High-fructose corn syrup in soda has much more fructose than advertised, study finds

High-fructose corn syrup in soda has much more fructose than advertised, study finds

High-fructose corn syrup is often singled out as Food Enemy No. 1 because it has become ubiquitous in processed foods over about the last 30 years – a period that coincides with a steep rise in obesity. One of the primary sources of HFCS in the American diet is soda – in fact, many public health advocates refer to soda as “liquid candy.”

That nickname is more apt than advocates realized, according to a study published online this month by the journal Obesity.

Researchers from the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine went shopping in East Los Angeles and bought 23 cans and bottles of popular beverages. Then they sent them off to a laboratory in Massachusetts that used a technique called high-performance liquid chromatography to determine how much fructose, glucose and sucrose were in each sample. Each beverage was tested three times, and all samples were unlabeled.

Just so there's no confusion....

Glucose - A simple sugar found in most dietary sources of carbohydrate. In the blood, glucose can be metabolized by nearly ever cell in the body and is influenced directly by Insulin. Therefore, a spike in blood glucose results in a measured insulin response.

Fructose - A simple sugar found in fruits and honey and table sugar. Fructose can only be metabolized in the liver, the byproduct of which is triglyceride biosynthesis (VLDL). Fructose does not affect serum insulin levels.

Sucrose - A sugar composed of one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule chemically bonded together. Table sugar is sucrose.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) - Corn syrup, glucose and fructose, that has undergone industrial processing to convert some of the glucose into fructose to yield a sweeter taste. Generally, the final product is 45% glucose and 55% fructose.

Here's a link to the PDF of the aforementioned study: goranlab.com...

The consumption of fructose, largely in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), has risen over the past several decades and is thought to contribute negatively to metabolic health. However, the fructose content of foods and beverages produced with HFCS is not disclosed and estimates of fructose content are based on the common assumption that the HFCS used contains 55% fructose. The objective of this study was to conduct an objective laboratory analysis of the sugar content and composition in popular sugar-sweetened beverages with a particular focus on fructose content. Twenty-three sugar-sweetened beverages along with four standard solutions were analyzed for sugar profiles using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in an independent, certified laboratory. Total sugar content was calculated as well as percent fructose in the beverages that use HFCS as the sole source of fructose.

The results showed a mean fructose content of almost 60%, with some major brands containing 65%.

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From the LA Times article:

The study included a few other surprises:

* Mountain Dew had 13% less sugar than advertised on the label, and Dr. Pepper had 8% less.
* Tested samples of Mexican Coca-Cola – which is supposedly made with cane sugar instead of HFCS – contained no sucrose, only fructose and glucose in a 52%-to-48% ratio.
* 17% of the sweetener in Red Bull was fructose, even though sucrose and glucose are the only sweeteners listed on the label.

What deleterious effects are associated with excessive fructose consumption?

- Lipogenesis: Fructose contributes heavily to obesity

- Hypertriglyceridemia: Since the byproduct of fructose metabolism is triglycerides it's easy to see why excessive intake of fructose can cause an unsafe increase in serum triglycerides

- Increased LDL: All those triglyceride molecules are transported via VLDL. After the triglycerides are deposited into fat cells, the VLDL becomes LDL

- Increased Pattern B LDL: Pattern B LDL are small and dense causing them to have a propensity to cause atherosclerosis

- Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFL): Since Fatty Liver Disease is caused by excessive alcohol consumption, and since fructose and ethanol are metabolized almost identically, NAFL is more than likely attributed to excessive fructose consumption

- Diabetes: Fructose metabolized byproducts often lead to insulin resistance in the liver, a precursor to type 2 diabetes

- Gout: Fructose' end-product is uric acid, a nasty little guy that, if present if high amounts in the blood, will lead to uric acid crystalization....OUCH

Stay tuned as I'll soon be posting on how whole food sources of fructose react differently in the body than purified/processed fructose.

i had no idea it was linked to Gout.

i also am getting the feeling that if one is a heavy drinker, they should avoid fructose at all costs?

reply to post by RelentlessLurker


At all costs, yes.

Star and Flag... great article!

I have lost 40 lbs since May. I have avoided all sources of HFCS and switched to eating mostly vegetables. Eating as much organic food as I can. With these simple switches the pounds are falling away!

S & F
thanks for posting this!

I tell my friends and family all the time how bad HFCS is for you, and they just act like i'm paranoid, or it's not as bad as I think it is. These are also the same people that complain about weight gain while downing diet coke by the 24 pack I'm going to post this link to my FB and see what they have to say about that!

Every heavy drinker I know, or anyone that simply "drinks socially" is also a soda drinker. They liberally sample both fountains, quite excessively. If it's not booze, it's 'liquid candy'.

Sadly, this is mostly my family or friends of the family that I know. My entire bloodline is predisposed to intense alcoholism. Many of my ancestors literally perished directly from alcoholism, be it cirrhosis of the liver by alcohol or by other direct means, fatalities under the influence.

So, suffice to say, as like many families these days, I have a first hand account to the destruction that alcohol inflicts on an entire family.

All that, kind of off-topic.. but it always struck me kind of strange that heavy drinkers were heavy soda drinkers. How many studies have their been on the negative affects on the liver from fructose/alcohol consumption? Some people literally chug soda by the gallon all day,and then pound back whiskey all night. This must be intense destruction on the liver? Not to mention a heavy 1, 2 punch for neurological diseases?

Originally posted by RelentlessLurker
i had no idea it was linked to Gout.

i also am getting the feeling that if one is a heavy drinker, they should avoid fructose at all costs?

It's not. I have Gout and have Flares often. I follow the research closely and that info posted appears to be misleading. Nobody really understands it unless they are lying. The current best guess is Purines. It's way more complex than just Uric Acid. Often when you decrease levels it causes Flares. Stick to good sources with actual Peer Reviewed Studies if you want good info. Don't take everything on the Internet as fact as the Internet is fast becoming the worst source of information unless you do your homework.

If I'm wrong I'm sure the OP will post a link to a Peer Reviewed double blind study with enough years of data, corrected for other factors like environment and diet other than sugars.

-Sorry OP, but I'm up to speed on Gout. I take meds to bring down my Uric Acid levels but if you take them when your level is already high, it causes Flares. They don't know why, no matter what odd source your using. Lots of the pseudo-science crowd claim to know, but they always have some overpriced snake-oil to sell you also. Their Internet sites are to get you click on the ads for the Snake-Oil.

As to sugar, all sugars are bad. None are good. What else does anyone need to know? Beyond that its a personal decision what people eat or drink.

I should have mentioned that when I stopped eating Seafood, my Flares lessened. God I miss Seafood. Just not eating seafood has more impact on my Gout than anything else I've done. Those nasty little critters are full of Purines.

reply to post by Blaine91555


Blain....it absolutely is, for the same reason beer causes gout. (btw, the end product of purine metabolism uric acid)

Not only is fructose consumption directly associated with gout, it's also linked through insulin resistance...

As it turns out, insulin resistant individuals have an inhibited ability to excrete uric acid from the blood.

Most of the research on gout is muddy. Common recommendations for the treatment of gout are to cut down on red meat intake (purines) and alcohol consumption (uric acid). The premise is that hyperuricemia is caused by excessive purine consumption, but dietary purines don't affect serum uric acid significantly enough to cause any real problems.

Most of the real research suggests that gout is caused by an inhibited ability to modulate serum uric acid levels, a condition generally caused by hyperinsulinemia and by the deleterious effects of fructose.

www.medscape.com...;meddomainjsession=cQ6BMLtG0YVKL52QNXv4Z0NgYFLxRG5FnYmLFvwJTDFDQbx1D4yN!1749464907

www.fourhourworkweek.com...

trust me mate,nowadays sodas are worse then alcohol! sodars are worse then beer!
i sued to be proud that i almost never drink,but drinking soda everyday just ruins me

the other part to the equation is
hfcs has been found to be very high in mercury
as hfcs is transported to fatty deposits the effected aeras
brain, liver and kidneys

this stuff is totally killing millions of people a year while lowering their iq

not an accident imho

xp

Ya well, I like to drink alcohol a bit too much, so made sure to quit soda about a decade ago.

It works out pretty well, and I seem to be a bit healthier than the average guy.

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd
Great topic
I just read a book called Sugar Blues..
The book is an excellent info source.
I had always been health conscious, and had cut back on sugars
a long time ago. Good for me, though I do like to have a few rum drinks still.
I asked my wife to read it for her benefit and she has been grateful.
For a woman, sugar is the cause of very painful menstrual cramping.
Not to mention the intense mood swings prior to the "event"
I'd recommend reading the book.
Sugar is deadly..

You mean HIGH in HIGH fructose corn syrup really means HIGH?

Of course they lie about it.

How else are they going to get consumers to ingest that poison.

The stuff will kill a rat.

Only thing worse is aspartame.

It's in everything...I mean everything and it's a whole heck of a lot cheaper to buy products that have it than don't. Take jams/jellies for example, your biggest brand names like Smucker have it in their products. Pancake syrup is the same thing. So called health bars; granola bars, fruit bars, fruit roll ups (yuck), sodas...and the list goes on. I quit buying soda and I love my Coke but do I really need it? I can make my own jam and yes, it takes a ton of sugar but it's cheaper and honestly, how much jelly do you really put on a PB sandwich, about two tablespoons? I quit buying the stuff. The kids don't need it. It's in pretty much all the cereals. The crap we eat is disgusting. Don't buy it! Of course it's cheaper for the companies to make and pass on the "savings" but at what cost to us?

Originally posted by SyphonX
Every heavy drinker I know, or anyone that simply "drinks socially" is also a soda drinker. They liberally sample both fountains, quite excessively. If it's not booze, it's 'liquid candy'.

Sadly, this is mostly my family or friends of the family that I know. My entire bloodline is predisposed to intense alcoholism. Many of my ancestors literally perished directly from alcoholism, be it cirrhosis of the liver by alcohol or by other direct means, fatalities under the influence.

So, suffice to say, as like many families these days, I have a first hand account to the destruction that alcohol inflicts on an entire family.

All that, kind of off-topic.. but it always struck me kind of strange that heavy drinkers were heavy soda drinkers. How many studies have their been on the negative affects on the liver from fructose/alcohol consumption? Some people literally chug soda by the gallon all day,and then pound back whiskey all night. This must be intense destruction on the liver? Not to mention a heavy 1, 2 punch for neurological diseases?

edit on 27-10-2010 by SyphonX because: (no reason given)

I'm quite heavy drinker but I do not drink any soda: only water and teas. I usually do not drink spirits, only beer&vine. How is it with sugar/alcohol contained in beer?

Originally posted by zeddissad2

I'm quite heavy drinker but I do not drink any soda: only water and teas. I usually do not drink spirits, only beer&vine. How is it with sugar/alcohol contained in beer?

Same here except my drinking is only social. I can have a beer or two for the week, or go on a slight binge and consume 20-30 drinks in a weekend. Can also not drink for extended periods of time, ex greater than a month if I don't feel like.

I've read that practically all true alcoholics are hypoglycemic. Whether this is a contributing factor of alcoholism or a side-effect of prolonged heavy usage I haven't a clue. I guess the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.