High fructose corn syrup is the name for a commercial sweetener made from corn syrup. Corn contains high levels of amylose, or starch, which reacts with enzymes to produce a syrup made of glucose, or sugar. Glucose is less sweet than table sugar, so pure corn syrup is somewhat less sweet than table sugar. By chemically reacting the glucose syrup with further enzymes, processors can convert about half of the glucose into the related chemical fructose, producing a mixture--called high fructose corn syrup--that is about as sweet as table sugar. Several health-related negatives are associated with high fructose corn syrup.
Diabetes
Representatives of the corn industry advertise--quite truthfully--that high fructose corn syrup contains nearly identical proportions of glucose and fructose to those found in table sugar. Table sugar, or sucrose, consists of a molecule of fructose chemically bonded to a molecule of glucose, meaning that the two sugars are present on a one-to-one ratio, explain Drs. Mary Campbell and Shawn Farrell in their book "Biochemistry." In high fructose corn syrup, glucose and fructose are also present on a nearly one-to-one ratio, but they're not chemically linked together. This may affect your body's processing and utilization of high fructose corn syrup when you consume it, and may explain the increased rate of type 2 diabetes observed in habitual users of the syrup.
Obesity
In an article published in 2004 in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," authors note that habitual users of high fructose corn syrup display higher rates of obesity than those who don't frequently use the product. The reason for this observation may be the result of the very low cost of high fructose corn syrup as compared to table sugar. Because high fructose corn syrup is so cheap, food manufacturers can include large amounts of it in their foods--even traditionally unsweetened foods, like ketchup--habituating users of processed foods to sugary flavors. This increases the desire for sugary flavors, and therefore increases total consumption, leading to increased risk of obesity.
Mercury Contamination
Mercury is a heavy metal element and a potent neurotoxin, meaning that it causes damage to the brain and central nervous system. People are exposed to mercury in several ways, with environmental pollution being a major factor. A 2009 article in "Environmental Health," however, notes that samples of high fructose corn syrup also contain measurable quantities of mercury, probably because of the manufacturing process. This means that habitual or heavy users of high fructose corn syrup may consume significant quantities of mercury over time.
References
- "Biochemistry"; Mary Campbell, Ph.D. and Shawn Farrell, Ph.D.; 2005
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity; George Bray, et al; April 2004
- "Environmental Health"; Mercury from chlor-alkali plants: measured concentrations in food product sugar; R. Dufault et al; 2009
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