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Myth: Sugar is healthier than HFCS.
Reality: HFCS is nearly identical in composition to table sugar—both contain approximately 50% glucose and 50% fructose. Sugar and HFCS have the same number of calories as most carbohydrates; both have 4 calories per gram. Because they are nearly compositionally equivalent, the human body cannot tell the difference between HFCS and sugar.
Myth: HFCS is to blame for obesity and causes diabetes.
Reality: There is no scientific evidence to suggest that HFCS is uniquely responsible for people becoming obese. Obesity results from an imbalance of calories consumed and calories burned.
USDA data show that per capita consumption of HFCS is actually on the decline, yet obesity and diabetes rates continue to rise. In fact, obesity rates are rising around the world, including in Mexico, Australia and Europe, even though the use of HFCS outside of the United States is limited. Around the world, HFCS accounts for about 8 percent of caloric sweeteners consumed.
The leading causes of diabetes are obesity, advancing age and heredity. All caloric sweeteners trigger an insulin response in the body. In fact, table sugar, honey and HFCS trigger about the same insulin release because they contain nearly equal amounts of fructose and glucose.
Myth: HFCS is not natural.
Reality: HFCS, like table sugar and honey, is natural. HFCS is made from corn—a natural grain product. HFCS contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients or color additives and meets the Food and Drug Administration’s policy for use of the term “natural.”
Myth: HFCS is sweeter than sugar.
Reality: HFCS and sugar have virtually the same sweetness. HFCS was made to provide the same sweetness as sugar so that consumers would not notice a difference in sweetness or taste.
Myth: HFCS is high in fructose.
Reality: Contrary to its name, HFCS is not high in fructose. In fact, the composition of HFCS is essentially “half fructose corn syrup” which is similar to sugar. Sugar is composed of 50% fructose and 50% glucose and HFCS has either 42% or 55% fructose, with the remaining sugars being primarily glucose.
Myth: Studies conducted with pure fructose can be applied to high fructose corn syrup.
Reality: Pure fructose is as different from HFCS as it is from table sugar or honey. Most studies conducted with pure fructose have been performed with abnormally high levels of fructose. Such studies are not representative of normal diets because we consume fructose and glucose in combination, with glucose acting as a moderator to fructose as they are consumed together. HFCS, like sugar and honey, contains both fructose and glucose in nearly equal proportions. Studies comparing HFCS to sugar have found no differences.
Myth: HFCS is metabolized differently. It blocks the ability of the body to know when it is full.
Reality: A study published in the July 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) by Pablo Monsivais, et al., at the University of Washington found that beverages sweetened with sugar, HFCS as well as 1% milk, all have similar effects on feelings of fullness.
Another study published in the December 2007 issue of AJCN by Stijn Soenen and Margriet S. Westerterp-Plantenga from the Department of Human Biology at Maastricht University in The Netherlands also found beverages sweetened with sugar and HFCS as well as milk have similar effects on feelings of fullness.
The November 2007 AJCN included a study on the effect of solutions containing sugar, HFCS and various ratios of glucose to fructose on food intake, average appetite, blood glucose, plasma insulin, ghrelin and uric acid in men by Tina Akhavan and G. Harvey Anderson at the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. The researchers found that sugar, HFCS, and 1:1 glucose/fructose solutions do not differ significantly in their short-term effects on subjective and physiologic measures of satiety, uric acid and food intake at a subsequent meal.
A study published in the February 2007 issue of Nutrition by Kathleen J. Melanson, et al., at the University of Rhode Island reviewed the effects of HFCS and sugar on circulating levels of glucose, leptin, insulin and ghrelin in a study group of lean women. The study found "no differences in the metabolic effects" of HFCS and sugar.
Myth: HFCS, fructose and corn syrup are the same.
Reality: HFCS and corn syrup are different products with distinctly different functions. Corn syrup, which is mainly glucose, is used as a non-sweet thickener. HFCS, on the other hand, is made of almost equal portions of fructose and glucose and is used as a sweetener. Fructose is a naturally-occurring sweetener found in fruits and honey.
Myth: HFCS costs taxpayers millions of dollars in tax subsidies.
Reality: While the U.S. government does provide support to certain farmers to guarantee a stable farm economy and a reliable food supply, manufacturers of corn sweeteners do not receive these subsidies.
Myth: HFCS is used in food products only because it’s cheap.
Reality: Price may have prompted manufacturers to switch from sugar to HFCS twenty years ago, but it is no longer a primary factor since HFCS has specific and unique functional qualities not shared by sugar. In addition, the price of corn is rising substantially due to demand.
Corn sweeteners enjoy widespread use because they benefit consumers by reducing food spoilage, retaining moisture in foods, helping canned foods taste fresher, enhancing fruit and spice flavors and prolonging product freshness. Among many other benefits, HFCS allows breakfast bars to remain moist and makes bran cereal palatable.
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