High Fructose Corn Syrup EXPOSED!
February 23, 2010 by admin
Filed under Kevin's Blog
As I promised on my radio show, here is Personal Trainer Herve Duchemin’s AskMen.com article “Celebrity Workout: Tobey Maguire” and the President of the Corn Refiners Association, Audrae Erickson’s response to thus article:
——————– Corn Refiner’s Letter———————————
Subject: Comment: “Celebrity Workout: Tobey Maguire”
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:33:17 -0400
Dear Mr. Duchenmin: We read your AskMen.com article “Celebrity Workout: Tobey Maguire,” with interest, particularly the advice to avoid foods that include high fructose corn syrup. We would like to provide you with science-based information on this safe sweetener and be a reference for you for future articles.
Scientific information, sourced from peer-reviewed journal articles that studied high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) specifically, as well as FDA and the USDA, can be found in the following brochure that provides fully cited answers to frequently asked questions about HFCS http://www.hfcsfacts.com/images/pdf/HFCSBrochure.pdf. Links for many of the studies noted in the brochure can be found at http://www.HFCSfacts.com/Related_Links.html.
HFCS, sugar, honey and several fruit juices all contain the same simple sugars.
Dr. Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of “What to Eat” and “Food Politics” told the Spokesman Review “HFCS is glucose and fructose separated. Table sugar is glucose and fructose stuck together, but quickly separated by digestive enzymes. … The body can hardly tell them apart.” (Lamberson C. January 2, 2008. “High-fructose corn syrup may be the next target” Spokesman Review.)
Many studies claim that the body processes HFCS differently than other sugars due to the fructose content. Conclusions from these studies cannot be extrapolated to HFCS. That is because the studies looked at the effects of fructose independently.
Like sugar, honey and some fruit juices, HFCS contains almost equal portions of fructose and glucose. As noted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1996, “the saccharide composition (glucose to fructose ratio) of HFCS is approximately the same as that of honey, invert sugar and the disaccharide sucrose (or table sugar).” (61 Fed. Reg. 43447 (August 23, 1996), 21 C.F.R. 184.1866. Direct food substances affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe; High Fructose Corn Syrup – Final Rule.)
The absence of glucose makes pure fructose fundamentally different from HFCS. This is because glucose has been shown to have a tempering effect on specific metabolic effects of fructose. Once the combination of glucose and fructose found in HFCS and sucrose are absorbed into the blood stream, the two types of sweetener appear to be metabolized similarly using well-characterized metabolic pathways.
A considerable body of published scientific research finds high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) both safe and no different from other common sweeteners like sugar and honey. Recent scientific studies have shown that the human body appears to metabolize HFCS and sugar in much the same way. Like sugar, honey and some fruit juices, HFCS contains almost equal portions of fructose and glucose. Both sugar and HFCS contain 4 calories per gram.
Kathleen J. Melanson, et al. at the University of Rhode Island reviewed the effects of HFCS and sucrose 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 sucrose. (Melanson KJ, Zukley L, Lowndes J, Nguyen V, Angelopoulos TJ, Rippe JM. 2007. Effects of high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose consumption on circulating glucose, insulin, leptin, and ghrelin and on appetite in normal-weight women. Nutrition 23(2):103-12.)
Joshua Lowndes, et al. reported on the effects of HFCS and sucrose on circulating levels of uric acid. Uric acid is believed to play a role in the development of the metabolic syndrome. This short-term study found “no differences in the metabolic effects in lean women [of HFCS] compared to sucrose,” and also called for further similar studies of obese individuals and males. (Lowndes J, et al. June 2007. The Effect of High-Fructose Corn Syrup on Uric Acid Levels in Normal Weight Women. Presented at the June 2007 meeting of The Endocrine Society. Program Abstract #P2-45.)
Linda M. Zukley, et al. at the Rippe Lifestyle Institute reviewed the effects of HFCS and sucrose on triglycerides in a study group of lean women. This short-term study found “no differences in the metabolic effects in lean women [of HFCS] compared to sucrose,” and called for further similar studies of obese individuals or individuals at risk for the metabolic syndrome. (Zukley M, et al. June 2007. The Effect of High Fructose Corn Syrup on Post-Prandial Lipemia in Normal Weight Females. Presented at the June 2007 meeting of The Endocrine Society. Program Abstract #P2-46.)
No credible research has demonstrated that HFCS affects appetite differently than sugar. Research by Pablo Monsivais, et al. at the University of Washington found that beverages sweetened with sugar and HFCS as well as 1% milk all have similar effects on feelings of fullness. (Monsivais P, Perrigue MM, Drewnowski A. 2007. Sugars and satiety: does the type of sweetener make a difference? Am J Clin Nutr. Jul;86(1):116-23.)
Stijn Soenen and Margriet S Westerterp-Plantenga from the Department of Human Biology at Maastricht University in The Netherlands studied the effects of beverages sweetened with sugar and high fructose corn syrup as well as milk on feelings of fullness. The researchers found “no differences in satiety, compensation or overconsumption” between the three beverages. (Soenen S and Westerterp-Plantenga MS. 2007. No differences in satiety or energy intake after high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose, or milk preloads. Am J Clin Nutr 86:1586 -94.)
Tina Akhavan and G. Harvey Anderson at the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto studied 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. 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. (Akhavan T. and Anderson GH. November 2007. Effects of glucose-to-fructose ratios in solutions on subjective satiety, food intake, and satiety hormones in young men.Am J Clin Nut. Vol. 86(5) 1354-1363.)
Many parts of the world, including Australia, Mexico and Europe, have rising rates of obesity and diabetes despite having little or no HFCS in their foods and beverages, which supports findings by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the American Diabetes Association that the primary causes of diabetes are obesity, advancing age and heredity.
Around the world, HFCS accounts for about 8 percent of caloric sweeteners consumed. (LMC International, Inc. 2008. Table 2: World Sugar & HFCS Consumption. Sweetener Analysis January 2008.)
USDA data show that per capita consumption of HFCS has been declining in recent years, yet the incidence of obesity and diabetes in the United States remains on the rise.
An expert review of the research literature on the dietary role of HFCS has found insufficient support for the notion that HFCS could play a unique causal role in obesity. The expert panel led by Richard Forshee, Ph.D. of the University of Maryland Center for Food, Nutrition, and Agriculture Policy (CFNAP) concluded that “the currently available evidence is insufficient to implicate HFCS per se as a causal factor in the overweight and obesity problem in the United States.” (Forshee RA, Storey ML, Allison DB, Glinsmann WH, Hein GL, Lineback DR, Miller SA, Nicklas TA, Weaver GA, White JS. 2007. A Critical Examination of the Evidence Relating High Fructose Corn Syrup and Weight Gain. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 47(6):561–582.)
Most sweeteners undergo processing to make the final sweetener. The sugar refining process consists of numerous steps and process aids including: multiple clarifying steps with heat and lime, polymer flocculent and phosphoric acid; multiple evaporation steps; centrifugation; washing with pressure filtration or chemical treatment; and decolorization with carbon or bone char. Hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide, or enzymes are added to liquid sucrose to break the bond between glucose and fructose to make invert sugar. Sucrose from sugar beets is processed by similar methods. (See generally Environmental Protection Agency, AP 42, Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors, Vol. 1, § 9.10.1.1 Sugarcane Processing (5th ed.); Galloway JH. December 1996. History of sugar – Domestication to the 17th Century, abstracted from Annals of the Ass’n of Am. Geographers., Vol. 86, No. 4, at 682-706; Chou CC. 2000. Sugar refining processes and equipment, in Handbook of Sugar Refining: A Manual for the Design and Operation of Sugar Refining Facilities.)
HFCS is made from corn starch, which is separated from other kernel components through multiple grinding and screening steps, centrifugation and washing. The HFCS refining process utilizes multiple enzymes and magnesium and consists of numerous steps including: multiple refining steps using membrane filters, carbon filters and ion-exchange columns; centrifugation; chromatographic separation; and multiple evaporation steps. (See generally White PJ and Johnson LA. 2003. “Corn Sweeteners,” in Corn Chemistry and Technology, 2nd Edition; Alexander RJ. 1998. “Production and Description,” in Sweeteners: Nutritive; and Corn Refiners Association. 2006. “Manufacture,” in Nutritive Sweeteners from Corn, 8th Edition.)
Fruit juice concentrates are purified through heat and enzyme processing and filtered to remove fiber, flavor components and impurities. The end product is almost identical (in calories, sugars and nutrients) to sugar, honey or HFCS. (See generally Nobigrot T, Chasalow FI, Lifshitz F. 1997. Carbohydrate absorption from one serving of fruit juice in young children: age and carbohydrate composition effects. J Am Coll Nutr 16:152-158; Chaplin M, Bucke C. 1990. Enzymes in the fruit juice, wine, brewing and distilling industries, in Enzyme Technology. Cambridge Univ. Press.)
HFCS has a strong history as a safe ingredient recognized by food manufacturers and the U.S. government. In 1983, the Food and Drug Administration listed HFCS as “Generally Recognized as Safe” (known as GRAS status) for use in food, and reaffirmed that ruling in 1996. (61 Fed. Reg. 43447 (August 23, 1996), 21 C.F.R. 184.1866. Direct food substances affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe; High Fructose Corn Syrup – Final Rule.)
Please do not hesitate to visit our website, www.HFCSfacts.com, for further information or to contact us if we may be of assistance by providing additional information about the products made from corn.
Thank you for your consideration,
Audrae Erickson President
Corn Refiners Association – Washington, DC
———————HERVE’S RESPONSE—————————————
| From: | Herve Duchemin |
| Sent: | Thu 8/14/08 7:57 PM |
| To: | Audrae Erickson |
Ms. Erickson, It is quite the pleasure to hear from you. I wanted to thank you for the information you have provided, and I will look deeper into the research you have provided me with. Nevertheless, my article was geared towards males who want to “lean down”. I will never recommend the consumption of high fructose corn syrup as a means to drop bodyfat (whether the substance is deemed safe or not). If you were looking to lose bodyfat, would you honestly recommend consuming high fructose corn syrup? I think “organic corn” would be a much better choice, don’t you think? I look forward to your response.
Regards,
Herve J. Duchemin
I have read this post and if I could I wish to suggest you few interesting things or advice.
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the awesome work Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
I was wondering if anyone knew the difference between corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup. I have begun reading labels and am trying to completely stay away from MSG and High Fructose Corn Syrup. I was wondering if corn syrup had the same effect and if it should be avoided as well. Thanks Del P.
Thank everyone for your comments. I enjoyed reading them. Let me tell you what has recently happened to me. Never in my life have I been “sick”. No real issues, UNTIL my blood pressure one day just went nuts! For a year I allowed doctors to give me meds to help my b/p, but I refused actual b/p meds. Nothing really worked. I stayed tired, sleepy but could not sleep, headaches times and time again. Just felt like crap 3 out of 5 days a week. Keeping that in mind; I was a “diet coke” drinker, used Splenda, Thinking I was going to cut the sugar out, loose weight, and my b/p would go down.One day it occured to me that I never had a b/p problem until around the time I started drinking diet drinks and using splenda. Hum??? Could I be crazy thinking there is a connection? Already working out at a gym 3-4-5-6 times a week. Well low and behold, I found KT and his information. I did a few things immediately.
Threw out the yellow stuff, stopped drinking diet soft drinks, went and located and bought the raw organic vinegar, and ordered the product “Be Pure”. I also ordered organic meets and have tried to eat 75% or more all organic products. I read the labels and stopped any product with HFCS, Hydrogenated anything. My b/p has since, 3 weeks, dropped to ranges of 138/81 to 126/78 Unbelievable!!! I have worked on this for over a year with no progress. OH! and I forgot to mention that I stopped any and all medication and THREW it in the trash can. I have lost 4 lbs, sleep better than I have in 20 years. I am so excited to have this information that KT is making available to us. Now I dont tell you to throw out your meds, you and your doctor figure that out, but I was not taking anything that would be harmful to me to do that with. I just questioned if I really needed them and they were not working for me anyway. So good luck! I for once feel that maybe I can take control of my body.
HFCS has a brilliant marketing plan, but absolutely 100% evil. These guys are the Sith Lords, that need to be taken down by the Jedi masters like KT, and YOU, and me, should be in training to subdue these evil A-holes with our minds!
So they put HFCS in everything to get people addicted, fat, stupidly unfocussed, and then, oh, this is brilliant: diseased, so they can sell them again on the backend, the drugs to cure the diseases. an absolutely incredible jedi war going on here for the freedom of our planet! These are not the sugars you are looking for! This is not them, you can can go about your business!
I heard KT say on his show that HFCS causes cancer, can someone explain this to me.
My suggesion to twnorman is, do not be afraid of it, and consume it with vigor if you see no discerable difference between sugar and HFCS. I am not
attempting to be too adversarial or cynical, but there is also science based
information ‘against’ this FDA approved substance. I am not a proponent of sugar but sugar is a known substance and most of us know from usage, which for some of us predates the current obesity epidemic, its long term effects on our bodies. Of course more study is needed on HFCS, but the sources of the studies become paramount.
Only the son or daughter of a mad,rich scientist could refute the claims of the FDA etc,because the government trains our chemists out there. The independents are few unfortunately. However I trust the claims of KT vs anyone else. I tried his recommendation,of a teaspoon of vinegar for an upset stomach,and experienced relief in 3 minutes. And the problem is now gone for a month to date.
In the early 80′s when colas were being sweetened with cane sugar, and not HFCS, I noticed there was a sort of bad feeling as my blood sugar rose, it was uncomfortable and made me STOP drinking it, so if I had a large glass (as children of the time did) I would feel the effect and stop and not finish it.
I find this effect wasn’t there when they changed the formulas of the cola drinks, it let me drink as much of it as I wanted, but then there is the darker element in the picture, Aspartame which was made for approval as soon as the switch was made, which was good for them in a sense, people would recall the discomfort of too much sugar and immediately assume that this toxic substance was actually “good for them” where as there was no choice. Even today, in a country that uses sugar from sugar beets as the primary sweetener of cola/ fizzy drinks, the danger of having Aspartame is there, due to its being put into literally everything at the same time as sugar. Most things you could choose, bad for you or not shouldn’t be hidden in your syrups and such.
Honey should never be compared to these refined substances at all, because honey when raw and unrefined is “living food” and a good substance for health, not against health. The comparison of honey to sugar or corn syrup was shocking, because these two other substances are too refined to have ANY health benefits besides a sudden rise in the blood sugar. Honey is refined by the bee, has a steady sugar raising process, and has even natural antibiotic qualities that body fungi and bacteria do not like and are repelled by, unlike those other refined substances.
I am shocked.
I have to agree, if there is no health difference between HFCS and sugar, then why should I be afraid of it? This information doesn’t seem to help the case against HFCS. I would like to see the studies for and against HFCS and compare them.
I do not know who has done all the testing on HFCS or who has paid for it (makes a huge difference in the trustworthiness of the data). What I can tell you for sure is that MY body processes high fructose corn syrup differently than is does sugar, fructose, honey, or just plain corn syrup. My body does not like it and the fact that I notice a definite difference in how my digestive system works with HFCS is an indicator to me that, whether on a fitness regimen or not, HFCS does not belong in my body.
Hi LeeAnn,
Take a wild guess at who has paid for the research
All you have to do is google HFCS and the good ole doctor…
Hello,
Underconsuming veggies and overeating carbohydrate foods, starches and sugar (high fructose corn syrup, organic natural cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, raw sugar, sugar, refined honey, agave nectar, etc.) can prevent a higher percentage of fats from being used for energy, and lead to a decrease in endurance and an increase in fat storage. Sugar and grain overload in our diets are the primary culprits in making Americans sick and fat. I’m no fan of HFCS, but I understand that ALL sugar and grains, in the quantities that characterize the Western diet, are the enemy. It’s not just HFCS! I’ve read that a third to a half or more of our population is unable to process carbohydrates-sugars and starches efficiently. In many people it’s due to genetics, with a sedentary lifestyle contributing to the condition.
So then, you agree, there is no health difference between HFCS and sucrose? I do too. What exactly did you expose?
The point of this is that all of the sources which the Corn Refiners Association listed as examples of the safety of HCFS, were FDA sources. Of course they’re going to say that it’s safe, it’s in their interest. Furthermore, Ms. Erickson never sent a reply to Herve after saying that she would welcome a discussion from him, because there was nothing she could say to his response. It’s clear that HCFS is not a recommendation for anyone trying to lose weight or live a healthy lifestyle.
“It’s clear that HCFS is not a recommendation for anyone trying to lose weight or live a healthy lifestyle.”
Thats certainly true, and exactly as true as that statement is for sucrose or any other sweetener. So, again, what was exposed? Is there contention that sweeteners or any form of excess calories can cause weight gain or impediments to unhealthy living? Has anyone said that HFCS is good for weight loss? Has anyone claimed that HFCS is a nutritional supplement?
And sorry those were not all FDA sources, most of those references were from the scientific literature.
I’m not interested in discussing conspiracy theories.
LeeAnn,
“What I can tell you for sure is that MY body processes high fructose corn syrup differently than is does sugar, fructose, honey, or just plain corn syrup”
Really, and you checked that by having someone else sweeten your drink without knowing what it was sweetened with…right? Or did you happen to know HFCS was used each an every time, like any normal person would if they didnt actually choose to test their claims.
Corn syrup: 2x the calories for the same sweetness
Honey: same ratio of glucose to fructose as HFCS
Fructose: in pure form is demonstrably bad for you, despite its sale in natural food stores
Nice choices.
twnorman,
You shouldnt be afraid of it its a natural sweetener. You should simply control the amount of it (or any other sugar) you ingest. Too much makes you fat. No rocket science there. here are two good links that really EXPOSE stuff about HFCS
http://techskeptic.blogspot.com/2009/12/latest-study-on-high-fructose-corn.html
and
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4157
AlterEgoTrip:
“Honey should never be compared to these refined substances at all, because honey when raw and unrefined is “living food” and a good substance for health, not against health”
What does that mean? Are you referring to the possibility of spores of Botulism in honey (the reason you shouldn’t give honey to infants). Honey is good for health in the same way any other sugar is good for health, it provides an energy source. Too much is bad, just like any other sweetener.
Novak
“because the government trains our chemists out there”
nonsense. Chemists go through high school and university in the most open and competitive method we have of scientific discovery. There are chemists that work for the government, but that is a tiny minority of all the chemists out there.
Baker:
“but there is also science based information ‘against’ this FDA approved substance”
Where? Please cite scientific sources.
” I am not a proponent of sugar but sugar is a known substance and most of us know from usage, which for some of us predates the current obesity epidemic, its long term effects on our bodies. Of course more study is needed on HFCS, but the sources of the studies become paramount.”
Both fructose and Glucose (the components of HFCS) are extremely well known substances. All studies that find medical issues with their consumption have participant that injest far far more than would be consumed in a normal diet.
HFCS is not some magic chemical. Its not some weird molecule sythesized in a lab, you eat both glucose and fructose when you eat an apple when you eat honey, and when you eat sugar.
The “high” in HFCS refers to the fact that normal corn syrup is far higher in glucose than fructose. The “high” in HFCS means that the ration of fructose to glucose in the syrup has been made to be the same as in sugar.
This stuff really isnt that hard. Dont eat too much sugar of any form. Then you’ll be fine.
Whatever you say Dr. Rippe….Oooopppsss! I mean, techskeptic…