Yesterday I posted on the latest indicator that high fructose corn syrup is harmful and maybe even linked to diabetes risk. Naturally, the American Beverage Association vigorously rejects the report.In the interest of balance, here's the opposing argument courtesy of the ABA's website. "There is absolutely no unique link between soft drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and diabetes, in children or adults. In fact, it is a stretch of the imagination to link the laboratory findings of this unpublished in vitro study with the occurrence of diabetes in humans." Ooh, "unpublished." Ouch. Nice veiled barb, there.
The statement goes on in some detail, basically saying if the harmful reactive carbonyls occur naturally in a number of foods, why single out HFCS?
Well, you can't blame them for defending themselves. But I laughed at the following: "Singling out any one food, beverage or ingredient as a unique cause or contributor to diabetes is simply not supported by science." I dunno. A study led by a professor of food science at Rutgers. Sure sounds like science to me...
1. It seems everyone looks for someone or something to blame when it comes to causes of obesity or diabetes. Many studies use pure fructose and then equate the results to that of high fructose corn syrup- poorly named sweetener by the way- It contains 55% fructose and 45% glucose- White table sugar or sucrose is 50% fructose and 50% glucose. We know that eating sugar does not cause diabetes, but overeating calories from any source causes obesity and is linked to insulin resistance.
Posted at 10:47AM on Sep 1st 2007 by Kathy Warwick