# High Fructose Corn Syrup VS Sugar **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2008, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-sugar/451249 "2008-05-31T10:00:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-sugar/451249/1 "2008-05-31T10:00:50Z")
I was reading an article saying anything containing corn syrup was going to increase even more this summer due to a wet spring (poor corn planting). My question is when does it become cheaper for the companies to start using sugar again? Or is that even possible with the equipment in place they have? ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-sugar/451249/2 "2008-05-31T13:11:08Z")
Do you mean that the price of these items is increasing? Your first statement is a bit unclear. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-sugar/451249/3 "2008-05-31T13:26:54Z")
Sorry here is the link and the relevant part [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24894069/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24894069/) > [@](#): > > That may mean consumers will be spending even more for groceries like soda, cookies, cake or anything that contains high fructose corn syrup ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-sugar/451249/4 "2008-05-31T14:46:14Z")
[Here’s a reprint of a Wall Street Journal article](http://ussugar.com/news/industry/corn-syrup.html) that says that high-fructose corn syrup is already equal in price with sugar and will probably pass it next year. It also says that HFCS has some advantages that may keep it being used even so. > [@](#): > > Manufacturers found the syrup easy to transport and mix and able to extend food shelf life, while also preventing freezer burn. U.S. sugar usage dropped as a result but still exceeded demand for the syrup. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-sugar/451249/5 "2008-05-31T14:52:35Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] [Here’s a reprint of a Wall Street Journal article](http://ussugar.com/news/industry/corn-syrup.html) that says that high-fructose corn syrup is already equal in price with sugar and will probably pass it next year. It also says that HFCS has some advantages that may keep it being used even so. [/QUOTE] What are the health comparisons between the two? Which one is better for overall healthiness? (Both are bad I assume but one has to be worse right?) ---
**Author:** ![Anaptyxis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anaptyxis/32/3171_2.png) [@Anaptyxis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaptyxis)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-sugar/451249/6 "2008-05-31T20:55:07Z")
[Cecil’s 2004 column on HFCS](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040910.html) Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are certainly different, but not by much – see the paragraph toward the end of that column where the ratios of fructose/glucose in the two substances are described. That doesn’t necessarily mean that one _has to_ be worse for you healthwise. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-sugar/451249/7 "2008-06-01T05:45:10Z")
Well Mehmet Oz certainly dislikes HFCS. In the second edition of his book he co-authored with Michael Roizeon, _You: The Owner’s Manual_, he claims that HFCS disturbs the functioning of leptin and ghrelin in the bloodstream. Foods with HFCS will not fill one up, and one will still be hungry after eating them. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-sugar/451249/8 "2008-06-01T21:33:19Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] [Here’s a reprint of a Wall Street Journal article](http://ussugar.com/news/industry/corn-syrup.html) that says that high-fructose corn syrup is already equal in price with sugar and will probably pass it next year. [/QUOTE] Of course that’s assuming that those %&#$@&! in the sugar industry don’t simply ask their friends to interfere with market again and drive sugar prices up even higher. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-sugar/451249/9 "2008-06-02T00:48:22Z")
[QUOTE=RyJae] What are the health comparisons between the two? Which one is better for overall healthiness? (Both are bad I assume but one has to be worse right?) [/QUOTE] Not a huge difference. HFCS has a very low satiety rating which means you don’t feel “full” unless you consume vast amounts. This may be one of the reasons why a “large” is now 32oz rather than 20oz, and why the soft drink makers want HFCS in their beverages- you drink more. From Michael Pollan’s book “In Defense of Food”, pg 112 "_Fructose is metabolized differently from glucose, the body doesn’t respond to it by producing insulin to convey it into cells to be used as Energy. Rather, it is metabolized in the liver, which turns it first into glucose and then, if there is no call for glucose, into Triglycerides-- fat."_ That doesn’t mean that Jones Cola is a health beverage and that Coke is the Devils Joy Juice, mind you. It just means that maybe cane sugar is a tad better for you than HFCS.