- High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS)
- What we know, what you don’t know, and what you want to know.
What is HFCS?
HFCS is made of the simple sugars glucose and fructose in the free or unbonded form. (White and Nicklas, 2016).
HFCS is made through enzymatic hydrolysis of corn starch which transformed into corn syrup which contain mostly glucose. Then, part of glucose is isomerized into fructose (Singh et al., 2014b).
HFCS not only contains sugars but also riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and zinc (Parker et al., 2010). The moisture content of this syrup is between 24% (White, 2014). HFCS is produced in three forms, HFCS-42 with 42% of fructose, HFSC-55 with 55% of fructose and HFCS-90 with 90% of fructose (Parker et al., 2010).
The HFCS has an equal sweetness to sucrose and a caloric value of 3.6 kcal/g and is similar with sucrose (White, 2014).
HFCS is not significantly different in composition or metabolism from other fructose/glucose sweeteners such as sucrose, honey, and fruit juice concentrates (Singh et al. 2014b)
Why did the HFCS got a bad rap or demonized?
It all started with a correlation study (mind it is not a causation study) by Babacanoglu et al., in 2013 that high consumption of HFCS, with prevalence of obesity.
However, a study by Yu et al., in 2013 have demonstrated the metabolic equivalence of sucrose has also implicated role in promoting obesity.
Remember correlation not alway indicates cause and effect phenomenon. One needs critical thinking skills to know that fact of life and universe.
Although many attempts have been made to identify the role of sugars and alternative sweeteners in obesity, direct evidence for cause and effect remains elusive. (Food ingredients implicated in obesity: sugars and sweeteners, G. H. Anderson, T. Akhavan and R. Mendelson, University of Toronto, Canada 2007).
Obesity and metabolic syndrome and HFCS.
The etiology of obesity is multifactoral and the underlying reasons for the rapid increase in prevalence have remained unclear. (G. H. Anderson 2007)
In a notable study from 2007, Melanson et al reported no significant difference between the HFCS and Sucose consumption on fasting plasma glucose, insulin, leptin, or ghrelin or in energy or micronutrient intake in their study of normal-weight women.
The role of fructose in metabolic syndrome has been the subject of controversy, but as of 2022, there is no scientific consensus that fructose or HFCS has any impact on cardiometabolic markers when substituted for sucrose.(Fattore E, Botta F, Bosetti C (January 2022). "Effect of fructose instead of glucose or sucrose on cardiometabolic markers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of isoenergetic intervention trials". Nutrition Reviews (Systematic review). 79 (2): 209–226)
A 2014 systematic review found little evidence for an association between HFCS consumption and liver diseases, enzyme levels or fat content. ( Chung, M; Ma, J; Patel, K; Berger, S; Lau, J; Lichtenstein, A. H. (2014). "Fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or indexes of liver health: A systematic review and meta-analysis". American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 100 (3): 833–849)
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that it is not aware of evidence showing that HFCS is less safe than traditional sweeteners such as sucrose and honey.(High Fructose Corn Syrup: Questions and Answers". US Food and Drug Administration. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2019.)
Take home Lesson in simple words:
So, it is as simple as this: Excess consumption (excess caloric intake) of any type of sugar increases obesity in the population.
Most people (sadly most educated physicians too in that group) missed that point and started blaming erroneously HFCS is cause for obesity epidemic and all metabolic diseases related to obesity.
- RK, Suffolk, VA November 28, 2024 eating big Thanksgiving dinner. :-)
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