HFCS

Obesity

Rat Study

Issues

Inconsistent results

Total calorie intake not measured

Doesn't address mechanism

Inconsistent test groups

Results

HFCS responsible for obesity?

Is everyone getting fatter in general, or is it because of HFCS?

Excess glucose in our bodies is converted into fat, which is why HFCS gets blamed for obesity

What causes different monosaccharides and disaccharides to be better or worse for us?

Different metabolization/enzymes used?

Production

System to convert glucose found in corn starch into fructose

Enzymes that break corn syrup into pure fructose

Similar method of production to ethanol

Controversy

Included in almost all food products

Frequently blamed for obesity

Correlation to obesity, heart disease, cancer

Extreme prevalence in our diet makes it hard to get rid of

What is it?

55% Fructose 42% Glucose

Some other substances

More fructose than typical sucrose

How is fructose different?

Metabolizes in the liver

Yields more ATP

Advantages over sucrose

Easier to handle

Cheaper

Sweeter

History

Invented as a more robust source of sugar

Didn't take off immediately

Became popular in the 80s

Sources

Everything Everywhere

No sources linked

Scientific American

13 years old

Links rat study as only source