High Fructose Corn Syrup Dangers

There are many alerts of high fructose corn syrup dangers on the Internet. Some medical researchers say that high fructose corn syrup leads to diabetes. Others say that it will make you fat. While there is no real concensus on the issue, here is a list of dangers that there is a somewhat general consensus on. 

1. High fructose corn syrup is identical to refined sugar. Refined sugar is widely known to correlate with diabetes and other diseases. A correlation does not mean that one necessarily causes the other. It just means that they frequently appear together. 
2. Fructose is hard to break down. Glucose is the sugar that cells use for energy. High fructose corn syrup has 55% fructose and 45% glucose. Fructose is very hard to assimilate into the body. The liver normally turns fructose into fat. 
3. High fructose corn syrup may cause fatty liver disease. Again, the liver turns fructose into fat. This contributes to fatty liver disease. Fatty liver disease causes scarring and, in some cases, liver failure. Some people with the disease experience no symptoms, but many do. 
4. High fructose corn syrup correlates with obesity. Studies show that the increased intake of high fructose corn syrup correlates with weight gain. High fructose corn syrup has a lot of calories compared to its volume. The nutritional density is very low. You may also notice that foods and beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup also do not have a high nutritional density compared to their weights and volumes. Therefore, the danger of high fructose corn syrup may not just be in the syrup and its sugars. It may be the choice of unhealthy foods over nutritional foods that is the biggest problem.