High Fructose Corn Syrup: A Case Study

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High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) was introduced back in the 1970’s and quickly filled the demand within the soft drink industry. Sodas depended heavily on the sugar cane as a natural sweetener; unfortunately it was unstable and volatile. HFCS provided consistency and was easily accessible when it was introduced and financially made more sense when compared to the unsteady cost of sugar. Before you knew it, HFCS found its way into foods and was no longer just for the soft drink industry. Today, HFCS can be found in just about every food product that you can think of. As a sugar substitute, it has made its way into crackers, yogurt, baked goods, dressings, dairy products and of course soft drinks (Child Health). The result, a major concern…show more content…
Unfortunately, many of the studies are short-range and do not directly point the finger that HFCS are the sole contributor to the obesity epidemic that is plaguing our country. The challenge in making these connections of HFCS to obesity comes from the studies that have lacked the results that prove the sole impact that HFCS has had on the obesity epidemic. For example, in an article by Salwa Rizkalla in “Health Implications of fructose consumption: A review of recent data.” highlights some of the challenges in the studies used when trying to directly link HFCS to obesity. In one study, mice were used that were injected with a dose of HFCS that was too large to equate what a human would consume. (2) Regardless of the samples and the consumption by lab rats, the data continues to be inconclusive. The same article goes on to argue that , “Sugar and sugar sweetened beverages have been blamed for causing obesity, but the debate has raged for many years with little resolution.” (Rizkalla, 3) HFCS continue to be blamed, but the data is still unable to prove that HFCS are solely responsible for the obesity problem. The samples are too small, acute and so on, all lacking to prove that HFCS are the sole problem to the weight issues as some say they are. To blame HFCS as the main factor or only contributing factor to the weight gain problem is…show more content…
According to an article that dismisses the fear of HFCS, “Out with Gout.” Our increase in our waistline is not necessarily tide to HFCS, rather to the consumption of soda. The soda we drink today is sweetened with HFCS, but if it were not sweetened with HFCS, it would be sucrose-sweetened which in turn would have the same effects as HFCS. The article continues to point to the fact that, “we are getting bigger at the waistline because of what we are consuming, but nothing concrete says that we would be thinner if we had been consuming regular sugar.” (1) HFCS or not, the obesity issue would be happening regardless. It seems to be that we are taking in a larger amount of foods and drinks that are high in sugars, real or not. The article suggests that we cut back on products that are highly sweetened with HFCS or any other sugar. ("Fear Of Hfcs") What does the research continue to say about HFCS and obesity? We must watch what we eat and be careful of the foods that we consume that are loaded with HFCS and sugar. As the research states, there are a large amount of foods that contain HFCS and it is almost unavoidable. In order to curb this issue, we must watch our waistline, we are to be careful as to what we eat, eat foods that are organic, cut back on sweets and exercise regularly. The article in Child Health clearly points out to the reader, “Reducing HFCS will certainly reduce

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