High Fructose Corn Syrup: How Sweet It Isn't

Why people with diabetes should learn to identify-and reduce-foods with high fructose corn syrup

By Daniel Trecroci

Over the years, many culprits have been implicated in America's obesity epidemic. Recently, another one has started making a name for itself—high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

High fructose corn syrup is a commonly used liquid sweetener made from corn that is very similar in its composition to table sugar (sucrose). Most non-diet soft drinks in the United States are sweetened with HFCS, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved as being a safe ingredient in food.

Prior to 1970, sucrose was the main caloric sweetener. HFCS is cheaper to produce than sucrose—due in part to corn subsidies and sugar-import tariffs—and has other properties that prompted food companies, namely soft-drink manufacturers, to embrace it as a sweetener.

Have HFCS consumption and obesity gone hand in hand?

Since HFCS's inception, researchers argue that increases in obesity have corresponded with the popularity of HFCS beverages and foods. In a study published in the April 2004 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," researchers discovered that consumption of HFCS increased more than 1,000 percent between 1970 and 1990, "far exceeding the changes in intake of any other food or food group."

"The increased use of HFCS in the United States mirrors the rapid increase in obesity."

So what does this mean for people with diabetes?

Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing how much HFCS is in a given product since its levels are not listed. However, Christopher R. Mohr, M.S, R.D, L.D.N, states in the May 2005 issue of "Diabetes Health" that if HFCS is one of the first ingredients listed (in soft drinks or syrup, for example), it is safe to assume there is a lot in the product.

Source: American Chemical Society