The Adverse Effect Fructose Corn Syrup Has On Diabetes
Bethel University
May 8, 2012

Expository Writing
Facilitator- Ms. Sarthou

Abstract High fructose corn syrup is causing many problems in the United States. The main problems are obesity which causes type two diabetes. There are also many other diseases that branch off from these two main diseases, like liver and heart disease. In this paper, exploring the reason why high fructose corn syrup is becoming such a huge problem in the United States.

The argument of this paper is that high fructose syrup has an adverse effect on diabetes. When the producers of high fructose syrup saw that it is more cost effective than other sugars, other companies started to use high fructose corn syrup in their products. High fructose corn syrup is a sugar made of fifty-five percent fructose and forty-five percent glucose. Compared to normal table sugar, which is fifty percent fructose and fifty percent glucose, it doesn’t seem like much. Yet the fructose in high fructose corn syrup is less attached from normal sugar. This fructose that is free from the glucose part is more harmful to the body. It was first introduced in 1970 but it hasn’t been actively used until the late 1900s. Yet because we started to use high fructose corn syrup, it is now causing a lot of problems.
It has many negative side effects after consumption, and most of the consuming is done in the United States. Two of the main problems caused by high fructose corn syrup are obesity and type two diabetes. Some of the other branches of these problems are liver and heart disease, osteoporosis, an increase in triglycerides, and many other kinds of health problems. Since high fructose corn syrup is very common in our daily diets, ranging for drinks to desserts, it is becoming a huge problem (Severson, K. 2004).
One of the main problems of high fructose corn syrup is obesity. Eating high fructose corn syrup is like eating fat. Fructose isn’t absorbed the large intestine or the first part of the small intestine. Fructose is absorbed in the jejunum at a much higher rate than normal glucose. After it is absorbed, it goes to the liver, where it is converted to fatty acids. When someone consumes too much fructose, the liver is unable to convert all of it so it can be absorbed improperly. It can escape from urine and there can be diarrhea. There was a study of 25 patients who had bowel disease, which caused gastrointestinal distress, which might have been caused by malabsorbtion of fructose (Squires, 2003). Usually, normal sugar, or glucose increases the production of insulin in the pancreas. The insulin allows sugar to be transported from the blood into cells to be used as energy. Yet, high fructose corn syrup doesn’t cause the pancreas to make insulin. Insulin makes leptin, a hormone that regulates your appetite by decreasing it and increases your metabolism. Since fructose inhibits the leptin from doing its job, people feel that still have an appetite even though they have eaten a lot. Therefore people that consume high fructose corn syrup don’t get full. So they continue to eat, and eventually, they become obese (Severson, 2004).
Another major problem from eating high fructose corn syrup is diabetes. Diabetes doesn’t allow a person to correctly use glucose so they are unable to keep normal sugar levels. This is because the body is unable to make enough insulin, and is called insulin resistance. This increase of sugar in the blood is called high blood sugar and can lead to many other diseases like heart, kidney, and eye disease, and other health problems. Medication can help with diabetes, but the best way is to eat healthy, by not consuming high fructose corn syrup and exercising daily. After digestion, glucose passes into the bloodstream, where it is used by cells for growth and energy (Bernstein, 2007). For glucose to get into cells, insulin must be present. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, a large gland behind the stomach (Bernstein, 2007).
When people eat, the pancreas automatically produces the right amount of insulin to move glucose from blood into the cells (Bernstein, 2007). In people with diabetes, however, the pancreas either produces little or no insulin, or the cells do not respond appropriately to the insulin that is produced (Bernstein, 2007). Glucose builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine, and passes out of the body in the urine (Bernstein, 2007). Thus, the body loses its main source of fuel even though the blood contains large amounts of glucose (Bernstein, 2007).

High fructose corn syrup increases the levels of fat in the bloodstream in the form of triglycerides. Triglycerides are the chemical form of fat in the foods and the body. They form when calories aren’t used up immediately after eating. When you have too high amounts of triglyceride in the body, cholesterol levels will increase and people can get coronary artery disease. This increase of triglyceride is called hypertriglyceridemia. (Triglycerides, 2007)
An over consumption of high fructose corn syrup leads to osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a disease where the bones become weak and are easier to break. If it is untreated, it won’t be painful until a bone breaks. These broken bones, or more commonly called fractures mainly happen in the in the hip, spine, and wrist. A spinal or hip fracture usually leads to severe consequences, and almost always requires hospitalization. If there is a hip fracture, then the person will most likely go into surgery. This can impair someone’s walking ability if it isn’t treated. If isn’t cared about for too long, then it can even cause death. A spinal fracture is also a very serious matter. It can cause a loss of the person’s height, severe back pains, and deformity of the body (Osteoporosis, 2007). Tons of high fructose corn syrup is in our daily foods. For an example, there is about thirteen teaspoons of high fructose corn syrup in a twelve ounce soda can. Now, we have doubled the amount of soda we drink since 1970 to over sixty gallons per person, per year. Does this mean that all we need to do is to avoid soda? The answer is no. High fructose corn syrup is in soda, cereal, sugar cubes, ketchup, yogurt, frozen foods, and many other foods. In 2000 an average American ate about thirty-one teaspoons of high fructose corn syrup a day! That is more than fifteen percent of our caloric intake (Severson, 2004).
Fructose has no health benefits. Fructose doesn’t have enzymes, vitamins, minerals, or any other nutrient that is useful to the body. To make matters worse, it even has life threatening negative effects on the body. Fructose interferes with the hearts use of key minerals like magnesium, copper and chromium (Sanda, 2004). Fructose also creates blood clots and it can stop white blood cells from defending the body from foreign diseases. (Sanda, 2004). Fructose has a few benefits that help the foods look and taste better. It can help prevent freezer burn so it is used in many frozen foods. It also helps keep breads brown and soft, which is why hot dog buns and other breads hold an unbelievable amount of high fructose corn syrup. Fructose browns foods seven times faster than glucose (Sanda, 2004). And results in a decreases protein quality and adds toxic affects to the protein. The reason that the quality is lowered is because of the decreased amounts of amino acids and the inability to digest proteins normally. Fructose might even contribute to early aging (Sanda, 2004).
According to Squires, since so many companies now use high fructose corn syrup and it much more economy friendly it is hard to get them to switch back to the old fashion cane sugar. Now the diseases, obesity and type two diabetes are around the country, searching for the next victim who uses ketchup or drinks a can of sprite. It is so devious, that its victim will not know what is happening to them. It slowly spreads poison in their body. Yet the flavor of the poison is delicious and irresistible. As it travels through their bloodstream it slowly destroys their body with millions of health problems. This is the effect of high fructose corn syrup.
In conclusion, what this means to consumers; it simply means we have to be caution about what consumers put in our bodies. It doesn’t mean one have to quit eating the things one love to eat, however people have to take in consideration how much we contain on a daily basis. High fructose corn syrup can cause heart and liver disease. An increase in uric acid can be an indicator of heart disease (Sanda, 2004). Fructose consumption results in an increase in blood lactic acid. People who have diabetes, stress, or uremia have a higher chance of having a higher chance of getting the disease.

References
Squires, S. (2003, March 11). Sweet but not so innocent? In Washingtonpost. Retrieved July 29, 2007, from The Washington Post Company Web site: http://www.washingtonpost.gov/ac2/wp-dyn/ A8003-2003Mar10?language=printer

Sanda, B. (2004, February 19). The double danger of high fructose corn syrup. In Wise tradition. Retrieved July 29, 2007, from The Weston A. Price Foundation Web site: http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructose.html

Severson, K. (2004, February 18). Sugar coated:We're drowning in high fructose corn syrup. Do the risks go beyond our waistline? In SFGate. Retrieved July 29, 2007, from San Francisco Chronicle Web site: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/ archive/2004/02/18/FDGS24VKMH1.DTL

Bernstein, R. K. (2007). Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars (1 ed.). London: Little, Brown and Company.