevitt, Regina; Poppitt, Sally D; Murgatroyd, Peter R.; and Prentice, Andrew M. “Macronutrient disposal during controlled overfeeding with glucose, fructose, sucrose, or fat in lean and obese women.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 72: 369-77, 2000.
- Roglans, Nuria; Vila, Laia; Farre, Mireia, Alegret, Marta, Sanchez, Maria Rosa; Vazquez-Carrera, Manuel; Laguna, Juan Carlos. “Impairment of hepatic Stat-3 activation and reduction of PPAR alpha activity in fructose-fed rats.”Hepatology. 26, 45 (3): 778-788, February 2007.
Tags: Diabetes, Fructose, Glucose, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Metabolism, Obesity, Processed Food, Refined Food, Refined Sugar, Sucrose, Sugar, Sweetener
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