President Donald Trump announced this week that the Coca-Cola company has agreed to require the brand to use “real” cane sugar in its U.S. products instead of high-fructose corn syrup.
Although the company has not confirmed the swap, high fructose corn syrup has been one of many products targeted by US Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in recent months.
In a September episode of Dr. Jordan Peterson’s podcast, Kennedy called the common cheap sweetener “the formula to make you obese and diabetes.” Kennedy and his leading “to make America’s health health again” move are lobbying the food industry to remove some ingredients from product formulations such as artificial food dyes and seed oils.
Coca-Cola is made in the US with high fructose corn syrup, while the Mexican counterpart is made from sugar cane, a considerable export of the country.
The company did not confirm Trump’s announcement and said it could not provide further comment at this time because of the revenues. Coca-Cola issued a statement in its report on Thursday, saying that “details of new innovative products within the Coca-Cola range will soon be shared.”
According to health experts, sugar-filled soda is not good for you, regardless of the sugar used to sweeten it.
“Over-consumption of sugar from any source is harmful to health,” Eva Greental, a senior policy scientist at the Center for the Public Interest, a non-profit consumer advocacy group, said in an email. “What makes soda unhealthy is that it is liquid sugar and provides empty calories with no nutritional benefits. Swapping one type of sugar for another will not make soda healthier.”
“To make U.S. food supply healthier, the Trump administration should focus on less sugar and less sugar differences,” Greental added, saying CSPI and the New York City Department of Health and Hygiene have set US food supply targets to set sugar reduction targets for U.S. food supply.
Greental urged the administration to implement the policy, but Dr. Walter C. Willett, a veteran nutritionist, said there was more to be done.
“If you’re serious about reducing the negative effects of sugar-subscribed soda, there are many steps, including warning labels on these drinks, restrictions on sales in schools and other public places, taxation, and then using these taxes to support your child’s health and nutrition programs, said Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition.
The corn refinery industry is opposed to possible swaps and denies nutritional benefits.
“It’s pointless to replace fructose corn syrup with cane sugar,” said John Bord, president and CEO of the Trade Association, which represents the US corn refinery market.
“President Trump represents a decline in American manufacturing jobs, American farmers and trade deficits. Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar will reduce thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, farm incomes, and increase imports of foreign sugars with no nutritional benefits.”
Cane sugar is produced from sugar cane, and sucrose is a type of sugar that is naturally composed of two simple sugars, glucose and fructose, on an equal scale. According to the FDA, fructose is commonly referred to as “fruit sugar” because it occurs naturally in fruits and fruits.
High fructose corn syrup, on the other hand, is made from processed corn starch. According to the FDA, starch is a chain of glucose molecules that bind to it. “When corn starch is broken down into individual glucose molecules, the final product is corn syrup, which is essentially 100% glucose.”
To convert that product into high fructose corn syrup, enzymes are added to convert some of the glucose to fructose. According to the FDA, different formulations of high fructose corn syrup contain different amounts of fructose, but fructose containing 42% or 55% fructose is loaded with 42% or 55% fructose. 42% formulations are often used in processed foods containing grains and baked goods, while the 55% version is primarily used in soda.
Our food supply always contained no high fructose corn syrup. Sugarcane and sugar beet sucrose were the major sweeteners around the world until 1957, according to Britannica. That’s when enzymes were allowed, said to have allowed a turning point in the sweetener industry, which is borne by the rising costs of sugar. Sugar shortages and distribution during World War II and the Cuban Revolution. Technological advances in sweetener production in Japan.
U.S. consumption of cheap sweeteners began to surge in the 1970s, coinciding with government subsidies for corn farmers. Coca-Cola began using it in the early 1980s to reduce costs, except in Mexico.
According to Sue Ellen Anderson Hines, a registered dietitian nutritionist, certified diabetes educator and owner of 360 Girls & Women, the new sweetener was also more stable than sugar, which helped to extend the shelf life of the product.
Dr. Marion Nestle, professor of food research and public health at Paulette Goddard at New York University, believes that in most studies there is no difference between high fructose corn syrup and sucrose from nutritional perspectives.
“They have the same calories,” Nestlé said. “They taste the same,” and there was a long-standing idea that the body doesn’t know the difference between the two.
However, some recent research has challenged this long-standing conclusion, according to Anderson Hines, a spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Nutrition. “It’s a little different from straight sugar in terms of how the body is metabolized,” she said.
Anderson Hines said that high fructose corn syrup consumption is more associated with weight gain, obesity, abnormal levels of lipids, or lipids, or fats. However, Britannica also shows that despite a decline in intake over the past 26 years, the rate of diabetes and obesity continues to rise.
In some studies, “the overall increase in fatty liver or inflammation in the liver was increased with subjects consuming high flortose corn syrup and those consuming sucrose,” she said.
Another study found that high fructose corn syrup is associated with higher levels of C-reactive protein, a substance produced by the liver in response to inflammation from various causes or sources.
Scientists also discovered a link between consumption and insulin resistance, Anderson Hines said. This is a condition in which the cells in the muscle, fat and liver do not respond properly to insulin, and sugar is used for energy. Insulin resistance can lead to hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes.
Also, a recent study found that babies who consumed formula sweetened with corn syrup solids were at a higher risk of obesity by the age of four than those who drank lactose-based formulas or breast milk.
Most corn grown in the US is genetically modified, with almost half of it sprayed with glyphosate. It is a commonly used herbicide, and this is another target for the MAHA movement.
Glyphosate is ultimately linked to cancer, and some researchers are investigating the potential link between infertility and insulin resistance, Anderson-Hines said.
“The evidence shows that GMO corn is completely safe to eat,” Greental said. “But even if you’re worried about GMO safety, by the time corn ears become soft drinks, there’s no genetic material left from the corn that made the HFC.”
But in reality, herbicides should be the least worried about your sugar, she said. “A much more pressing concern is how liquid sugars will affect your teeth, cause weight gain and provide empty calories that can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.”
What should you eat and drink?
The healthiest meal is a diet rich in whole foods, including fruits and vegetables, Anderson Haynes said. She recommends avoiding adding sugar, but if you’re going to eat it, she thinks natural sugar is slightly better than high fructose corn syrup.
According to the World Health Organization and other agencies, people should limit their sugar intake to 25 grams per day, or about 6 teaspoons. This is roughly the same as 2½ chocolate chip cookies, 16 oz fruit punch, or 1½ tablespoon honey.
If you’re struggling to kick your soda habit, consider trying out sparkling water with lemon and lime juice and ginger. Kombucha without added sugar may also be craving.
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