High Fructose Corn Syrup & Blood Sugar

Fructose is a sweetener found naturally in many foods. It's also the main ingredient in high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is the subject of much controversy. Several studies have reported that diets high in fructose, including HFCS, are linked with obesity, high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease. They claim it may make you overeat and promotes fat development. Other research has found fault with these findings, suggested that fructose behaves the same as other sugars, and called for additional studies. More recent research has specified just how HCFS affects your blood sugar and puts you at an increased risk of diabetes.

Definition

HCFS is not pure fructose. It's made up of simple sugars, but generally has more fructose than the other kinds. HFCS has grown in popularity since the 1970s. It is used as a bulk sweetener. Food manufacturers like HFCS because it's just as sweet as other sugars but less expensive. Most HFCS has 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose. "Diabetes Health" magazine reports that consumption of HFCS jumped 1,000 percent between 1970 and 1990 and now accounts for more than 40 percent of the sweeteners added to foods and beverages in the United States.

Blood Sugar's Role in the Body

When you eat, your body breaks down the food into sugar, called glucose. After digestion, this glucose goes into your blood stream and is used by cells as a source of energy. A hormone called insulin, created by the pancreas, helps blood sugar get into your cells. Diabetes is a condition in which this process is impaired. This leads too much blood sugar circulating throughout your body and being passed out through urine without being used for energy. So with HFCS being linked to diabetes, a diet high in HFCS could have an adverse affect on your blood sugar. Diabetes can lead to a number of serious health problems, like heart attack and stroke, amputation and high blood pressure.

HFCS, Blood Sugar and Insulin Resistance

Numerous studies in mice show that HFCS leads to insulin resistance, which is a problem with the regulation of blood sugar, but there have been problems with research in humans. Generally, scientists have failed to prove that HFCS causes insulin resistance. University of Michigan researchers reported in a 2010 issue of the journal "Cell Metabolism," however, may have found that link. HFCS gets processed differently by the body. Normally when you eat, your body produces enough insulin to transport the blood sugar to cells. Fructose doesn't do that. In addition, your liver more readily metabolizes fructose into fat and over time that can lead to a build up of fat around your liver, a hallmark of many fatty liver diseases and a precursor to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Incidentally, HFCS also doesn't set off the leptin receptor in your brain, which is supposed to turn off your appetite after you've had enough to eat. This is why HFCS is also linked to overeating and obesity.

Amounts

Dr. Michael Roizen, of the Cleveland Clinic and co-author of the "You: The Owner's Manual" series says HFCS is "one of the biggest evil influences on our diet," and says it adds empty calories and no nutritional value to food. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee also says Americans eat far too much sugar of all kinds, and says you should avoid foods with added sugar, or food for which sugar is not a natural ingredient. In a review published in "Nutrition & Metabolism," Dr. Salwa Rizkalla says that moderate consumption, or fewer than 50 g per day and no more than 10 percent of all your calories, won't adversely affect your blood sugar, body fat or weight. In addition, Dr. Susan Murphy says in the "Journal of Nutrition" that it's not practical to avoid just HFCS, when evidence is still being explored about its health effects and when all added sugars and excess calories are the real problem with body weight and diabetes risk. If you already have diabetes, you should discuss what is a safe amount of HFCS to have with your health care provider.