The widespread use of HFCS is due to it's relative cheapness, stability, and versatility in use. For example, a can of Coke would have to put in the equivalent of ~30 tablespoons of sucrose (table sugar) to get the sweetness they require (the sucrose molecule is 1/2 fructose and 1/2 glucose, but the glucose is not perceived as very sweet by the body). Obviously a problem would exist of keeping all of that sucrose suspended in solution, as well as the cost. HFCS offers a cheap reliable source of sweetening for food manufacturers that is not as subject to the vagaries of the commodity market for sugar.
Anyway, that's the business side of the equation.
From a health standpoint, you'd have to eat a bushel-load (OK, maybe a bit of an exxageration, but not much) of fructose laden fruit to get the equivalency of a Big Gulp Coke.
Bryan, I've read that the body doesn't metabolize fructose all that well and that it doesn't promote the same insulin response as sucrose does. Since that is the case, is HFCS metabolized differently that simple fructose?
|