The use of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has become
the punching bag of those who are legitimately concerned about the ubiquitous
practice of adding large quantities of refined sugar to processed foods,
cereals, and to manufactured beverages of all kinds. However, focusing on the perils associated
with the use of HFCS while tacitly or explicitly approving the addition of more
‘natural’ sugars to food and beverages is a misrepresentation of the link
between the addition of refined sugars to our diet and the current epidemic of
obesity and diabetes. The fact is that
HFCS and table sugar (sucrose) are identical in their chemical composition and
there is no evidence that they have differential effects on the rate of obesity
or diabetes. It is the total amount of refined sugar in the diet that is
important not whether it comes from sugar cane or beets (sucrose), or from corn
(HFCS).
Sucrose, or ordinary table sugar, is chemically
classed as a disaccharide in which each molecule is formed by the combination
of two simple sugar molecules, one glucose and one fructose. Corn syrup is derived from corn starch and
the sugar it contains is 100% glucose which is not as sweet as fructose. To produce a realistic substitute for table
sugar, corn syrup is modified to a high-fructose corn syrup that has the same
percentage of fructose and level of sweetness as table sugar.
The
most ardent critics of the practices of the food industry agree that there are
no fundamental chemical differences between sucrose and HFCS. However, it is certain that the introduction
of HFCS as an additive to food and beverages has facilitated a large increase
in the total amount of refined sugars we consume with its concomitant negative
effects on health. The damage being
wrought by HFCS is because its often low cost relative to cane sugar has made
it possible for food producers to increase the amount of added sugar in their
products without having to implement the cost increases that might impact consumer
demand. Although food producers, with
the help of HFCS, have been able to give consumers the sweetness they seem to
crave without requiring them to pay the price, the ultimate cost to the
consumers in terms of poor health is likely to be much higher than they
bargained for.
