Simple Facts
High fructose corn syrup is simply a kind of corn sugar that is metabolized by your body the same as sugar or honey. The term ‘corn sugar’ today is an FDA approved alternate label name for dextrose, a corn-based sweetener that contains no fructose. When we use the phrase ‘corn sugar,’ we are using it to describe high fructose corn syrup as a form of sugar made from corn.
“All sugar you eat is the same. That’s what we know now that we didn’t know in 2004.”
Barry M. Popkin, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Market Report on TBD.com, May 5, 2011
“When high-fructose corn syrup and sugar are absorbed into our bloodstream, the two are indistinguishable by the body.”
Joan Salge Blake, M.S., R.D., L.D.N., Clinical Associate Professor at Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, Redbook, June 2010
Many people do not realize that high fructose corn syrup is composed of the same simple sugars found in table sugar and honey — glucose and fructose — in virtually the same ratios.
“White sugar, brown sugar, sucrose, honey, maple syrup, even high-fructose corn syrup are all roughly the same mix of the simple sugars called glucose and fructose.”
Joy Bauer, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., Nutrition and Health Expert for The TODAY Show, Woman’s Day, May 1, 2010
For the most part, you’ll find high fructose corn syrup in the same kinds of products in which you would find sugar or other sweeteners.
“HFCS is a useful ingredient because of its sweetness and ability to blend with other food and beverage ingredients. When methods for producing HFCS improved, food and beverage companies replaced other sweeteners with HFCS.”
International Food Information Council, Questions and Answers About Fructose, September 29, 2009
High fructose corn syrup — corn sugar — has been used in the food supply for more than forty years to make high fiber foods palatable, maintain freshness and enhance flavors in foods and beverages. Additionally, high fructose corn syrup keeps our foods affordable.
“HFCS was developed in the 1970s when the food industry began looking for alternatives to traditional cane sugar that could provide similar sweetness, taste and quality for a fraction of the price. All forms of HFCS come from corn starch, and are mixtures of the natural glucose and fructose that exist in the starch itself. No artificial ingredients are used in the manufacturing process. The resulting HFCS product is extremely similar to table sugar (sucrose) and has a similar taste.”
Phil Lempert, The Supermarket Guru ®, Food, Nutrition, & Science from The Lempert Report, April 30, 2010
A sugar is a sugar whether it comes from corn sugar or cane sugar. All are safe and natural. Your body can’t tell the difference.
“Regardless if it’s honey, cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup or just plain sugar, we metabolize it the same.” Carrie Taylor, R.D., L.D.N., Registered Dietitian for Big Y Foods, ABC 40 News At 12, April 8, 2009
Like all foods, sweeteners should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet.
“… consumers can safely enjoy a range of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners when consumed in a diet that is guided by current federal nutrition recommendations … as well as individual health goals.”
American Dietetic Association, Use of Nutritive and Nonnutritive Sweeteners, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, February 2004
