Updated on 6/30/2005 Yes, there is a difference between fructose
and High fructose corn syrup. Fructose is fruit sugar, a simple
sugar that makes up one-half of the moleclue of sucrose or table
sugar. (The other half is glucose, usually called grape or blood
sugar.) Fructose tastes sweeter than sucrose but has fewer
calories because the body does not metabolize it well. This has
led some people to recommend crystalline fructose as a low-
calorie alternative to regular sugar. I do not agree with that
recommendation. The body doesn't handle large amounts of
fructose well. You can maintain life with intravenous glucose,
but not with intravenous fructose; severe derangement of liver
function results. There's also evidence that a high intake of
fructose elevates levels of circulating fats (serum
triglycerides), increasing the risk of heart disease. I never
use fructose in my home. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a
recent invention of the food industry, made by an enzyme-
mediated process. Old-fashioned corn syrup