What is Crystalline Fructose?

Thanks for the eye opening information. I am currently working on improving our household’s nutrition and this is useful indeed.
Lexi

Hi Lexi,

No problem!

That is inspiring, to hear that you are consciously working to improve your household’s level of nutrition, way to go!

JoLynn

Hi Jill,

Sure, no problem! I love to research and learn more about processed and fast food ingredients and spread the word on what I find. I’m glad to help!

All the best,

JoLynn

Hi Raquel,

Thank you for pointing out that crystalline fructose is also in yogurt; I thought it was mainly in “health” drinks!

I am thinking that the way that the “note” got on that packaging is because fructose probably does metabolize more slowly than sugar, because it has to be processed in the liver! Instead of being processed/metabolized like normal food is, it all gets pushed or “shunted” to the liver, and likely it does take longer to metabolize it.

It’s like the term, “natural flavor”, something that I never questioned until recently. It sounds so innocent when in actuality, it’s not.

All the best,

JoLynn

Hi Mae,

Wow, how inspiring you are, writing the manufacturer, Go Mae!!

I agree with you and sure hope that altogether, you, others like you, and sites like mine can get the word out bit by bit. It’s all about information, knowledge, and reading labels. Unfortunately, many are like how I used to be…as long as it tastes good, then great!

You can no longer say “ignorance is bliss” once you start reading your labels, and then investigating what all of those odd sounding ingredients are!

Thanks so much for your comments Mae.

All the best,

JoLynn

Never eat anything artificial. I know that is next to impossible. But read labels. There are many items on the shelves that have little artificial ingredients. Do not ever think any of the higher ups are protecting us. Remember it’s all about money with them. When you see three inches of ingredients….put it back on the shelf. Americans are being maimed and killed because we want it fast, easy, and low calorie and because we trust our government. We are the fools. We can do something about all this but we don’t. Boycott products and tell the manufacturer why. We made a difference in Trans Fats.

In your research, have you determined the overall concentration of crystalline fructose within a standard serving size compared to those drink brands that use HFCS? Although I agree that large consumption of HFCS (and even crystalline fructose) are detrimental to human health, I’m curious if manufacturers purportedly spinning their produects as “healthier” alternatives may have some stance because the overall concentration of the sweetner is less if they use crystalline fructose over HFCS. Thanks.

hi there,

What if an ingredient label reads “crystalline fructose (real fruit fructose)”?

Thanks for any input!!
-Margo

Hi Lenay,

Thank you so much for your compliments! Don’t feel stupid, I only recently learned what crystalline fructose is…I bet there are many people who don’t know what it is, either.

I will keep those articles coming, along with a few others, it’s no problem.

Lead? Arsenic? If thats true, than wouldn’t someone be all over this? Enviga stated that it burned more calories than it contained and the FDA went ape and halted shipping of it until proof was put forth. I appreciate the information, but its really not a scientific point of view. I’d love to know about the amounts of each CF and HFCS required to sweeten a 12oz beverage. If it is considerably less with CF, its only half a lie.
Though fresh tea, and water is great… the best actually. This CF may be a good alternative for 2liter chugging mountain dew fans. Thanks. Take care.

Thank you so much for your post and for your research. I’ve been drinking one of the “health” drinks with crystalline fructose. I’ve been drinking it because I have severe reactions to aspartame and “sugar free” drinks (I was almost diagnosed with a neurological disorder before discovering the root cause!). I thought the drink was a nice alternative to those aspartame filled powders.

It occurred to me the other day to look at the label to see if it had HFCS and noticed the crystalline fructose ingredient. Your blog was the first that I came along and was thrilled that someone else had done the leg work! I will be disposing of the rest of what I have at home – a small price to pay. I think I will be going back to my own natural flavored water drinks (fresh mint and lemon) and trying to create my own variety of drink flavors with other natural ingredients!

Thank you!

Thank you for doing my homework for me! I bought black currant juice from a large grocer here in OH and thought “oh good…no corn syrup” but then my boyfriend just asked…so what is crystalline fructose? So I jumped online and to my dismay here is your article. I’m taking the juice back today! Thank you!!!

This is wrong. Crystalline fructose is pure 100% fructose, just in crystal form. First off, this is better than high fructose corn syrup. second, the connection between obesity and any type of fructose is doubtful. Fructose is the type of sugar that occurs in natural fruits like apples.

additionally, this stuff is probably not as ‘bad’ for you as regular table sugar.

life SoBe water contains crystalline fructose! lol just felt like shouting that out.. hehe

btw, it’s probably called “fructose” because it probably has 6 carbon molecules, 12 hydrogen molecules, and 6 oxygen molecules. CF can’t be created out of nothing; to be a sugar it has to have the elements of sugar.

While I think your doing a good thing here, make sure all of your readers know that not just these sweeteners get put through your liver, Everything you put in and on your body goes through your liver, gallbladder, pancreas and appendix as these are the filters of our bodies, if you want to be healthy cleanse your bodies twice a year whether you think you need it or not. There are some excellent products out there (www.herbdoc.com) and take a really good bioavailable vitamin(alot of them are not)(www.deaddoctors.com)I don’t care how healthy you eat there are not enough nutrients(we need 90 essential)in any type of food to sustain you at maximum health. And where have you heard that to absorb your vitimins you should take essential fatty acids? I live in the country and we raise our own meat,eggs,vegetables,and milk a cow to make butter,cheese,yogurt,and ice cream. I realize that it is impossible for everyone to do so, but you can find better alternatives to what is being mass produced to poison us all. It’s out there you just have to be willing to look for it and access it.

Darn, and I just starting drinking this Vitamin water cause I thought it would be healthy but I guess it really isn’t with all the crystalline fructose in it, thanks for the information.

I’m glad you took the time to look this up. I think I am in the same boat as Chad. We had something called vita-water or some such drink from Costco. I tried one the other day and was really surprised. I just got the idea to go look and see what was really in the bottle and was immediately suspicious of the word “fructose” in any form. I didn’t even read the next ingredient.

Thanks again.

Wow, great research, I’d been looking for drinks without HFCS in them, and I just assumed crystalline fructose would be fine considering what kind of drinks it’s in.

Thanks for putting this information out there.

Yeah, switched from Gatorade to Vitamin water because I found out Gatorade had HFCS and read the label on Vitamin water and didn’t see HFCS. Soon thereafter, I found out that Crystalline Fructose was a derivative of HFCS. I felt very deceived and now don’t drink Vitamin Water either. Next person to design an electrolyte drink without either of these ingredients is going to rock the market.

I can’t believe I bought a snapple red tea. I always read labels before buying. One of the ingredients in the snapple red tea that I had bought is “crystalline fructose (sugar from fruit)” I had assumed that if the ingredient states “fructose from fruit” that it was an alright buy. Then I came across this site and I’m glad I had. I have always wondered why these fructose drinks taste kind of off, almost poisonous. How are these fructose using corporations allowed to sell this swindle?

Hey im doing a research project on Gatorade vs. Vitamin Water. And I need to know the price difference between the two of them! Plz help!!

@Bob, I don’t buy Gatorade or Vitamin Water so I’m not much help on any price comparisons. When I did my research on their ingredients I went to the store with my notebook but didn’t pay any attention to the prices since I only noted the ingredients.

@Luc, that’s a question that others have had and I can see why it would be confusing.

Crystalline fructose is made from corn, not from fruit. I haven’t found any factual evidence when I’ve researched why the food manufacturers are allowed to label CF like this, but I think they must have another creative labeling guideline like I wrote about in a couple of other articles (re: trans fat and sugar-free labeling).

I bet that they can say “sugar from fruit” because they place this next to the word “fructose”, even though CF is made from corn. That is only my assumption, but if I ever find written guidelines (FDA rules) on this I’ll write a post about it.

Hi Suzanne,

Thanks!

You asked 2 very good questions. I wrote a post today about xanthan gum, you can read it here.

Re: the difference between crystalline fructose and sucrose…CF is manufactured from corn in a chemical process that gives you a product (CF) that includes other chemicals (see the PDF doc I referenced in my article above), and sucrose is table sugar, obtained from sugar cane or beets. I personally don’t recommend either, because they are both sugars. If you want to read more about how unhealthy (and addictive) sugar is, I suggest reading Sugar Blues by William Dufty.

I hope that helps. Thanks again for your questions, you helped me learn all about xanthan gum today through the research I did for my article.

Since I’ve been informed about HFCS I don’t consume any drinks with HFCS in it. Now, I no longer have this painfully queasy and bloated stomach feeling, purely liquid diarrhea, gas, and etc.

you said: “Sugar is a billion dollar industry, even though it is a health hazard, an addictive drug, and gives you no nutritional value; but, it is everywhere. Again, it all comes down to money, and each of us has to make our own choices.”

Its obviously about something more than money if the FDA has done investigations on it and have apparently found nothing. Using logic, one would assume that the FDA would have some sort of protocol in thier investigations to check for such poisons as arsenic and lead. we must assume they are either incompetent, or something far worse. and here is where it becomes a human rights issue, and by all rights we should be fighting to end the FDAs ability to allow poisons in our food. if one could prove this, and chose to stand up for the health of the world, they could try to sue the FDA(if one has the money and means to do so…). So fructose is the sugar from fruits and vegetables, but crystalline fructose is actually from corn? another blatant lie! and they have the nerve to try to cover up thier lie with “from fruit”. Gotta love how the FDA REGULATES science, and dominates what is deemed “healthy and natural”. This whole thing makes me sick!

secondly, i couldnt help but think of 100% raw cane sugar. Ive been searching the net to see if studies have been done to show the health comparisons to eating raw cane vs refined. I found out that refined sugar strips the cane juice of ALL of its inherit nutritional value, including the natural enzymes which help digest it. why dont more companies use raw sugar or just plain fructose! It baffles me! Is it cost? Lack of investigation by the companies? Education? Arg…we really need to get rid of the FDA. You should write on article on raw sugar!

On that note, Presidential candidate Ron Paul supports the discontinuation of the FDA. You all should research him!

My ultimate sense in this is that education combined with political action will put an end to these issues. Stand up for your health and your rights, because you cant always rely on others to do so!

Thanks a lot for this enlightening research article!…and thank you further for all of the links and useful information you provided!

Now its time to see if any actual scientific studies have been done to fortify your exposed information on crystalline fructose.

and further, have you ever heard of stevia before? its a natural sweetener with no known side effects, but the FDA will not let it be sold through any other method than supplements. INSANE! They give us poison, yet limit us from being able to get the good stuff.

thanks again! glad i discovered this site!

I’ve been noticing lately printed on juice, soda, soft drinks, and numerous other labels, “No High Fructose Corn Syrup.” The other day at Walgreens, I bought this soda that has printed on its label, “No High Fructose Corn Syrup.” It’s actually quite good and it didn’t have that usual poisonous taste that high fructose corn syrup” leaves on the pallet. Is there something about high fructose corn syrup that is finally catching on and that food manufacturers are aware of its effects?

JoLynn, thankyou so much for your research and input! The hidden dangers in falsely advertised food and beverage products is getting out of hand. I’m trying to locate an organization that will be putting pressure on these companies to provide some integrity. If anyone knows, please email me at trozmyr |at| gmail.com thanks!

Hi –

Like many of your commenters, I was looking for info on crystalline fructose. I actually read the sugar industries definition before I read your blog. I already knew about the dangers of corn derived sugars because of my eldest daughter – she was diagnosed with food allergies and/or intolerances when she was 4 – corn topped the list. Luckily I like to cook, because corn is in everything!

I just wanted to add a couple of points in regards to “James’” post.

First, most 5th graders can tell you what a crystal is (I know because I was helping my 5th grader 2 days ago with her science and that was one of the questions). But, what any 1st year chem student CAN tell you, there are plenty of naturally (or even unnaturally) occuring substances out there that are perfectly fine to injest but if you rearrange those same molecules just the slightest bit – you get poison. Cocaine is actually a great example of this. In it’s natural form, the leaves have been chewed for centruies, with no real problems, by native people. Then humans learned to refine it and the powder was created – then we took it a step further and crack was “invented”. We went from a basically harmless form with medicinal properties to one of the most addictive drugs in human history. Ironic that the history of sugar closely parallels cocaine, isn’t it?

What does infurate me is his implication that just because something is naturally occuring it means it is safe. Lead, arsinic, mercury, botulism and ecoli are “naturally” occuring in foods and I wouldn’t want to eat those either.

And I think he missed a main point of this blog – it’s about making an informed decision. I, for one, am tired of needing a bs in chemistry to decode an ingredient list.

What I found particularly odd is that when i went to the now foods website to look for fructose powder, I discovered their fructose is also taken from corn. Ive been using now foods products for roughly 2 years now and am very happy with the quality and prices.

” * 100% Pure Crystalline
Fructose is commonly called “fruit sugar” because it is the main sugar in many fruits. However, fructose is now produced from corn syrup, which is derived from corn. Fructose is almost 50% sweeter than sucrose and requires about 2/3 the amount to get the same sweetness. This means fructose provides nearly 33% fewer calories per serving.”

http://www.nowfoods.com/index.php?action=itemdetail&item_id=92417

Now their crystalline fructose is listed as 100%, and maybe that makes it slightly better than others, but i would assume that the fact that its from corn still makes it an unwise choice.

I wonder what the good choices for a natural fruit sourced fructose are. Raisin juice perhaps? Im thinking about trying out something like that along with stevia for sweeteners.

I made the mistake of drinking some eggnog for the holidays. I ended up feeling the usual sickness I get when I drink anything with HFCS in it. I asked my aunt if I could see the bottle or carton of eggnog. Sure enough, HFCS is one of the ingredients. There I was with one of my usual HFCS headaches and sick to my stomach with a warm flushed tired feel.

Thanks for the valuable information! My wife and I are on a low glycemic diet, and are currently doing a fast with our church right now. We got this GLACEU vitamin water to help us have something to drink and keep a few vitamins going into our bodies. When my wife was looking for information on the crystaline fructose ingredient we found your post here. It is valuable information. Thanks!

Is this site a joke or what?
http://www.fructose.org/facts.asp

It states crystalline fructose and HFCS are not the same. It also goes on about how they are safe and are not the cause of obesity and diabetes or any other ill effects on health. Would anyone consider this safe, Arsenic ≥ 1 mg/kg?

All I know is that when I used to drink anything with HFCS in it, I always ended up with a bad case of gastroenteritis. And, crystalline fructose tastes enough like to poison to me.

I didn’t read ALL of the comments so apologies if someone else already posted this, but I actually wrote to Glaceau about my concern about crystalline fructose, and this was their reply:

“thank you for taking the time to contact us.

we are committed to using natural ingredients; therefore we don’t incorporate any artificial sweeteners into our products. crystalline fructose is the natural sweetener we use in vitaminwater® and fruitwater® and vitaminenergy®.

crystalline fructose is a very pure, high-quality sweetener that is the same as found in most fruit. It is almost 70% sweeter than other sugars, so we can use less to get the same sweetness. crystalline fructose has a lower glycemic index than other sugars such as high fructose corn syrup, thus, blood sugar levels will remain more stable.

additionally, smartwater® our vapor distilled, electrolyte enhanced water does not contain any sugar.

if you have any questions or if I can be of further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

thank you again, and remember vitaminwater – it works! nutrients are the new energy!

sincerely,
elly
consumer relations representative
http://www.glaceau.com
1-877-glaceau”

you have to appreciate their wordplay with “the same as found in most fruit”. So, does that mean it IS THE SAME found in most fruit, or SIMILAR to what is found in most fruit, but not necessarily FROM fruit? You tell me

Great article!

Everyone should be warned of the amount of sugar they’re eating, no matter what form it takes, in processed foods. Sugar, whether glucose, fructose, sucrose or lactose, is still sugar. Large amounts of sugar are plain bad for you. Processed food high in sugar are the reason so many people are overweight and younger people are getting type II diabetes like it’s an epidemic. I like this article because it warns about the damage to your liver before all that glucose ever gets to mess with your pancreas and make you insulin-resistant.

But let’s get a little chemistry straight about the trace metals found in HFCS, crystalline fructose and any other food you consume.

Arsenic, lead, cadmium, etc., are found in very low concentrations in all soil. They are usually found in very small amounts in nearly everything you eat. 1 mg/kg is 1 part per million. The reason you see these metals being reported now that weren’t reported in the past is our analytical instruments can easily measure metals in the parts per billion and parts per trillion range, so parts per million is getting to be somewhat big in the analytical trace analysis world.

I would be a lot more worried about the affects of sugar consumption than the trace metals. Our bodies need many metals in trace amounts to be healthy, but not arsenic, lead or cadmium. Still, they come into our bodies piggybacked on other sources of nutrients our bodies do need.

Sugar consumption and the increase in weight and type II diabetes are a far larger health threat than trace metals. I’ve never heard of anyone dying of 1 ppm arsenic poisoning. Thousands die daily from the complications of type II diabetes.

Solution: avoid processed foods and eat food as close to the source as you can get it; fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, make your own bread (bread machines are inexpensive), and if you eat dairy, meat, fish or poultry, buy organic if you can get it. Butter is better for you than margarine because it’s minimally processed. Margarine is highly processed vegetable oil. Eating vegetable oil is better for you than margarine, even if it has no trans fats (the result of more processing).

And drink unsweetened tea you make yourself. Tea has many benefits that we are only beginning to learn about. Asians live to be old for a reason!

Look at the diets of those cultures who are healthiest and you will see no processed foods, a variety of teas, coffees and only natural sugar sources in small amounts.

Thank you so much for the informative article! You answered all my questions completely. I too had the same question your professor and and happy you could help. I am going right now to pour my Glaceau Vitamin energy down the drain where it belongs!!!

Hi JoLynn,

You seem to be quite ambitious with this site. I think the public has a right to know what is being fed to them. By and large, I think you’re doing some good work.

However, after reading several of the comments and retorts, it seems to me that there is a disconnect between scientific nomenclature and public/common perception.

Fructose is sugar. There’s a chemical composition for the carbohydrate, complete with carbons and hydrogens and oxygens and a way to put them together. Nothing will ever change that. Unless the fructose is synthesized from petroleum products (way too expensive), it can be called ‘natural’ regardless of source. Fructose from corn is natural. Further, I believe corn is *scientifically* a fruit (the riped ovaries of a seed plant). USDA/FDA precedence has been used to term it a vegetable in our everyday language. This is very similar to the old tomato (fruit or vegetable?) argument. Therefore, ‘sugar from fruit’ is completely right, as per the Vitamin Water label. Or, it is possible, to develop a crystalline fructose process from another fruit. Whether that fructose comes from apples or honey or corn, it doesn’t matter. Well, from honey wouldn’t be from fruit. But, all sources are all-natural. So, i would conclude that your opening of comment #2659 is somewhat bogus. Well intentioned, and I get what you’re saying, but bogus.

But that’s science. And although I’m a scientist, it means absolutely nothing. Natural means nothing. There are plenty of things in nature that will kill you (already pointed out by Lively). There are even fruits that will kill you (holly berries for one, if I recall properly). Some biological things use arsenic. Some use cadmium. Some use lead. Humans don’t, at least not in very high amounts – and that’s all that matters. The biology of humans. Fructose, in moderation, is OK. Just like sodium. Our body would not function without any sodium. We need some of those sodium ions to maintain charge balances, turgor pressure, and the active sites of many of our enzymes. But, moderation is the couple of grams of fructose that one gets from eating a daily serving of fruits and vegetables. Moderation probably isn’t drinking a 20oz soda at about 50 grams of sugar. It probably also isn’t drinking Gatorades or Life Waters or Vitamin waters or shooting cheap pancake syrup by the shot-glass.

So, in this respect, I get what you’re saying. Over consumption of things is bad. Whether it is tens of grams of fructose a day or 10 mg of arsenic. I just hope that I will have elucidated some of the misconceptions about what we are dealing with. Hopefully you’ll be less dismissive (albeit in a very nice and cordial way) of my comments than those that have come before mine. Some of what they (James, Alex, others) were saying is applicable – it’s just a matter of definition and degree.

In all, I would agree that refined fructose (and any refined sugar or starch) is probably not very good for you. And certainly not as healthy as a whole food diet. After all, we didn’t evolve drinking Mountain Dew and eating Pringles. Although if we had…..

Right, so I don’t really disagree with any of your fundamental conclusions about crystalline fructose. Or that darn close to 100% of the production of CF is from corn. Fructose based sweeteners have taken over our societies food supply. My position is that whether CF is made from corn, sugar beets, a derivative of sugar cane, or honey, it’s not that great for you. Some sources may be better than others, but if you’re eating a refined product you’re not going to be doing yourself justice.

CF should not be singled out. Why? Sucrose is a disaccharide (read: double sugar) that contains one glucose tethered to one fructose. The first thing your body does is chop them apart. So now you have one glucose going through your blood stream, and one fructose which is headed to the liver for further processing. Doesn’t sound a whole lot different to me than HFCS. And thats not an argument that HFCS is good. It’s an argument that table sugar (sucrose) is bad. BTW, table sugar in the US is mostly from the sugar beet. An all-natural vegetable.

I suppose my problems arise from this idea that deciding what to buy at the supermarket should be an easy job. And that’s just not going to be the case. People seem to want a rubber stamp that approves a food as “All Natural” or “Organic”. We want those stamps to mean something. Well, right now, they don’t. And the answer is not a government agency.

The fact of the matter is that crystalline fructose is “All Natural”. Why? Because CF is sourced from a natural plant (read: not genetically modified by direct DNA manipulation). The process for converting the polysaccharides (starch) into monosaccharides (glucose and fructose) is also a natural process. The sugars are transformed using an amylase enzyme, which I believe are the same enzymes which perform this function during germination. Mix together some mashed corn, water, amylase, and add a little heat – and there you go, all-natural fructose. I agree that this is not a ‘natural’ food for humans, but that’s not what all-natural means. I don’t think it should be consumed, but then again I don’t act like a sheep whenever packaging includes the catch-phrases of “All-natural,” “Organic,” or “From Fruit.”

Think of it this way – if crystalline fructose was derived from apples, but underwent heavy refining to make it into a 99.5% pure fructose solid, would you eat it? It certainly could be done. It would just be very expensive because apples are expensive compared to corn. I guarantee that you’ll find it absolutely identical to the CF made from corn in every major way (maybe you’ll find some more traces of a different heavy metal). Would you eat this product? It’s from apples. One of the ‘classic’ fruits. I hope that you’d choose, “No, Thanks.”

Just because the majority of people think something should be done, doesn’t mean that it should be so. An overly dramatic example would be: Germans, Jews, Concentration Camps. Certainly it’s not the same, but its the only example that I could think of off the cuff that everyone could understand and, hopefully, agree upon. So, fructose from corn is still fructose from fruit. The lawyers will convince any judge that is the case. Whether or not it is approved by the majority of people. And, whether or not it is good for those people.

I have this idea, and it’s that consumers shouldn’t rely on things blindly. I know Lively complained about needing a BS in chemistry to understand these things. Unfortunately that’s not far from the truth. One would also almost need a JD or atleast an accounting degree to understand our tax code. And an MD to make sure that proper care is given at a hospital. When society went from primarily hunter/gatherers to those specialized in certain activities and trades, we sacrificed a lot of our knowledge about how things are made. How did that blacksmith make that horseshoe? I don’t know, i just need it. Well, we got to the point that our food supply has been compromised. The people that we trusted: the farmers, the food processors, and to some extent the governent, have all let us down. Rather than grow things in the right way, and make food with the right ingredients, we, as a society, have aimed for faster and cheaper.

And before the Organic and All-Natural lobby say, “Amen!,” I’d have to ask what direction they are going as well. I’m afraid that Big Organic will become just as unreliable as Big Agriculture in general.

Here’s my suggestion: don’t rely on anyone to tell you the truth. Not even me. Use common sense. It’s this thing we lost as a society sometime after World War II. It means that if you are offered a watch that normally retails for $10,000 and someone wants to give it to you for $50, it’s probably not a good deal. If someone wants to sell you a double cheeseburger for a dollar, it’s probably not a good deal. If you can get a half days worth of sugar from a clear plastic bottle for $1.50, it’s probably not worth doing. And of course the old adage – if you don’t know what it is and can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. Except for monosodium glutamate. That’s good for you. Trust me:)

Here’s a real problem I have first hand experience with, other than all the nutrition issues, which are very real. Most of these “Sport Drinks” as well as “Vitamin Water” are full of sugars and acids, in many forms, some hidden, some not. All cause tooth decay. Now, here’s the real problem, how it is consumed. Open a 20oz bottle for a couple of bucks and drink it during the morning, during your work out, while participation in a sporting event, whatever, it’s the large amount of liquid, the cost and the length of time. It all adds up to exposing the syrupy liquid to a constant bathing on tooth enamel and the supply of sugars to the natural oral bacteria used for digestion, which then injest the sugar to produce an acid that causes tooth decay. The type of decay caused by sugary liquids is easy to diagnose, it runs down the tooth and settles or pools at the gum line and causes cavities the same shape as the gum, Class 5 cavities. Same scenario for Star bucks coffee drinkers, grande mocha late whip, costs a lot, so you drink all of it, at your desk all morning, came effect on your teeth.

I have been decrying the uses of HFCS for years now. I too did research on Vitamin Waters and they use crystalline fructose – I always wondered why my teeth felt filmy after I drank it so I looked it up and yep, there it is. Not very healthy if you ask me.

Because it’s processed in the liver it often supresses the insulin’s message that you are full, thereby enabling people to eat more. I’m sure you knew that.

Have you ever been abroad? When I was in Europe a few times, I noticed always that HFCS was almost never used in ANYthing. In England, they sometimes put glucose-fructose syrup in sauces, which I’m told is not exactly the same thing but not healthy, either.

My husband lost a lot of weight when we spent two months in Ireland. Did he increase exercise? No. He ate MORE, exercised LESS, and still lost a couple inches off his waste. We think the lack of HFCS in the food was a big part of that.

Glad to see I am not the only one out there advocating the non-eating of foods with HCFS.

I’ve been working on my weight for a year now and I’ve dropped 50 pounds (yeah me). 7 weeks ago I signed up for a nutrition class in order to take me to a higher level of education about healthy eating and how to get my family involved and it is really changing my mind about a lot of these so-called health foods.

For instance, I love to snack on yogurt and I really thought I was doing good for my body. Today, I read the ingredients in the yogurt in my fridge and I noticed that it has CF in it. I know fructose is bad, but I had no idea what CF was. I almost wish I still didn’t.

Thank you for doing all of this research. I will definitely look a little closer at my labels.

The best sugar for beverages is cane sugar. Latin American countries are ready and willing to supply Cane sugar at a reasonable price to the United States, and sugar users such as the soft drink industry are anxious and willing customers. World cane sugar is price competitive with high fructose corn sugar(HFC).

The problem is the sugar lobby and congress. Congress sets quotas on the amount of cane sugar allowed to enter the country. These quotas are designed to keep the price of us produced beet and cane sugar much higher than world market prices. The quotas also act as a price umbrella for HFC.

The US sugar industry is blessed with their quotas from congress because congress is compromised by campaign contributions from the sugar industry.

These quotas cost US customers a great deal of money, alienate potential Latin American friends and make a mockery of US free trade ideals.

Some years ago there was a big time shortage of beet and cane sugar because our federal government refused to increase sugar quotas. Sugar prices quadrupled. Commercial sugar users begged congress to permit them to have access to the world cane sugar market.
HFC was hardly in its infancy when this shortage driven price spiral occurred. But commercial sugar users flocked to HFC because it potentially could provide a stable supply and price. The HFC potential was realized and commercial users will never return to the unkind mercies of the quota protected US beet and cane industries.

I am certain that American commercial sugar customers are most anxious to use world market cane sugar, but this will happen only if our congress gets out of the quota business and permits free access to the world sugar market.

This, like so many things, will not happen unless it becomes a felony for congress to take money from any party and then, subsequently, use his or her office to provide something of value in return for the donation.

Maybe we should look to Singapore for a way to make honest men out of politicians.

Wow! great info! I just bout a bottle of completle nutrition in liquid form (liquid multivitamine)and found it contained crystalline fructose? I avoid anything with HFCS and wanted to make sure of what this is, great info! I will be returning this bottle ASAP!

I stumbled accross this info during my research about the harmful effects of aspartame and was astonished to find out how bad crystalline fructose is; I was already aware of how bad HFCS is, but was under the impression that crystalline fructose was a safe alternative; I was sure wrong about that! Thank you for your concern and I hope we can continue to educate the public on the harmful effects of many “alternative” ingredients in our foods that manufacturers are fooling the public into thinking are safe. Keep up the good work!!

Hi Brian,

Cool, glad I could help!

What works best for me is drinking clean water every day (a lot of so-called “health” waters contain crystalline fructose) and sticking to a diet of clean, whole foods – avoiding the processed stuff. I feel a Whole lot better, and the side benefit is weight loss. By staying with the whole foods I don’t have to even think about whether or not I’m going to develop a fatty liver from too much refined fructose consumption, and anyway, this is all just refined sugar and I don’t recommend refined sugar to anyone – highly addictive and zero nutritional value.

You are on the money. I actually picked up a Vit*min Water today and found this site. Thanks for spreading the information in an educational way:)

i love this post. I was just drinking a new Sobe energy drink and saw Crystalline Fructose and became worried.

excellent post. I am also going to write about it on my health blog, and link back to your excellent post.

http://www.zombierobotfrosting.blogspot.com

william hessian’s last blog post..New update to MY MISTAKE

Thank you for the information, it is very important to me that I now know that cf is made from corn. I am very allergic to corn, corn syrup, and anything made from corn. It did not occur to me that crystalline fructose would be corn. I should have know, since there is almost nothing processed that I can eat!

@Linda, sure, I’m glad I could help with this post. I can see why you wouldn’t eat much processed food – corn sugar is in almost everything.

@Ryan, there is one protein powder that I’d recommend. It’s more expensive but doesn’t contain the gunk.

Hi Chelle,

Thanks for your comments. Yes, I’ve heard of Natural Ovens, one of my blogging friends wrote a post about her upset with the change in Natural Ovens company, which I linked to in this post.

This post I’ve written (above) doesn’t have anything to do with glycemic index though, in fact I haven’t written any posts about that topic.

You do point out the main reason I wrote this post though, and that is that the high concentration of fructose (in hfcs and crystalline fructose) is what contributes to a fatty liver, since that fructose has to be processed directly in the liver. And actually the point about crystalline fructose having a higher concentration of it than hfcs does makes it even more dangerous for human health – a fatty liver is NOT what anyone wants to end up with. I just heard a woman call into Richard Simmons’ show last Sunday on Sirius and she’s having a very hard time with her health (she has fatty liver disease).

However, as I wrote in my post, it’s my opinion that crystalline fructose is practically the same as high fructose corn syrup since technically it is a Corn Sugar containing a HIGH Amount of Fructose. And yep, you’re right that it’s not exactly the same thing.

I wouldn’t recommend that anyone consume either hfcs or crystalline fructose, and I highly recommend reading/watching the 2 sources that I learned about fatty liver disease from referenced in the link in my post above.

I’m all about health, not just weight loss, and I actually don’t believe that refined sugar in any form (whether corn sugar, beet sugar, or any other refined sugar) contributes to high health since it contains absolutely NO vitamins or minerals, no nutrition whatsoever.

GREAT post. Awesome site. I’m looking forward to digging into it now.

Keep up the great work.

- Warren
CornSyrupKills.net

Warren, thanks!

Hi Mike,

Sure, glad I could help. And on your question about sucratose…thank you for asking! I did some research on it and everything I found says it’s the same as sucralose, which is Splenda – I wrote a post about the health dangers of Splenda.

Here’s one example, from Google Book Search – on page 89 of the Diabetes Handbook which says sucratose/Splenda.

So, I would recommend staying away from it but you can read my post about Splenda and check out the book I reference in that post. Thanks again Mike!

Hi Luc,

I hadn’t seen that, thanks!

Well you know what, you already know it’s crap and unhealthy for ya cuz you’re listening to your body and your body tells you so. Now for me I stay away from all refined sugar…one thing on that too, in the article on the topic of how hfcs affects metabolism in comparison to sugar….whether it’s corn sugar (hfcs or crystalline fructose or any other corn sugar), beet sugar, or cane sugar, they all slow your metabolism!!

And did you check out the comments on that article? Whewee, lots of people kinda upset and saying that the article was rubbish.

Hi Luc,

You are wise to not give your power away to your doctor and do your own research – of course doctors perform a much needed service but they can only help you heal yourself, and they are human too.

Your testimony is the perfect example of why I say that if one doesn’t want to believe what I’ve passed along here in my article about crystalline fructose, all you need to do is eliminate it (and I suggest eliminating all corn sugars, including HFCS) for 2 weeks and note the difference in how you feel and how your body reacts.

Thanks for your feedback and keep living healthy!

Fructose and HFS are not the same. Fructose is sweeter than sucrose so less is needed to achieve the same sweetness, offering calorie savings. Fructose has a low glycemic index and does not cause surges and dips in blood glucose levels. Pure crystalline fructose offers many functional benefits when added to a wide range of foods and beverages, improving product palatability and stability.

I want to thank you so much for your information. OK this is what happened to me. Jewel have this sale on Weight Watchers Yogurts, 20 for $10.00 and their only 1 point right, so I figured now that is a deal. The more I’ve been eating these I found myself getting really tired and sleepy so I decided to google the ingrediant Crystalline Fructose (of course after the fact right, duh). You site was the first so I pulled it up and to my amazement even Weight Watchers food is just as deadly. Well I can’t wait to get home and throw the rest out, I have about 16 of them left. You can bet I will be reading labels a lot more for now on!! thanks again,
Venis

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Your research is perfect. I did some myself on Wikipedia and it says the same things! I am so disappointed, again, that the FDA once again allowed another toxic “food” ingredient into our diets. Then to try to pass it off as the next “healthy” ingredient, makes me sick!! It is just another way for us to become addicted to the foods and drinks they want to produce cheaply and sell constantly to us, the consumer, for the rest of our lives. Money. Lots of it, for “them”. So again, thank you for getting the word out. I will pass it on as well.

Blessings,

Stephanie

Hi! I am shocked. I have been buying Fuze tea drinks where the 2nd ingredient listed in crystalline fructose. It advertises a plethora of good vitamins such as antioxidants, folic acid, and vitamins C, E, B3, B5, B6, and B12! Who would have thought that none of these would really matter since I have been fattening up my liver the past year guzzling them for lunch?! I am so upset. Thank you for opening my eyes!!!

Jenna

@Scott,

Yes, that site wants you to use crystalline fructose. If you want to do so that’s up to you – I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

@Jenna,

Sure, np, I’d opt for plain water and vitamins you swallow instead.

@Sol,

Np – I’ve had someone else tell me they emailed them, too, good for you!!

Hi Max,

No problem, glad I could help. You know what I found most interesting was watching Super Size Me because they talk about the increase in fatty liver disease and that there are so many children that are now developing this!

There’s simply too much of the crystalline fructose and other gunk in processed foods and the human body isn’t built for the ingestion of this stuff in the quantities that people are ingesting it. (and in my experience, my gut feels a whole lot better when I stay away from all of those corn sugars).

Erik,

That’s great that you’re staying on top of your health by getting so much blood work and such done, wow, way to go on that!

Of course everyone has to make their own decision on what they put in their body and if you or anyone else wants to eat refined sugar then that is up to you, everyone has their own free will. I personally won’t recommend crystalline fructose or any of the corn sugars to anyone nor refined sugar in general. I’ve written numerous posts about how addictive refined sugar is, how it adds zero nutrients to the body and how it leeches valuable nutrients from the system in order to process it when it comes into the body, however that is getting off topic for this post (above).

If you’re interested you can check out my category on sugar or check out all of the resource links I’ve put in my comment replies above. I highly recommend reading Sugar Blues and you’ll find that link in comment 55 above.

Thanks for researching this product. I have been reading about HFCS and it’s ill effects. Today I happened to read the ingredients on my favorite Kashi bar. They use crystalline fructose and evaporated cane juice crystals. I don’t know if there’s any issue with the latter but I’d like to contact Kashi and see what they say about it. Thanks again for the great info.

Thank you for your research. I will keep your page for reference on other topics. I saw the crystalline fructose in a carrot juice…I didn’t know what it was but I just received a cleansing system for a friend of ours and saw it again. I thought….hmmmm I should look this up before I give it to him or drink it myself. Wow…guess who will not be drinking this stuff even tho it is suppose to be healthy. Oh my. I will be back to see what other interesting info I can find on your page. Thanks again…

This is a very interesting article. I didnt know that high fructose corn syrup was even an ingredient in processed foods but know I will try and avoid it like the plague. I would like to thank you for your letting us know about this, my children will be healthier for it. Thank you again

Thanks for this information. I have a problem with aspartame and all the artificial sweeteners. A web site was offering this new energy drink called A.C.T. Energy. contained no caffeine, no artificial sweetners or flavors, only 6 grams of carbs per 12 fl. oz. no jittery effects, no crashing afterwards, works within minutes, instant gratification, lasts 5-6 hours. Now I thought I can really use all that. I need the energy, I need a pick me up, something to give me energy. He sent me a 12 oz.can and a dry packet to add in a 8 oz. bottle of water. I used the packet in the water, shook it up and took a drink. The tip of my tongue went numb and that is an indication of funny sugar. I looked at the packet and saw crystalline fructose. I did not know what it is but now I do. Just like Wriggles chewing gum, I always bought it and I put a piece in my mouth and instantly yuck in my mouth. Spearmint, doublemint they changed the sugar and now I can not chew it. I do not know what it is with me but it effects me in a bad way. It makes a nasty taste in my mouth. Then my shoulders start to hurt like someone is squeezing them. I guess I am just weird? Thanks for any information that can help.