The Sugary Scoop on High Fructose Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a liquid sweetener that is made from corn being broken down into a simple sugars, the first called glucose, and then next, fructose. You’ve likely heard of HFCS as it has gotten a lot of media attention, but what you may not of heard is just exactly where it can be found. In fact, it is the sweetener of choice for about 40% of the foods on grocery store shelves, and safe to say it’s found in nearly all foods that have added sugars. Soft drinks, cookies and similar snack foods, condiments, and even ‘healthy’ foods such as bread products, pasta sauces, yogurts, canned fruits, canned baked beans and peanut butter have all been known to include HFCS, which vary by brand of course. But why not use real sugar, and why is this found in so many food products? HFCS is about 20% cheaper than regular table sugar (sucrose). HFCS can also make foods softer, extend shelf life and prevent freezer burn.

So what about the hype regarding high fructose corn syrup being bad for us? When it comes to weight, the research focuses on the connection between hormones that regulate hunger and appetite. One hormone, ghrelin, works to increase hunger and appetite. Another hormone, leptin, sends fullness signals to our brains, decreases appetite and controls body weight. Insulin, yet another hormone, important for long-term energy regulation and body fatness, is normally released along with leptin following a meal. Where this gets hairy is that some studies have shown increases in ghrelin and decreases in their leptin and insulin following fructose consumption. In other words, people who ate fructose were hungrier and still wanted to eat more as they didn’t feel full. People consume more in order to get the same feeling of fullness and satisfaction, over time this equals more calories in and a higher number on the bathroom scale. (Note that fructose is also the natural sugar found in many fruits and vegetables. These do contain the natural form of fructose in small amounts, but much higher are the levels of health promoting fibers, micronutrients, and antioxidants).

Truth be told, much of our problem with obesity lies simply in the fact that we consume too much of everything. It’s not the result of one particular food or food component, like HFCS. The science shows us even if you eat a lot of foods with any added sugar, be it HFCS, white sugar, brown sugar or honey, you will see your clothes mysteriously shrinking. In addition, there has been attention surrounding HFCS in relation to diabetes and heart disease too. Studies involving animals show that HFCS can affect risk factors for these conditions, and studies involving people have pointed in both directions. A well established health concern with eating too much HFCS though can be digestive problems. HFCS is not absorbed by the body in the same way as other sugars. In fact, fructose it is the ‘F’ of the FODMAP diet, a list of foods to avoid for individuals with severe irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

 The bottom line with HFCS is to limit it like you would any sugar. One can see how much sugar is in a product by viewing the nutrition facts panel. If you wanted to take that one step further and determine the source of sweetness you’d have to direction your attention to the ingredient list. In an ingredient list, HFCS will more often be listed as ‘glucose-fructose.’ To keep overall sugar low, a rule of thumb is for any food that has sugar in the first few ingredients, be it HFCS or not, keep it on the shelf.

As seen in The Telegram November 19, 2012