It's not cast-iron proof that high-fructose corn syrup causes
diabetes,
but new evidence suggests we should think twice about using it to
sweeten
soft drinks.

Chi-Tang Ho at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and
his
colleagues found that adding the syrup to fizzy drinks makes them up
to 10
times richer in harmful carbonyl compounds - elevated in people with
diabetes and blamed for causing diabetic complications such as foot
ulcers
and eye and nerve damage - than fizzy drinks containing cane sugar.

The most harmful compound, called methylglyoxal, is known to damage
cells
directly. "The link between methylglyoxal and diabetic complications
is
well documented," says Ho, whose team found carbonyl compounds in 11
popular brands of soft drink sweetened with the syrup.

High-fructose corn syrup is popular in the US, where import tariffs
make
cane sugar relatively expensive. It is made by treating corn starch
with
....

* 04 September 2007
* New Scientist
* Magazine issue 2619
http://www.newscien tist.com/ article/mg195261 92.800;jsessioni
d=FDIADOAJIDPH

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