What is high-fructose corn syrup and why is it bad for you? Here are 4 things to know
High-fructose corn syrup is like “Chicken Man,” a comic radio spoof from years ago. When the segment was introduced each day you would hear, “Chicken Man, Chicken Man, he’s everywhere, he’s everywhere.”
And so it is nowadays with high-fructose corn syrup, a sweetener made from corn starch, which has become a modern day plague.
Unfortunately, the dangers of high-fructose corn syrup is a complicated topic not easily understood, and most Americans have no clue what we are up against.
In previous articles I have written about bad carbs, such as sugary simple carbs that offer few, if any, healthy nutrients, like highly-processed foods including sugary cereals or sweetend yogurts. They represent useless, “hollow” calories. What’s more, these “hollow” calories, when consumed in large amounts, overload us and promote obesity.
The greatest offender is food items sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, especially soft drinks. Here's what to know:
What is high-fructose corn syrup?
High-fructose corn syrup demonstrates business prowess and the ability to generate profits, regardless of the consequences. Years ago, numerous corporations made the business decision to switch from sugarcane to corn, because sugarcane was too expensive while corn was plentiful and cheap. I know what you are thinking. Corn? How can you mimic the sweet taste of sugarcane with corn? Easy.
Sucrose (table sugar) is extracted from sugarcane, and sucrose is a combination of glucose and fructose (so called fruit sugar). Glucose is not sweet, but fructose is very sweet and gives table sugar its sweet taste. In contrast, there is no fructose in corn, it is all glucose. If there is no fructose, how does corn sweeten food products? It doesn’t, until the glucose in corn is altered chemically and changed into fructose.
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Glucose can easily be chemically changed to fructose (and vice versa) as the two sugars are similar in structure and are interchangeable. Food producers realized that if they took the glucose in corn and treated it chemically to convert some of it to fructose, they would have a cheap sweetener. Now, hopefully, you are still with me, because here comes the punchline.
Table sugar is composed of glucose and fructose that is evenly split 50-50. However, when chemically altering the glucose in corn, the process can make whatever proportions are desired. In other words, to make high-fructose corn syrup sweeter than table sugar from sugarcane, the proportion of fructose can be increased. For example, the amount of fructose in soft drinks typically is 55%. However, the proportion of fructose can be chemically increased to a whopping 90% if desired.
How does the body digest fructose?
It is important to emphasize that naturally occurring fructose in fruit should not be confused with the high concentration of fructose in high-fructose corn syrup. In other words, fructose is fructose, regardless of the source, but when fructose is ingested in high amounts as occurs with high-fructose corn syrup, the ballgame changes.
After digestion, all fructose is transported to the liver and converted to glucose. This is necessary because glucose is the only form usable by the body. Lots of fructose in high-fructose corn syrup means a high conversion rate and excessive production of glucose by the liver.
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With fruit, the conversion of fructose to glucose in the liver, although similar, is no problem because the amount of fructose in fruit is modest. In addition, fruit offers the advantages of healthy nutrients and fiber, and it’s low in calories.
Why is high-fructose corn syrup bad for you?
When fructose is consumed as high-fructose corn syrup, problems arise due to the high amount of fructose that is consumed quickly in items like soft drinks and many snacks and treats. As explained above, this fructose goes directly to the liver to be converted to glucose. However, unlike the modest amount of fructose in fruit, the high concentration of fructose in high-fructose corn syrup exaggerates the conversion process, leading to an excessive production of glucose by the liver. Excess liver glucose can trigger production of fat, and possibly increase cholesterol production.
The newly created fat can be released into the bloodstream, or worse, it can remain in the liver with potentially severe consequences. Perhaps it’s coincidental, but since the rise of high-fructose corn syrup in the American diet, the incidence of non-alcoholic liver disease has also increased. This is a disease of the liver in those who don’t consume alcohol and is caused by excess liver fat, which contributes to cirrhosis (healthy tissue is replaced with scar tissue, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the liver).
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High-fructose corn syrup also may be related to obesity in a unique way. Not only does high-fructose corn syrup provide lots of “hollow” calories per serving, but what may be more important is the effect to stimulate appetite and you want more food, even though you don’t need it, according to functional medicine expert, Dr. Mark Hyman.
Overeating in America is common, but high-fructose corn syrup may make the situation worse.
How does high-fructose corn syrup lead to heart disease, weight gain and other health issues?
As Americans, we have two major challenges when it comes to sugar. First is cutting back on total sugar intake. This is a good start, but even if you cut back on total sugar intake, high-fructose corn syrup can still be a problem. Unfortunately, cutting back on total sugar is not as simple as deciding to cut back.
According to Hyman, “sugar is hidden in over 80% of the processed foods on the market,” and it is hidden under a variety of names. Information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tells us that added sugar on labels can appear as “anhydrous dextrose, brown sugar, cane crystals, cane sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, crystal dextrose, evaporated cane juice, fructose sweetener, fruit juice concentrates, honey, liquid fructose, malt syrup, maple syrup, molasses, pancake syrup, raw sugar, sugar, syrup and white sugar.”
And, of course, added sugar on labels can appear as high-fructose corn syrup.
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The bottom line is, your body will thank you for cutting way back on added sugar, especially in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. It’s worth the effort, because if you do, you will greatly improve your odds of avoiding obesity, pre-diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and many other chronic diseases that lead to premature death.
Reach Bryant Stamford, a professor of kinesiology and integrative physiology at Hanover College, at stamford@hanover.edu.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: What to know about high-fructose corn syrup and why it's bad for you
