High-fructose corn syrup – is there really anything to be afraid of? Review article

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Agnieszka Maksymiuk-Kłos
Katarzyna Szwajkowska
Paweł Piątkiewicz

Abstract

Food sugar or sucrose as a sweetener has been known for centuries. The Europeans got to know the sukkar about 327 BC after the conquests of the East by Alexander of Macedon. However, the spread of food sugar in Europe took place in the 19th century. The desire to reduce the costs of food production has motivated manufacturers to look for other sweeteners. Currently, the most popular is high-fructose corn syrup obtained from processed maize, consisting of 45% glucose and 55% fructose (HFCS-55) or 42% fructose and 58% glucose (HFCS-42). When the syrup became popular, questions about its impact on the human body and the occurrence of diseases appeared. This article presents an overview of current literature on this subject, focusing primarily on the effect of high-fructose corn syrup on the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, respiratory diseases, type 2 diabetes or obesity. This topic is important because the health awareness of the society is growing, and similar questions will be asked more often in our practices.

Article Details

How to Cite
Maksymiuk-Kłos , A., Szwajkowska, K., & Piątkiewicz, P. (2018). High-fructose corn syrup – is there really anything to be afraid of?. Medycyna Faktow (J EBM), 11(2(39), 137-142. https://doi.org/10.24292/01.MF.0218.6
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