Corn Syrup vs High Fructose Corn Syrup

[Sunflower]

I went to the grocery store today and every box of cereal I picked had HFCS as one of its ingredients. I heard it's better to avoid HFCS as much as possible. But one of the boxes just listed corn syrup. I wonder what the difference is, and if one is better thant the other? I found that even 'freshly baked' bread has HFCS.

P.S. - I love this site. I have learned SOOOO much since I've started visiting it.

 

[Dove]

I just gooled High Fructose Corn Syrup
There is a lot to read but I didn't find out what the difference is..sorry,
Dove

 

[SierraCook]

The link below will give you some information on HFCS. Basically, it is a sweeter version of corn syrup.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

 

[Lady C]

HFCS is a super concentrated form of corn syrup. It will spike your insulin levels. Repeated spiking of you insulin CAN lead to Type II diabetes. I avoid all packages that contain either. If you had to rate one better than the other I would say regular corn syrup is less damaging than HFCS. I prefer natural sugars to added ones. Stick with oatmeal or natural granolas instead of a boxed cereals.

 

[Aurora]

HFCS is a super concentrated form of corn syrup. It will spike your insulin levels. Repeated spiking of you insulin CAN lead to Type II diabetes. I avoid all packages that contain either. If you had to rate one better than the other I would say regular corn syrup is less damaging than HFCS. I prefer natural sugars to added ones. Stick with oatmeal or natural granolas instead of a boxed cereals.

It appears that you are laboring under a misconception that sugar, sweets or candy somehow causes diabetes. This is simply not correct.

There are several types of diabetes:

• Type I diabetes (formerly known as juvenile diabetes) is a disease in which the body does not produce insulin. Type I diabetes is an immune system disorder.

• Type II Diabetes is a disease in which the body either does not produce sufficient insulin or cannot use the insulin which is produced by the beta cells in the pancreas, or both. The causes of diabetes can be genetic and/or lifestyle factors such as obesity and lack of exercise.

• Gestational Diabetes occurs in some women during pregnancy and the cause is not definitively known but is believed to be related to hormones produced during pregnancy.

Simply consuming sugar, candy or other sweets does not cause diabetes.

There are many online resourses available for this information and a great source to start with is the American Diabetes Association website:

http://www.diabetes.org/about-diabetes.jsp

 

[Lady C]

It appears that you are laboring under a misconception that sugar, sweets or candy somehow causes diabetes. This is simply not correct.

There is no misconception here. Maybe it might have sounded that way.

What is really the problem is foods containing HFCS are usually highly processed and cause your insulin to spike. Repeately spiking insulin over years CAN [note I say can, not will] lead to Type II diabetes, it also depends on other factors. Eating these types of food usually leads to weight gain which also can be a contributing factor. Childhood and adult obesity is at an all time high and it is caused by poor eating habits and lack of exercise. I was simply pointing out start reading labels and see how many products contain this (HFCS) substance.

Eating less processed foods and exercising more is the best bet.

 

[Aurora]

What is really the problem is foods containing HFCS are usually highly processed and cause your insulin to spike. Repeately spiking insulin over years CAN [note I say can, not will] lead to Type II diabetes, it also depends on other factors.

All sugars and carbohydrates trigger the pancreas to produce insulin. The production of insulin or "spiking" of insulin has nothing to do with causing diabetes. This is a natural process. Too much sugar can make people fat along with too little exercise, but the production of insulin or "spiking" of insulin is not causative of diabetes.

 

[Lady C]

Yes, all carbohydrates are converted to glucose. Yes, insulin is released to control or bring down the blood sugar levels. But it has been proven that repeated high insulin spikes can lead to insulin resistance. There are several other factors that contribute to it; genetics and family history, diet, exercise, high blood pressure, etc. Insulin resistance is where the pancrease can no longer produce enough insulin to regulate the blood sugar. Over spiking the insulin damages your liver and other organs. It is not healthy.

By avoiding high insulin spikes, eating well balanced meals and getting daily exercise a person may never get diabetes even if they have all of the factors.

 

[Caine]

All sugars and carbohydrates trigger the pancreas to produce insulin. The production of insulin or "spiking" of insulin has nothing to do with causing diabetes. This is a natural process. Too much sugar can make people fat along with too little exercise, but the production of insulin or "spiking" of insulin is not causative of diabetes.

Unfortunately, your body does not recognize HFCS as sugar, and does not signal your pancreas to release insulin to process the HFCS. Your body just turns it into fat and stores it, causing obesity, which, in turn, is a major cause of type II diabetes.

 

[Andy M.]

...Your body just turns it into fat and stores it...

Hi, Caine:

I'm having a problem understanding how this happens. Could you please explain?

 

[Aurora]

Yes, all carbohydrates are converted to glucose. Yes, insulin is released to control or bring down the blood sugar levels. But it has been proven that repeated high insulin spikes can lead to insulin resistance. There are several other factors that contribute to it; genetics and family history, diet, exercise, high blood pressure, etc. Insulin resistance is where the pancrease can no longer produce enough insulin to regulate the blood sugar. Over spiking the insulin damages your liver and other organs. It is not healthy.

By avoiding high insulin spikes, eating well balanced meals and getting daily exercise a person may never get diabetes even if they have all of the factors.

Please provide a sitation or a link that will educate me in your assertions of insulin spiking. I've searched and searched and can find no supporting studies or authorities that support this. Where has this been proven? If it has been proven repeatedly it should be readily available but I cannot find it.

Thanks.

 

[Jenny]

Hmmm, very interesting debate. It may be hard to get your hands on actual research results on the internet, as the companies are likely going to want you to subscribe to their publication before you can read. You may find the occasional synopsis. Good luck

I might add, insulin resistance and type 2 DM are dangerous. Although you guys have been focusing on HFCS, that is only one little stirrer of the diabetic pot (did ya like that? poetic,eh?). It is only one tiny little blurb. Our diet and exercise in general are the big Daddy problems. Along with heredity and other disease processes that often go hand in hand w/ diabetes. But we certainly cannot ignore that there are more cases of diabetes out there than ever before, and while HFCS per se isn't the 'cause', we can't ignore it's part in it.

I am very interested in hearing how HFCS has no effect on blood sugars and insulin production. Looking forward to a post soon on that!

 

[Caine]

Hi, Caine:

I'm having a problem understanding how this happens. Could you please explain?

(I didn't want you to think I made this up)

Fructose and insulin release
Along with 2 peptides, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 released from the gastrointestinal tract, circulating glucose increases insulin release from the pancreas. Fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion in vitro, probably because the ß cells of the pancreas lack the fructose transporter Glut-5. Thus, when fructose is given in vivo as part of a mixed meal, the increase in glucose and insulin is much smaller than when a similar amount of glucose is given. However, fructose produces a much larger increase in lactate and a small (1.7%) increase in diet-induced thermogenesis (17), which again suggests that glucose and fructose have different metabolic effects.

 

[Aurora]

(I didn't want you to think I made this up)

Fructose and insulin release
Along with 2 peptides, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 released from the gastrointestinal tract, circulating glucose increases insulin release from the pancreas. Fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion in vitro, probably because the ß cells of the pancreas lack the fructose transporter Glut-5. Thus, when fructose is given in vivo as part of a mixed meal, the increase in glucose and insulin is much smaller than when a similar amount of glucose is given. However, fructose produces a much larger increase in lactate and a small (1.7%) increase in diet-induced thermogenesis (17), which again suggests that glucose and fructose have different metabolic effects.

Thanks for the reference. That whole article is very informative and interesting and the premise and conclusion is that excessive sugar consumption is responsible for obesity. There is no doubt in my mind that the consumption of excessive sugar and HFCS are major culprits in the obesity epidemic in America.

What I'm confused about is the assertion that HFCS is somehow more responsible and therefore more evil than regular sugar consumption. Sucrose is 50% fructose and 50% glucose. 70% of all HFCS consumed in America is 55% fructose and 45% glucose. It would appear to me that they are nearly equal in culpability.

 

[Andy M.]

Caine, thanks for the article. However, it does not support your statement about HFCS:

... Your body just turns it into fat and stores it, ...

 

[Lady C]

Eating ANYTHING in excess of what you burn will be converted to fat and stored.

Well there are studies out there but I don't have time to research them right now. Here are a couple of quick references.

Fructose (fruit & corn sugar) does not cause a rise in blood sugar like Sucrose (table sugar) so manufactures went crazy and started putting Hi-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in everything...with the blessing of the medical community. But here's the Coup d' Gras! HFCS is usually a mixture of 50% Corn Fructose & 50% Glucose ...Gee, that looks an awful lot like the Disaccaride Table Sugar mentioned above... Fructose + Glucose = Sucrose.

Granted, fructose alone does not cause the same rise in blood sugar, but it is still a simple sugar, which means it is an empty calorie with no vitamins, minerals or enzymes! But because of the low blood sugar rise, the "Fructose Crowd" tries to pass off a fructose carb as comparable to a complex veggie carb... ...they are, decidedly, not the same just because fructose acts sort of like a complex carb!

In fact, Fructose... even though it does not cause a large increase in blood sugar, still manages to reduce the affinity of insulin for its receptor, so if you are "genetically predisposed" then a little later down the road you will start getting an increase in insulin anyway, because the body has to secrete more to do the same job as before -- this is "Fructose-induced Insulin Resistance."

Because it is possible for a fat person to eat lots of fructose & sucrose without becoming Insulin Resistant, I will very reluctantly concede that a person might have to be genetically predisposed to develop Type II Diabetes... but if that's true, then there is a very large percentage of the population that is susceptible because "Adult On-set Diabetes" is increasing exponentially...

Source: http://www.rense.com/general71/lehm.htm

http://www.femhealth.com/dangersofhfcs.html

In Body Rx, by Dr. Scott Connelly:

Should we care that the food supply is being saturated with high-fructose corn syrup? Is it really worse than any of the other sweeteners and additives injected into the modern food supply?

The answer to both questions is yes. There is compelling scientific evidence deomonstrating that fructose, more than any other single ingedient, is responsible for the obesity epidemic sweeping the US. I blame overconsumption of fructose for the unprecidented rise in obesity among children and teenagers, many of whom consume an endless stream of soda, snacks, and other fructose-laden foods. Moreover, I believe that unless we take steps to reduce our intake of fructose, the obesity epidemic will continue to rage out of control.

He supplies tons of details. Pick up a copy of the book and read chapter 3.

 

[Caine]

Caine, thanks for the article. However, it does not support your statement about HFCS:

From iVillage:

The sweet, the bad and the ugly

Although both sucrose and HFCS contain four calories per gram, some research suggests that HFCS promotes obesity. Much of the outcry comes from the fact that the beginning of the obesity epidemic coincides with the introduction of HFCS into the food supply. Since 1970, our consumption of HFCS has increased by 1,000 percent; at the same time, our waistlines have also expanded, though thank goodness not by that much!

Some scientists believe that HFCS acts like a fat in our body more than a sugar because it might trigger mechanisms that promote body-fat storage. Fructose is more easily converted to fat and increases the amount of triglycerides in our bloodstream. Triglycerides are a type of fat that are easily stored as body fat, so the more triglycerides we have circling around, theoretically the more weight we'll gain.

Some researchers even believe that HFCS not only makes us fatter, but it can also potentially increase our risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Florida state Representative Juan Zapata (R), filed a bill that would ban Florida school districts from selling or using products containing HFCS, calling it the "crack of sweeteners" because of its link with diabetes and obesity.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

It appears that you are laboring under a misconception that sugar, sweets or candy somehow causes diabetes. This is simply not correct.

There are several types of diabetes:

• Type I diabetes (formerly known as juvenile diabetes) is a disease in which the body does not produce insulin. Type I diabetes is an immune system disorder.

• Type II Diabetes is a disease in which the body either does not produce sufficient insulin or cannot use the insulin which is produced by the beta cells in the pancreas, or both. The causes of diabetes can be genetic and/or lifestyle factors such as obesity and lack of exercise.

• Gestational Diabetes occurs in some women during pregnancy and the cause is not definitively known but is believed to be related to hormones produced during pregnancy.

Simply consuming sugar, candy or other sweets does not cause diabetes.

There are many online resourses available for this information and a great source to start with is the American Diabetes Association website:

http://www.diabetes.org/about-diabetes.jsp

For the most part, you are correct. But consumption of large sugar doses does stress the pancreatic beta cells and effectively "wears them out" over time. Also, as blood sugars spike, that same insulin triggers the release of insulin, which also triggers the body to transform some of that blood sugar (excess that can't be stored in the live or metabolized for energy) into lipids, expecially triglycerides (fats). And don't even get me going on the other pancreatic hormone, glucogon, which also affects blood sugars.

Sugar may not directly cause diabetes as there are a host of conditions that cause the disease, but it is a major contributing factor to type-2 diabetes.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North