5 ms·

He also says that: "High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is nearly identical to sucrose in structure and function." But we had this article recently on HN that sho

He also says that: "High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is nearly identical to sucrose in structure and function." But we had this article recently on HN that shows the exact opposite: http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/ http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/

grandalf 17y ago
I think he must not have been aware that article... pretty embarrassing for him after he does that long, snide blog post only to have a new study blow it out of the water.
- ajslater 17y ago
  The princeton study is very poor science. Here's a good summary of why: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2010/03/hfcs-makes-rats-fat/ http://www.foodpolitics.com/2010/03/hfcs-makes-rats-fat/ And here's a longer article about why at Ars: http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/03/does-high-fructose-corn-syrup-make-you-fatter.ars http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/03/does-high-fructo...
roc 17y ago
To be fair, that study has a few procedural gaps that make me want to wait for confirmation and expanded testing. Even though I'm predisposed to agree with it's conclusions --or perhaps because I'm so predisposed to agree with it's conclusions-- I'd prefer to wait for better science before calling the race.
jared314 17y ago
The resulting chemical structure, after digestion, is the same, but with different amounts of each chemical. Sucrose is a 50/50 mix of fructose to glucose. HFCS has a customized ratio, 55/45, 42/58, or 90/10.
- alex_stoddard 17y ago
  A sucrose molecule is just a glucose and a fructose chemically bound as a compound (so it necessarily has a 50/50 composition). But the fructose is HFCS is free, not bound to glucose. This is an interesting hypothesis for why HFCS might have such an effect compared to sucrose. From the article: "Second, as a result of the manufacturing process for high-fructose corn syrup, the fructose molecules in the sweetener are free and unbound, ready for absorption and utilization"
- Chronos 17y ago
  Interestingly, there's one difference between sucrose and a 50:50 glucose/fructose mix: the sucrose will have less sweetness per calorie, because it's only one molecule (a disaccharide) and can thus stimulate only half as many sweet receptors. Given that the body attempts to measure current calorie intake by calibrating past calorie consumption versus past perceived sweetness, this means that the glucose/fructose mix will prime the body to crave sweets more intensely. This is pretty much the only biologically plausible argument against HFCS. Compare: the studies showing that diet sodas actually lead to an increased risk of diabetes (doi:10.2337/dc08-1799). Compare: the various diets encouraging the daily consumption of nearly-flavorless olive oil (example implementation, unsuccessful: http://lesswrong.com/lw/a6/the_mysteries_of_shangrila_dieting/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/a6/the_mysteries_of_shangrila_dietin...).

grandalf 17y ago

I think he must not have been aware that article... pretty embarrassing for him after he does that long, snide blog post only to have a new study blow it out of the water.

ajslater 17y ago
The princeton study is very poor science. Here's a good summary of why: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2010/03/hfcs-makes-rats-fat/ http://www.foodpolitics.com/2010/03/hfcs-makes-rats-fat/ And here's a longer article about why at Ars: http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/03/does-high-fructose-corn-syrup-make-you-fatter.ars http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/03/does-high-fructo...

roc 17y ago

To be fair, that study has a few procedural gaps that make me want to wait for confirmation and expanded testing. Even though I'm predisposed to agree with it's conclusions --or perhaps because I'm so predisposed to agree with it's conclusions-- I'd prefer to wait for better science before calling the race.

jared314 17y ago

The resulting chemical structure, after digestion, is the same, but with different amounts of each chemical. Sucrose is a 50/50 mix of fructose to glucose. HFCS has a customized ratio, 55/45, 42/58, or 90/10.

alex_stoddard 17y ago
A sucrose molecule is just a glucose and a fructose chemically bound as a compound (so it necessarily has a 50/50 composition). But the fructose is HFCS is free, not bound to glucose. This is an interesting hypothesis for why HFCS might have such an effect compared to sucrose. From the article: "Second, as a result of the manufacturing process for high-fructose corn syrup, the fructose molecules in the sweetener are free and unbound, ready for absorption and utilization"
Chronos 17y ago
Interestingly, there's one difference between sucrose and a 50:50 glucose/fructose mix: the sucrose will have less sweetness per calorie, because it's only one molecule (a disaccharide) and can thus stimulate only half as many sweet receptors. Given that the body attempts to measure current calorie intake by calibrating past calorie consumption versus past perceived sweetness, this means that the glucose/fructose mix will prime the body to crave sweets more intensely. This is pretty much the only biologically plausible argument against HFCS. Compare: the studies showing that diet sodas actually lead to an increased risk of diabetes (doi:10.2337/dc08-1799). Compare: the various diets encouraging the daily consumption of nearly-flavorless olive oil (example implementation, unsuccessful: http://lesswrong.com/lw/a6/the_mysteries_of_shangrila_dieting/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/a6/the_mysteries_of_shangrila_dietin...).