The suggestion that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is metabolized differently than other sweeteners and is linked to obesity and diabetes in the Thursday editorial “Even without trans fats, fries aren’t health food,” is misleading and based on inaccurate information.
Dr. Walter Willett, Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Department Chairman, told The New York Times, “There’s no substantial evidence to support the idea that high-fructose corn syrup is somehow responsible for obesity.”
Research conducted on HFCS shows that it is metabolized similar to sugar. Kathleen J. Melanson, et al at Rhode Island University recently reviewed the effects of HFCS and sucrose on circulating levels of glucose, leptin, insulin and ghrelin in a study group of lean women. The study found “no differences in the metabolic effects” of HFCS and sucrose. The research was presented at Experimental Biology 2006 and the 2006 annual meeting of The Endocrine Society.
Many parts of the world, including Australia, Mexico and Europe, have rising rates of obesity and diabetes despite having little or no HFCS in their foods and beverages, which supports findings by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the American Diabetes Association that the primary causes of diabetes are obesity, advancing age and heredity.
HFCS is a safe, nutritive sweetener that can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet. Since 1983, the Food and Drug Administration has listed HFCS as “Generally Recognized as Safe” (known as GRAS status) for use in food. According to the American Dietetic Association, “Consumers can safely enjoy a range of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners when consumed in a diet that is guided by current federal nutrition recommendations … as well as individual health goals.”
Audrae Erickson
President
Corn Refiners Association
Washington, D.C.
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