{"id":197553,"date":"2025-10-02T16:38:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T16:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/197553\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T16:38:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T16:38:07","slug":"is-cane-sugar-healthier-than-high-fructose-corn-syrup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/197553\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Cane Sugar Healthier Than High-Fructose Corn Syrup?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coca-Cola has announced it\u2019s releasing a new Coke product<\/a> this fall that\u2019s sweetened with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup. The announcement followed a July Truth Social post in which President Donald Trump <\/a>claimed he convinced Coke to change its product.<\/p>\n

To be fair, we don\u2019t know whether Trump thinks cane sugar just tastes better, or whether he wanted to improve Coke\u2019s nutritional profile, or if the decision was driven by political reasons. But regardless, this move has been hailed as a victory by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again Commission.<\/p>\n

But is cane sugar really any better than high-fructose corn syrup (HCFS), from a nutritional perspective? The evidence strongly points to no. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why: While HFCS definitely doesn\u2019t do any favors for human health, neither does cane sugar. Too much added sugar \u2014 regardless of which type or what food it\u2019s in \u2014 can cause spikes in blood sugar levels and has been linked with many different chronic health conditions, from type 2 diabetes to heart disease<\/a> and obesity<\/a>. Soda, which is loaded with added sugars, is an unhealthy<\/a> food choice whether it\u2019s sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup or cane sugar. <\/p>\n

\"Coca-Cola<\/p>\n

Maria Korneeva via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Coca-Cola has announced it’s releasing a new Coke product<\/a> this fall that\u2019s sweetened with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup.<\/p>\n

\u201cReplacing cane sugar with high-fructose corn syrup does not have any meaningful effect on health \u2014 including blood pressure, glucose metabolism or any measure of cardiometabolic health,\u201d said Maddie Pasquariello<\/a>, a New York City-based registered dietitian (RD).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know about cane sugar and HFCS \u2014 and why one isn\u2019t really any healthier than the other, with expertise shared by registered dietitians. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s the difference between high-fructose corn syrup and cane sugar?<\/p>\n

From a chemistry standpoint, high-fructose corn syrup and cane sugar are both sugars, and they\u2019re pretty similar, including containing the same number of calories \u2014 about 4 per gram.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with cane sugar. As the name implies, cane sugar is made from the sugarcane plant, and is made up of sucrose, the most common type of sugar. Sucrose<\/a> is formed through the joining of two simple sugars \u2014 glucose and fructose (both monosaccharides) \u2014 which makes it a disaccharide.<\/p>\n

\u201cReplacing cane sugar with high-fructose corn syrup does not have any meaningful effect on health.\u201d<\/p>\n

– Maddie Pasquariello, RD<\/p>\n

High-fructose corn syrup<\/a> is a sweetener made from corn syrup. Nutritionally, HFCS is very similar to table sugar (sucrose), which is also made of glucose and fructose in roughly a 50\/50 split. However, unlike sucrose, which is a disaccharide (where the two sugars are bonded together), HFCS contains glucose and fructose as individual monosaccharides. In high-fructose corn syrup, \u201cthe two are not bonded together and the ratio might be slightly different than 50\/50 in the overall product,\u201d Pasquariello said. Because of its sweetness, stability and low cost, HFCS is commonly used in the food industry, especially in sodas, packaged snacks, condiments and desserts. <\/p>\n

Are there health benefits to consuming drinks made with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup?<\/p>\n

Despite any claims you may have heard from cane sugar advocates \u2014 such as those calling<\/a> high-fructose corn syrup poison<\/a>, or suggesting it is uniquely harmful to the liver and more strongly linked to chronic illnesses like obesity and type 2 diabetes \u2014 there aren\u2019t any benefits to consuming cane sugar rather than HFCS. Both sweeteners have similar effects on the body when consumed in similar amounts. \u201cYour body cannot tell the difference once they are broken down and enter the bloodstream,\u201d Pasquariello said. \u201cCalorically, metabolically \u2014 it doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the FDA<\/a>, high-fructose corn syrup isn\u2019t any less safe in terms of how it\u2019s metabolized by the body than cane sugar and other common sweeteners like honey. Some critics have blamed HFCS for rising obesity rates<\/a>, pointing to a trend of rising obesity rates at the same time as increasing consumption of HFCS. But nutrition experts say that claim is unfounded. In the book \u201cUnsavory Truth:<\/a> How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat,\u201d nutritionist and public health expert Marion Nestle pointed out that while the increasing use of high-fructose corn syrup in the food supply occurred alongside increasing obesity rates, this is an association, but not necessarily a cause. \u201cIn reality, both sucrose and HFCS are sugars,\u201d she wrote. \u201cBoth are best consumed in small amounts.\u201d <\/p>\n

Added sugars contain calories, but other than that they\u2019re devoid of vitamins and minerals<\/a> that support healthy bodily functioning. Consuming a beverage sweetened with 25 grams of added sugar from cane sugar has the same impact on the body as a beverage sweetened with 25 grams of added sugar from HFCS. <\/p>\n

Research shows<\/a> that when comparing cane sugar (sucrose) and high-fructose corn syrup, there aren\u2019t significant differences in terms of the body\u2019s metabolic or endocrine responses and adverse health outcomes like obesity. Because of this, removing HFCS from food production wouldn\u2019t have a meaningful impact on the metabolism, health or obesity rates of Americans, explained RD Jaime Gnau<\/a>, clinical assistant professor in the School of Health Sciences at Missouri State University. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes a difference for health is your overall added sugar consumption on a long-term basis \u2014 not the source of the sugar,\u201d Pasquariello said. <\/p>\n

Simply put: swapping out high-fructose corn syrup for cane sugar likely isn\u2019t going to benefit your health. But cutting back on sugar-sweetened beverages and limiting added sugars<\/a> will \u2014 and this includes any form of sugar, from cane sugar or HFCS to agave, honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar. <\/p>\n

\u201cSwitching to a beverage with less added sugar would be of much more benefit than changing the type of sugar in the drink,\u201d said Kristine Dilley<\/a>, a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.<\/p>\n

Why does overall sugar intake matter?<\/p>\n

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans<\/a>, added sugars should be limited to less than 10% of someone\u2019s daily caloric intake, which amounts to about 50 grams of sugar per day for someone who\u2019s eating a 2,000 calorie diet. And that\u2019s the upper limit \u2014 they actually recommend aiming for even less. Meanwhile, the American Heart Association <\/a>suggests even stricter limits for added sugars \u2014 24 grams per day for women and 36 grams per day for men.<\/p>\n

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And added sugars add up quickly. Just a 12-ounce can of Coca Cola contains 39 grams<\/a> of added sugars, and rarely is that the only sugar someone is consuming in a day. Added sugar is found in high amounts in all sorts of processed foods, from cereal to yogurt to condiments. <\/p>\n

\u201cOverconsumption of added sugar has negative outcomes for body weight, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and other cardiometabolic risk factors,\u201d Pasquariello said. \u201cThe use of cane sugar in a sugar-sweetened beverage instead of HFCS doesn\u2019t make it any less likely to be over-consumed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course sugar isn\u2019t always a bad thing. \u201cSugar provides fast energy and is a great tool for endurance athletes to perform their best,\u201d Gnau said. \u201cThe more active you are, the more energy you need.\u201d Still, most Americans are consuming too much sugar and not moving enough. According to the CDC<\/a>, just 1 in 4 Americans meet physical activity guidelines. And if you\u2019re not moving enough and providing your body with a way to use energy from high added sugar intake, health risks rise, Gnau added. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Coca-Cola has announced it\u2019s releasing a new Coke product this fall that\u2019s sweetened with cane sugar rather than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[14011,12,97,269],"class_list":{"0":"post-197553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-coca-cola","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}