Science Says High Fructose Corn Syrup as Addictive as Cocaine

[n2doc]

We’d like to think there’s a big difference between handing a kid a can of soda and offering him a line of cocaine, but new research on the link between high fructose corn syrup and addiction suggests otherwise. Canadian researchers from the University of Ontario studied lab rats’ reactions to increasing doses of high fructose corn syrup (you know, the sweetener that’s in everything from soda to bread) and determined that it produced reactions “similar to those produced by drugs of abuse such as cocaine.”

Once the rats were all hopped up on high fructose corn syrup, they were given access to a lever that controlled how much syrup they received. The more concentrated the syrup, the harder the rats worked to obtain it . . . which, coincidentally, is also true of serious cocaine addiction. The Canadian researchers hypothesized that an unacknowledged addiction to the high fructose corn syrup that sweetens most of our favorite foods could be responsible for the planet’s growing obesity epidemic. If it’s true, this could be a major blow for snack food and soda companies, many of which have gotten away with selling products containing much more high fructose corn syrup than the federal limit would allow.

Of course, this doesn’t mean we’re gearing up for a full fledged drug war on soda and candy bars (despite what Mayor Bloomberg might think). Still, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on the nutrition label of our favorite snack foods, and if we start seeing people go into shock from candy bar deprivation . . . well, then we’ll know we have a problem.

more
http://foodbeast.com/content/2013/06/07/well-were-screwed/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I read labels religiously...

I will not buy anything with that crap in it.

Anything.

And I don't drink soda.

[jeff47]

2. From that description, it should be used as an example in how not to design an experiment.

If you're going to claim HFCS is somehow terrible, you'll need to compare it to something. Not nothing. Also known as having a "control" in your experiment.

For example, mix up a sucrose syrup and see if there's a difference between the response to it versus HFCS. It could be the rats behave this way to "sweet". Not specifically HFCS.

And since this terrible blog post didn't bother to link to the study, we have no idea what controls they used. But they did do a great job of linking to their advertisers.

[Tien1985]

3. I'm interested in

This study and would like to see the whole thing, but I was wondering about the controls myself and a quiick search turned up this: http://www.disclose.tv/news/Is_your_brain_on_HFCS_the_same_as_your_brain_on_cocaine/95042#DTV

It's not the study, but it's more about it, including how he substituted the HFCS. It seems like this is only a preliminary study, anyhow.

I might search further when I'm actually at my computer.

[jeff47]

6. Yeah, that really doesn't help

He apparently used saccharine as a control.

That would make sense if you were trying to compare "any sugar" to "things that just taste sweet". But Sucrose (and HFCS) are going to do completely different things in the body compared to saccharine.

Not to mention we already know that saccharine is processed differently in rats - that's why people thought it caused cancer. Saccharine affects a protein in rat bladders and causes cancer. Humans don't have the same protein.

I really don't understand why he wouldn't just mix up a sucrose (table sugar) syrup for comparison. It would let him actually measure the effects of HFCS against something that was actually similar.

(And the second article also has the common error of conflating fructose and HFCS. HFCS is about 50% fructose, 50% glucose. Sucrose is 50% fructose, 50% glucose. They talk about experiments with 100% fructose and claim they apply to HFCS...I'm guessing because HFCS has "fructose" in the name)

[Tien1985]

7. Well, he even said

He only used HFCS because of the controversy. It kind of reminds me of this http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1174

[rhett o rick]

4. Blasphemy, blasphemy I say. Drink your high fructose corn syrup and toe the line. nm

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. i dated a professional taster. her job was to recreate

flavors exactly. She had a fantastic tongue.
And being a food scientist as well, she knew her stuff. High fructose corn syrup was everywhere, and she used it always. but she always considered it a poison in diguise. She personally avoided any food that contained it.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. Excuse me,...I'm off to smoke some canned peaches.

[Baitball Blogger]

9. I knew it!

[Supply Side Jesus]

10. It's Science......

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[Iliyah]

11. Really - LOL

[chervilant]

12. HFCS is one of many

inadvisable food 'additives' we should all avoid.

Other bad or dangerous "food" ingredients include:

• hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils (most of us cannot digest these oils, so they become plaque in our blood vessels)

• aspartame (note that products containing this poison artificial sweetener must sport a warning for sufferers of Phenylketonuria)

• sugar, particularly in foods that don't *NEED* sugar, like vegetables (yes, I know it's delish, but it's also directly linked with diabetes and obesity)

• maltodextrin (an additive enzymatically derived from a starch, usually corn, and said to "improve mouth feel" -- which suggests this is yet another addictive ingredient...and it's in virtually everything!)

• preservatives (why do you think manufacturers use these? It's not for our health, but for their ability to store their product for longer periods in warehouses -- until there's room on the shelf for more)

• artificial colors and flavors (why do you think manufacturers have started touting "all natural ingredients"?)

I suppose I should confess that I am now a Vegan, and that I avoid GMOs. I eat mostly organic foods. I've lost over 55 pounds since becoming a Vegan, and I haven't changed how much I eat or how often. I feel great, and addictive foods no longer control my appetite.

[chervilant]

13. P.S.

Watch how few DUers choose to view and/or comment about this critical issue! What we put in our mouths directly affects our health, but dog forbid you deprive someone of their mcmeals...

[BootinUp]

14. Any more so than cane sugar?

This study announcement is weird. It doesn't say its worse than other "addictive" foods unless I am missing something. Bottom line imho stop OD'ing on sugar or HFCS.

[felix_numinous]

15. I miss the pron

who always used to show up on these threads

He defended the corn syrup like it was crack.

[handmade34]

16. DIY

[sofa king]

17. C. M. Kornbluth would not be surprised.

Kornbluth was one of the most bitter and cynical of science fiction authors. When he teamed up with Fred Pohl the two of them wrote stories of alarming foresight and a depth far beyond the comprehension of the teenage boys who read their stuff.

In 1952 the two wrote a rather nondescript titled book called The Space Merchants, but rather than it being a Del Rey-like space opera, it was a dark vision of an overpopulated future where marketers and perception managers control all.

Early in the novel there is a board meeting, with one of the executives triumphantly announcing the existence of an undetectable alkaloid which has been added to the company's food and soda lines, guaranteeing profits for the foreseeable future. Later, the protagonist falls into the underclass, and discovers that a steady diet of his own products is designed to put him permanently in debt to his employer.

Fred Pohl, who has survived his collaborator by longer than Kornbluth actually lived, supposedly dressed the story up a little in 2011 and republished it with a couple of nods to Enron and AIG. Might be worth another look.

(Edit: for those of you unconvinced that Kornbluth's dark visions surround you today, consider taking a look at Mike Judge's film Idiocracy, which is heavily based upon Kornbluth's short story, "The Marching Morons." Judge wisely avoided Kornbluth's "final solution" to the story's main problem, which is that over time stupid people reproduce faster than smart ones, with darkly humorous results.)