At last, a definitive study that directly compares consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to sucrose (table sugar) on both short- and long-terms health effects. In previous blog posts on this subject, I found that the evidence was pretty inconclusive about the evils of HFCS. While there was a lot of indirect evidence to suggest that our bodies react differently (and probably badly) to the consumption of HFCS, I hadn’t found any study that showed that animals who consumed HFCS gained more weight than animals who consumed sucrose. Researchers at Princeton University have now provided that evidence (click here to read the press release). Their study was titled “High-fructose corn syrup causes characteristics of obesity in rats: Increased body weight, body fat and triglyceride levels” (high levels of triglyerides signal atherosclerosis and a risk of heart disease and stroke). They fed rats either HFCS, sucrose, or simple rat food. Rats were allowed to eat however much they wanted. Rats with access to HFCS gained significantly more weigh that the sucrose or rat-food rats, even though they ate consumed similar levels of calories. This results was observed in both the short and the long term.
While more studies should still be done to confirm this study’s findings, the tide is definitely turning against HFCS.