Corn syrup, often called high fructose corn syrup, is routinely used as a sweetener. Corn syrup is an inexpensive sugar substitute -- the corn industry calls it corn sugar -- that is used in many food and beverages from soft drinks to breads. Research in recent years links corn syrup with a condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, which can cause serious liver damage.
NAFLD
NAFLD is a disease that strikes those who don't drink alcohol or drink moderately. An accumulation of fat builds up in the liver, and it's common that no symptoms of NAFLD present themselves. According to Duke University Medical Center's Manal Abdelmalek, a leading researcher in the field, about 30 percent of U.S. adults have NAFLD. The excess fat in your liver can cause inflammation and scarring. In severe cases, the disease progresses to liver cancer, liver failure and the necessity of liver transplants.
Research
According to research conducted by Abdelmalek and her team in 2008 at Duke University Medical Center, published in the Journal of Hepatology, corn syrup is associated with NAFLD in some patients. Further research from Duke, published in 2010, links patients not just to NAFLD, but to more serious liver scarring, also called fibrosis. Of the 427 patients who were studied, consumption of soft drinks with corn syrup correlated with increased risk of liver scarring and inflammation.
Consequences
As of 2011, NAFLD doesn't have a treatment so researchers hope to educate people to cut down or stop consuming corn syrup. As Duke researcher Abdeimiek says, "High fructose corn syrup, which is predominately in soft drinks and processed foods, may not be as benign as we previously thought." Research from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in 2010 linked corn syrup to NAFLD in children, even though liver disease once was considered an exclusive province of adults. The next task for the Duke researchers is to determine whether eliminating corn syrup from the diet yields health benefits.
Considerations
Corn syrup is linked to more than just liver disease. An increasing amount of research links corn syrup consumption with obesity in children and adults. Research from the University of Princeton in 2010 found that rats gained much more weight from eating corn syrup than table sugar, even though the amount of calories consumed was the same. In addition, the rats who ate corn syrup showed abnormal body fat accumulations, which, in humans, constitute risk factors for high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Since the use of corn syrup as a sweetener began to soar in the 1970s, the obesity rate in America has increased from 15 percent to 33 percent, as of 2011, and the rate for kids is approaching 20 percent. As of 2011, the average American consumes about 60 lbs. of corn syrup per year.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Science Daily; High Fructose Corn Syrup Linked to Liver Scarring, Research Suggests; March 23, 2010
- HealthTechMall.com; High Fructose Corn Syrup Causes Obesity& Liver Disease in Children; Aaron Helius; October 29, 2010
- News at Princeton; A Sweet Problem: Princeton Researchers Find That High Fructose Corn Syrup Prompts Considerably More Weight Gain; Hilary Parker; March 22, 2010
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