| Straight talk about high-fructose corn syrup: what it is and what it ain't. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 19064536 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a fructose-glucose liquid sweetener alternative to sucrose (common table sugar) first introduced to the food and beverage industry in the 1970s. It is not meaningfully different in composition or metabolism from other fructose-glucose sweeteners like sucrose, honey, and fruit juice concentrates. HFCS was widely embraced by food formulators, and its use grew between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s, principally as a replacement for sucrose. This was primarily because of its sweetness comparable with that of sucrose, improved stability and functionality, and ease of use. Although HFCS use today is nearly equivalent to sucrose use in the United States, we live in a decidedly sucrose-sweetened world: >90% of the nutritive sweetener used worldwide is sucrose. Here I review the history, composition, availability, and characteristics of HFCS in a factual manner to clarify common misunderstandings that have been a source of confusion to health professionals and the general public alike. In particular, I evaluate the strength of the popular hypothesis that HFCS is uniquely responsible for obesity. Although examples of pure fructose causing metabolic upset at high concentrations abound, especially when fed as the sole carbohydrate source, there is no evidence that the common fructose-glucose sweeteners do the same. Thus, studies using extreme carbohydrate diets may be useful for probing biochemical pathways, but they have no relevance to the human diet or to current consumption. I conclude that the HFCS-obesity hypothesis is supported neither in the United States nor worldwide. |
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Authors:
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John S White |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Review |
Journal Detail:
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Title: The American journal of clinical nutrition Volume: 88 ISSN: 1938-3207 ISO Abbreviation: Am. J. Clin. Nutr. Publication Date: 2008 Dec |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2008-12-09 Completed Date: 2009-01-13 Revised Date: 2009-05-15 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0376027 Medline TA: Am J Clin Nutr Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 1716S-1721S Citation Subset: AIM; IM |
Affiliation:
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White Technical Research, Argenta, IL 62501, USA. white.tech.res@gmail.com |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Blood Glucose
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metabolism Dietary Sucrose / administration & dosage, metabolism Energy Intake / drug effects*, physiology Food Technology Fructose / administration & dosage*, chemistry, metabolism*, pharmacokinetics Humans Intestinal Absorption / drug effects Obesity / chemically induced*, epidemiology, metabolism Postprandial Period Sweetening Agents / administration & dosage, chemistry, metabolism, pharmacokinetics Taste World Health |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
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0/Blood Glucose; 0/Dietary Sucrose; 0/Sweetening Agents; 30237-26-4/Fructose |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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