Now that the FDA has officially changed its course and determined that High Fructose Corn Syrup does indeed qualify as “natural” or, rather, that it “would not object to the use of the term ‘natural’ on a product containing the HFCS produced by [a manufacturing process without synthetic fixatives] ,” the corn refiners association is happily proclaiming its “naturalness” every chance they can find. Indeed, they just launched a $30 million advertising campaign aimed at placing HFCS on the same level as sugar and honey.
A new glut of commercials offers such charmless guidance as “it’s made from corn and it’s fine in moderation” while simultaneously painting those who are concerned about the documented negative health effects of high fructose corn syrup as uninformed worry-worts. The fresh-faced actors begin by saying, “Well … you know what they say” and then stop.
So let me fill you in where they stop. Here’s what they say (they being the scientists, researchers and nutritionists not industrial food producers who have a stake in keeping the American public unwell.):
- Rats fed high fructose corn syrup exhibited cognitive impairment.(1)
- High Fructose Corn Syrup is linked mineral imbalance and may contribute to osteoporosis. (2)
- High Fructose Corn Syrup contributes to epidemic obesity. (3), (4), (6), (9), (11)
- There’s a link between high fructose corn syrup consumption and the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. (4) (5)
- High Fructose Corn Syrup and excessive fructose consumption is linked with diabetes. (4)
- High Fructose Corn Syrup and excessive fructose consumption is linked with atherosclerosis. (4)
- High Fructose Corn Syrup contributes to the development of metabolic syndrome. (6), (7), (9)
- Rats fed a diet of high fructose corn syrup developed kidney disturbances and disease. (7)
- High Fructose Corn Syrup in the adult diet is linked with gastro-intestinal distress. (8)
- High Fructose Corn Syrup consumption contributes to high cholesterol. (9), (10)
- High Fructose Corn Syrup consumption in conjunction with low intake of magnesium (fairly common) is linked to insulin resistance and hypertension. (10)
The truth is this: high fructose corn syrup is not nutritionally equal to honey as the corn refiners association would have you believe. Beyond that, just because it’s made from corn doesn’t make it healthy; after all, ethanol is also made from corn but I don’t see anyone trying to mix it into fruit punch.
Fructose like that coming from fruit has a place in the human diet as long as it’s consumed in moderation. High Fructose Corn Syrup on the other hand is all but impossible to consume in moderation when one considers its concentrated nature and that it’s included in almost every packaged food available in the super market.
Get your fructose from fruit, and don’t believe the Corn Refiners advertising campaign because you’ll be in for a not-so-sweet suprise.
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I left a nice little comment to the CFA. They were dumb enough to list a contact page so I hope everyone that knows the truth is determined enough to give them a piece of their mind. I sure did. I’m only 16 and I know a lot more than those people that they pay to play dumb for them in the commercial. It’s a sad time when profit is a lot more important than the lives of children and just people in general. Sounds like the next Tobacco Company… right?
The corn association must have thought they were cute and clever to do the commercials but I saw right through them. (and I hope millions of Americans did too) It’s ridiculous that HFCS is in almost every processed food products. What people would do for profit…
Love learning new things from your blog!
These commercials really burn my hide. I was shocked to see them airing. I really hope people see through this. One thing they mention is its okay in moderation, but HFCS is in SOOOO many processed foods. If people just ate whole natural foods, it would be less of an issue.
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Hi Jenny,
I have noticed that folks who are avoiding HFCS are often using agave syrup as a sweetener, thinking it is “natural” and a “healthy” sweetener, and of course, far better than ordinary sugar or HFCS. Agave syrup/nectar is also increasingly showing up as an ingredient in RTE (ready to eat) foods in “health/natural” foods stores. Not only is agave syrup/nectar not likely to be a better option , it might even be far worse than HFCS. Table sugar is 50/50% glucose/fructose. HFCS is slightly different, usually about 45/55% glucose/fructose (but the ratio varies a bit). Agave syrup is produced from enzymatic hydrolyzation (how “natural is that?”) of inulin, and is composed of a large portion of fructose. Some brands of agave syrup are as much as 92% fructose!
As you state, fructose as it is found in fruit (low concentrations and mixed with other “sugar” molecules generally isn’t much of a problem. Plus, there is only so much fresh fruit one can consume in a sitting. But it’s very easy to consume the fructose equivalent of a massive basket of fruit in one sitting with concentrated fructose products.
But syrups and any refined sweetener made with sugar molecules, whether glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, etc., are *very concentrated* and not found in nature. Honey is an exception and is relatively high in fructose, but in most of pre-human and human history, as much as 4-5 million years (until the age of agriculture and bee-keeping within the past 15,000 years), any honey consumed was seasonal, infrequent, and not easily acquired, limiting human consumption. Our physiology is not adapted to frequent doses of highly concentrated sugars, whether it’s glucose, fructose, etc.
Furthermore, fructose doesn’t immediately raise blood glucose levels because instead of absorbing into the blood stream, it goes to the liver for metabolization. If the body has no need for the fructose or the amount is more than sufficient for immediate needs, the liver converts the fructose into fat and shunts it to the fat cells. Some stays in the liver, too. Enough excess fructose consumption for a long enough time and one is at high risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The only difference between this and cirrhosis from alcoholism is the lack of alcohol. And NAFLD is increasingly showing up in young adults and children, because of high fructose consumption.
A little bit of fructose now and then in fruit, especially in season, isn’t a problem. But fructose many time a day on a daily basis for years, that’s a different story. Be kind to your liver. Limit concentrated sweeteners of all types, from HFCS to agave syrup to honey, because you depend on your liver for so much. There is no such thing as a free sweetener.
Something I’d like to add is that in 2001 Harvard published a study that observed over 91,000 women for an 8 year period. In that study, they found that drinking just one soda a day increased your risk of type 2 diabetes by 85%. 85%! But every report I’ve seen on this study, calls the sodas “sugary sodas” or “sugar-sweetened sodas”. The soda industry hasn’t used sugar in its product in well over two decades… with rare exceptions, it uses HFCS. So what’s with the universal “mistake” of blaming sugar instead of HFCS, when sugar isn’t even on the ingredient list?
WR
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Excellent comments on this one!
Anna, I completely and totally agree with you. Indeed, when I first started on a diet focused on natural foods, we consumed agave nectar. I think you’ll probably find one or two leftover recipes on this site featuring the sweetener. That is, until I learned more about it. Its sugar profile is frighteningly high in fructose which nowhere in human history did we find at such concentrated levels. Now, when we want something sweet we choose fruit. Whole fruit. And if we desire something a little sweeter, we go for honey-sweetened but that’s a rarity which is why there’s only two desserts listed on the blog!
Whiterock, I was unaware of that study but it’s startling. And you’re right about blaming sugar when it sugar wasn’t really included anyway! One must be vigilant of both the media and the ingredient list.
I wanted to add to my earlier comment….
That study, as a side-note, also said that the women who drank fruit juice daily, instead of soda, were NOT at an increased risk of diabetes. This led them to speculate about the nature of “natural fructose” (bonded) as opposed to free fructose (like high-fructose sweeteners). So apparently they did understand that the results were about the fructose content of the sodas.
WR
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