High Fructose Corn Syrup

• High fructose corn syrup is a proprietary extraction of sugars from corn. After milling corn, manufacturers process the starch into syrup. They then add enzymes to the syrup to produce fructose. The resulting combination contains both glucose and fructose. HFCS was invented in the 1960s and became popular in the 1970s as a substitute for sugar when sugar prices shot up. HFCS also increases the shelf life of products, making it even more popular with manufacturers.
  
  

Cane Sugar

• Cane sugar has been popular worldwide since the beginning of the 19th century. Sucrose is the sugar produced from both beets and sugar cane. Tropical climates produce sugar cane. When harvested, the sugar cane is cut and juice is extracted. The juice is then clarified and boiled. The resulting crystals are put in a centrifuge. The large crystals of raw sugar are then sent to refineries. At the refineries, molasses and other debris is washed off. The crystals are dissolved in water, seed crystals are added, and, when dried, refined sucrose is the result.
  
  

Sugar Intake

• The Food Pyramid recommends Americans eat no more than 12 teaspoons of sugar or HFCS per day. One can of soda contains 12 teaspoons of HFCS, according to Dr. Keecha Harris of MSNBC. Our reliance on sugary processed foods means that we are eating about 34 teaspoons of sugar per day.
  
  

HFCS Controversy

• The astronomic rise in obesity, diabetes and heart disease in the United States since the introduction of HFCS has led many to believe that it may be dangerous, according to "High Fructose Corn Syrup: Just Another Sugar?," an article on CBC. The American Chemical Society conference in 2007 noted that alarmingly high levels of something called reactive carbonyls are in HFCS. They are known to cause tissue damage and are also found in high levels in people with diabetes.
  
  

HFCS Campaign

• The Corn Refiners Association has begun an aggressive ad campaign to try to convince consumers that HFCS is not dangerous. Their point is that HFCS is a sugar just as cane sugar is. Both should be limited in a healthy diet. As the website SweetSurprise.com notes: Cane sugar and HFCS are chemically and nutritionally the same. However, searching for the term "reactive carbonyl" on the website turns up zero results.
  
  

Considerations

• Both cane sugar and HFCS are processed. Cane sugar results in pure sucrose, and HFCS results in a combination of glucose and fructose. Both the Corn Refiners Association and the Sugar Association, as well as the U.S. government's Food Pyramid, suggest limiting intake of any form of sugar, whether glucose, fructose or sucrose.