What to Know About High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Do you read labels while shopping for food? Most people I know don't read labels. Moreover, the labels printed are so small that they are not meant to be read. More often than not, habits drive the choices of foods you put in your shopping cart on your weekly supermarket trip. If you take the time to read the labels on the food you often buy, you will discover that many of them list high-fructose corn syrup as one of the ingredients. Many times, it's high on the list of ingredients, which means it is present in high amounts in the product you are holding. What is high fructose corn syrup? High-fructose corn syrup is a liquid sweetener made of corn. Fructose, a fruit sugar, is a monosaccharide (mono meaning one, saccharide meaning sugar) or simple sugar, like glucose and galactose. Sugar is a disaccharide (dia meaning two) made of glucose and fructose bound together. When you eat sugar, enzymes in your gut need to break down the bond between the glucose and fructose before you can absorb them into the blood. Fructose is a single molecule that the gut lining can easily absorb into the bloodstream. High-fructose corn syrup is better at improving the flavor of foods. It is cheaper than sugar and has a longer shelf life. When high-fructose corn syrup was first introduced in 1970, it made up about 1% of sweeteners in the U.S. Today, it is roughly 40% of all caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages. The most common forms of high-fructose corn syrup contain either 42% or 55% fructose; the rest of the high-fructose corn syrup is glucose and water. It makes sense that high-fructose corn syrup is found in sweet foods like baked goods, snacks, soda, ice cream and fruit drinks, but it hides in many savory foods too, such as ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, salad dressing, bread, bagels and some canned foods. High-fructose corn syrup hijacking your brain: Let's start by looking back at how our bodies developed for millions of years. For our ancestors, the hunter-gatherer carbohydrates were a coveted source of energy. Digging roots was a hard job, but the complex carbohydrates from roots kept them satiated longer than the aerial part of the plant. (You can relate if you think about how you feel after a meal made with mashed potatoes compared to a salad.) The human brain was so happy with the consistent energy flow following a meal made from roots that it started to reward us with a shot of dopamine every time we ate carbs. What started as a survival mechanism for our ancestors became a sugar craving for us. Eating sweet-tasting foods, especially monosaccharides that are so easy to absorb, reinforces the dopamine reward system in the brain, making you crave more of it. Big food companies figured that out and are using your brain's tendency to seek rewards against you. High-fructose corn syrup and metabolic syndrome: Metabolic syndrome is a metabolic condition that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke. It is diagnosed by a cluster of symptoms, including elevated sugar, insulin and triglycerides in the presence of weight gain, especially around the waist. Consumption of fructose is associated with metabolic syndrome. While glucose metabolism depends on insulin, fructose is primarily processed in the liver through a metabolic pathway independent of insulin. In healthy individuals consuming reasonable amounts of fructose, the liver converts it to glucose, and any excess is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. This insulin-independent metabolism of fructose has important implications: Fructose doesn't stimulate insulin or leptin release, which means it doesn't trigger satiety signals like glucose, which explains why a diet high in fructose is associated with obesity. Another way fructose drives obesity is by overstimulating a survival response called the "survival switch," which prompts the body to store energy as fats instead of using it immediately for fuel. Excess consumption of fructose can lead to increased triglyceride formation and fat storage. Excess fructose is converted to triglycerides in the liver that need to be exported from the liver to adipose tissue for storage. Choline is necessary for the triglyceride export process. When either choline is deficient or adipose tissue becomes "full," these triglycerides accumulate in the liver cells, leading to a nonalcoholic fatty liver. High blood fructose can stick to proteins and white blood cells, triggering an inflammatory response and oxidation damage, leading to insulin resistance. Over time, excessive fructose can contribute to insulin resistance. Increased triglycerides result in inflammation and are driving factors in developing leptin resistance, which research suggests may precede insulin resistance. High-fructose corn syrup is high in calories but low in nutrients. The more foods with high-fructose corn syrup you add to your plate, the less space is left for nutrient-dense foods, leading to nutrient deficiencies. Hiding behind a mask: The word about the health risks of high-fructose corn syrup is spreading. The food industry won't take a cheap ingredient that increases cravings and sales out of their products, but instead will try to fool you, the consumer. You might not find high-fructose corn syrup on the label, but it now has other names. Here are some of the alternative names under which high-fructose corn syrup might be hiding in your foods: Fructose Fructose Syrup Corn Syrup Corn Syrup Solids Corn Sweetener Maize Syrup Glucose/Fructose Syrup Isolated Fructose Fruit Fructose Crystalline Fructose I don't know about you, but I expected the FDA to protect my health. Instead, here are some tips for navigating the grocery store aisles: Prioritize whole foods: veggies, fruits, meats and unsweetened dairy. Real foods are always found close to the store walls since they need refrigerators. Read labels: If your grandmother didn't recognize an ingredient as food, it isn't food.