by Sandra Douglas

Created on: October 11, 2010

High fructose corn syrup has been used by the American food industry since the 1970’s as an additive to sweeten foods. It was initially assumed to have no side effects, just like any other sugar. Soft drinks were the first to be sweetened with the syrup and since then, it has found its way into a variety of foods, from sauces and condiments to breakfast cereals. As Americans increased the amount of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in their diets, they saw a corresponding increase in rates of obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome.

The focus is on the American diet. It is interesting to note that other countries did not follow the American lead in substituting HFCS as a sweetener in their packaged foods to the extent it is seen in the US.

Pure fructose is rarely used as a sweetener. The high fructose corn syrup used to sweeten foods today is a mixture of 55% fructose and 45% glucose, known as HCFS-55. It wasn’t always this way. In the early days of HFCS, manufactures used a mix of 42% fructose, or HCFS-42. American’s are not only eating more sugar than ever, but a greater percentage of that sugar is fructose.

How is Sugar Metabolized?

Sucrose is broken down in the gastrointestinal tract and by the liver into glucose molecules. Glucose can pass into the brain and stimulate the pancreas to release insulin, both of which trigger satiety signals to tell the body to stop eating. Fructose is cleared primarily in the liver; it does not pass into the brain and does not stimulate insulin release. Because fructose is a highly refined product, its molecules are simple and unbound. They are easily metabolized by the liver into triglycerides—fat.

Researchers increasingly point to the difference in the way the sugars are metabolized as the cause of side effects attributed to HFCS. Others say that the overall increase in the amount of sugar in American diet is the cause. Either way, too much HFCS leads to the following side effects.

Pancreas and insulin production:

Because HFCS is metabolized primarily in the liver, it misses the vital chemical reactions that are part of the glucose metabolism. The pancreas is not stimulated to make insulin, so the sugars remain in the blood until they are either used as energy or metabolized into fat by the liver.

For diabetics, this may be a positive at first. They have less fluctuation in their blood sugar levels when eating HFCS than they do with sucrose, but that’s where the benefit

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