More About HFCS

We get a lot of contradictory information about high fructose corn syrup. On the one hand, it has the same calories as sugar. On the other hand, it is thought to be connected with obesity and a variety of health problems. So what's the deal with HFCS anyways? Basically, the food processors love it since it's extremely cheap and Americans love the way it tastes. In fact, it's in almost every processed food we buy from cookies and candy to bread and cereal. So what's so bad about fructose? Even though it has the same number of calories as glucose, it is by no means the same. Here's a picture of the two sugars:

Can you see the difference? Glucose is a six-membered ring, while fructose is a five-membered ring? Our bodies notice this difference, too. While glucose is easily taken up and used by our cells as energy, fructose must be processed through a complicated metabolic pathway in order for the body to use it. Unfortunately, some scientists believe that the byproducts of this pathway are responsible for obesity and diabetes.

Another potential problem with fructose is that it doesn't satisfy hunger as well as glucose. The human body has a complex system of hormones that regulate hunger and satiety. For example, ghrelin is a hormone that is produced in the stomach that stimulates hunger. Normally when you eat, ghrelin is supressed and you stop being hungry. Fructose does not suppress ghrelin as well as glucose does, so it you're still hungry even after eating plenty of fructose.

This article describes how not all sugars are the same and what the implications for the obesity epidemic are: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?_r=1.