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Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrups or HFCS

  • Antonio Evans
  • November 17, 2010
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Image by Food Thinkers via Flickr

Evidently, there is a growing health concern about the amount and kind of sugar people consume every year.  Although sugar is a staple in our diet, many studies have shown the risks of too much sugar which has become more prevalent in the food we eat today.  What is interesting is that even though there is now the general awareness about the need to cut down sugar, many foods these days actually contain sugar, albeit in the different form and name.  High fructose corn syrup or HFCS may seem like a regular sweetener that we can find in certain fructose-based foods and drinks, but unfortunately HFCS can bring more risks than your regular sugar. Even with those fancy commercials (I’m thinking the one where the girlfriend playfully offers a popsicle to her boyfriend as if they were Adam and Eve) and all the name changes by the Corn Refiners Association, we’re not fooled.

It should be noted that HFCS has been around for about forty years.  It is a liquid form of sugar that is corn-based.  Although consumption of HFCS is not critical, the problem is that this sweetener is more prevalent than we thought.  This is because HFCS is the more favored sugar used by food manufacturers because it is cheaper, it is easier to transport, and it keeps the food moist.  Hence, HFCS is the most common sweetener today in processed food.  And since people consume more processed food these days, an article at the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition back in 2004 noted a 1,000% increase in HFCS consumption.  This data is six years old; imagine the critical percentages we are in today.

At this point, it is not easy to take HFCS out as an ingredient because they are used in approved quantities; the problem is that as the amount of junk food and fake sweeteners accumulate, so do the amount of HFCS in our system.  Hence, it is important to take note of the common foods and drinks that contain high levels of HFCS.  These are soft drinks, pancake syrups, unnatural fruit juices, fruit-flavored and frozen yogurts, breakfast cereals, and condiments like ketchup and barbecue sauces.

In this case, what makes HFCS riskier than other sweeteners such as regular sugar?  Basically, this compound is a combination of glucose and fructose.  This mixture makes HFCS very sweet, which is why many food companies use it; a small amount goes a long way.  However, despite the supposed small amount of HFCS to bring enough sweet satisfaction, our bodies respond differently to this formula.  Fructose alone requires a different metabolic pathway in order to be broken down because it skips the regular metabolism of carbohydrates or glycolysis.  As a result, the fructose becomes a source of “acetyl CoA“in its unregulated form which, when combined with unstimulated leptin lavels, can lead to substantial fat deposits.

It is indeed helpful to take critical steps as studies have identified the following risks that come with high HFCS consumption: high caloric intake; increase in weight; it makes your body think that it’s hungry; it can provoke insulin resistance; and it can also increase your consumption of processed food which will give you a shortage of significant nutrients.

Again, it is almost impossible to eliminate HFCS from your diet.  Although it would be best to completely eliminate HFCS, you can start by checking the labels of the food you buy and find out whether HFCS is up on the list as it indicates a pretty concentration level.  Of course another important step is to minimize the consumption of foods with HFCS.  Stay away from processed foods as much as possible, and if you do eat processed food it still helps to check the nutrition label and see if it has acceptable HFCS amounts.

It does not hurt to be more aware about the way we eat now.  As the eating and foof culture has significantly changed over years, it is now up to us to be more responsible for what we put in our mouths. And at least one great thing came out of HFCS, check out the video below.

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