'Contrary To Its Name, High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Essentially A Corn Sugar,' Say Scientists

Recent marketing claims that sugar is healthier than high fructose corn syrup are misleading to consumers, claim three leading scientists.

They corrected inaccuracies and misunderstandings concerning high fructose corn syrup's impact on the American diet in a session, High Fructose Corn Syrup: Sorting Myth from Reality, at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California.

Long-held Myths About High Fructose Corn Syrup Dispelled
high fructose corn syrup has no scientific support for the hypothesis that high fructose corn syrup is causally linked to obesity in the United States.

"Contrary to its name, high fructose corn syrup is essentially a corn sugar," said sweetener expert Dr. John S. White, president of White Technical Research.

Dr. James M. Rippe, cardiologist and biomedical sciences professor at the University of Central Florida, said: "By every parameter yet measured in human beings, high fructose corn syrup and sugar are identical. This is not surprising since high fructose corn syrup and sugar are metabolized the same by the body, have the same level of sweetness and the same number of calories per gram."

Dr. David Klurfeld, national program leader for human nutrition in the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, added: "This is a marketing issue, not a metabolic issue. The real issue is not high fructose corn syrup. It's that we've forgotten what a real serving size is.

CRA Says Fructose Frequently Confused With High Fructose Corn Syrup
it is important for people to understand the differences among various ingredients used in scientific studies that are examining the roles of natural sweeteners.

We have to eat less of everything."

Fructose, containing sweeteners, such as sugar, invert sugar, honey, fruit juice concentrates, and high fructose corn syrup, are essentially interchangeable in composition, calories, and metabolism.

Tweaking With A Particular Gene Prevents Fructose-Induced Insulin Resistance
Scientists have found that knocking down a gene called transcriptional coactivator PPARg coactivator-1b (PGC-1b) can protect mice on a diet loaded with high-fructose from insulin resistance.

However, Dr. White insists that replacing high fructose corn syrup in foods with other fructose, containing sweeteners will provide neither improved nutrition nor a meaningful solution to the obesity crisis.

"In light of similarities in composition, sweetness, energy content, processing, and metabolism, claims that such sweetener substitutions bring nutritional benefit to children and their families appear disingenuous and misguided," White says.

Source-ANI
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