High Fructose Corn Syrup is No Worse than Sugar

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. 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. Journal reference

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. More on HFCS