Sucrose, High Fructose Corn Syrup 55% and Fructose, Metabolism and Potential Health Effects: What Do We Really Know?

There are a lot of discussions and controversy about sucrose and other sweeteners regarding their metabolism and health effects. These concerns are often arising by speculation based on limited data or few studies on animals. Recent controversies have arisen following the publication of a commentary suggesting a possible link between high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) consumption and obesity. Since then, there has been a widespread scientific consensus that there is no significant difference in the metabolic and endocrine response between HFCS 55% and sucrose in relation to obesity or any human health issue. This conclusion is not surprising because both of these sugars contain approximately equal amounts of fructose and glucose, contain the same amount of calorie, have the same level of sweetness and have the same absorption from the digestive tract. The hypothesis that fructose, HFCS, or sucrose are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, metabolic syndrome, fat accumulation in the liver, or increased muscle tissue adiposity, has been investigated in different ways using different approaches that lead to different conclusions. They seem to disagree. Further clinical trials are needed to resolve many of these ambiguities. The purpose of this study was to respond to uncertainties about metabolism, endocrine, and possible effects on human health when consuming sucrose, HFCS and fructose 55%. Over the past decade, there has been much scientific debate about metabolism, the endocrine response, and the potential health effects due to consuming sucrose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and fructose. Due to this reason that the United States and many other countries are involved in the obesity, there is more motivation for these discussions. Given all this as a foreground, the purpose of this review is to discuss the metabolism and the endocrine response of sucrose and HFCS consumption. It has also been considered to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence regarding the consumption of these sugars and their possible health consequences. We then discuss the results of recent randomized controlled trials using different amounts of fructose, HFCS and sucrose.