Did You Know?

Did you know that high fructose corn syrup may cause greater weight gain than regular table sugar? A study completed at Princeton University in April proves this point. We have always been told that high fructose corn syrup is the same as sugar but this is not entirely true. Yes they both have the same sweet taste and you probably would not be able to tell if we replaced one with the other, but what happens in our bodies after consumption of these sweet substances is quite different.

Two simple sugars (fructose and glucose) are present in both cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup. The Princeton study tells us; “as a result of the manufacturing process for high-fructose corn syrup, the fructose molecules in the sweetener are free and unbound, ready for absorption and utilization. In contrast, every fructose molecule in sucrose that comes from cane sugar or beet sugar is bound to a corresponding glucose molecule and must go through an extra metabolic step before it can be utilized.” Therefore, consumption of cane sugar has an extra biochemical breakdown that the high fructose corn syrup does not. This missing extra step in the utilization of the high fructose corn syrup may cause extra weight gain.

It just goes to show that not all sugars are created equal. Please follow this link to read the entire study.