I remember in elementary school going on a field trip that stressed how bad High Fructose Corn Syrup was. I didn’t really understand much other than the idea that “that kind of sugar is bad kids”. I don’t really remember anything useful at the field trip other than the main catch. Besides, I was really small anyways so I didn’t have much knowledge of food that was “good” for you and food that was “bad” for you.
The idea of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was proposed around the 1950’s by Richard Marshall and Earl Cooi. It wasn’t until the late 1960’s that it began to be used in the food industry. Not only was HFCS used because of it’s sweetness and chemical stability but compared to sucrose, HFCS was much easier to use in the industries because of how cheap it was. The issue arose because of the domestic turmoil the United States was facing during the time. There was fuel shortages and rationing, and not enough cane sugar was being imported into the United States. Real sugar couldn’t be afforded so alternatives had to be made (Zorn, 2014). Additionally, in 1977 the United States placed not only production quotas but a tariff on imported sugar, yet it subsidizes corn production because it pays growers. This made HFCS much more popular and it began to be used more often.
HFCS is made from cornstarch so during this time a lot of corn was being grown. The cornstarch is mixed with water and an enzyme. Since cornstarch contains long chains of glucose, the enzyme breaks them down to shorter ones. Then, another enzyme is produced in order to turn the shorter chains into glucose molecules (corn syrup). In order to get HFCS another enzyme has to be added to turn some glucose molecules into fructose (Diabetes Health Editor, 2011). On a molecular level, HFCS and sugar are very similar. The composition of sucrose is a 50:50 ratio with glucose and fructose. With HFCS, the ratio is either a bit higher or a bit lower, depending on the kind of HFCS. A difference, however, is that in HFCS the molecules of glucose and fructose “float” freely while in sugar they are bound together.
Everything in excess is bad, and sugar is no exception. A significant difference, however, is the fact that HFCS is processed a bit differently than regular sucrose. It’s processed in a way that contributes more rapidly to obesity due to how it is metabolized as fat in the body. Also, HFCS is in liquid form so the effect it has on the body is significantly magnified. However, whether Americans have an intake of sucrose or HFCS, they decide what and how much to put in their bodies. American’s bad diets and bad habits of consuming HFCS or natural sugar in excess is what causes all the health problems many are facing. I personally believe that society has gotten to the point of blaming whatever they can for the problems we now have such as obesity. HFCS may slightly contribute to it, but only because we humans let it. If each person would be more aware of how much of a certain thing they’re consuming the WHAT wouldn’t be as much of a problem.
Citations
Zorn, M. (2014). Who Invented High Fructose Corn Syrup. Retrieved from http://visionlaunch.com/who-invented-high-fructose-corn-syrup/
Editor, D. H. (2011). How High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) Is Made. Retrieved from https://www.diabeteshealth.com/how-high-fructose-corn-syrup-hfcs-is-made/
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