Hot Topics: High Fructose Corn Syrup

Bread, condiments, cereal, flavored yogurts, canned fruits & vegetables, granola bars… What do these foods have in common?

Most versions of these items sold in the United States contain high fructose corn syrup.
What is all the buzz about high fructose corn syrup?  I attempted to get a handle on it.  I see lots of people label reading on the look out for it.  Many sources confirm that it is not our fat or protein intake that is making us fat, but our carbohydrate intake.  Specifically sugar is to blame for the obesity epidemic sweeping the globe.  It is not simply because we are eating too much or have no self-control.  That would not explain the fact since 2006 there has been a notable epidemic of obese 6-month-olds? Many scientists, nutritionists, doctors and other health professionals have attributed this to our intake of high fructose corn syrup.  It is used in too many products, at amounts too high to allow for any US food consumer to have a moderate intake of it.  It comes down to the fact that it’s not that high fructose corn syrup is a problem – it’s the amount we are consuming it.  HFCS is so appealing because it is both sweeter and cheaper.

Now results from a new study at Princeton University show that even when caloric intake is kept constant, weight gain has been shown in rats with access and intake of HFCS.   Years ago they found that when male rats were given water sweetened with HFCS along with a standard diet, they gained much more weight than did rats with the same diet and water sweetened with table sugar, otherwise known as sucrose.  Bart Hoebel, psychology professor specializing in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction says, “When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight."  

Another experiment studied the effects of HFCS consumption specifically on obesity.  This long-term study monitored weight gain, body fat and triglyceride levels in rates with access to HFCS over a period of six months.  As you can imagine, these animals showed characteristics of metabolic syndrome –  that’s including abnormal weight gain, significant increases in triglycerides, and visceral fat around the belly.  Guys, you should know that male rats in particular with access to HFCS blew up in size – they gained 48 percent more weight than those eating a normal diet!  

This study may not provide conclusive evidence on the effects of HFCS and sucrose on the body weight of rats, as Marion Nestle questioned, and we can only hope that this study will be “the first step in a long series of research,” as Bocarsly responded.  So what do you all think of this?  Their objective had been to just see the way intake of HFCS affects brain chemistry.  I am pretty convinced that HFCS is affecting us in ways we may not fully understand.  I think the correlation between HFCS entering our food system and the climbing rates of obesity is enough to make me want to consciously limit my intake of it.  As with everything, I think it’s important to keep maintain moderate intakes of all sugars.  It’s important for consumers to be aware of what HFCS is and what it may be responsible for so that they can make smarter decisions in those grocery store isles.