High-Fructose Corn Syrup Adds an Unnatural Amount of Fructose to Your Diet
The fructose in HFCS can cause health issues if eaten in excessive amounts.
Most starchy carbs, such as rice, are broken down into glucose, the basic form of carbs. However, table sugar and HFCS are 50% glucose and 50% fructose (5).
Glucose is easily transported and utilized by every cell in your body. It’s also the predominant fuel source for high-intensity exercise and various processes.
In contrast, the fructose from high fructose corn syrup or table sugar needs to be converted to fat or glycogen (stored carbs) by the liver before it can be used as fuel.
HFCS adds unnatural amounts of fructose to your diet, which the human body has not evolved to handle properly.
It’s Easily Converted Into Fat
Sugary Donut on a Scale
High-fructose corn syrup is easily converted to fat when consumed in excess (7).
This is because the fructose is metabolized in the liver. The liver can turn the fructose into glycogen (stored carbs), but it has limited storage capacity.
While smaller amounts of fructose from fruit can be fine, large doses from soda or sweets can overload the liver and be converted to fat.
In the long term, this fat accumulation can lead to serious health problems, such as fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes
It Will Increase Your Risk of Obesity and Weight Gain
Cookies on a Scale
Long-term studies also show that excessive quantities of sugar or HFCS may play a key role in obesity (12, 13).
In one study, healthy adult volunteers were given drinks containing either glucose or fructose.
When comparing the two groups, the fructose drink did not stimulate regions of the brain that control appetite to the same extent as the glucose drink (14).
Fructose can also cause visceral fat accumulation. Visceral fat surrounds your organs and is the worst type of body fat. It’s linked to health issues such as diabetes and heart disease (8, 15).
Excessive Intake Is a Key Cause of Diabetes
Blood Glucose Meter and Strips
Excessive fructose or HFCS consumption can also lead to insulin resistance, a condition that can result in type 2 diabetes (11, 19).
In healthy individuals, insulin increases in response to the consumption of carbs, transporting them out of the bloodstream and into the cells.
However, the regular consumption of excess fructose can make your body resistant to insulin’s effects (19).
Eventually, this decreases the “flexibility” of your cells to metabolize and digest carbs. Over the long term, both insulin levels and blood sugar go up
In addition to diabetes, HFCS may also play a role in metabolic syndrome, which has been linked to many diseases, including heart disease and certain cancers