High-Fructose Corn Syrup…Good or Bad?

There have been commercials on TV recently about how high-fructose corn syrup and plain table sugar is treated in the same way within our bodies and that it's not a bad ingredient like people say it is. I went to see what they had to say about it in more depth on www.cornsugar.com.

We just read about how fructose doesn't react with the coenzyme, Malonyl-CoA, when we eat it unlike glucose. The way our brain tells us that we are full is through hormones like leptin but when we take in fructose, leptin is not released. Because of the name of high-fructose corn syrup, I thought that it was mostly fructose which can cause people to eat more than they need to even after having sugary foods. I think the main reason why I thought that it was bad for people is the mercury content, since some high-fructose corn syrup is manufactured using the Castner-Kellner process. (found on wiki-pedia) I found that there was researched done on the mercury content of high-fructose corn syrup and it seems that it's hard to determine how much concentration there is in some foods because of the different amounts of the corn syrup involved. (http://www.ehjournal.net/content/8/1/2)

The corn sugar site says that high-fructose corn syrup is made up of glucose and fructose in similar ratios compared to honey and table sugar. According to the site, it is because people take in so much sugars in general that there is obesity, and not just because of high-fructose corn syrup. I understand the point they are trying to make. Yet I think the one reason I don't trust this site is because of the repetition of the fact that high-fructose corn syrup is sugar and sugar is sugar. Also they don't place any actual data about the structure of high-fructose corn syrup compared to table sugar and honey. It's mostly just quotes and tips from selected Doctors. It's obvious that the people who made the site and who run the commercials want the stigma against it to dissipate. The other reasons they bring up why it's not a bad product is because it makes products affordable and their shelf life longer.

Personally, I think the corn sugar site is sketchy in the amount of information their giving to the audience. I would have wanted a more detailed explanation of their claims but I can see how some people may be convinced with their repetition tactic. I don't think I'll believe their claims for now.

—YK