High Fuctose Corn Syrup Research Paper

From its debut in the 1970s, high fructose corn syrup has been widely adopted into America’s food and beverage industry. Because of high fructose corn syrup’s similarity to table sugar, it has served as a substitution for table sugar in America’s diet. Unlike table sugar, high fructose corn syrup is a liquid substance. Being a liquid, high fructose corn syrup has been able to manage an array of food’s textures and freshness. High fructose corn syrup seems to be the optimal alternative to table sugar, however there is controversy regarding this topic. Many people have been led to believe high fructose corn syrup is harmful to human health (White, 1). Although it was once generally believed that high fructose corn syrup was more nutritionally
Concerning the obesity correlation, two obesity experts, Bray and Popkin executed a study in 2004. Their data was derived from the previous 30 years of consumption. The goal of the study was to examine and conclude the correlation between HFCS and the world’s obesity rating. After evaluating their data, Bray and Popkin concluded the consumption of HFCS significantly increased by 1000 percent over 30 years. Though the experts achieved a valid statistic, they did not reach their primary goal. Bray and Popkin did not find significant data to support the hypothesis stating HFCS directly causes obesity (Neporent, 1).
While Bray and Popkin weren’t successful in supporting their hypothesis, a Princeton study concluded that HFCS is a cause of obesity. Princeton researchers used rats to test the effects of sugar and HFCS. Researchers gave the control rats sucrose dissolved in water, while the test rats were given HFCS dissolved in water. The researchers found the test rats fed HFCS gained a considerable amount of weight. With the new data, Princeton researchers believed they had a sufficient amount of information to conclude their hypothesis that HFCS causes obesity was accurate (Parker,
Richard Alexander is the author of “Sweeteners: nutritive.” Throughout his book he examines and compares prevalent sweeteners used in many food products. Alexander includes a table explaining the relationship between five widely used sweeteners; sugar, honey, HFCS 55, HFCS 42, and saccharin. Using sugar as the basis for comparison for sweetness, Alexander evaluated the level of sweetness for each of the four other sweeteners. He examined HFCS 55 and 42 for his study. The “55” and “42” represents the percent of fructose within the syrup’s formula. Concluding his experiment, Alexander found that HFCS 55 is equivalent to the sweetness of sugar as well as honey. On the other hand, HFCS 42 is only 92 percent as sweet as sugar. He also found that saccharin was 300 to 500 percent sweeter than sugar (Alexander,