Does High Fructose Corn Syrup Really Make You Fat?

high fructose corn syrup

In America, nearly ¾ of our population is overweight or obese. That rate has increased every decade and fingers are pointing in every direction.

Do we blame carbs? Dietary fat? Inactivity? Or is it that nutrition villain that we've heard wreaks havoc on our waistline: high fructose corn syrup?

MORE: Is Sugar Actually Bad For You?

Before we demonize HFCS, let's explain what the heck it is. HFCS is chemically similar to table sugar and is found in a variety of foods. While controversy exists over the parallel between the meteoric rise of HFCS and the obesity epidemic, most experts don't think there is any link between the two.

"Total added sugar intake has barely budged in the last 4 decades or so, but folks fail to realize that while HFCS availability has increased, it has concurrently replaced sucrose (table sugar) intake and availability in the commercial food supply," says Men's Health nutrition advisor, Alan Aragon, MS. "So, when you swap a compound with physiologically equivalent effects with another in roughly equal amounts, you get zip." 

What is true is, as a whole, Americans are eating too much sugar. The American Heart Association recommends we ingest no more than 150 calories per day of added sugar (that's about 9 tsp).
MORE: Can You Really Lose Weight—and Keep It Off—Using Artificial Sweeteners?

To put that in perspective, one 12 oz can of soda may have as much as 10 tsp of sugar. That's more than the entire daily recommendation.

(Keep in mind the sugar discussion is specific to added sugars in the diet, not the naturally occurring sugars found in fruit, vegetables and milk, for example.)

MORE: Should You Cut Out Fruit If You're Trying to Lose Weight?

Regardless, it's not just about sugar, or more specifically HFCS. The bigger picture is that it's incorrect to blame obesity on a single factor, let alone a particular food. It's a combination of eating more and expending fewer calories moving around, says Aragon.

Unfortunately in terms of messaging that sticks, that's not a sexy or very gripping message. But it's true.

The real question is how to make smart substitutions in your diet to reduce added sugar of all kinds. Here are some suggestions:

  • Consider using plain Greek yogurt and adding fresh fruit to make a parfait.
  • Swap smashed fresh fruit for jelly on your next PB&J (red grapes and strawberries work particularly well).
  • Try unsweetened, flavored sparkling waters instead of soda. (Here's the exact amount of water you should drink before, during, and after a workout.) 
  • For most recipes, you can cut the amount of sugar by ½ without affecting the taste.  
  • Opt for fresh fruit as dessert instead of desserts that are higher in sugar. Berries with a drizzle of melted dark chocolate is simple, elegant, and loaded with antioxidants.

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