High fructose Corn Syrup (Photo : YouTube/ C0nc0rdance )
According to a new study, high fructose corn syrup increases the risk of heart disease, CBS News reported. The study will be published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Researchers at the University of California conducted a study on 85 healthy people aged between 18 and 40 years. They gave some subjects beverages sweetened with varying levels of high fructose corn syrup. The other participants were given sugar-free beverages. Scientists took blood tests on an hourly basis to monitor the changes in the levels of uric acid, triglycerides and lipoproteins, which are all known to be risk factors for heart disease. After two weeks, they found that participants consuming beverages sweetened with high fructose corn syrup had increased heart disease risk factors in the blood.
Dr. Kimber Stanhope, the study's lead author, said that their new data shows that people are very sensitive to the amount of sugar. In the study, the risk factors for heart disease increased as the dose of high fructose corn syrup went up; however, even participants who consumed small doses of high fructose corn syrup (10 percent) exhibited increased risk.
Researchers also found that increases in risk factors were higher in men than in women and were independent of weight gain.
High-fructose corn syrup also has other health risks. According to WebMD, countries that use high fructose corn syrup in soft drinks and processed foods have higher rates of diabetes than countries that do not use high fructose corn syrup. Furthermore, high fructose corn syrup can cause liver damage without causing obesity, Medical Daily reported.
