High Fructose Corn Syrup

Submitted by: KRISTIN ZOE S. PAEZ

CHARACTERISTICS

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)also called Glucose-Fructose in Canada, Isoglucose, Glucose-Fructose Syrup or Fructose-Glucose Syrup in Europe and High Fructose Maize Syrup in some countries comprises any of a group of corn syrups that have undergone enzymaticprocessing to convert some of its glucose into fructose to produce a desired sweetness.is a calorie-providing sweetener used to sweeten foods and beverages, particularly processed and store-bought foods.A relatively new food ingredient, it was first produced in Japan in the late 1960s, then entered the American food supply system in the early 1970s.

There are two types of high fructose corn syrup found in foods today:HFCS-55 (the main form used in soft drinks) contains 55% fructose and 45% glucose.HFCS-42 (the main form used in canned fruit in syrup, ice cream, desserts, and baked goods) contains 42% fructose and 58% glucose.

High Fructose Corn Syrup:Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy 1,176 kJ (281 kcal)

Carbohydrates 76 gDietary fiber 0 gFat 0 gProtein 0 g

VitaminsRiboflavin (B2) (2%) 0.019 mgNiacin (B3) (0%) 0 mgPantothenic acid (B5) (0%) 0.011 mgVitamin B6 (2%) 0.024 mgFolate (B9) (0%) 0 μgVitamin C (0%) 0 mg

Trace MetalsCalcium (1%) 6 mgIron (3%) 0.42 mgMagnesium (1%) 2 mgPhosphorus (1%) 4 mgPotassium (0%) 0 mgSodium (0%) 2 mgZinc (2%) 0.22 mg

Other ConstituentsWater 24g

Food manufacturers recognize the ability of HFCS to preserve and increase product quality while adding taste, texture and freshness. High fructose corn syrup provides many added benefits, including:

Texture - Chewy cookies, snack bars and other baked goods derive their soft and moist texture from HFCS since it retains moisture and resists crystallization after baking.Browning - HFCS is a reducing sugar that gives superior browning and flavor to baked goods such as breads, dinner rolls, cakes, cookies and breakfast cereals.Stability - HFCS maintains the long-term quality of beverages and condiments by protecting them from variations due to storage temperature fluctuations or low product acidity.Consistency - High fructose corn syrup has a lower freezing point, so frozen beverage concentrates can be poured straight from the freezer and are easier for consumers to thaw and mix with water.Baking - The sugars in HFCS are quickly and easily fermented resulting in sweeter bread that is more economical to make than with table sugar.

USES of HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

About HFCS~~Keep this in mind!!

1. Significant Risk of Weight Gain and Obesity

A study conducted by Princeton University, found that rats that were fed HFCS gained fat 300% more quickly than Those fed an Equal (or Slightly larger) serving of fruit-derived sugar.

2. Increased Risk of Developing Type-2 Diabetes

Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup can lead to a huge increase in the likelihood of developing diabetes. This life-long condition can be avoided in most cases. Excessive amounts of soda, energy drinks and junk-food aren’t worth losing a foot or going blind for.

Don’t ignore Diabetes because here’s a PROOF…!!

3. Hypertension and Elevated “Bad”

Cholesterol Levels

4. High Fructose Corn Syrup and

Liver DamageThis is a big one. Like anything else you eat or drink, your liver, gallbladder, and kidneys, processes HFCS. And it’s especially destructive to your liver. When combined with a sedentary lifestyle, permanent liver scarring can occur . This greatly diminishes the organ’s ability to process out toxins and, over time, can lead to an expansive range of other negative health concerns. Another study suggests that HFCS may also cause fatty liver

Did you know high fructose corn syrup is often loaded with alarmingly high levels of mercury? One study found mercury in over 50% of samples tested. Mercury exposure can result in irreversible brain and nervous system damage – especially in young, growing bodies. Way too many foods aimed at children are LOADED with high fructose corn syrup!

5. Mercury Exposure from HFCS

6. Causes Metabolic syndrome7. Damage to your immune system8. Speed-up aging process

Recent Readings about HCFS

Metabolic Danger of High-Fructose Corn SyrupBy Dana Flavin, MS, MD, PHDPublished in Life Extension Magazine December 2013

Americans are being poisoned by a common additive present in a wide array of processed foods like soft drinks and salad dressings, commercially made cakes and cookies, and breakfast cereals and brand-name breads. This commonplace additive silently increases our risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and atherosclerosis. The name of this toxic additive is high-fructose corn syrup. It is so ubiquitous in processed foods and so over-consumed by the average American that many experts believe our nation faces the prospect of an epidemic of metabolic disease in the future, related in significant degree to excess consumption of high-fructose corn syrup.

The food industry has long known that “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down in the most delightful way.” And cane sugar had been America’s most delightful sweetener of choice, that is, until the 1970s, when the much less expensive corn-derived sweeteners like maltodextrin and high-fructose corn syrup were developed. While regular table sugar (sucrose) is 50% fructose and 50% glucose, high-fructose corn syrup can contain up to 80% fructose and 20% glucose, almost twice the fructose of common table sugar. Both table sugar and high-fructose sweetener contain four calories per gram, so calories alone are not the key problem with high-fructose corn syrup. Rather, metabolism of excess amounts of fructose is the major concern.

The alarming rise in diseases related to poor lifestyle habits has been mirrored by an equally dramatic increase in fructose consumption, particularly in the form of the corn-derived sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup. In this article, we’ll examine the evidence for these associations, and we’ll attempt to determine if high-fructose corn syrup is a benign food additive, as the sweetener industry has lobbied us (and the FDA) to believe, or a dangerously overlooked threat to public health.

Even Barry Popkin, Ph.D., a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who previously suggested, in an influential 2004 paper, a possible HFCS-obesity link, stresses that the real obesity problem doesn’t lie just with HFCS. Rather, it’s the fact that sugars from all sources have become so prevalent in our food supply, especially in our beverages. He scoffs at the “natural” sweeteners sometimes added to upscale processed foods like organic crackers and salad dressings. “They all have the same caloric effects as sugar,” he explains. “I don’t care whether something contains concentrated fruit juice, brown sugar, honey or HFCS. The only better sweetener option is ‘none of the above.’”At EatingWell, it’s our philosophy to keep any sweeteners we use in our recipes to a minimum—and likewise, to limit processed foods with added sugars of any type, including HFCS. We recommend you do the same.

5 reasons high fructose corn syrup will kill youBY Dr. Mark Hyman, MDOctober 18, 2014

IF YOU CAN’T CONVINCE THEM, CONFUSE THEM – Harry TrumanThe current media debate about the benefits (or lack of harm) of high fructose corn syrup

(HFCS) in our diet misses the obvious. The average American increased their consumption of HFCS (mostly from sugar sweetened drinks and processed food) from zero to over 60 pounds per person per year.

During that time period, obesity rates have more than tripled and diabetes incidence has increased more than seven fold. Not perhaps the only cause, but a fact that cannot be ignored.

Doubt and confusion are the currency of deception, and they sow the seeds of complacency. These are used skillfully through massive print and television advertising campaigns by the Corn Refiners Association’s attempt to dispel the “myth” that HFCS is harmful and assert through the opinion of “medical and nutrition experts” that it is no different than cane sugar. It is a “natural” product that is a healthy part of our diet when used in moderation.

Except for one problem. When used in moderation it is a major cause of heart disease, obesity, cancer, dementia, liver failure, tooth decay, and more.

What the Science Says About HFCSLet’s examine the science and insert some common sense into the conversation. These facts

may indeed come as a sweet surprise. The ads suggest getting your nutrition advice from your doctor (who, unfortunately, probably knows less about nutrition than most grandmothers).

Having studied this for over a decade, and having read, interviewed, or personally talked with most of the “medical and nutrition experts” used to bolster the claim that “corn sugar” and cane sugar are essentially the same, quite a different picture emerges and the role of HFCS in promoting obesity, disease, and death across the globe becomes clear.Last week over lunch with Dr. Bruce Ames, one of the foremost nutritional scientists in the world, and Dr. Jeffrey Bland, a nutritional biochemist, a student of Linus Pauling, and I reviewed the existing science, and Dr. Ames shared shocking new evidence from his research center on how HFCS can trigger body-wide inflammation and obesity. Here are 5 reasons you should stay way from any product containing high fructose corn syrup and why it may kill you.1. Sugar in any form causes obesity and disease when consumed in pharmacologic doses2. HFCS and cane sugar are NOT biochemically identical or processed the same way by the body3. HFCS contains contaminants including mercury that are not regulated or measured by the FDA4. Independent medical and nutrition experts DO NOT support the use of HFCS in our diet, despite the assertions of the corn industry.5. HFCS is almost always a marker of poor-quality, nutrient-poor disease-creating industrial food products or “food-like substances”

It is possible to avoid high fructose corn syrup altogether if you are vigilant about it. Checking food labels is crucial, but there are some grocery stores that have special sections for “health foods” and there is often a specific non-HFCS section. Eating whole foods is also a good, natural way to avoid HFCS. High fructose corn syrup is most commonly found in processed foods. If you make your food from scratch, you can easily put in real sugar (if you are concerned about the processed part, use raw sugar instead of white sugar) or sweeten your food in other ways such as honey or agave. Just keep in mind that sugar is sugar is sugar and too much of a good thing is, well, too much of a good thing. Moderation is the key with any type of sugar. Moderation is just hard to achieve where HFCS is concerned

Can HFCS Be Avoided?

REFERENCES

Hyman, M. (2013, May 13). The Not-So-Sweet Truth About High Fructose Corn Syrup. Retrieved December 19, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/high-fructose-corn-syrup-dangers_b_861913.html

Hyman, M. (2014, October 18). 5 reasons high fructose corn syrup will kill you. Retrieved December 18, 2014, from http://drhyman.com/blog/2013/05/13/5-reasons-high-fructose-corn-syrup-will-kill-you/

Dufault, R., LeBlanc, B., Schnoll, R. et al. 2013. Mercury from chlor-alkali plants: Measured concentrations in food product sugar. Environ Health. 26(8):2.

Bray, G.A., Nielsen, S.J., and B.M. Popkin. 2013. Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity. Am J Clin Nutr.79(4):537-43. Review.

Flavin, D. (2013, December 13). Metabolic Danger of High-Fructose Corn Syrup. Retrieved December 18, 2014, from http://www.lef.org/magazine/2013/12/metabolic-dangers-of-high-fructose-corn-syrup/Page-01