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Expert Opinion on HFCS & Sweeteners
Arthur Frank, M.D., Medical Director of the George Washington University Weight Management Program talks about the similarities between high fructose corn syrup and other common sweeteners.
Childhood Diabetes
Is high fructose corn syrup responsible for the rising rate of diabetes in children? Registered dietitian Neva Cochran answers questions.
HFCS vs. Sugar
Are you aware of the many similarities between sugar and high fructose corn syrup? You can compare the two sweeteners side-by-side.
Fructose
Myth: High fructose corn syrup is high in fructose.
Reality: Contrary to its name, high fructose corn syrup is not high in fructose. In fact, the composition of high fructose corn syrup is essentially “half fructose corn syrup” which is similar to sugar. Sugar is composed of 50% fructose and 50% glucose and high fructose corn syrup has either 42 % or 55% fructose, with the remaining sugars being primarily glucose.
Many confuse pure “fructose” with “high fructose corn syrup,” a sweetener that never contains fructose alone, but always in combination with a roughly equivalent amount of a second sugar (glucose). Recent studies that have examined pure fructose - often at abnormally high levels - have been inappropriately applied to high fructose corn syrup and have caused significant consumer confusion.
1. Fructose content for agave nectar varies widely by brand. Data presented are averages for leading commercially-available brands in the U.S. as reported by manufacturers (Wholesome Sweeteners, Nekulti)
2. National Honey Board. Honey: A Reference Guide to Nature’s Sweetener. Available at http://www.honey.com/images/downloads/refguide.pdf. Calculated from data presented in Table 3.
3. Hanover LM, White JS. 1993. Manufacturing, composition, and applications of fructose. Am J Clin Nutr 58(suppl 5):724S-732S.
