3021
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP AND OBESITY
You may have heard that the obesity epidemic in America
is caused by high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) found in most
sugared drinks and many types of foods. However, the evidence
now blames any sugar in drinks and not the high fructose corn
syrup in particular.
Researchers in the Netherlands showed that beverages
sweetened by HFCS do not affect energy levels, appetite-related
hormone levels or obesity any more than milk or drinks sweetened
with sucrose (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December
2007). People did not eat more food after drinking HFCS
beverages than they did after drinking milk or non-HFCS sodas.
They also showed that the obesity hormones (insulin, ghrelin,
glucose and glucagon-like peptide 1 or GLP-1) were affected similarly by all types of sweetened drinks.
A sucrose-sweetened beverage contains 64 per cent
glucose and 36 per cent fructose, while the HFCS is 41 per cent
glucose and 59 per cent fructose, a not very significant difference.
The researchers concluded that "energy balance consequences of
HFCS-sweetened soft drinks are not different from those of other
iso-energetic drinks: a sucrose soft drink or milk." Currently,
many scientists believe that any sugar in drinks promotes obesity
because sugar in liquid form does not fill you up to make you eat
less in the same way that sugar in solid food does. If you want
to lose weight, I recommend that you exercise more and eat less,
and avoid sugar in liquid form.
Checked 6/29/09