3 ms·

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

• 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...).