High Fructose Corn Syrup Not so Sweet for Your Health

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Try going one entire day without consuming something that contains high fructose corn syrup.

You can’t do it.

It’s in everything. Breakfast cereal, bread, fruit juice, soda, cookies, crackers, frozen food, salad dressing, pasta, canned goods, yogurt, sports drinks.

Sweeter and cheaper to produce than sugar, corn syrup also extends the shelf life of foods. Originally created in the late 1970s, it is processed by milling cornstarch, then combining corn syrups that have been enzymatically processed to boost their fructose levels with regular corn syrup. It has gained popularity in recent years, with a 1,000 percent increase in its use between the years of 1970-1990, and is now used in virtually every form of processed food.

Yet a recent study released by the aptly named American Chemical Society has shown that foods containing high-fructose corn syrup have very high levels of chemicals called reactive carbonyls. Reactive carbonyls are found at higher levels in the blood of individuals who have diabetes, and can cause complications from the disease.

The compounds are so named because they react with unbound glucose and fructose molecules and cause tissue damage, a side effect of uncontrolled diabetes.

Chi-Tang Ho, lead author of the study and food science professor at Rutgers University, tested 11 different brands of soda containing high-fructose corn syrup and found "astonishingly high" levels of reactive carbonyls.

In fact, the amount of carbonyls found in a single can of soda was five times the level found in the blood of a diabetic.

An increased chance of diabetes isn’t the only trouble with high-fructose corn syrup. Previous studies have linked the sweetener with elevated heart disease risk, elevated cholesterol, and blood clotting disorders. HFGCS has also been shown to interfere with certain birth control pills, elevating insulin levels in susceptible women. A recent study linked HFCS with obesity.

The study was conducted with two groups of volunteers who consumed either three glucose or three fructose laden drinks per day over the course of 10 weeks. At the completion of the study, performed by Dr. Peter Havel and Kimber Stanhope, all of the volunteers had gained weight. But the fructose group had gained more abdominal fat and had higher liver triglyceride levels. ""When you provide a high-fructose diet to the liver, it tends to process much of that fructose into [fats] which is why you get high triglyceride levels," said Stanhope to reporters. "The triglyceride response to fructose is likely to turn out to be the greater health concern."

Much of the cheaply produced corn used in HFCS is genetically modified, and conflicts have arisen when manufacturers of foods containing HFCS try to pass off their products as "all-natural."

Jeff Cronin, a representative for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told reporters, "When you hear corn syrup, you think you squeeze corn and get syrup. But it's not even close to being natural."

The CSPI has sued the makers of food products labeled as "natural" which contain HFCS. Kraft Foods had labeled their Capri Sun drinks as such even though they contained the ingredient. After the lawsuit, the labeling was changed.

What’s a health-conscious consumer to do? Experts recommend avoiding processed foods as much as possible, as well as checking labels closely, as so many foods contain HFCS.

It’s also important for parents to be aware of what’s going into their children’s mouths. Avoiding sodas seems like an easy choice, but HFCS is also found in teething biscuits, applesauce, and supposedly "natural" fruit drinks.

When in doubt, check the label. Both adults and children can learn to reshape their eating habits to include diets higher in fruits and vegetables and lower in all sugars, including HFCS.

After all, it’s not so sweet for our health.