Is High Fructose Corn Syrup Harmful?

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Is high fructose corn syrup healthy to eat -- or should you look out? Expert answers about this common ingredient.

By Leah McLaughlin

Question: "I keep seeing high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient in the foods I buy. Should I stay away from it?"

That would be difficult. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a very common sweetener, composed of about 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose -- in other words, just another form of sugar, explains Elisa Zied, RD, author of So What Can I Eat?! (Wiley, 2006). It isn't necessarily harmful; the main problem with HFCS is that it's often found in high-calorie foods that are otherwise devoid of nutrients.

"Some research shows a connection between HFCS-laced beverages and weight gain, but there's still no solid proof," says Milton Stokes, RD, chief dietitian at St. Barnabas Hospital and Nursing Home in New York City and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Consider the overall healthfulness of foods -- their fat, calorie, fiber, and vitamin content -- rather than obsessing about a single ingredient.

Originally published in Fitness magazine, April 2006.

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semoore51 wrote:

There actually is proof that HFCS leads to weight gain. Check out this article from Princeton U. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/

3/25/2010 09:43:50 PM Report Abuse

jennifer_vanevera wrote:

So to all of you that have writen in. Do you even know what HFCS is? Maybe you should really read about it and how it is extracted from corn before you start or should i say continue to scare people.

3/25/2010 02:10:48 PM Report Abuse

dkuhlemeyer wrote:

Is there a connection between high fructose corn syrup and the "fructose compounding" that is found in at least one brand of nutritional supplements?

3/25/2010 01:46:35 PM Report Abuse

jason.berlowitz wrote:

i am rather dissapointed that "Fitness" seems to be nothing more than a popular cultural regurgitation of the same kinds of mass-produced, easily digestible, but essentially devoid of substance drivel that is so common in what passes for "sustenance" - be it "food" or "news" - in our dumbed down society. Where is the real information? give us something truly informative; something with depth; something worth my time.

3/25/2010 12:37:26 PM Report Abuse

jason.berlowitz wrote:

The recent spate of commercials touting this stuff as safe and normal really irritate me! I should find scientific references to support what I posted here; hopefully, someone will be motivated by my post, and will take that initiative!

3/25/2010 12:31:46 PM Report Abuse