High-Fructose Corn Syrup in the American Diet
What is High-Fructose Corn Syrup and How Does It Affect Our Health
May 4, 2009 Vanessa Padgalskas
High-Fructose Corn Syrup, HFCS, has become the sweetener of choice for the American food and beverage industry and is an ingredient in foods ranging from baked goods to salad dressing. Many myths have created hype over the possible health risks of HFCS, but it's time to look at both sides of the story and determine why HFCS has made its way into our food system and how it affects our health.
What is High-Fructose Corn Syrup?
HFCS is made by converting the starch in corn to fructose then combining it with corn syrup, which is mostly glucose. The two mixtures are combined to create HFCS-55, which is 55 percent fructose and used primarily in soft drinks, and HFCS-42, which is 42 percent fructose and used in foods, like yogurt and cookies.
In HFCS, fructose and glucose are chemically separated, whereas in sugar or sucrose glucose and fructose are linked together. The health effects of fructose and glucose separation is debated.
Why High-Fructose Corn Syrup is Used More than Sugar
Corn is cheap and is used as a sweetener, as fuel in the form of Ethanol, and as livestock feed. Corn is remarkably cheap, because there is a surplus of corn in the American economy due to government subsidies. According to the Environmental Working Group's Farm Subsidy Database, from 1995 to 2006, corn subsidies totaled over $56 billion creating a large corn surplus, and the corn industry had to figure out what to do with all the extra corn.
In 1970, HFCS represented less than 1 percent of all caloric sweeteners, but in 2000 HFCS represented 42 percent of all caloric sweeteners.
Food and beverage manufacturers love HFCS because it is cheap, sweeter than natural sugar and preserves well.
Debate Over the Health Effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup
Researchers have set out to prove and disprove that consumption of HFCS is unhealthy and can lead to obesity.
Opponents of HFCS argue that consuming the product can lead to obesity, because it is full of empty calories. According to scientists Bray, Nielsen, and Popkin at Louisiana State University and the University of North Carolina, fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion or increase leptin production. In their article "Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play role in epidemic of obesity," they claim "that dietary fructose may contribute to increased energy intake and weight gain," because insulin and leptin act as signals of food ingestion and weight gain.
Scientific studies have proved that diets high in fructose can cause health problems. One study done by Chi-Tang Ho, a professor of food science at Rutgers University, discovered extremely high levels of substances in soft drinks that form when fructose and glucose are separated. These substances allegedly result in tissue damage.
Challengers also argue that HFCS is harmful, because it is likely derived from genetically modified corn and processed with genetically modified enzymes. The true harms of genetically modified foods have not been confirmed, but many, including European Union governments, fear genetically modified foods are harmful to health.
In a New York Times article "America's Diet: Too Sweet by the Spoonful," Michael Jacobsen, director of the consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest, said "If the food industry got rid of all the high-fructose corn syrup and replaced it with sugar, we'd have the same problems we have now with obesity, diabetes and heart disease."
Whether you think high-fructose corn syrup is harmful or has negligible health effects, the healthful choice is to minimize your intake of foods high in either high-fructose corn syrup or sugar.
Sources:
Bray, George, Nielsen, Samara Joy, Popkin, Barry. "Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play role in epidemic of obesity." American Society for Clinical Nutrition, April 2004.
Brody, Jane. "America's Diet: Too Sweet by the Spoonful." New York Times, February 9, 2009.
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