High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Harmless sweetener or obesity culprit?

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), sugar’s cheaper and sweeter competition, is creating debate over its ability to “reprogram” bodies toward obesity. Hitting the scene in the 1970s as a profitable solution for struggling farmers’ corn surplus, high-fructose corn syrup eventually found a market as a sugar substitute in soda, bread, and even pasta sauce.

When the body consumes high levels of HFCS, it becomes resistant to Leptin. Leptin regulates metabolism. Once broken down by the body, HFCS doesn’t signal the brain to say the body’s full; the stomach “thinks” it’s still hungry. Opponents of the “reprogramming” theory suspect we’re all just eating too much HFCS—in addition to everything else. Regardless of its effect, HFCS has brought attention to obesity as a national problem.

Find out more about HFCS here.

Read more about it from Dr. Joseph Merocla here.