Study: HFCS Prompts Considerably More Weight Gain Than Sucrose

[Carcharodon]

We've seen the commercials claiming that, nutritionally, HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) is no different than regular sugar (sucrose). I've noticed a couple of articles on the Yahoo! front page that support this idea. Here's an excerpt from an article published on September 16th from Eating Well Magazine:

Myth 2: High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is worse for you than sugar.

The Truth: The idea that high-fructose corn syrup is any more harmful to your health than sugar is “one of those urban myths that sounds right but is basically wrong,” according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a health advocacy group. The composition of high-fructose corn syrup is almost identical to table sugar or sucrose (55 percent fructose, 45 percent glucose and 50:50, respectively). Calorie-wise, HFCS is a dead ringer for sucrose. Studies show that HFCS and sucrose have very similar effects on blood levels of insulin, glucose, triglycerides and satiety hormones. In short, it seems to be no worse—but also no better—than sucrose, or table sugar. This controversy, say researchers, is distracting us from the more important issue: we’re eating too much of all sorts of sugars, from HFCS and sucrose to honey and molasses. The American Heart Association recently recommended that women consume no more than 100 calories a day in added sugars [6 teaspoons]; men, 150 calories [9 teaspoons].

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/6-biggest-lies-about-food-busted-2391419

According to a new Princeton study, however, this is bogus.

A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain

A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.

"Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the conditions of our tests," said psychology professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction. "When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight."
Hoebel lab

A Princeton University research team, including (from left) undergraduate Elyse Powell, psychology professor Bart Hoebel, visiting research associate Nicole Avena and graduate student Miriam Bocarsly, has demonstrated that rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup -- a sweetener found in many popular sodas -- gain significantly more weight than those with access to water sweetened with table sugar, even when they consume the same number of calories. The work may have important implications for understanding obesity trends in the United States. (Photo: Denise Applewhite) Photos for news media

In results published online Feb. 26 by the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, the researchers from the Department of Psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute reported on two experiments investigating the link between the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and obesity.

The first study showed that male rats given water sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup in addition to a standard diet of rat chow gained much more weight than male rats that received water sweetened with table sugar, or sucrose, in conjunction with the standard diet. The concentration of sugar in the sucrose solution was the same as is found in some commercial soft drinks, while the high-fructose corn syrup solution was half as concentrated as most sodas.

The second experiment -- the first long-term study of the effects of high-fructose corn syrup consumption on obesity in lab animals -- monitored weight gain, body fat and triglyceride levels in rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup over a period of six months. Compared to animals eating only rat chow, rats on a diet rich in high-fructose corn syrup showed characteristic signs of a dangerous condition known in humans as the metabolic syndrome, including abnormal weight gain, significant increases in circulating triglycerides and augmented fat deposition, especially visceral fat around the belly. Male rats in particular ballooned in size: Animals with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained 48 percent more weight than those eating a normal diet.

"These rats aren't just getting fat; they're demonstrating characteristics of obesity, including substantial increases in abdominal fat and circulating triglycerides," said Princeton graduate student Miriam Bocarsly. "In humans, these same characteristics are known risk factors for high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer and diabetes." In addition to Hoebel and Bocarsly, the research team included Princeton undergraduate Elyse Powell and visiting research associate Nicole Avena, who was affiliated with Rockefeller University during the study and is now on the faculty at the University of Florida. The Princeton researchers note that they do not know yet why high-fructose corn syrup fed to rats in their study generated more triglycerides, and more body fat that resulted in obesity.
Hoebel lab

When male rats were given water sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup in addition to a standard diet of rat chow, the animals gained much more weight than male rats that received water sweetened with table sugar, or sucrose, along with the standard diet. The concentration of sugar in the sucrose solution was the same as is found in some commercial soft drinks, while the high-fructose corn syrup solution was half as concentrated as most sodas, including the orange soft drink shown here. (Photo: Denise Applewhite)

High-fructose corn syrup and sucrose are both compounds that contain the simple sugars fructose and glucose, but there at least two clear differences between them. First, sucrose is composed of equal amounts of the two simple sugars -- it is 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose -- but the typical high-fructose corn syrup used in this study features a slightly imbalanced ratio, containing 55 percent fructose and 42 percent glucose. Larger sugar molecules called higher saccharides make up the remaining 3 percent of the sweetener. Second, as a result of the manufacturing process for high-fructose corn syrup, the fructose molecules in the sweetener are free and unbound, ready for absorption and utilization. In contrast, every fructose molecule in sucrose that comes from cane sugar or beet sugar is bound to a corresponding glucose molecule and must go through an extra metabolic step before it can be utilized.

This creates a fascinating puzzle. The rats in the Princeton study became obese by drinking high-fructose corn syrup, but not by drinking sucrose. The critical differences in appetite, metabolism and gene expression that underlie this phenomenon are yet to be discovered, but may relate to the fact that excess fructose is being metabolized to produce fat, while glucose is largely being processed for energy or stored as a carbohydrate, called glycogen, in the liver and muscles.

In the 40 years since the introduction of high-fructose corn syrup as a cost-effective sweetener in the American diet, rates of obesity in the U.S. have skyrocketed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1970, around 15 percent of the U.S. population met the definition for obesity; today, roughly one-third of the American adults are considered obese, the CDC reported. High-fructose corn syrup is found in a wide range of foods and beverages, including fruit juice, soda, cereal, bread, yogurt, ketchup and mayonnaise. On average, Americans consume 60 pounds of the sweetener per person every year.

"Our findings lend support to the theory that the excessive consumption of high-fructose corn syrup found in many beverages may be an important factor in the obesity epidemic," Avena said.

The new research complements previous work led by Hoebel and Avena demonstrating that sucrose can be addictive, having effects on the brain similar to some drugs of abuse.

In the future, the team intends to explore how the animals respond to the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in conjunction with a high-fat diet -- the equivalent of a typical fast-food meal containing a hamburger, fries and soda -- and whether excessive high-fructose corn syrup consumption contributes to the diseases associated with obesity. Another step will be to study how fructose affects brain function in the control of appetite.

The research was supported by the U.S. Public Health Service.

There's a TON of money in corn right now. I can't help but wonder whether that particular interest is having an influence on the articles claiming no ill-effects of HFCS.

Thoughts?

 

[SuperFerret]

My thoughts on this are random and unprintable, so all I'll say is that I really don't care one single bit, and that all things should be done in moderation.

 

[Carcharodon]

Some more than others, apparently.

 

[Manic]

Of course! It all makes sense now! High-fructose corn syrup prevents parents from helping their kids pay for college!




Wait...

 

[knowsbleed]

I miss jag.

 

[ObakeTora]

Yea that was a great show.

 

[Paradoxium]

HFCS is not even a cost effective solution in reality. Table sugar is cheaper, it's the clowns in Washington that keeps subsidizing this **** to undermine people's health. Then spend more to "solve" the health consequences (you know, a problem THEY CREATED). Of course they will spin it as saving jobs or something ********.

Pants on head ******ed.

 

[enterthemadness]

HFCS is only good for in coke(soda, pop, etc). Outside of that, it should be taken out of food. I say this because I've had Mt Dew with real sugar and my lord, it is horrible.

 

[SuperFerret]

You should slap yourself right now.

 

[knowsbleed]

With a Mt Dew.

 

[enterthemadness]

To be fair, I hear dr pepper with real sugar is awesome.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I liked the Mountain Dew with real sugar. Still need to try the Pepsi and Dr. Pepper though

 

[enterthemadness]

I liked the Mountain Dew with real sugar. Still need to try the Pepsi and Dr. Pepper though

They have Pepsi out there with real sugar? I know there's a Dr. Pepper factory in Texas that has Dr. Pepper with real sugar.

I wonder what Mellow Yellow taste like with sugar? And yes, it's still out there to buy.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I saw those 3 at the supermarket last month. They even had the old retro labels too

 

[Timstuff]

Last week Big Corn (AKA the "Corn Refiners Association") submitted an application to have the FDA allow them to call HFCS "Corn Sugars" because they want trick people into thinking it's as safe as real sugar, although they are claiming that it's only to "prevent consumer confusion." Yeah right, what a load of BS. They know that people are getting wiser about what they put in their bodies, and now they are having a panic attack over the ensuing PR disaster. They are desperate to keep us slugging down HFCS because otherwise, they can't make money off of it. Hence the expensive propoganda campaign they've put out singing the joys of HFCS and bravely smacking down a strawman version of their detractors.

Everyone is fixated on big oil as being America's boogeyman, but most people have overlooked just how dangerous, powerful, and conniving the corn industry is. They are an even bigger threat to American safety and prosperity, and for some reason corn is also America's most subsidized crop, even though we produce far more than we actually use. The corn growers have our politicians by the gonads since so many presidential candidates foolishly believe that a victory at the Iowa Caucuses paves the road to the white house, and Iowa's main export is corn. That's why at the first debates they won't shut up about ethanol, even though it's more expensive than petroleum and we don't have enough land to grow enough corn to replace our fuel supply. And the worst part is, since the corn is artificially cheap it's easy for them to sneak HFCS into so many of our products, and still reap in a healthy profit. The food manufacturers save money since it's cheaper than sugar (even in foods that should not have sugar added, like a regular loaf of bread).

The propoganda says "HFCS, like sugar is fine in moderation." Well that would be dandy if it weren't for the fact that HFCS is in almost EVERY BRAND NAME FOOD PRODUCT! Not to mention that HFCS, unlike real sugar, prevents your body from releasing the enzym that breaks down sugar molecules, and thus your brain does not recieve a satisfaction signal from eating it, making you want more. I've had to give up so many of my favorite foods just because they snuck this crap in it somehow, but fortunately some brands are wising up and phasing it out of their products. Of course, now Big Corn is in a full on panic, because they realize that their house of cards may finally be collapsing due to the rise of the internet. They can try all they want to hide the truth, but after 30+ years of rising obesity and diabetes rates, the American people are ready to say "enough is enough." Also, for what it's worth, I think that the FDA will rule on the side of reason and choose NOT to approve the "corn sugars" name-change, because the intent behind it is so sinister and yet so obvious that they'd be fools to approve it.

 

[NotAHenchwench]

HFCS is so terrible for you. If it weren't in everything, it'd be easier to avoid.

 

[SuperFerret]

You know what's really terrible for you? Chainsaw wielding panda bears that are upset about the destruction of the Amazon rain forest.

 

[SoulManX]

Last week Big Corn (AKA the "Corn Refiners Association") submitted an application to have the FDA allow them to call HFCS "Corn Sugars" because they want trick people into thinking it's as safe as real sugar, although they are claiming that it's only to "prevent consumer confusion." Yeah right, what a load of BS. They know that people are getting wiser about what they put in their bodies, and now they are having a panic attack over the ensuing PR disaster. They are desperate to keep us slugging down HFCS because otherwise, they can't make money off of it. Hence the expensive propoganda campaign they've put out singing the joys of HFCS and bravely smacking down a strawman version of their detractors.

Everyone is fixated on big oil as being America's boogeyman, but most people have overlooked just how dangerous, powerful, and conniving the corn industry is. They are an even bigger threat to American safety and prosperity, and for some reason corn is also America's most subsidized crop, even though we produce far more than we actually use. The corn growers have our politicians by the gonads since so many presidential candidates foolishly believe that a victory at the Iowa Caucuses paves the road to the white house, and Iowa's main export is corn. That's why at the first debates they won't shut up about ethanol, even though it's more expensive than petroleum and we don't have enough land to grow enough corn to replace our fuel supply. And the worst part is, since the corn is artificially cheap it's easy for them to sneak HFCS into so many of our products, and still reap in a healthy profit. The food manufacturers save money since it's cheaper than sugar (even in foods that should not have sugar added, like a regular loaf of bread).

The propoganda says "HFCS, like sugar is fine in moderation." Well that would be dandy if it weren't for the fact that HFCS is in almost EVERY BRAND NAME FOOD PRODUCT! Not to mention that HFCS, unlike real sugar, prevents your body from releasing the enzym that breaks down sugar molecules, and thus your brain does not recieve a satisfaction signal from eating it, making you want more. I've had to give up so many of my favorite foods just because they snuck this crap in it somehow, but fortunately some brands are wising up and phasing it out of their products. Of course, now Big Corn is in a full on panic, because they realize that their house of cards may finally be collapsing due to the rise of the internet. They can try all they want to hide the truth, but after 30+ years of rising obesity and diabetes rates, the American people are ready to say "enough is enough." Also, for what it's worth, I think that the FDA will rule on the side of reason and choose NOT to approve the "corn sugars" name-change, because the intent behind it is so sinister and yet so obvious that they'd be fools to approve it.