The Corn Refiners Association have been running ads “showing” that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is just another form of sugar and completely safe.  Well let’s take a look at the facts and you can be the judge.

Sugar and HFCS do share many of the same properties.  They are both the main choice of beverage companies when using a sweetener with calories.  Both have been shown to increase weight gain (most markedly fat gain).  HFCS and sugar are carbohydrates, which have been linked to type 2 diabetes.  Finally, according to the Food and Drug Administration, both can dawn the title “natural” on their labels because both are said to contain no artificial or synthetic ingredients or color additives.

Although they may share many of the same qualities they are no way the same product.  High fructose corn syrup is made by treating corn syrup with enzymes to convert a portion of the glucose into fructose, and for those of you who are not science buffs, all this means is that the chemical structure is altered.  The byproduct of the chemical reaction is HFCS which is about 50% fructose (sugar found in fruit) and 50% glucose (the simplest form of sugar).

Some of you may be thinking “well fruit is good for you, how is this sweetener bad?”.  Well, it’s still a sugar, a sugar without all the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals found in fresh fruit, not to mention the quantity of sugar found in a piece of fruit is far less than in a can of soda.  In the weight loss category fructose is not necessarily our friend either.  Fructose is very demanding for our livers to digest and in turn the body produces extra enzymes to trigger fat storage.  This is why many bodybuilders remove all fruits from their diet the last few weeks before a competition.

Although not enough research has been produced for the FDA to outright say that HFCS is bad for us, there has been some interesting research coming out.  In March of this year, Princeton University published a study in which rats were given either a normal diet or their normal diet with high fructose corn syrup added to their water.  Each group consumed the same amount of calories daily, but at the end of the 6 month study the HFCS group had gained 48% more weight than the group whom had a normal diet.  The main weight gain in the HFCS group was abdominal fat, which has highly been linked to impaired health and diminished longevity.

Sure, let him have another soda.

This leads me to believe that we do not fully understand how we metabolize HFCS and we may not know the long term detrimental effects of this sweetener until it is too late.  In the meantime I suggest everyone start reading labels and stay away from high fructose corn syrup.  Your body fat, blood profiles, blood pressure, and body will thank you.

Source: Bocarsly et al., ‘High-fructose corn syrup causes characteristics of obesity in rats: Increased body weight, body fat and triglyceride levels’, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, February 2010

*Originally published in Ridgefield Fitness Clubs’ Newsletter*