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Physical Activity & Obesity - Experts Weigh In
James M. Rippe, M.D., Cardiologist and Biomedical Sciences Professor at the University of Central Florida talks about physical activity and obesity.
Sweetener Comparison
Interested in how high fructose corn syrup compares to other common sweeteners?
Researchers on HFCS
Have you heard what academic researchers are saying about high fructose corn syrup?
Glycemic Index
Does high fructose corn syrup have a high Glycemic Index?
The Glycemic Index (GI) is a ranking of foods, beverages and ingredients based on their immediate effect on blood glucose levels. The GI measures how much blood sugar increases over a period of two or three hours after a meal. Some scientists believe that selecting foods with a low GI helps in diabetes management.
Carbohydrate foods that break down quickly during digestion have the highest GI. The benchmark in many indexes is glucose, with a GI of 100. Compared with glucose, the GI of fructose is very low with a value of 20. Sugar and honey, both with similar compositions to high fructose corn syrup, have moderate GI values that range from 55 to 60.27 Although it has not yet been specifically measured, high fructose corn syrup would be expected to have a moderate GI because of its similarity in composition to honey and sugar.
It must be kept in mind that the body does not respond to the GI of individual ingredients, but rather to the GI of the entire meal. Since added sugars (principally sugar and high fructose corn syrup) typically contribute less than 20 percent of calories,28 it is clear that high fructose corn syrup is a minor contributor to the overall GI in a normal diet.