High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is found in pretty much everything these days from soda to catsup. It is primarily used as a replacement for sucrose (table sugar) in the food industry to produce mostly processed foods and beverages. Sugar prices in the US are two to three times higher than the rest of the world so HFCS was seen as a significantly cheaper option. However, this move to a cheaper solution for a sweetener may have an impact on our health.
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that consuming fructose may not register in the brain that we are full. In the study, scientists used MRI’s to scan the brain of subjects who drank beverages that contained HFCS. A few weeks later they did the same thing after the subject consumed a beverage made with glucose. Scans showed that when the subject drank the beverage with glucose, areas of the brain turn off that stimulate the desire for food. This was not the case with HFCS. This study did not prove that HFCS causes obesity but showed a possible relationship between the two.
More studies are needed on the subject but it is hard to deny the relationship between the rising amount of HFCS the average American consumes every year (40 pounds) and the increase in obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
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