High Fructose Corn Syrup: The Research Explained
High fructose corn syrup (HFC) is a sugar derived from corn. Corn is first processed into corn syrup which is 100% glucose, then enzymes are added to it which converts some of that glucose into fructose. Now because of the name high fructose, many people incorrectly think that it has exceedingly high amounts of fructose in it. It does not. Instead, the high fructose simply refers to it having more fructose than the corn syrup that it started as. High fructose corn syrup has an almost identical sugar profile to honey. When studies are done comparing the effects of HFC and honey, they have found very similar effects on the body, showing there is nothing special about HFC.
So if it has a normal sugar profile and there is nothing sinister about it, why does high fructose corn syrup get so much hate. It has been called toxic and “as bad as alcohol.” This is first because people fail to see the difference between correlation and causation. As HFC was added to food and drinks at an increasing rate late in the 20th century, so did the obesity levels rise at almost an identical rate. This has led many individuals to lay the blame for the obesity epidemic at the feet of HFC. Now there are a few things that must be addressed.
There are animal studies that show many negative effects of HFC consumption but in inordinate amounts. When looked at in realistic amounts (<100g per day) there are no negative outcomes, leading us to draw the conclusion that overeating is the most likely driver of the negative outcomes, not the HFC itself.
The second is that obesity is a multifactorial disease. There is not one thing that has shown to be an isolated driver of it. Yes, a large driver is over consumption of calories. Yes, HFC is the most common sugar in processed food which is very highly palatable, calorie dense yet nutrient poor and it makes it very easy to over eat it. But no, when looking at studies that match calories, there are no health outcomes that are worse than any other form of sugar that isn’t accounted for by the increased calories. When looking at obesity, it needs to be addressed as a disease, looking at biological, psychological and sociological causes and understanding that it is going to be different for everyone from a causative aspect, even if the physiological outcome is the same.
So do you need to worry about HFC? No. If you are eating a balanced diet, with a mix of fruits, vegetables and protein, you do not need to worry about HFCs. There is nothing inherently wrong with them. The caution is that when consuming foods that are highly processed, know that those foods are easy to eat more than you would if it was an apple or something similar.
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