Why High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Worse Than Sugar…And Why It’s Not
I made the case before that high-fructose corn syrup really isn’t much worse for you than sugar. Further, I recently discussed two of the commercials from the corn lobby attempting to prove that high-fructose corn syrup is okay in moderation. Let’s open the book once again and look at high-fructose corn syrup again.
Why It’s Worse Than You’ve Heard
Because of the way that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is made, it’s sugar molecules are different than less highly processed sugars, including plain ol’ table sugar. In table sugar, the glucose and fructose molecules are paired in 1-to-1 fashion, bonded together. When sucrose enters the stomach, the glucose and fructose molecules are cleaved and sent on their way to either the bloodstream (for glucose) or to the liver (fructose).
HFCS on the other hand has unbound glucose and fructose molecules. While I’m not exactly sure of the mechanism, these unbound sugars hit the bloodstream as reactive compounds known as carbonyls.
Reactive carbonyls, which have been linked to tissue damage and complications of diabetes, are elevated in the blood of people with diabetes. A single can of soda, however, has five times that concentration of reactive carbonyls. Old-fashioned table sugar, on the other hand, has no reactive carbonyls because its fructose and glucose molecules are “bound” and therefore stable, unlike the “unbound” molecules of HFCS.
Sounds like lots of tissue damage from just a single soda.
Fructose and Weight Gain/Loss
While we know that we should watch how much sugar of all types we’re eating, too much fructose, in and of itself, is a bad thing. Fructose requires processing in the liver, as opposed to glucose which can pass directly into the bloodstream for energy or storage. The liver tends to turn fructose into triglycerides. But why does this matter? Too much fructose can lead to leptin resistance.
Other studies have shown that elevated triglycerides impair the transport of leptin across the blood brain barrier. The researchers hypothesize that the elevation in triglycerides produced by fructose prevented leptin from reaching the brain. If leptin does not reach the brain, the brain will not send out the signal to stop eating.
So we’re elevating triglycerides, a major risk factor for heart disease, which in turn keeps the brain from recognizing the “stop eating” signal. When the body stops responding to leptin, appetite runs rampant.
Further, fat storage is increased after fructose ingestion.
The researchers found that lipogenesis, the process by which sugars are turned into body fat, increased significantly when as little as half the glucose was replaced with fructose. Fructose given at breakfast also changed the way the body handled the food eaten at lunch. After fructose consumption, the liver increased the storage of lunch fats that might have been used for other purposes.
So let’s put two and two together…first, too much fructose decreases the body’s response to leptin’s signal to stop eating. Second, fructose increases fat storage. So you eat more and the body stores more fat. Any wonder why the world is getting fatter?
I think it’s obvious that high-fructose corn syrup is some pretty insidious stuff. Contrary to what the Corn Refiners Association wants you to believe, it’s far from natural. The process to make HFCS is complicated and chemical-laden; cane or beet sugar production is slightly cleaner, mainly requiring boiling water, a lime bath, and a centrifuge. One could probably do that at home if desired. Agave nectar is produced in a similar way. Honey is the least processed, at least by human hands.
You say “toe-may-toe”, I say “Greek salad”
Why It’s Still Pretty Similar To Other Sugars
Now I’m going to swing the pendulum the other way. Nutritionally, HFCS and sugar, honey, or agave nectar are identical at 4 calories per gram. So there’s not much of value there to demonize HFCS. But what about the above data on fructose and weight gain? Surely high-fructose corn syrup exacerbates that, right?
Recall what I’ve said before, the “high” in high-fructose corn syrup refers to the amount of fructose in relation to regular corn syrup, not as an absolute. Looking at the percentage of fructose in common sweeteners, including the “natural” sugars like agave nectar, honey, and evaporated cane juice, here’s what we see:
Fructose Comparison of Common Sweeteners
| Sweetener | % Fructose |
|---|---|
| HFCS-55 | 55% |
| Sucrose | 50% |
| Honey | 52.7% |
| Agave Nectar | 56-92% |
| Evaporated Cane Juice | 42.5-47.5% |
Notice anything? They are all about the same in fructose content. So from that standpoint, HFCS isn’t doing any more fructose-related damage than the others. In fact, agave nectar is looking downright bad on this table. Obviously replacing HFCS in products with sucrose or cane juice isn’t going to do much for overall fructose intake. Further, since fructose is processed in the liver, it doesn’t elicit the insulin spike that glucose does. So trading fructose for glucose is simply trading one evil for another (the lesser of two weevils?).
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that because your organic cookies don’t have HFCS, they’re just fine to eat. Organic junk is still junk and is still destroying your body. The only way to cut your fructose consumption in a healthy way is to stop eating sugar in general.
Stop Being Wishy-Washy; What’s Your Take?
Okay, so now I’ve said HFCS is worse than sugar and then followed that up by saying it’s not really much worse. What gives? Here’s my opinion on the whole ordeal:
- High-fructose corn syrup is nasty stuff.
- Too much sugar in general is nasty stuff, even if it’s honey.
- But other than excessive carbonyls, HFCS is probably not doing much more damage than regular sugar.
- Keep your sugar intake low and the whole issue is rather moot.
- Use honey when you use a sweetener and use it sparingly in your diet overall.
And I’ll reiterate that fruit is not bad. The overall level of fructose in fruits is low, even though the percentage of fructose is high. Cut out the processed foods and concentrated sources of sugar and get your sweetness from berries, melons, and other fruits.
Sweet summertime deliciousness
How do you feel about this? Do you think HFCS is vastly worse than other forms of sugar? Is there a healthy alternative to HFCS or table sugar?
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I think it’s worse in many ways, not just nutritionally. But as you say, all sugar consumption should be limited.
I used Stevia mostly these days. I tend to feel the spike whenever I eat anything high in sugar – including high-sugar fruits like apples. Stevia gives sweetness without all that. (It took me a while to figure out how to use it so it tastes good, though!)
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You make a very valuable point with this article.
HFCS is being demonized in the public eye right now. The same situation happened years ago with saturated fats.
Public opinion forced food producers to move away from sat fats and towards poluyunsaturated fats.
McDonalds switched frying their fries from beef tallow to a hydrogenated fat and now they are using a non-hydrogenated poly fat.
If the same thing happens with HFCS, are we just going to switch our massive consumption of HFCS for an equally massive consumption of sugar?
Neither is a healthy choice…especially in the quantities that we guzzle down.
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Excellent summary, Scott. Weaning ourselves off concentrated sugars (and fake sugary tastes) is our best bet.
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Hey Scott,
I like how you presented this article in a non-bias, honest fashion. You are right that the media always wants a specific culprit. In this situation, the culprit is indeed sugar in general, and while people don’t want to hear that, they should understand the truth of the matter. Otherwise, they will think that by simply removing HFCS from their diet that they are doing enough for their health.
Thank you for the post… it’s going on delicious for sure!
All the Best,
Andrew R
Go Healthy Go Fit
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hard to disagree with anything above. I rarely consume sweets and I think that HFCS tastes worse than the other sugars, but it’s still just another sugar. The concern I have is that it’s got the goddamn Corn-Industrial Complex and their handout-beggaring lobbyists behind it. Those ads they run on TV? We paid for them.
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Good post. People just need to realize the danger of all these artificial chemicals and how it creates a ton of metabolic dysfunction in our body. Everyone is so worried about needing a faster metabolism….I say how about just get one that works normal! That and real fruit is sweet enough for me. Could all the health issues be solved with just the simple phrase….Eat Real Food?
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Carbonation is part of the problem. The reactive carbonyls multiply about 5X in carbonated beverages with HFCS on the shelf.
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You can also add in high fructose ties to increased leptin resistance (which has a major link to obesity)
“Subsequent exposure of the fructose-mediated leptin-resistant rats to a high fat diet lead to exacerbated weight gain (50.2 ± 2 g) compared with correspondingly fed leptin-responsive animals that were pre-treated with the fructose-free diet (30.4 ± 5.8 g, p= 0.012). Our data indicate that chronic fructose consumption induces leptin resistance prior to body weight, adiposity, serum leptin, insulin or glucose increases, and this fructose-induced leptin resistance accelerates high fat induced obesity. ”
Fructose-Induced Leptin Resistance Exacerbates Weight Gain in Response to Subsequent High Fat Feeding. Alexandra Shapiro1*, Wei Mu2, Carlos A Roncal2, Kit-Yan Cheng3, Richard J. Johnson2, and Philip J. Scarpace3
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Good post Scott, and I agree with your overall conclusion – we simply have to get used to the idea that we are not supposed to eat lots of sweet food. Anyone who is not happy with that may have to make a simple choice between indulging their desires and being healthy…
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How much HCFS is made from genetically modified corn? At least you can get other sweeteners organically.
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I don’t think the demonizing of HFCS is at all like that of saturated fats. Saturated fat is a naturally-occuring substance that has been consumed for centuries. Though, it seems that some high-saturated fat foods are better to consume than others (i.e., eggs, nuts, salmon, coconut oil, butter) — all in some moderation.
HFCS is a processed sugar alternative that has only been consumed for the past few decades — since around 1975! The long-term implications of consuming large quantities of this sweetener as opposed to other “natural” sweeteners (from fruit, raw honey, unrefined sugar, etc) is not yet known.
I like this post — I feel it brings a balanced perspective to the argument. Clearly HFCS is not THE problem, but limiting or eliminating it from your diet can’t hurt!
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Scott, I’m not sure I would characterize HFCS as “vastly worse” than other forms of sugar naturally occurring in food, e.g., fructose and sucrose, in its ability to cause obesity and the consequences thereof. The reason, however, I would demonize HFCS is that Big Food Manufacturing has inserted it into a huge number of processed foods, making HFCS pervasive in the Standard American Diet (SAD). The fact is that processed foods eaten in the SAD are made mostly from cheap raw ingredients (often from GMO seeds), which are grown in mineral-depleted soils and then are highly refined. Adding insult to injury, the inclusion of HFCS in highly processed foods means that people are not only eating nutrient-poor food, but they are also eating a “hidden” (unless one reads labels) ingredient that creates a high potential for making them fat, especially the creation of belly fat.
Once a person becomes fat (and stays fat) and has eaten the SAD for a few (or more) years, their metabolism is out of balance with their leptin/insulin signaling completely skewed (leptin and insulin are neuroendocrine hormones). Once a person has been fat for a while, it is IMPERATIVE (if they want to improve their health with any chance to make it beyond 65 years) that they drastically reduce intake of any type of sugar and refined grains for as long as it takes to arrive at a normal weight. This means that the ingestion of fruit juices should be stopped and the amount of fruit, especially higher-sugar fruit, should be sharply curtailed. It is paramount that such people should strive to reduce as much as possible their belly fat (fat cells located in and around the omentum). Belly fat is metabolically active and contributes to the skewed leptin/insulin signaling. As we all know, the number of fat people with large bellies continues to grow each year, with increasing numbers of children developing this condition even before puberty.
So, this is my argument for why I think that HFCS is very dangerous. The corn industry’s latest campaign via mainstream media to assure the American public that HFCS is safe and no different from any other type of sugar is at the very least unethical–and in my opinion–criminal.
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Mike OD, definitely boils down to just eating real food. No need to worry about what type of sweetener you’re eating if you’re not eating them. And I pointed out the ties of fructose to leptin resistence.
Abe, a valid point.
KMack, I concur. The demonization of HFCS isn’t really like saturated fats because HFCS actually is bad for you. But so is sugar.
Lynn46, you’re right. HFCS is dangerous because it’s hidden in so many things. But I don’t think things would improve if it were replaced with a different form of sweetener. It’s the expectation of a certain taste, typically too salty or too sweet, that’s doing the damage. Our taste buds are damaged.
Cheers
Scott
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This is why I hate fructose corn syrup. Because it is not sugar. Sugar is sweet and tasty. Corn syrup tastes so artificial and plastic. When I moved to america for a year I could really taste the difference between our sweets and those in america. Maybe its because I was brought up on sugar. But hey. I try to keep both to a minimum if I can help it.
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Hey man,
Great article, very in depth as always.
I personally avoid sugar pretty much as often as possible. I stopped drinking soda about a year ago… the only time I’ll have it is if I’m drinking alcohol with it, like a jack and coke — figure I’m doing damage with the alcohol already, haha
Right now I’m trying out xylitol as a sugar alternative, I like the taste can’t really tell a difference in my coffee and it has 40% less calories than sugar (which I don’t use a lot of anyways), was studied because it reduced the incidence of tooth decay, and most important to me — a GI index of 7 (compared to 100 for glucose).
There’s a couple other sugar alternatives I’d like to try in the future, once my supply of this “x stuff” runs out — but I like it so far
Do you use any natural sugar alternatives?
– Caleb
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You had me worried till I read your conclusion because I consume quite a lot of fruit. I instinctively associated fructose with fruit and thought you were going to finish with something such as make sure you limit yourself to 1 or 2 pieces of fruit per day. Thankfully, that’s still allowed
I’ve generally tried to cut out refined and processed sugary products from my diet. I still eat wholemeal bread and pasta on training days (which do contain some sugars) and occasionally treat myself to a can of soda (probably once every week or two) but overall I would say my diet has improved significantly and my sugar/HCFS intake has gone down significantly during the last year.
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Articles like this are definitely helping the cause. The key is awareness and information – people need to know the facts. Additionally, more research would definitely help to shed some light on the true nature of the HFCS problem.
Cutting HFCS out of you diet is only going to help you. that’s all I can say.
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Excellent Post! Thank you for clarifying the differences between the two. I really don’t like all of the tv commercials which are trying to make high fructose corn syrup sound healthy, its annoying!
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