BRITTANIE SULLIVAN

NUTRITION SCIENCE RESEARCH AND ETHICS

Due December 2, 2013

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Introduction
I decided to research one of the topics that has been a particularly hot debate in the
past few years regarding our food system-high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup
(HFCS) has found its way into a majority of the food and beverage items within the marketplace
in recent years. Throughout this booming time of high fructose corn syrup many health
concerns such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease have become a major focus of
Americas healthcare system. There are mixed messages coming from all different research
projects on effects of high fructose corn syrup and I wanted to get down to the root of the
problem. The results from different research projects differ most extremely between the
people who fund the research which is also a major concern. My PIO/PICO question that I
decided to research is Does high fructose corn syrup cause obesity?
What is High Fructose Corn Syrup?
To begin, I must define what high fructose corn syrup is and where it comes from. High
fructose corn syrup is a chemically altered form of a starch that transforms into a sugary syrup.
First, there is a difference between the sweet yellow corn on the cob we know to eat and the
white corn which is used to make high fructose corn syrup. The difference between white and
yellow corn is the yellow corn is usually sweeter and sold in grocery stores as corn on the cob
white corn has a more starch concentration which gets milled into a corn starch. Water is then
added to the white corn starch to form a paste and an enzyme from a bacteria is added to the
mixture to begin breaking down the glucose molecules into shorter chains of glucose. After that
a fungal enzyme is added to the mixture to break glucose into single glucose molecules. In the
final step a different bacterial enzyme is added to the mixture to convert the solution into 55%

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fructose and 42% glucose and the other percentage consisting of a blend of other sugars. 1 The
purpose of all these reactions is to produce a syrup equivalent to the sweetness of natural
sugar- sucrose.
Prevalence of HFCS
This highly processed syrup is extremely cheap to produce compared to sugar and is
used in a majority of processed food items. The United States prices of sugar are twice the price
of all other countries world-wide while the price to grow corn is subsidized by the government
in America. 2 This gives farmers the means to produce as much of it as they possibly can. Corn
accounts for one quarter of all the crops grown in the U.S. thus meaning it has to be used in
abundance in order to control the influx of excess corn production. The cheapest and most
efficient way to use up all the corn is to highly process it into HFCS which is a very versatile
product. HFCS is used as a sugar replacement in beverages especially soda and also used as a
preservative. The majority of the food in grocery store isles contains HFCS such as breads,
pastas, crackers, cereals, condiments and so much more1.
Health Related Trends
Ever since the 1980s when high fructose corn syrup began to circulate the markets
many health issues concerning metabolic syndrome have been on the rise in America.
According to the CDC in 1970 approximately 15% of the U.S. population was categorized as
obese and today roughly one third of the population is reflected as obese3. In the present day
nearly 70 million people are affected by fatty liver disease as well4. There has also been studies
demonstrating a higher consumption of high fructose corn syrup lead to the major seven fold
increase in diabetes over the past 40 years3. Not only diabetes and obesity are the problems

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here at stake so many other factors such as cancer, heart disease, dementia, and accelerated
aging are said to have some link with HFCS 4. The average American today consumes around 60
pounds of processed corn per year4. This is an absurd amount of calories and sugar which is
way above the recommended daily allowance over a course of a couple years. Putting this
excess amount of sugar in the body causes the body a lot more stress than one should handle
and therefore causes the body to have adverse consequences.
Biochemical Composition of HFCS
High fructose corn syrup is comparable to sucrose in sweetness but not in the form of its
chemical structure. The process to make HFCS destroys the glucose and fructose molecules to
be free floating and unbound to each other for this is the reason sucrose differs 5. To begin,
normal table sugar is composed of equal parts fructose and glucose giving the perfect
sweetness ratio whereas HFCS is made up of 55% fructose-42% glucose. Sucrose is also
different biochemically in the way that fructose and glucose are tightly bound to each other.
For this tight connection sucrose must be broken down in the body in an additional pathway
before getting absorbed into the blood stream unlike HFCS. The syrup is made of free glucose
and free fructose which bypasses a step in the digestion process and is then rapidly absorbed
into the bodys blood stream. When this occurs a large amount of glucose triggers a major spike
in insulin which is the bodys major fat storage hormone and contributes to excess weight gain
and appetite5.
Effects of Fructose in the Body
One of the harmful effects of high fructose corn syrup is the bodys digestion and
absorption of free fructose. The body does not have to process the fructose due to it already

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being unbound so it is expedited to the liver and when this occurs in high doses the liver cannot
keep up. The preferred sugar for the body is glucose which any cell in the body can use
however fructose can only be digested by the liver in a process called lipogenesis6. The liver
processes fructose by converting it into triglycerides which are detrimental to our heart and are
processed a lot quicker than regular sugar. When too much free fructose is consumed the liver
becomes over worked and causes liver damage. This liver damage is also known as fatty liver
disease which has affected over 70 million people and stems from a high consumption of high
fructose corn syrup as well as many other contributing factors6.
Fructose is also a weakness for the body because of the fact that it does not stimulate
insulin secretion or enhance leptin production7. Fructose has the power to increase insulin
resistance and this requires the body to produce more insulin to manage ones own blood
sugar. Due to this insulin imbalance diabetes can result from ingesting large quantities over a
period of time along with other health related issues. Leptin, which is a hormone that gives the
body the ability to let itself know when one becomes full, is not released from the digestion of
fructose. This in itself is very harmful for absence of this capability in high fructose containing
food items can lead to over consumption let alone larger portion sizes and weight gain 7.
Fructose also exhausts the body by using up energy in order to digest the molecule. The
body must use 2 phosphorous molecules in order to process fructose and this takes away from
the already available ATP necessary for the body8. The stomachs duty is to store ATP and
maintain the intestinal lining. When ATP is used for unnecessary processes this allows for an
interruption to occur and can cause adverse effects in the gut. The gut is made up of millions of
little cells that function to maintain the intestinal lining in a series called tight junctions. The

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tight junctions uphold a secure network to prevent food and toxic gut bacteria from leaking
through the intestinal lining. A leak could cause an immune reaction and body wide
inflammation. High fructose corn syrup has been recognized to interfere with tight junctions
and punch holes in the intestinal lining8. Once holes are prevalent in the intestinal lining there is
an open invitation for foreign invaders to enter the blood stream. Due to the openings and
quick access to our blood stream the contaminants cause inflammation to occur which is the
root of all metabolic problems8.

While researching this topic I found many opposing articles on the science of high
fructose corn syrup and the effects on the body. I was noticing a pattern between research
articles that were funded through the Corn Refiners Association which is a key player in the
high fructose corn syrup industry. Any research linked with the Corn Refiners Association
always argued for the stance on high fructose corn syrup posing no risk to obesity and no
linkage to any metabolic syndromes. Which they were clearly wrong due to the fact that I found
numerous articles arguing the exact opposite stance. All the articles I used for this paper were
chosen because my answer needed scientific reasoning with proven scientific findings such as
all the reasons I clearly explicated previously not just correlating data trends.
Summary
Now getting back to my question from the beginning: does high fructose corn syrup
cause obesity? I have come to the conclusion that from all the reasons as stated above high
fructose corn syrup plays a key role in the prevalence of obesity. The studies conclude high
fructose containing syrups serve as non-nutritional food sources and cause the body to result in

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negative side effects. These side effects include body wide inflammation and immune reactions
along with an increased risk for diabetes and fatty liver disease. Furthermore, high fructose
corn syrup proves to lead people to consume larger portions due to an unresponsive leptin
sensor and have an overall less amount of energy. Because of the fact of HFCS being so highly
processed our body does not need to do much in order to digest the product so this causes
major spikes in the bodys insulin and therefore gain a larger appetite and creates excess fat
stores. Correlation with the rise in obesity and having tripled in a period of 40 years along with
the persistence of HFCS products does not assume a causation but rather a major influence.
Although many products in American grocery stores contain high fructose corn syrup, there are
plenty of healthier and more nutritionally options available.
Conclusion
To apply this research to dietetic practice we should all be aware with the dangers and
risks associated with consumption of high fructose corn syrup. We must be the example by
taking a step in the better direction to first off not ingest foods containing HFCS. The duty to
educate our peers on the truth about high fructose corn syrup and not be wrongly convinced
through biased reports should be a dietitians goal. Together we can change the prevalence of
obesity by strongly urging the masses to stay away from foods containing high fructose corn
syrup because you know they are a clear indicator of poor quality, nutritionally depleted,
processed food full of empty calories and artificial ingredients. Every day science is evolving and
changing and dietitians need to be concerned on the obesity issue in America and learn their
part to try to change and help everyone for the better. If Americans were to consume half the

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amount of processed sugar or foods in one year I am sure there would be a revolution in the
health care sector.

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References

1. How High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS) is Made. Diabetes Health. 2011. Available at
http://diabeteshealth.com/read/2011/02/17/7057/how-high-fructose-corn-syrup-hfcs-ismade/. Accessed on October 20, 2013.
2. Does High-Fructose Corn Syrup Cause Obesity? FitDay. 2013. Available at
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/does-high-fructose-corn-syrupcause-obesity.html. Accessed on November 4.
3. Parker Hilary. A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts
considerably more weight gain. Princeton University. 2010. Accessed on November 3, 2013.
4. Healy A. Artificial Sweeteners and High-fructose Corn Syrup: Effects on Diabetes and Weight.
Integrative Medicine Alert [serial online]. October 2013;16(10):114-119. Available from:
SPORTDiscus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 15, 2013.
5. Hyman M. 5 Reasons High Fructose Corn Syrup Will Kill You. Dr Mark Hyman. May 2013. Available at
http://drhyman.com/blog/2011/05/13/5-reasons-high-fructose-corn-syrup-will-kill-you/#.
Accessed on November 9, 2013.
6. Ford, Allsion. The Sticky Truth About High Fructose Corn Syrup. Meredith Corporation. 2013. Available
from: http://www.divinecaroline.com/self/wellness/sticky-truth-about-high-fructose-cornsyrup. Accessed on November 25, 2013.
7. Healy A. Artificial Sweeteners and High-fructose Corn Syrup: Effects on Diabetes and Weight.
Integrative Medicine Alert [serial online]. October 2013;16(10):114-119. Available from:
SPORTDiscus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 21, 2013.

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8. Sievenpiper J, De Souza R, Jenkins D, et al. Effect of Fructose on Body Weight in Controlled Feeding
Trials. Annals Of Internal Medicine [serial online]. February 21, 2012;156(4):291-W-83. Available
from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 21, 2013.