High-fructose corn syrup: What are the health concerns? High-fructose corn syrup is a common sweetener in sodas and fruit-flavored drinks.
As use of high-fructose corn syrup has increased, so have levels of obesity and related health problems, leading some to wonder if there's a connection. Research has shown that high-fructose corn syrup is chemically similar to table sugar. Controversy exists, however, about whether or not the body handles high-fructose corn syrup differently than table sugar. At this time, there's insufficient evidence to say that high-fructose corn syrup is any less healthy than other types of sweeteners. We do know, however, that too much added sugar — not just high-fructose corn syrup — can contribute unwanted calories that are linked to health problems, such as weight gain, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and high triglyceride levels. If you're concerned about your health, the smart play is to cut back on added sugar, regardless of the type. Sep. 27, 2012 References Whitney E, et al. See more Expert Answers. The Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup. You know how important it is to control the sugar and carbohydrates in your diet.
So you read food labels and listen to your body cues to make sure you’re getting what you need to stay healthy. But what happens when a manufacturer disguises sugar as something you don’t recognize? Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. In fact, one of the more popular aliases for sugar today is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)—a corn-based sweetener that has been on the market since approximately 1970. According to a commentary in the April 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, between 1970 and 1990, the consumption of HFCS increased over 1,000 percent. “HFCS now represents more than 40 percent of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the sole caloric sweetener in soft drinks in the United States,” write George A. HFCS—It’s Here to Stay Today, food companies use HFCS—a mixture of fructose and glucose—because it’s inexpensive, easy to transport and keeps foods moist.
High fructose corn syrup linked to liver scarring, research suggests. High fructose corn syrup, which some studies have linked to obesity, may also be harmful to the liver, according to Duke University Medical Center research.
"We found that increased consumption of high fructose corn syrup was associated with scarring in the liver, or fibrosis, among patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)," said Manal Abdelmalek, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology/Hepatology at Duke University Medical Center.
Her team of researchers at Duke, one of eight clinical centers in the Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network, looked at 427 adults enrolled in the network. They analyzed dietary questionnaires collected within three months of the adults' liver biopsies to determine their high fructose corn syrup intake and its association with liver scarring. How High Fructose Corn Syrup Damages Your Body. Drinking high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the main ingredient in most soft drinks throughout the world, increases your triglyceride levels and your LDL (bad) cholesterol.
These effects only occurred in the study participants who drank fructose -- not glucose. Consumption of beverages containing fructose rose 135 percent between 1977 and 2001. Food and beverage manufacturers began switching their sweeteners from sucrose (table sugar) to corn syrup in the 1970s when they discovered that HFCS was not only cheaper to make, it was also much sweeter (processed fructose is nearly 20 times sweeter than table sugar), a switch that has drastically altered the American diet. In 1966, sucrose made up 86 percent of sweeteners. Today, 55 percent of sweeteners used are made from corn. Medscape July 5, 2007 (Registration Required) Dr Mercola's Comments In case you forgot, or never knew in the first place, the number one source of calories in the US is high fructose corn syrup. HFCS has also been linked to: